Wii U eShop - News
December2013
News Side-Scrolling Cyberpunk RPG Dex Is Hacking Into The Wii U eShop
Kickstarter campaign reaches Wii U stretch goal with a day remaining
Indie developer Dreadlocks has confirmed that its 2D Cyberpunk RPG Dex has successfully met the Kickstarter stretch goal which secures a Wii U eShop version. The side-scrolling title needed £14,000 of funding initially, and has now reaching almost £27,000 at the time of writing...
News Lobodestroyo Kickstarter Funded, Festival Of Magic Campaign Postponed Until New Year
Victory and retreat
We report on the latest Kickstarter happenings quite often here at Nintendo Life, and it's great to see so many great projects reach their funding goal purely on the basis of fan interest and support. It's not a guaranteed success for everyone though, so today we have some good news, bad news, and a rescheduling. First off is a...
News Club Nintendo Rewards Are Updated for December
Retro Picross! Really Difficult Mario! Surprisingly Pricey Balloon Fight!
Nintendo of America has taken its time updating its Club Nintendo rewards for this month, teasing us an extra day before dishing out the final dose of downloadable treats for 2013. As always there are four new games to choose from, and for the first time one of the home...
News EnjoyUp Games Announces Rock'N Racing Off Road For The Wii U eShop
It's gripped, it's sorted, let's off-road
Spanish developer EnjoyUp Games has confirmed today that it will be releasing a new title in 2014 by the name of Rock'N Racing Off Road. No screens are available at present, but EnjoyUp has revealed some details as well as a sample of the rocking soundtrack which will accompany the mud-splattered on-screen...
News Nintendo of America Reminds Gamers of 20% Discount on eShop Cards at Best Buy
Download fans, unite up!
Nintendo is certainly keen for Wii U and 3DS owners to consider going the download route with their favourite games. While there are still some obstacles scaring some away — such as premium prices and hardware-based account data — there have been growing numbers making the move to a virtual library. Nintendo of America,...
Nintendo Download 12th December (Europe)
Classic SNES Zelda, 3D Sega, RUSH, Level-5 discounts and much more
The European Nintendo Download update makes its usual Monday appearance and, this week, has plenty to offer. Another Super NES classic finally hits the Wii U eShop, we have new Wii U eShop software and 3D re-releases gracing the 3DS, along with a lot of very tempting discounts. This...
News Nintendo's Point of Sale Cards Helping to Drive Downloads in Japan
"It’s safe to say that it’s a risk-free system for the retailers"
New Super Mario Bros. 2 may not be regarded in the future as an iconic, unforgettable 2D Mario game — though various members of the Nintendo Life team do think it's rather good — but it did represent one important piece of Nintendo's modern history. It was the first physical...
News CastleStorm Gets Closer to Storming the Wii U eShop
"It should be ready to rock soon"
Zen Studios, to date, has been supportive of the Wii U eShop in bringing both Zen Pinball 2 and Star Wars Pinball to the platform, but we were starting to wonder whether the promised CastleStorm would ever make an appearance. The good news is that the title appears to be finally approaching release, with the studio...
News Wales Interactive Bringing Gravity Badgers and Master Reboot to the Wii U eShop
Physics puzzling and first-person "psychological adventure horror"
While a number of titles are taking their time to come to the Wii U eShop, the list of those that are on the way continues to grow. It's emerged that Wales Interactive — which is based just outside Cardiff — is bringing two titles to the download platform, with the first due in...
News Knytt Underground Arrives on the Wii U eShop on 19th December
A chance to explore during the Holidays
Knytt Underground, previously released on multiple platforms, has been one of the most intriguing upcoming Wii U eShop games since it was confirmed by publisher Ripstone. The work of Nicklas Nygren (best-known as Nifflas), it's an atmospheric and potentially lengthy experience that encourages exploration,...
News Fit Meter Iwata Asks Outlines Panasonic Partnership and Moving Beyond Pedometers
Also highlights the game maker's lack of fitness
Wii Fit U's retail release is creeping closer — it hits stores in Europe and North America on 13th December — yet it's been available for over a month as a free trial. In a change from the Wii original that best reflects the stronger distribution options that the eShop gives Nintendo, the trial...
