DrMonk

I don't know about this opt-in rumour... I opt-in to everything, and I buy pretty much every Nintendo 1st party title, and I didn't get the codes. Maybe it was just random, with an aim to create media buzz.

@Knuckles You'll lose the extra software (or it will remain on the original system), but you can transfer the save data across. You can't have two of the same software on the same 3DS... it will just say that software already exists on the target system in the transfer process and not move it across.

I was expecting an update like this (essentially 3DSi) this year, and already had money put aside for it. So actually, I would have been disappointed (and was, when the Smash Bros. 3DS XL was revealed) if they only released different skins this year and not a system update. To be fair, though, it's not hitting the West until next year, which is disappointing. The question is, is the software support going to come back for the 3DS, as that has been severely lacking this year outside of a few key releases.

But yeah, I think the changes they've made are perfect and just what the 3DS hardware needed. Certainly it's not time for a brand new platform already? I think it's possible we won't see a brand new handheld platform until the end of the Wii U lifecycle, when they'll be joined into one platform.

This is fantastic! So happy they are taking this seriously and offering genuinely new content that extends the playability of the game. Can't wait!

Thanks for sharing this. Really interesting exploration of physics and laws in one of the best games of all time.

Just ordered... man, I was feeling comfortable with over 10,000 stars recently but the invincible music is almost ending!!

I can't believe how happy this is making me... I had a grin on my face the whole time watching that - looks like so much love has gone into the recreation of these tracks. Can't wait to play!

Many a time have I been surprised by the insightfulness of an article and looked up to see Thomas Whitehead's name there. Congrats on the promotion and keep up the great work on this site!

Just ordered. Need a new pack of playing cards and it still leaves me with 3800 stars. It's great the club Nintendo is finally seeing some love in Aus (Hanafuda cards, Luigi Diorama, and now this).

Just ordered. Been waiting for this one since announced. Just halved my remaining points in the process!

@JtotheY True dat... it would be a shame for people to miss out on these early gems. I happen to think Zombi U is a great game too, but that at least can be found cheaply (both at retail and on the eShop).

The last paragraph sounds to me that app-like services that would have a greater purpose/flexibility/reach on smart devices will be developed for that platform instead. In other words, if there was a way to make an app like the Animal Crossing Plaza app more effective, have greater use, and market the game more effectively on smart devices then they will shift development to that platform. However, if, using the same example, the Animal Crossing app's core functionality/vision would be limited by removing it from a dedicated Nintendo platform then maybe development focus would remain on the dedicated device. Essentially, they don't want to develop the same app for different platforms, but will rather choose the most effective platform to focus development on. Iwata seems to make it clear that this does not include their traditional game software, although game-like experiences (think gamification or minigames) could be possible on smart devices.

Overall I think it's a pretty smart approach, and of course hope it works out for them. It will be interesting to see if they can get the attention of non-existing Nintendo customers on smart devices though (if the experience is compelling enough... but how do you do that without games?)...

It's so sad that Pikmin 3 has not yet sold a million copies. I hope that has legs through the Wii U lifetime.

It is a sad state of affairs from the highs of initial promises of partnerships and support. I really hoped the Wii U could become a leading 3rd party platform, but it just wasn't to be and really hasn't been the case for Nintendo's home consoles since the SNES. It is worth reflection for Nintendo to think about how much focus they should give to designing a welcoming and generous 3rd party development environment in terms of the potential real benefits to Nintendo and their customers. Are they secretly or subconsciously afraid if 3rd parties succeed as they do on their consoles that it will mean less software sales for them?

Personally, I am comfortable with the Wii U being my primary home console because I care most about Nintendo's 1st party releases... I just think they are the best developers in the world and I think that is worth owning a console for. But it would have been so nice if the argument for getting PS4 and/or XBOX1 weren't so readily supported by the weight of 3rd party releases.

Great article though - the original may have been sensationalized to some degree, but I do believe they were legitimate experiences worthy of consideration. I couldn't understand why 3rd parties were so quick to turn their backs, but this potentially goes some way to explaining why.

What a brilliant year to be a Nintendo gamer. So many awesome titles, and choosing the best (especially on the 3DS) is so hard. It's difficult for anything to outshine Super Mario 3D World on Wii U, though I wish Pikmin 3 had more acclaim as well. On 3DS... wow... I have to go with Luigi's Mansion 2, but Zelda and Fire Emblem are such incredible games too.

@PinkSpider lol. Just because you don't have to pay an ongoing service fee for an online service doesn't mean its free. It's part of what you pay for when you buy Nintendo products.
And I've been on Facebook since shortly after it first launch (and was certain Uni students only) and have never had trouble accessing it.
I'm not sure why you're in denial. If this was mid year then fine it's just a hiccup, but for it to happen for several days over Christmas when hundreds of thousands are forming their first impressions of the console - not good.

