Cakes

I met Collin at PAX East last year... quite the gentleman and seems like he's in it for the right reasons. Best of luck and I'll look forward to this mysterious shooting game they keep teasing.

@Zelda_28 @treeofmana Add another vote in defense of Other M. And the NES-style control scheme was inventive/unique, and worked quite well, IMO.

But I think the point of the interview is being lost here. They're not talking about taking an old classic and reinventing it. They're saying that they first think of a mechanic and then find the franchise/setting that fits it. E.g., the wall-painting movement in ALBW. Had the mechanic used a ball-morph type of move, Metroid would have been the obvious choice. Don't think this confirms a forthcoming Super Metroid reboot, as much as I'd love to see that happen....

@JaxonH Preach on, Mr. Viking. I agree with everything you wrote. I played my Wii U more than anything else this year. The narrative out there in GameWebSite land is so skewed and incomplete. 2014 will be a big year.

And I enjoyed the roundtable. I do wish Wii Sports Club got some more acknowledgement. I'm coming up on 100 online Tennis matches and Golf is done in a way impossible on any other system up until now. Can't wait for Baseball/Boxing and whatever comes next.

"Shoot down it quickly!"
And that first attempt at Missile Toss... ha.

@robohobo93 Thank goodness common sense still exists in this age of impatience and cynicism.

My only question about this article: How is the Wii U a "me-too" console? The GamePad is not an attempt by Nintendo at tapping into the tablet market. It's an extension of ideas they've been toying with for over a decade, long before the iPad existed. So it bugs me when people say it's just some tablet wannabe.

Also: I think the controller is warranted if for nothing else than Miiverse. The ability to draw and interact directly with other players has been more enjoyable than I'd ever expected. You couldn't do that with a standard controller (unless you wanted to type using a buttons and draw using a joystick).

@Darknyht Fair points. And yeah, Off-TV play is a big upgrade. I'm sure they'll arrive soon.

Why does Nintendo waste its time on making brand-new games in universally-loved franchises when all people want are old games released twenty years ago?? Who cares about 3D World and Link Between Worlds. The people demand LttP and SMB3!
(...)

I'm really surprised by how excellent EDGE is, so I might just have to give this a whirl. I love me some cube games. (Cubello / You, Me, and the Cubes are favs)

<<sees 2 dollar price>> Yay! (Sorry Canada and Mexico.)

Wait, is MMX $1.99, or $5.99? Seems to be conflicting reports.
(Welp, I guess I'll just bring up the eShop on my GamePad and see for myself <<crossing fingers>>)

Might be worth it for the Daniel Purvis illustration alone.
That said, 600 pages is a lot of pages.
But who am I to critique a book about a videogame? (...) Please support longform writing on games!

I'm a fan of independent game-makers having a chance at Wii U development... but come on, this just doesn't look good. Maybe I don't understand the limitations of Web Framework, but if this is the end result, I've overestimated its importance.

Sweet tune, though.

That line about moving your furniture back.... ouch, someone's taking a swipe at a certain Microsoft-owned camera controller.

That's it, put the gloves back on Nintendo! Come out fighting!

It's really too bad this gem of an experience has been overlooked this year. Maybe not here, but I'll be shocked if I hear much Pikmin 3 love on any general gaming site/podcast end-of-year wrap-up, when it truly deserves the praise. Nothing else like it out there not called Pikmin 1 or 2. And those fruits! Love to see what Nintendo can do finally in HD.

@AJ_Lethal I award you Best Coined Term for "pessimism porn." People love to hate.

Yeah, the numbers aren't stellar. But let's all just wait and see what happens. A guy could get whiplash from all the back-and-forth extreme reactions people have to every piece of financial news out of Nintendo.

Whatever the case, I'm just happy this company hasn't yet sunk to the lowest common denominator yet and pandered to the FPS-or-bust crowd. They're doing what they do: Joyful, family-friendly, positive games. Mario 3D World and Pikmin 3 are beautiful games that no one else could make. They even took time to develop and release a Guide to the Louvre, for crying out loud! This is what I want the future of gaming to be about. Inclusive, edifying, fun.

I'm seriously considering getting a Japanese 3DS to play Japan-only eShop/VC/demos... but i don't speak a lick of Japanese. And I'm at a point in life where I can't devote time and energy to learn. Is there a good resource or list of games that are import-friendly for non-native speakers? Like the kinds of games @eza mentions above? Thanks!

So.... they never explicitly say it's NOT coming in Spring. They just say the rumor was based on a misquotation. And then: "We have no further announcements to make at this time." I know that's a boilerplate 'no comment' kind of line, but nowhere in the response is a strict denial. I don't know, perhaps a spring release isn't out of the question.