News Teslagrad Wii U Release Drops Into 2014
Arrives on PC / Mac / Linux on 13th December
We've made little secret of the fact that we're anticipating the arrival of Teslagrad on the Wii U eShop, as our impressions in time spent with the game so far have been undoubtedly positive. Unfortunately it won't make its appearance on the store in 2013 as originally planned, with Rain Games officially...
News RUSH Confirmed for 12th December Release on Wii U eShop
The Two Tribes Classics Trilogy comes to an end
For those looking at low-cost additions for their Wii U download library, the Two Tribes Classics have certainly been tempting options — Toki Tori and EDGE have arrived so far. The final of the three releases now has a confirmed release date, with RUSH arriving in Europe and North America on 12th...
Review Contra III: The Alien Wars
Lasers and missiles and heliobombs, oh my
Just when you thought the Wii U eShop had reached a maximum capacity of irresistibly cute little creatures with the likes of Pikmin 3, Toki Tori and Kung Fu Rabbit, here comes Contra III: The Alien Wars to mow down the competition with its terrifying alien invasions, flamethrower-wielding protagonists and...
Video Nintendo Teases Footage Of Wii Sports Club: Golf In Full Swing
Complete with floor-based Wii U GamePad
Wii Sports Club consists of just Tennis and Bowling so far, but the long-term plan is to release all of the sports eventually — and as if to remind us of this fact, Nintendo has shared some footage of Wii Sports Club: Golf in action via its Instagram account
News Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams DLC May Come To Wii U Next Year
This news sounds quite dreamy
Two months ago, Black Forest Games released Halloween-themed DLC for PC-exclusive stand alone add-on Giana Sister: Twisted Dreams - Rise of the Owlverlord. This content didn't make its way to Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams for the Wii U eShop, with Managing Director of Black Forest Games Adrian Goersch promising that...
News Check Out These Space-Themed Kickstarter Updates For Wii U
Narwhals....In Spaaaaaceeee!
Anyone who's grown a tad disinterested in military shooters and sports licenses can usually look to Kickstarter for some titles with genuine creativity and unabashed weirdness. The latest multiplayer title looking for funding on Wii U, PS4 and PC can be summed up as 'a war between narwhals fought among the stars',...
News Shovel Knight Release is Pushed Back to Early 2014
The developers dig in
We've made no secret that we're looking forward to getting our hands on Shovel Knight, the début release from Yacht Club Games which is, itself, largely comprised of former WayForward employees. The formerly crowdfunded project is coming to the Wii U eShop, 3DS eShop as well as PC, Mac and Linux. Its original campaign cited a...
Nintendo Download 5th December (Europe)
Bravely Default, more retro SEGA goodness, Scribblenauts and more
Another week begins as we creep towards the Holidays, and Nintendo of Europe once again sends us on our way with a fresh download update. This week has some promising offerings, including more 3D SEGA goodies, a long awaited 3DS RPG and a much overdue Wii U and 3DS retail release;...
November2013
Sibling rivalry
Jaleco released a trilogy of side-scrolling fighters in Japan under the Rushing Beat banner, and while all three made their way to the west, they did so under different titles: Rival Turf, Brawl Brothers and The Peace Keepers. Inspired in no small part by the success of Capcom's Final Fight, the series never really managed to reach...
"Child of Light has many unique and distinctive features"
Upcoming Wii U eShop releases that catch the eye are often from small, independent developers, with a sense that it's these small teams that have freedom to express new ideas or conventionally niche approaches. For multi-national, multi-million dollar publishers the focus can be different,...
Weirdness This is How Teslagrad Would Look on the Game Boy
Kind of awesome, actually
Teslagrad is one of quite a few upcoming Wii U eShop titles that Nintendo's been happy to show off in video sizzle reels. That's not surprising, as the Rain Games project has caught the eye with attractive visuals and clever magnet-based puzzle platforming mechanics. Its attractive visuals certainly play a part in the...
