Tag: Anniversaries - Page 9
Anniversary The Game Boy Color Turns 21 Today
They grow up so fast
Nintendo's Game Boy Color was first released in Japan 21 years ago today on 21st October 1998. A successor to the original beast that was the Game Boy, the Game Boy Color unsurprisingly featured a colour screen, giving Nintendo's handheld games a whole new lease of life. While we sadly don't have exact figures for each of the...
News Happy 130th Birthday, Nintendo!
Time flies when you're creating fun!
Today, Nintendo celebrates its 130th anniversary. The Japanese gaming giant was founded on 23rd September 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, when it originally served as a hanafuda playing card company. A fair few among you reading this will likely know the story already, but let us take a very brief trip down memory...
Anniversary The Original Super Mario Bros. Launched On NES 34 Years Ago Today
Feeling old yet?
The original Super Mario Bros., one of the most celebrated and adored video games in history, was first released 34 years ago today, on 13th September 1985. It was on this day that the game launched for Nintendo's Famicom console in Japan, a system which would soon go on to release as the NES or 'Nintendo Entertainment System'...
Feature 20 Dreamcast Games We'd Love To See On Nintendo Switch
20 games to mark 20 years
The Dreamcast turns 20 in North America today - yes, 9/9/99 was now two decades ago - and in honour of the occasion we're republishing this article from last November when the console reached the same milestone in its homeland. Enjoy! The Sega Dreamcast turns 20 today – it launched on November 27th, 1998 in Japan – and...
Anniversary Game Boy Turns 30 Years Old In North America
Three decades of playing with portable power
Back in April we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the one handheld to rule them all - the humble Nintendo Game Boy. We ran a series of features on the all-conquering lump of grey plastic and had fun reminiscing about green screens, AA batteries and some incredible games. Well, that was in celebration...
Anniversary Pokémon GO Turns Three Years Old Today
Time flies when you're walking literally everywhere
Three years ago today, Niantic and The Pokémon Company changed the world of mobile gaming by introducing the augmented reality-focused Pokémon GO. On 6th July 2016, the app released in the US, Australia and New Zealand. Technical difficulties which came as a result of higher-than-expected early...
Anniversary Minecraft Turns 10 Years Old Today, New Pokémon GO-Like Mobile Game Revealed
Where has the time gone?
Today, the global phenomenon that is Minecraft is celebrating its 10th anniversary and we dread to think how many blocks have been lovingly crafted in that time around the world. On 17th May 2009, Minecraft saw its first public release. The build wasn't quite the same as the beast players enjoy today, but it steadily grew...
Anniversary Nintendo 3DS Launched 8 Years Ago Today In Europe
And what an eight years it's been
Eight years ago today, on 25th March 2011, the Nintendo 3DS was released in Europe. Just two days later it arrived in North America, too, with Australia following suit on 31st March of the same year. We still vividly remember picking up our 3DS consoles for the first time, excitedly watching things popping out of...
Anniversary Pokémon Snap Turns 20 Years Old Today
And we still don't have a sequel
Twenty years ago today, on 21st March 1999, Pokémon Snap was first released in Japan. A Nintendo 64 exclusive, Pokémon Snap follows the adventures of Todd Snap, a Pokémon photographer who is tasked with taking perfect shots of the adorable critters and showing them to Professor Oak for inspection. It features 63...
Anniversary Nintendo Switch Launched Two Years Ago Today
Happy birthday!
Two years ago today, the Nintendo Switch was first released into the world. And what a ride it's been so far. Yes, 3rd March 2017 saw Nintendo's latest console hit store shelves, a home-handheld hybrid launching alongside games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Snipperclips, Just Dance 2017, Fast RMX, and more.
News The Sega Mega Drive Turns 30 Today
Three decades of doing what Nintendon't
30 years ago today, Sega launched what would turn out to be its most successful piece of home gaming hardware, the Mega Drive (Genesis if you're in North America). It was pushed onto Japanese store shelves on October 29th, 1988, alongside Space Harrier II and Super Thunder Blade. The system got off to a slow...
Anniversary Super Mario Bros. 3 Turns 30 Years Old Today
Feel old yet?
Thirty years ago today, on 23rd October 1988, Super Mario Bros. 3 launched in Japan. Following the traditions already put in place by previous Mario games, Super Mario Bros. 3 had players controlling either Mario or Luigi as they went on a quest to save Princess Toadstool from the dastardly claws of Bowser. There were enemies to stomp...