If I had to guess, I'd bet Smash U/3DS will be their late spring/early summer game to drive engagement until the fall, much like Animal Crossing did this past year. But that's probably overly optimistic. We'll see...

In retrospect.... the Nintendo segment was by far the least embarrassing segment of the VGX awards. Now: Never return to that horrid place, Nintendo. Never. Return.

This is my most-wanted Wii Sport. Really hope they're teasing this now for a pre-Christmas surprise release...

But in the meantime, I'll keep racking up matches online in Tennis. For all the complaints about it, I've had a blast playing competitively and trying to get my star rating up. I think I'm at 5* right now? Very compelling, very quick and intense with the 7 point limit. Golf will be my relaxing chaser. Love the GamePad view...

Mario 3D World will sell strongly on word of mouth for months, if not years. Knack's sales will dry up quickly. This is not the disaster you think it is.

This actually looks like a useful app, pretty rich in content. Very curious about it. And love that Nintendo is working with places like the Louvre... so rad. (Just wish Iwata had someone dub in the pronunciation of Louvre for him. A generation of Nintendo fans will grow up thinking that museum in Paris is the 'Loo-vell.')

@Kevin I know, right? Releasing two of the best-received and much-awaited new games of the year on one day. But they don't re-release a game from 20 years ago. Dropping the ball, big-time.

Hopefully the Wii U is like a real child... that first year they're kind of a drain, just making noise and sitting there, totally helpless. Then when they can finally crawl, you start to see their personality flourish. Here's to a surprising 2nd year!

To everybody asking what's the point of Miiverse on 3DS then, it seems like there's a misunderstanding. You'll still be able to view posts and comment on posts and Yeah posts. You can still leave your own messages in any community. But these are all public. You just can't send a private message to a friend, or friend request someone else through Miiverse.

Personally I've sent two or three private friend messages on Wii U... but to me the coolest aspect of Miiverse is seeing what strangers are writing/drawing, who are pretty much 1000 times more talented/interesting to lots of my friends (no offense, friends). If I just wanted to send a private message to someone I already knew, I have about a dozen ways I can already do that. So I really don't understand why people are getting so bent out of shape about this. The coolest aspects of Miiverse will still be there!

Ooh, that music.... Might have to pop in Return to Dreamland again. Although I do hope Kirby gets another wacky/experimental 3DS game down the road, since the franchise on DS was basically a testing ground for weird new mechanics (canvas curse, mass attack). Dream Course 3D, please and thank you?

Preach it, Iwata.

Bowling's fine and dandy, but in my 24-hour trial I played 3 extended sessions of Tennis, then 1 of bowling... then went back to Tennis. I find the quick matches much more compelling than the longer, ten-frame bowling events. And a back-and-forth rally really gets the blood going. Since you only need 7 points, there's a lot of potential for consistent drama — suddenly you're way behind, or you have Match Point but lose a few in a row. I'll be buying the Tennis Pass but will wait on Bowling, hoping for some kind of package deal once all the sports are released. (Golf!)

(Oh, and Boxing was quite the finesse game even in the original. If you took your time and knew what you were doing, the controls were great. It makes me crazy seeing all these people still wiggling their racquets like mad while playing Tennis, since that's what they're used to, even though you really do need to take deliberate swings now. I just hope the Player Matching gets better and I'm paired with better competition soon /gauntlet, etc./)

I was initially very disappointed with my first online game... the lag was surprisingly poor. But. I played another game. Then another. There's something strange that happens after the fifth or sixth game against real people. Even with a bit of lag, you start to anticipate the ball better. If you connect with a skilled player, it's really quite compelling. I'm up to 16-2 after last evening and this morning. Want to rush back and play more. C'mon, Massachusetts Club!

Nintendo Land is a brilliant game. I have to imagine they'll rebundle this with a Wii-mote for the holidays. Hope they don't fully give up on this concept, either, as I'd LOVE to see a sequel or future installments with other franchises (Kirby, Star Fox, Fire Emblem, StarTropics all have great potential... too many to name.)

The point of the whole "Club" system is to incentivize players to root for/against the regions near you. So, Massachusetts and New York can have a rivalry, so can Michigan and Ohio, etc. But if you throw in England and Italy and Japan and others (each of which have their own smaller regions in-game, I imagine), that muddies the waters. A separate World Play mode could work — and I bet that's in the offereing down the road — but for now I get why they'd do this.

