April2009

  • News DSi Has a Strong Opening Weekend

    Just how many units did the DSi move its opening weekend?

    It was announced earlier today by Nintendo's President and CEO Satoru Iwata and Senior Managing Director Shigeru Miyamoto , the DSi had a successful opening weekend overseas and moved over 600,000 units between North America and Europe combined. 300,000 units per territory is a pretty...

  • News Nintendo Looking to "Re-energize" Game Market

    Could a slowing market and a boost in "core" game sales have us swimming in great releases this year?

    Wii and DS sales are slowing down in Japan causing an uncomfortable disturbance in the force that is Nintendo's cash flow. This has also highlighted a boost in “hardcore” game sales there. Does this mean that to get the more “hardcore”...

  • News The DS To Get Video On Demand Service?

    Iwata spills the beans.

    It was announced before that the Wii would be getting its own video service before long in Japan, and eventually other territories should be following suit. Recently however President Iwata dropped a few tidbits about how this service may not be exclusive to Nintendo's home console. The Nintendo DS may be getting some love as...

  • News Wii Sports Resort to Launch Internationally in July

    No longer just a rumour!

    Nintendo president Satoru Iwata today announced during his address to The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan that Wii Sports Resort would be released in Japan in June, with an overseas release in July. The sequel to Nintendo's hugely successful pack-in title uses the enhanced motion-sensing capabilities of the Motion-Plus...

  • News New Wii Punch-Out Screenshots

    Want some new Wii Punch-Out screenshots? We've got a few!

    We were able to get our hands on a group of brand new Punch-Out screenshots for the upcoming Wii release. As you can see, the game is shaping up quite nicely and looking like the Punch-Out game Wii fans have been hoping for. The screens show King Hippo, Von Kaiser, Disco Kid, and Glass Joe...

  • News No Fatal Frame IV for North America

    Tecmo's survival-horror title denied a stateside release by Nintendo.

    Wii-exclusive survival-horror title Fatal Frame IV: Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse has been out in Japan since late July. Co-developed by Tecmo (Ninja Gaiden, Dead Or Alive) and Grasshopper Manufacture (Killer7, Contact, No More Heroes) and published by Nintendo, many assumed a...

  • News PS3 Outsells the Wii in Japan

    But is Nintendo concerned?

    The answer is "not particularly." Nintendo responded to Sony's Playstation 3 outselling the Wii by just under 50,000 units in Japan in March by saying "it is still the first few months of the year when sales are slow for the industry" and that the plan of action is "to line up strong software to...

  • News Wii Manufacturing Cost Reduced by 45%

    These are tough times for many people, but apparently not for Nintendo.

    According to Credit Suisse analyst Koya Tabata, the cost of manufacturing a Wii console has gone down by 45%. If this number is accurate, that would mean each Wii sold is bringing in nearly twice the profit as in previous years. And yes, the Wii most definitely brings in profit...

  • News New York Holds Host To Rhythm Heaven

    On April 9th (Rhythm) Heaven will be at Scratch Academy as part of a high-profile invitation-only event.

    Nintendo's recent release, Rhythm Heaven, went down a treat at Nintendo Life, and it appears that the beat-bopping rampage is not going to relent for a while yet – Nintendo have just announced an invitation-only event that will be showcasing...

  • News Iwata and WarioWare: Snapped!

    Playing WarioWare Snapped! - 500 Points; Watching Iwata play WarioWare Snapped! - Priceless

    If you've played WarioWare Snapped!, then you know by now that it will make you do things that you ordinarily would never be caught on camera doing. But WarioWare Snapped! changes all that, by taking pictures of you while you play through the various...

  • News Wii Sports Resort With MotionPlus Coming in July?

    Could Wii MotionPlus finally have a release date?

    A picture was taken at an Amsterdam gaming retailer which shows a much-hyped Wii Sports Resort coming bundled with the Wii MotionPlus accessory being released on July 10, 2009. It also shows the Wii Motion Plus “Controller” being sold as a separate item as well. This could mean that it would be...

  • News South Korean President feeling sad about DS Piracy

    Special memory cards for copying vastly outsell actual games in South Korea with little sign of slowdown.

    In case you’ve just dropped onto planet earth and somehow ended up on here surfing a Nintendo website there is very popular phenomenon called a Nintendo DS. In South Korea it’s sold about 2 million console units since 2007, but software...

  • News Original Gameboy turns 20 years old!

    Where were you when you first got ruined by a girl in Tetris? holding a Gameboy back in 89, no doubt!