Anniversary Retro Studios Celebrates 20 Years In Gaming
Now let's have some Switch games, please
We imagine Retro Studios is one company that needs absolutely no introduction on these pages, but we're about to provide one anyway as the developer is today celebrating 20 years in the world of gaming. Yes, back in 1998, Retro Studios was born as a game development studio with Nintendo acting as a parent...
Anniversary Pokémon Yellow Turns 20 Years Old Today
Oh, the memories
Twenty years ago today, on 12th September 1998, Pokémon Yellow launched in Japan. Technically called 'Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition', this game arrived on the Game Boy Color as an enhanced version of Pokémon Red and Green (known in the west as Pokémon Red and Blue). While many features of the game were...
Video Every Single Switch Game Released in Year One
No game left behind
The Switch, as it stands, is an unmitigated success both commercially and critically. Developers are flocking to release their games on the system as soon as they can, but just how many games have been released in the first year of this console's life? Short answer, 404 in Western territories. That's over 100 more than the...
Feature Nintendo Switch Year One: A Review
As Switch turns one, we look back at an incredible year
The Nintendo Switch, eh? Inaugural years don’t come much better than this. Not since the debut year of PlayStation 4 has a modern console enjoyed such a meteoric rise on all fronts. Ever increasing sales; exclusives that are both critical and commercial successes; the new wave of...
Anniversary It's Been 25 Years Since Star Fox Barrel Rolled Onto Super Nintendo
"Doesn't time FLY when you're having fun making games!"
Good old Dylan Cuthbert. He's gone on to bring so many video game delights to the world with Q-Games, but whenever he gets a chance to tweet about the original Super Nintendo Star Fox - a game he was the lead coder of - he jumps on it. It's hard to believe it's been a quarter...
Video The First 30 Years of Mega Man
You can’t stop the rock!
17th December is a big day for Capcom, as one of its top series and characters - Mega Man - celebrates its 30th birthday! The company started the party a bit early by announcing Mega Man 11, coming next year! But, it all began thirty years ago, when Capcom put forth a plan to create its first non-arcade port for the...
Anniversary The Super Famicom Is Now 27 Years Old
It's got a mortgage and two kids as well
To many retro gamers it doesn't get much better than the Super Nintendo, otherwise known as the Super Famicom in its native Japan. This year Nintendo celebrated this 16-bit wonder with the release of the SNES Classic Mini, which was a timely reminder of how great the console was. It was on this console that...
Anniversary It's Been 10 Years Since Super Mario Galaxy Landed On The Wii
But do you prefer it to Super Mario Odyssey?
Time flies when you're having fun, and we're certainly having a lot of fun with the recently released Super Mario Odyssey on Switch. Of course, it is unlikely that we would have had the delights of Odyssey without the groundwork laid out before in Super Mario Galaxy which - funnily enough -...
Anniversary It's One Year Since Nintendo Showed Us The Switch
NX level stuff
Incredibly, it's now one year since Nintendo lifted the lid on the Switch - and Nintendo Karen. Leaked many months ahead of the official reveal, the hybrid nature of the Switch - then known as "NX" - left some unconvinced. Even the announcement video itself - which focused on the system's ability to t
News Nicalis Unveils Snazzy Website to Celebrate Its 10 Year Anniversary
Promises "some very cool announcements" in the coming months
Nicalis was a familiar name to Nintendo gamers in the Wii, Wii U and 3DS eras, but it's risen to prominence in the short lifespan of the Switch. It's been active in bringing out budget retail titles in particular, with the physical editions for the likes of Cave Story+ and The Binding of...
Video Celebrate Kirby's 25th Anniversary With This Special Trailer
Including a reminder of the 2018 Switch release
As we've seen over recent weeks with themed discounts and promotions, Nintendo's been celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Kirby. Nintendo of Europe, for its part, has now published a rather nice trailer celebrating the landmark. It works through 25 years of Kirby games, ending with a few snippets of...
News Nintendo's Been In The Video Game Business For 40 Years This Month
Humble beginnings
Time flies when you're having fun, and it's crazy to think that it's been 40 years since Nintendo started making video games. It feels like there is a anniversary for something every other day at the moment, but this is a big one. According to Nintendo's own records, the Color TV Game 6 and Color TV Game 15 in July 1977 in Japan...
News Congratulations Nintendo 64, You're A Proper Grown-Up Now
The classic system turns 21 today
It's a day of anniversaries today it seems, not only does Sonic The Hedgehog turn 26, but it is also a whopping 21 years since the Nintendo 64 was released in its native territory of Japan. Launched on 23rd June 1996, the N64 served as a landmark moment in Nintendo's history as a video game manufacturer, mainly...