News New Assault Android Cactus Trailer Brings The Awesome
Explosions galore
In terms of upcoming Wii U eShop titles, we'd urge fans of bullet-hell action games to pay plenty of attention to Assault Android Cactus from developer Witch Beam. We went hands on with the early access PC build and were seriously impressed, with the attractive art-style and rock-solid frame-rate providing a twin-stick blast;
News Retro-Inspired Adventure Platformer Lobodestroyo Adds Wii U to Funding Goal
Nintendo 64-style game includes Wii U in main target
While it has its critics, crowdfunding platform Kickstarter is a becoming a prominent stepping-off point for encouraging game development projects that need a helping hand. Often these games can draw from sources of inspiration not necessarily deemed profitable to a publisher but, nevertheless,...
News The Girl and the Robot is Officially Coming to Wii U
Reaches Kickstarter stretch goal with just hours to go
Last week we reported that indie developer, Flying Carpets, had added a Wii U eShop stretch goal to its Kickstarter campaign for The Girl and the Robot, after achieving the project's initial goal of $15,000 CAD. The title, which draws inspiration from classic games such as The Legend of Zelda:...
Not so crazy after all
Hold on to your coaster cars, Nintendo fans, because with the release of Coaster Crazy Deluxe for the Wii U eShop, gaming just got a whole lot crazier….or did it? Frontier’s latest iOS port proves that despite Nintendo’s concerted efforts to simplify the process for converting indie titles to Wii U, some games are better...
Developer Session Nifflas and Ripstone Talk Over Design Principles, Age Ratings and What's Next
"It’s a hobby that just kind of escalated"
Just last week we published the first part of our chat with Nifflas, in which the game designer — full name Nicklas Nygren — outlined many of the ideas that form upcoming Wii U eShop title Knytt Underground. We learnt a great deal about the complexity and depth that the title is striving for, in the...
Review The Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths
A breezy, scenic walk
The history of The Mysterious Cities of Gold is pretty wild. When the French-Japanese animated series ended its first run in 1983, the Famicom hadn’t even premiered in Japan. Fast forward about 30 years, and now not only has the show picked up where it left off, it’s even following in the tried and true tradition of video...
Nintendo Download 28th November (Europe)
Mario's 3D adventure arrives, 3D SEGA Classics and a lot more
It's Monday, which means that the European Nintendo Download will give us a pleasing start to the week. On the way, most notably, is Mario's critically acclaimed 3D début on the Wii U, while the 3D classics from SEGA finally arrive in the West for the first time; in addition we also have...
News Crowdfunding Campaign Launched for Festival of Magic
Previous episodic structure appears to be abandoned
Earlier in the year we told you all about Festival of Magic and conducted an interview with developer SnowCastle Games. Confirmed for Wii U, it's a game that promises to deliver a throwback JRPG experience — with some tweaks — that'll include turn-based battles, while also incorporating...
News The Girl and the Robot Adds Wii U Stretch Goal to Campaign
An ironclad friendship
Kickstarter projects often list many of the creator's influences during the process of creating their own title, and these can give an insight into the tone and style of the game to come. From the ground up, past inspirations continue to have an effect on today's releases, and serve as a high standard for developers to strive...
Video Nintendo UK Interview Shows Off GamePad Controls in Coaster Crazy Deluxe
"If you've got the GamePad and your finger, you can create a Coaster"
Coaster Crazy Deluxe arrived on the Wii U eShop in North America and Europe this week, the first download title from Frontier since the popular LostWinds and LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias on WiiWare. The development studio does have plenty of experience in theme park settings...
A mega effort
Capcom has really been on the ball with the Wii U Virtual Console — in just about one year, it has managed to release every single Mega Man game that saw the light of day on the Wii Virtual Console — and more — with Mega Man X2 being the latest release. Much like the original Mega Man series before it, the X series doesn't seem...
News Shovel Knight Digs Up a Few Surprise Features
Miiverse and Streetpass integration announced
The crew over at Yacht Clubs Games are still putting their backs into the development of Shovel Knight, according to a recent Kickstarter update. The team has offered a list of some of the current features it's working on, with a couple that'll be exclusive to the Nintendo versions of the game. In...
Developer Session We Chat to Nifflas About His Knytt Underground Vision
"I would say it’s a beautiful, slow-paced experience, very ambient."
We've emphasized in recent times that there are a good number of intriguing download-only titles coming to the Wii U eShop, bringing a variety of experiences to the fore. One that could be particularly involving and complex for players to tackle may be Knytt Underground, a title...