    You already know this if you had your first kiss while playing a Gameboy, or perhaps you passed your first drivers ed test while playing a Gameboy, or fought your first battle with a Gameboy under your flak jacket. Twenty years ago this month the...

  • News NoA President Talks DSiWare

    Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime distances the DSi from the iPhone, and lets a few tidbits drop as well.

    In a recent Q&A with Wired, Reggie Fils-Aime made a point of distinguishing the DSi's downloadable titles from the iPhone's. Specifically: "We are taking a film-festival approach — high-class content done by...

  • Nintendo Download 7th April 2009 (Japan)

    Another games tsunami hits the Japanese Wii Shop!

    You know I just bought 6000 Wii points for the PAL service expecting a ton of new WiiWare and Virtual Console Arcade titles to appear imminently. I may be somewhat impatient, but it's extra disheartening to see two single-release Fridays in a row and then the nearly non-stop flood of content hitting...

  • News The End Of The World Starts In Europe

    The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask graces the Virtual Console

    A short while back Japan's Virtual Console forecast list for April revealed that The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for Nintendo 64 would soon be hitting the service. In a surprise turn of events however, Nintendo is releasing the game first in Europe! Be sure to check your Wii Shop...

  • News Nintendo 'Not So Green' Based on Environmental Report

    Greenpeace puts Nintendo in last place for green practices, but are any waggling hands listening?

    On March 31st Greenpeace released its annual “guide to Greener Electronics” in an adorable easy to read meter format, which lists from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) a rating for the most green of the market leading electronics companies. Guess who came in...

  • News US DSiWare Launch Titles Revealed!

    In a press release today, Nintendo has finally confirmed the complete list of North American launch titles. And there are a few surprises.

    The North American market will unwrap their brand new DSi units on Sunday, and if they decide to log on to the DSiShop, they will have the following five titles to choose from. There's WarioWare: Snapped!,...

  • News DSiWare Launch Titles in Australia (and elsewhere...?)

    The Australian DSi Shop is open for business. Could its contents hint at identical launch titles for EU and NA?

    Just a quick run-through of the launch titles that Australia is now able to access and download on their brand-spankin'-new DSi units! Not really a very surprising launch as very similar rumors have been circulating for the past week or...

  • News Reggie Clarifies: There is No "Magic Number."

    One million copies sold to make a profit sounds ridiculous? It is!

    Earlier it was noted that in order for a Wii title to actually make a profit, one million copies of that title must be sold, and as many were quick to point out, that number just didn't seem right. Well, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, it isn't. Reggie...

March2009

  • News Excite Bots Preview - Not a Truck in Sight

    Excite Bots looking like Trucks. If it ain’t broken just add Robots.

    Is there anyone else out there who still plays Excite Truck for the sheer…excitement? The crazy loose physics that practically have you flying over tracks? Excite Bots: Trick Racing looks like a little more of the same with some added antics in the form of robot machines. This...

  • News Reggie: Wii Games Must Sell a Million to Make a Profit

    That’s a lot of copies, how many have made the cut?

    Unfortunately, not that many. In fact, most games typically sell less than 150,000 copies according to a New York Times article, where Nintendo of America’s head honcho Reggie Fils-Aime shared this interesting information. Fils-Aime said “[one million titles] was a lower threshold than for...

  • News Iwata Goes To Rhythm Heaven

    The latest edition of Iwata Asks, featuring an interview with the team behind Rhythm Heaven for DS!

    Although Rhythm Heaven is just now making its way outside of Japan, it has actually been in around for quite some time now. Beginning on the GBA under the title Rhythm Tengoku, it quickly garnered the attention of players with its quirky style and...

  • First Impressions Kimi to Boku to Rittai (You, Me and Shape)

    Nintendo surprises by publishing this off-beat balance game from Fyto.

    When I saw there was a bonus WiiWare update in Japan for some reason I was intrigued to see both games were from Nintendo. I was even more intrigued with the look of one of them: Kimi to Boku to Rittai (You, Me and Shape). The visual style and sparse soundscape reminded me of...

  • News Surprise Japanese WiiWare Released Today

    Two new WiiWare releases from Nintendo as well as six releases for the new Virtual Console Arcade

    What's been widely reported is that the Japanese Virtual Console Arcade got six releases today compared to the four released in the rest of the world (Return of Ishtar, Gaplus, Emeraldia, Space Harrier, Star Force and Solvalou). What's not been widely...