And the sub-headline is horribly misleading... sounds like Local, i.e., in the same room, multiplayer is the only option outside of PAL.

Anyway, I'm excited to take on all New Englanders soon. The mustache awaits.

@gatorboi352 I'm with @Anclation on this one. Have had Nintendo Land since launch, and just yesterday did I finally win my 200th trophy (and FINALLY finished F-Zero's extra course). Mario U was great, but haven't touched it in months. Still, whatever gets people onboard the Wii U, I'm all for it. Hopefully once they're in, Nintendo can retroactively push N-Land with its cheaper price and maybe some kind of promotion and people will see the benefits of GamePad-specific play. No other game quite like it.

I'll be crossing my fingers for a Nintendo World sequel...

That's.... that's a giant increase. Wow. Interesting to read the Investor Q+A with Iwata and then see this news. Really hope this can be sustained through the holiday. And anyone calling Wii Party/Fit U shovelware has either never played them or does not share my view of what that term means. Or maybe I really love shovels, 'cause damn: both are so good.

@Alshain01 You could wear your Fit Meter while playing Sports, then zap in the activity... ta-da!

I love the values Nintendo brings up when talking about their new games/features. What other company talks about "empathy" when they're selling their titles to the public? And not a word about resolution or teraflops or cloud storage or whatever. 3D World gonna be a hoot.

Still think the exact opposite of this would've been more appealing (ONLY online and downloadable stuff) but I get that it's for people who have little internet access / just want access to cheap games. Still a bargain IMO, coming with Kart and the Wii's huge library of games. Well, maybe not a "bargain," but there's value here for the right person.

Such a strange little offering. I'm intrigued by hardware revisions, especially so late in the game. I always wish I had a NES v. 2.0 with the top-loader, so I might have to get this, if only to store away and look at in 20 years and think, "whoa."

Too bad Nintendo didn't release this as a free download on the App Store with microtransactions to buy bundles of Bells, special tools, and to upgrade your house. Really a shame they're missing the boat on this one... /s

Still the best game on the system. A shame so many people haven't given it a shot. Too many played a mini game once, shrugged their shoulders and left. But to me, the smaller, solo games are the true attraction here. F-Zero is sorely underrated, Yoshi's Cart is very clever, Donkey Kong is just devious, and even the Octopus Dance game is funny (and challenging). Even the coin-dropping game is great! And don't get me started on the music... Don't sleep on this one, people!

So people are upset Nintendo does take a stand on inappropriate Swapnote use, and now they're upset they don't censor a game with inappropriate lyrics. Sometimes you can't win.

@ColdingLight I think you might be underestimating Wii Fit's appeal as a "game"-game. I poured 80 hours into Metroid Prime Trilogy. I also bought Wii Fit and had loads of fun. And I'll be getting a Fit Meter w/ Wii Fit U (along with Super Mario 3D World). No need to have a black-or-white range of taste.

@Worthy I think you can unlock the full game up until Jan. 31, since the full game will be available to buy through the eShop on Feb. 1

@rjejr Thanks for the info. Yeah, it's certainly odd that there's been so much confusion w/ Nintendo at retail recently. This year has been kind of a mess, with Fire Emblem hard to find, systems stolen out of trucks, some other big game was stuck at customs I think (?). You'd think a company with 30 years of experience in the space would have this fine-tuned by now. Oh well... I'll be scouring stores for a Fit Meter. Makes it kind of fun, in a way...

Has anyone in NA found a Fit Meter in store? I checked Gamestop and Best Buy websites but it looks like they're online only...? Was hoping to pick one up today.

The big news of this Iwata Asks? Wii Sports Golf a la E3 2011. Can't wait to see the lie of my ball on the ground. (For real.) (No jokes.)

I appreciate Shin'en's work on Nintendo systems and attempts to push graphics... but something about their games leave me cold. Just can't get into them. Glad they have a loyal audience here, though.

"I'M IMPORTANT."

@rjejr I agree that the eShop version should be cheaper, but only 10 or 20 bucks cheaper, not the full $40 price of the remote. This is definitely not a ten dollar game. Loads of content, and the games are substantially different from Wii Fit games. But if you're not into boardgames, maybe this isn't your bag. (Some of the GamePad only stuff is pretty inventive and fun with family/friends, though, and there's no forced boardgame with those.)

@JaxonH @Marioman64 Yes, I knew I wasn't the only one! Ha.

Am I the only one kind of excited for Pinball (NES) on my GamePad? I am, aren't I...

@Damo Ah... well if that's the case, I hope you're right, too! Looks lovely. Thanks for the clarification.