Review Uncharted Waters: New Horizons
As deep as the ocean
Koei released quite an arsenal of strategy titles during the 16-bit era, many of them on the Super Nintendo console. While the original Uncharted Waters laid the foundation, its sequel New Horizons picked up right where it left off and managed to add quite a few new game play ideas to the mix to form one of the most in-depth and...
Nintendo Download 21st November (North America)
Mario, Zelda, Crazy Coasters, EDGE, discounted Mega Man and much more
It's Nintendo Download update time again, North America, and this week brings two long awaited retail releases on the Wii U and 3DS, a new Mario Party game, plenty of reduced price Mega Man and some promising download-only content on the Wii U, in particular. There's plenty to...
Simple but multi-sided
Two Tribes, in bringing its Classics series to the Wii U eShop, is among the first to deliver inexpensive experiences — especially with launch promotional prices — that have primarily made their home on other platforms for a good period of time. The updated edition of Toki Tori is based on its PC brethren, while now we...
News Hyper Light Drifter May Include Mode 7 Mode, Creator Was Deadly Serious About SNES "Demake"
It's about time remakes went the opposite direction
Anyone who has ever played the original Super Mario Kart or F-Zero on the SNES will recall the glorious Mode 7 graphical effect. Its ground-breaking rotating backgrounds had a way of inducing disorientation and ecstasy in players, like a 16-bit drug of the highest order. SNES lover Alex Preston,...
News FAST Racing NEO To Feature 'Hyper Real Graphics'
Shin’en to use 4K - 8K textures within the game
Shin’en’s recently announced Wii U eShop title FAST Racing NEO will feature “hyper real graphics” according to a tweet made by the developer earlier today. The follow up to 2011’s FAST Racing - League for WiiWare, will use between 4K and 8K textures to impress from a technical standpoint...
News Hyper Light Drifter Developer Aims to Deliver the Same Experience Across All Platforms
Off-TV play is an aim on Wii U, while 8- 16-Bit difficulty is planned
We were rather pleased to confirm, in October, that Hyper Light Drifter had successfully reached a Wii U stretch goal in its successful crowdfunding campaign. Successful is putting in mildly, however, as the project raised $645,158 from an initial goal of $27,000; it's due in June...
News ZaciSa's Last Stand Blasting Towards the Wii U eShop
It's tower defence in space, so actually 'space-base' defence
A number of upcoming download-only games have been highlighted for the Wii U eShop in recent weeks and months, some of which by Nintendo in its own trailers. Naturally there are more projects yet to be widely seen, however, with one example likely to be ZaciSa's Last Stand by ZeNfA...
Nintendo Download 21st November (Europe)
Zelda arrives, Sonic demos, discounted Rayman, Wii U EDGE and much more
It's a full on Nintendo Download week, Europe, with the lineup kicking off our Monday with a bewildering range of options. We have some big-name retail titles arriving, three intriguing Wii U eShop download-only releases, a hugely attractive Rayman discount and a lot more...
News These Three New Kickstarter Projects Are Trying To Fund Their Way Onto Wii U
Crowdfunding just got a whole lot Wii U-er
Kickstarter is once again the name with the games, as three unique new projects are all trying to crowdfund their way to Wii U stretch goals. The first of the Wii U hopefuls is Tadpole Treble, an aquatic adventure in which an adorable tadpole wiggles across levels that are set up as musical notation. As...
News Pier Solar HD Now Targeting Release in March 2014
Lengthy update outlines positive reaction to visuals at Indiecade
Pier Solar HD, an enhanced re-release of WaterMelon's Mega Drive / Genesis title released in 2010, is certainly on the radar of various members of the Nintendo Life team. It promises a rather traditional piece of RPG gaming, but will come with a HD sheen on the Wii U eShop. This HD...
News Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths Will Find Its Way Onto the Wii U eShop on 21st November
Will arrive on the 3DS store "a couple of weeks later"
During the Summer we told you about Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths, which is based on the popular Japanese / French animated series of the same name; its popularity is on the rise again since its '80s glory days, and the game will be updated with free DLC to match up with new episodes...
Super cheap puzzle fun
Many moons ago, when WiiWare first launched on the Wii, Two Tribes had Toki Tori ready to go as one of the very first games on the service. It was a remake of the Game Boy Color game, which in itself was also a pseudo-remake; we liked it a lot. Unfortunately for some, however, a PC version of the game was released not too...