@PinkSpider Free has nothing to do with it - people are paying for their Wii U's and expect the service that's sold with it (part of which is access to the eShop to get games and give Nintendo more money). It's not really free - we are paying for it all the time. And even if it was... Facebook is free... would this kind of outage be tolerated there?

It's pretty pathetic. Been trying to access for the last couple of days. Can't even try out the new Wii Sports games with family over Christmas because it needs the eShop for the pass. They anticipated many more systems selling than have been sold - wouldn't they have upgraded the network to cope? Not going to leave a good taste in the mouth of all those new Wii U owners...

Still, 11,000 is a pretty impressive sample size. It did only measure across 2 years though (from age 5 to age 7), so it doesn't measure any effects over a longer period or later on in life (not that I expect them to exist, but that's what critics of the study might say).

@OdnetninAges Yes... when creating user accounts on Wii U you can choose to sign in with an existing NNID (or create a new one). I guess this will finally have a use...

Also... how about a skill shaper that lets the second player use the gamepad to launch balls at the main player.

@SirGreatNose - Nintendo can't expect it's audience to know what their ping is - it should be testing these connections using their servers and denying access (or pairing together) connections that drop the gameplay to an unacceptable level. You can't choose to play again with a random with a good connection, and you can't choose to end a matchup without penalty even if the connection gauge shows it is unplayable. Those are design decisions and Nintendo is responsible for that.

I've had some unplayable matches, but I think for the most part when it's connected it has been okay. The problem is it only really gives me people in Australia and nobody seems to be playing with a guest so it was impossible to find an online match with a guest. I've actually been mostly playing the Skill Shapers as the controls are even more sensitive there than in matches and they are really difficult but really rewarding when you start to master them!
I don't think this review is far off though (I would have maybe given a 7), and I hope they do update the title a bit (more detail in the club section would be appreciated, as would single's matches and improved online play).

Looks like Wii Party U is not coming to eShop - http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/35793
This is a strange exception. Is it just the gamepad table stand, or that they wouldn't want to undercut retail given it would have to be cheaper without the Wii Remote?

I thought Wii Party U was this week too (25th in Europe and 26th in Australia).

Assuming the reviews aren't terrible I'll be downloading. Wii Party is a game that's still being pulled out for get togethers with friends, so it would be nice to have it always ready to go on the system!

This needs to happen so bad. It should be default for virtual console (I believe we are already paying enough for this). Maybe they will launch it with Smash Bros - would be weird to truly have to buy this twice when so much of the game is the same on both platforms. Surely they can learn from Apple in this regard and realise the benefits of a rich ecosystem across platforms!?!

I will eventually buy GTA V, but it is somewhat reluctantly. I realise it is a technical marvel and appreciate what it will undoubtably achieve in terms of narrative, but GTA IV let me down by not being very... well... fun. I join the boycott this week because it is not launching on my favourite system and because frankly I have better things to do right now, but if it is announced for Wii U I will preorder it and will probably get it over the holidays anyway to experience it.
I think it is good to explore issues around sex, culture and race in videogames, but agree that the GTA games have a habit of being particularly sexist. They clearly pander to the adolescent teenage boy in most men supposed to be far past that stage. It's not that this is wrong, but it would have been interesting to have one of the main characters be female or gay, now, wouldn't it?
FYI - I've played GTA III, Vice City, and IV, but more because I love videogames and so need to be across this juggernaut.

@Assassinated
Thanks mate. Wasn't aware of that. I figured the community would sort it out, as gamers we tend to be pretty good at understanding systems with rules

To be fair to the naysayers, there should be a difference between a speed run that completes the key milestones of the game (i.e. acquires the minimum regularly required items and completes the minimum regularly required boss fights as set out in the design document) versus a glitch reliant speed run that just looks for the absolute fastest way from the start to end condition of the game. When the gameplay and narrative is a mere shadow of the original game then it is hard to call it a speed run of that game.
To be fair to the supporters though, it's an interesting sport and displays great skill and perseverance and poses interesting questions about gameplay and game design.

I want to back it but will the Wii U version be downloadable in any region (i.e. for me either Australia or UK)? Doesn't seem to be answered anywhere but I won't be playing this on PC so need to make sure I'll have access on my PAL Wii U.

Urghh... how annoying. More and more I think this password system for security has to evolve. It is simply unrealistic to expect everyone to maintain and manage passwords for the multitude of online accounts we have.

Update didn't happen automatically by launching the app - had to scroll to the left of the menu and start the update manually. FYI - the prices in Australia are $6.50 per game or $19.50 for the combo pack.

Yeah, Wave Race is a good example, and their take on StarFox could be interesting. I'd be happy with them doing another Mario Strikers as I loved those games. Also, there'd be nothing wrong with a Luigi's Mansion U!!

Interesting @noclothes

Either way, it would be great to see this game again. I owned it back in the day and absolutely loved it. I'm guessing royalties would have to be paid to Pixar now, though, and that seems very unlikely - let alone the fact that DMA is now rockstar - so its likely lost in time.