News Sonic The Hedgehog Turns 26 Today
Happy Birthday, Blue Blur
Sonic the Hedgehog made his Mega Drive debut 26 years ago today. On June 23rd 1991, Sega's answer to Super Mario arrived on North American store shelves, with the Japanese and European releases following in July. With its incredible visuals and astonishing speed, the game was hailed as an instant classic, and went on to...
News The 3DS is Six Years Old in the Americas, How Time Flies
It's still going, too
There was a period, in the Summer of 2011, when 'Nintendoomed' was a theme as plummeting sales for the 3DS were interpreted as the end times. As always there was a lot of exaggeration, but there were valid problems too. At the time the Wii was losing steam, and following the phenomenal success of the DS family of systems the...
News The Nintendo 64 Is 20 Years Old Today In Europe And Australia
That's right, you're old
Here's another anniversary to make you feel older - the much-loved Nintendo 64 is celebrating its 20th birthday today in Europe and Australia. Released in June 1996 in Japan and September 1996 in North America, eager Euro gamers would have to exercise patience once again as the N64 launched on 1st March, 1997 in Europe...
Video Happy Birthday Pit! - The 30th Anniversary of Kid Icarus
Another NES classic marks three decades
Mark your calendars, because on Monday, 19th December, another classic NES game has an anniversary. In 2016 there have been a long list of games that turned 30, including the likes of The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest and
Music Behold the Majesty of The Legend of Zelda 30th Anniversary Concert CD
Japan gets all the best stuff!
Remember CDs? They were those shiny discs you can still play in most car stereos. We jest, the Japan-exclusive The Legend of Zelda 30th Anniversary Concert CD looks seriously cool. Out on 15th February 2017, this lovely 2-disc release will set you back ¥3,000 (around £20 / $25) plus tax; Amazon Japan is listing it...
News A Special Kirby 25th Anniversary Broadcast Will Air Tomorrow in Japan
Pinch me, I must be dreaming
Earlier this summer, the Kirby series saw its latest entry with Kirby: Planet Robobot, the sublime mech-centric platformer that more or less concluded a trilogy of Kirby games that have come out over the past few years. As it would happen, Kirby's 25th anniversary is due to occur in 2017, and while there haven't been any...
Reminder There's Another Chance to Pick Up Arceus for X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
It's time for judgment
It's been a year of awesome Anniversary Legendary distributions in the last-gen Pokémon games (as they are now), with some neat 'mon given away for X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Most were distributed via the Nintendo Network, but some were more awkwardly tied to store distributions. One of these was Arceus in August,...
News Nintendo Of America Wishes Xbox A Happy 15th Birthday
That's nice
Unless you live under a rock you will no doubt be aware that yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Microsoft Xbox. Launched as a rival to the PS2 and GameCube, the system laid down the foundations for the incredibly successful Xbox 360 and the Xbox One, Microsoft's current home console. While Xbox and Sony fans are regularly at...
News Mythical Pokémon Genesect Confirmed for Anniversary Distribution in November
That doesn't bug us at all
With Pokémon in its 20th Anniversary year we've been getting one Mythical Pokémon every month for the current-gen games, each available for a few weeks. The November offering will be Genesect, which will arrive on 1st November and be available until the 24th of the same month; it'll be a store distribution, with the...
News Mythical Pokémon Keldeo Confirmed for Anniversary Distribution in October
An inclusion that's definitely justified
With Pokémon in its 20th Anniversary year we've been getting one Mythical Pokémon every month for the current-gen games, each available for a few weeks. This month's offering is Keldeo, which will arrive on 1st October and be available until the 24th of the same month through the Nintendo Network; it...
News Nintendo is Now 127 Years Old
That's 889 in Duck Hunt Dog years
When most people think of Nintendo they likely picture things like Mario, Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario again, and then Pokémon. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that none of those existed when the company was founded on 23rd September 1889; back then Nintendo specialised in hanafuda playing cards,...
Anniversary The Super Nintendo Is 25 Years Old Today
Happy birthday, you boxy thing
25 years ago, the Super Nintendo - or Super NES (or even SNES, if you're in a rush) - arrived in North America to critical acclaim and great fanfare. Following on from a successful launch in Japan - where it was named the Super Famicom - the console recieved a rather drastic facelift for its North American debut,...
News Metroid is 30 Years Old Today
Happy birthday, Samus
Despite the sad reality that Metroid has fallen on hard times recently, the series has been a tentpole Nintendo franchise for nearly as long as the company has been in the gaming business. Many Metroid games still stand as some of the best available on Nintendo platforms, which makes it that much more of a sting that the series...