Kinopio's Canopy
Wario's Woods has had quite a storied legacy over the last few decades, standing not only as the last officially licensed game released on Nintendo's legendary NES in North America in 1994, but also one of the very first titles available on the Wii's Virtual Console service. In-between those impressive milestones, it made an...
Nintendo Download 14th November (North America)
Mario & Sonic, cheaper Zelda, busty brawling and much more
The Nintendo Download news has come in later than usual today, and no wonder. It's another lengthy list to get through this week, with some major retail releases joining a host of download-only options. With further preamble, let's get to it. Wii U Virtual Console: Uncharted Waters: New...
News Paradise Lost: First Contact Makes Wii U A New Priority
Initial funding of $70,000 now guarantees a release on Nintendo's console
Previously we reported on the Kickstarter project Paradise Lost: First Contact and the team's controversial decision to leave development on Wii U as a final stretch goal, behind even other home consoles. The decision prompted debate on whether Nintendo's innovations...
News Nintendo of America Launches Weekly eShop Price Promotions
This week is all about the Zelda franchise
While many announcements in today's regional Nintendo Direct broadcasts were largely similar in both North America and Europe, one promotion confirmed by Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime may make some European gamers jealous. It's been confirmed that there'll be weekly eShop promotions covering the...
News Nintendo Delivers Another eShop Sizzle Reel to Hype Some Download Treats
Wii U and 3DS eShop releases featured
During its August Nintendo Direct broadcast Nintendo of Europe released a rather awesome eShop sizzle reel. Such is the nature of development that plenty of those titles are yet to grace the download platforms, but today's Nintendo Direct broadcasts did include a fresh video that highlighted upcoming releases...
News Animal Crossing Plaza To Be Updated Tomorrow
Bringing familiar faces and more reasons to pay a visit
The Wii U's first taste of Animal Crossing will be getting a beefy update very soon, as announced in today's Nintendo Direct broadcasts. On 14th November an update will be released with a few new features, emphasizing interactivity and the Miiverse community. Adding stamps to Miiverse posts,...
News System Update Will Allow You To Share eShop Balances Across Wii U And 3DS
The first step towards a single account system?
During today's Nintendo Direct broadcast it was announced that players will be able to combine and share their eShop credit across their 3DS and Wii U systems. By signing into the 3DS with your Nintendo Network ID, you will be able to spend credit you have attached to that account. Likewise, any...
News Classic And Modern Skins Pack Now Available In Batman: Arkham Origins
Style your Batman
Protectors of the Wii U version of Gotham City will be able to continue their fight against crime with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today releasing the New Millennium Skins Pack for Batman: Arkham Origins. The pack can now be purchased from the eShop for US$3.99 — $1 less than on PS3 and Xbox 360 — and will be...
Video Ubisoft Unveils Illuminating New Child of Light Walkthrough Footage
More than just a pretty face?
One of two new UbiART titles announced by Ubisoft just a few months ago, Child of Light caught the attention of the public with a whimsical style that stepped away from the outright zaniness of the celebrated frameworks' counterpart; Rayman Legends. Today we've been treated to a video demo of the game's mechanics, and...
Review Wii Sports Club: Bowling
No splits here
When it comes to the games in the original Wii Sports that felt the most realistic and compelling, Bowling would have to be a candidate as the best of the lot. Golf and Baseball may have a say, too, while Tennis and Boxing — most definitely the latter — perhaps had the greatest degree of waggle. The fact Bowling reappeared in...
Video Check Out Wii Sports Club's Skill Shaper Modes
Brush up on your tennis and bowling
Wii Sports Club isn't just a series of HD remakes of the events seen in the Wii launch classic — it also offers "Skill Shaper" modes which are supposed to enhance and improve your talents by focusing on the basics. Each sport has three Skill Shaper events, and you can view all six (three from Tennis, three from...
Review Wii Sports Club: Tennis
What the deuce?
Way back at E3 2011, in that Wii U reveal that rather bizarrely confused half of those watching, Nintendo showed remixes of Wii Sports events that showed the GamePad being utilised in creative ways. It's perhaps surprising that over two years after that visual demo, we're just now seeing the iconic Wii pack-in make its way to...