I've used it on Wii U for Metroid Prime Trilogy, Wii Fit, Guitar Hero, Super Mario 64, and Fling Smash.

And I've used 3DS backwards compatibility for Pokemon Black/White 2 and Rhythm Heaven at least.

Seems like from the poll results it is more like 5% don't use it! But maybe there are less titles on 360 that One players would want to go back and play?

@ShadJV: I'm guessing, though, that many of the people commenting in this article are having that debate in their countries at the moment, and Nintendo as an international company is open to this kind of scrutiny. Having to remove a representation of social inclusion is still having to remove a representation of social inclusion, whether it was a game breaking accident or not and whether it would be accepted in that culture or not.

@Geonjaha: and @theblackdragon: I wasn't being literal, I was extending a metaphor and making some social commentary. I'm a game designer and understand the meaning of a glitch. I just think it's funny that they accidentally allow for social inclusion and accidentally don't discriminate against gay people wanting to connect with their Mii's, and then have to label it a glitch (which it sounds like it was by the strict definition) and offer a patch. At least since it's a 3DS game the patch will be optional for those that bought the game for that reason.

So having gay marriage in a game is a 'glitch' that needs to be corrected, huh? Whether or not they intended to Nintendo will be taking a side in this matter, and if they do indeed remove it that will offend a proportion of the population. I don't see how keeping it in offends the general population seems as though if they don't want to gay marry in the game they wouldn't have to. This is surprising, too, since Japanese games tend to be more liberal about sexuality.

I seriously considered contributing, but it just doesn't feel right yet. The 1.5M is just for the pilot episode and there is no guarantee that they will make any more than that even if they did reach that target. Honestly I would buy this game in a heartbeat, but I want a true Eternal Darkness sequel and I want Nintendo on board.

Wow, the mobile version is really very well made. Why do they need to make an app (maybe other than to allow drawing?). You can add the Miiverse icon to your home screen on iPhone and then it basically is like an app.

Yep, tried to click through to Excitebike and got errors the first two times but third time it loaded and still says April 23rd as the release date.

I don't think @SpaceApe could have been serious. I haven't even heard of theif and while I think the Last of Us will be awesome there is no way sales wise it will come anywhere close to Mariokart or Mario 3D or even Wii Fit U probably (Uncharted certainly didn't compare to first party published Ninty games on Wii in terms of sales figures).

Anyway, hope the update comes tomorrow. I would have preferred a cheaper upgrade for VC titles too, but I am thankful that they are at least acknowledging Wii VC sales and letting that factor in to the upgraded ports. Here's just hoping most of them will be the NTSC versions and not PAL!!

What is with the graphical glitches whereby you've got the changing column of colour at the edge of the screen. Why wouldn't they fix such an obvious glitch?

For me, I'll research the cheapest option and then evaluate based on convenience of always having it available versus likelihood to trade the game in at a later date. So far, only one full retail game has made the cut - New Super Mario Bros. U, but with download codes at retailers offering more competitive prices for download options there could be a lot more to come.

Wow, I'm guessing this would work for Australian users too (if they switch their region to the UK). This makes games considerably cheaper without having to wait for an import. E.g. Fire Emblem Awakening is RRP: $69.99 (eShop price), can be found in stores here for $64, but we can get the download code from GAME UK online for $52! Surely Nintendo Aus needs to step up to the plate!?

I don't agree with a lot of what this guy is saying. I think he has very particular gaming habits, and if Nintendo's core games aren't satiating that then just play other games on other systems. It was a strong launch, and the launch window has certainly been a window - transparent through the middle, but Nintendo already apologised for this and promised a steady stream of content was on the way from the end of March. I got Lego City Undercover and Luigi's Mansion 2 today and I couldn't be happier. Could it have been handled better, sure, but they also created a whole new social network, online shopping network, operating system and a whole bunch of other applications too! They are amazing developers but they are not Gods!

If there's a game I'm going to play frequently, or one that I know I won't want to trade in, then I'll purchase the digital copy. But this is made very hard in Australia where store sale prices are often much less than the RRP that it sells for on the eShop. Nintendo either needs to give a discount on the digital version of lower RRP's to give retailers less wiggle room (and make digital purchases more fair).

Sounds like an impressive array of improvements. I wasn't so interested in the title on 360/PS3 but these gameplay enhancements could pull me in.

Super disappointed, not so much now that the game might not come to Wii U but that it supposedly turned out so crap. I was really looking forward to exploring that universe more (especially on Wii U), but it sounds like its not going to be a worthwhile trip anyway. When I heard the reviews were so negative to the PS3/360 version I was still holding out hope that the Wii U version would be improved enough to make the difference, but it doesn't sound like that's the case

"You have to think about it and put time and craft and effort and whatever else into it but you have to do that for everything that's worth doing in this business..."

Wow! Sounds like quite a passionate team. Just like any platform, if you put into making the game work well for THAT hardware then you will reap the rewards. Sounds like this team has done their homework, and that pushes this game onto my must buy list.