Live Blog It's Time for Sonic the Hedgehog's 25th Anniversary Party and Game Reveal - Live!
Hopefully not Boom and bust
Oh Sonic the Hedgehog, we love you and we fear you. The Blue Blur's games over the past decade have varied from promising and solid efforts to atrocious disasters, with some 3DS and mobile games in between. Now SEGA is throwing a 25th Anniversary bash in which a new game will be announced; we're watching and hoping for...
All gearing up for a reveal (hopefully) on 22nd July
For Sonic the Hedgehog fans there's hopefully some excitement around the corner - a celebratory Anniversary event in San Diego on 22nd July looks likely to reveal a new Sonic game for 2017. The event is even getting streamed online, so we'll be giving it the full live blog and stream treatment in...
Anniversary Donkey Kong is Now 35 Years Old
When Mr. Video rescued Pauline
We suspect that Shigeru Miyamoto and some veteran colleagues in Nintendo will be raising a glass this weekend in honour of Donkey Kong, as the arcade arrived in Japan on 9th July 1981 - 35 years ago. It was its impact in North America when it landed at the end of that month, however, which proved particularly vital to...
Video SEGA Commissions Neat Sonic the Hedgehog Street Art, Though Some Focus on Blue Arms
Boom...
In just a few weeks we should get a look at the next major Sonic game, with a live stream promised of a 25th Anniversary event in San Diego on 22nd July. After quite a bit of waiting fans will no doubt be pinning their hopes on a return to form for the series. The official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel has been warming up with a few...
News New Sonic the Hedgehog Game is Coming in 2017
July San Diego event will be streamed online
There's been a lot of chat around Sonic the Hedgehog this week, but we appear to finally have the real confirmation that we've been waiting for. At a 25th Anniversary bash in Tokyo Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka confirmed that a new Sonic game is coming in 2017, and also showed off the following artwork /...
Anniversary Sonic the Hedgehog is Now 25 Years Old
Happy Birthday old chum
Sonic the Hedgehog is 25 years old, with the original game coming out on SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive in North America on 23rd June 1991, kicking off one of gaming's most iconic early rivalries. The 'Bit Wars' between SEGA and Nintendo, Sonic and Mario, were integral to many childhoods of gamers that are now typically over 30...
Anniversary Super Mario 64 is Now 20 Years Old
A vital part of gaming history
2016 is a year with plenty of notable anniversaries, and now one of the most influential games in the industry's history is 20 years old. Super Mario 64 - hat-tip to this NeoGAF thread for the reminder - arrived in Japan on 23rd June 1996, and thanks to time zones that landmark has now been reached in Nintendo's...
News Nintendo of Europe Unveils Over 40 Discounts for eShop 5 Year Anniversary Sale
Two weeks and plenty of choices
As you're more than likely aware, the 3DS eShop - and 'eShop' as a whole - has passed its five year anniversary. It's a notable landmark, and while major discounts have been rolled out in Japan some in the West wondered if a similar promotion would arrive globally. Nintendo of Europe has now pitched in with details of...
Talking Point In Praise of the 3DS eShop, Which is Now Five Years Old
A vital landmark for Nintendo's modernised download sales
Today (6th June) brings a notable landmark for fans of download games - the 3DS eShop has turned five years old. Five years with hundreds of game releases, most of them by CIRCLE Entertainment and EnjoyUp Games - we're joking, of course, but both of those publishers and more deserve a hat tip...
Anniversary New Super Mario Bros. is Now a Decade Old
Forever 'New' thanks to clever (or not) branding
When you put 'New' in the name of something, it's inevitable that around a decade later someone will smarmily say "it's not new any more", and you just have to accept that putting an adjective like that in a name isn't a long term solution. Yet, when New Super Mario Bros. was released on DS it was...
Feature Five Reasons Why We Love Animal Crossing
Happy Anniversary Mayor!
Animal Crossing turned 15 this week, and we're certainly feeling plenty of nostalgia for the series. What makes Animal Crossing such a successful franchise? We've put together some of the points that we think have propelled the series to being one of the most successful ever. The characters: Animal Crossing would be...
News Atlus is Now 30 Years Old
Well, the pre-takeover Atlus, it still counts...
Atlus is a publisher and developer that's rather well-known and much loved - the Japanese company has brought us a number of iconic franchises, while Nintendo gamers in North America (and to a lesser extent Europe) have enjoyed a high number of exclusives over the past two generations. Atlus was...