Nintendo Download 14th November (Europe)
Picross, Mega Man returns, unpronounceable puzzles, discounts and more
It's just another manic Monday, dear readers, but Europeans can once again take solace in the week's download offerings. This time around we have the continuation of a popular puzzle series, a new puzzle IP, some rather fun 16-bit Mega Man and a scattering of other goodies...
News Nintendo Land Has Been Removed From the North American eShop
Closing its doors on downloads
At the beginning of this month Nintendo of America cut the price of Nintendo Land in half, chopping the recommended charge from $59.99 to £29.99 in stores and on the eShop. That's certainly a tempting price for those that didn't get a copy with their system, and makes sense with new bundles mixing up the packed-in...
Not quite a grand slam
Originally released alongside the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the 1980s, Nintendo's Baseball is one of several simple, lean titles that, while primitive and slow by today's standards, still show a special Nintendo pedigree. Ideally these games would be released as a compilation; the content in Baseball,...
Interview Dakko Dakko on Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails, Clever Cats and Utilising the Wii U
"We’re making an interesting hybrid of some of our favourite games"
While the Wii U eShop has a fair number of download-only projects on the way, it's a relatively modest number that are exclusive to the platform. That's unsurprising, as development tool such as Unity — combined with supportive low cost-of-entry platforms — allow smaller...
Video Nintendo Wii Sports Club Trailer Goes For Cheesy Family Fun
Grandparents, kids and bland aspirational rock music ahoy!
Who remembers the marketing for Wii Sports? We sure do, because it did a rather effective job, in an over-nostalgic and excessively cheesy way, of showing how absolutely anyone could play Nintendo's motion controlled system. We saw young children, parents and grandparents united in some...
News Dakko Dakko Cautiously Shares Sources of Inspiration for Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails
"It’s very arcade-like, very quick, fast and runs really smoothly"
In terms of upcoming Wii U eShop games that we're keen to play and learn more about, Dakko Dakko's Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails is certainly on the list. It's a relatively rare example of an exclusive, too, in an age where so many small developers are using flexible tools to...
Nintendo Download 7th November (North America)
Wii Sports is back, Toki Tori returns, retro Wario and more
Arriving later than normal today, we have the Nintendo Download news for all of you gamers in North America. This week serves up a couple of options within Wii Sports Club, while we have the return of a popular WiiWare game, retail options and a number of download-only offerings. Let's get...
News Wii Sports Club Goes Live Right Away in North America
The courts and alleys await, in a friendly sporting sense
Nintendo is really keen for you to sample the delights of Tennis and Bowling in Wii Sports Club. If you don't jump onto the eShop it'll be delivered to your Wii U — space permitting — via SpotPass, while Nintendo of America has confirmed that the download is available right away on the...
News Paradise Lost: First Contact Leaves Wii U Stretch Goal Till Last
Wii U target is more than three times the initial $70,000 goal
By now we've come to understand that Nintendo's innovations have many developers excited by the possibilities, and many more simply scratching their heads. The Kickstarter project for acclaimed indie game Paradise Lost: First Contact by developer Ashtree Works has left its Wii U port...
News Nintendo Issues Full Statement Regarding Uncensored Lyrics In Wii Karaoke U
"Nintendo does not restrict which songs are included in the catalogue"
Last week, we broke the news that Wii Karaoke U contains uncensored versions of songs with offensive lyrics, and that these songs can be downloaded and accessed by anyone using a Wii U console. Nintendo of Europe has now given us an official statement regarding this matter,...
Video Watch Andre Agassi Get Beaten At Wii Sports Tennis By A Little Girl
How the mighty have fallen
Wii Sports Club is coming to the Wii U this week, and to remind us of this fact Nintendo has produced a TV advert featuring tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. In the commercial, Agassi can be seen struggling to beat an unknown opponent in Wii Sports Club: Tennis, whom he believes to be his partner, Graf...
Working on Nintendo hardware "makes you feel legit"
While we're yet to quite see the promised influx of games onto the Wii U eShop, the lengthy list of projects in development is certainly exciting for download gamers. Small and independent developers could play an integral role in how attractive Nintendo's platform is to its adopters, and one...
News Packaged Physical Release of Wii Sports Club May Happen
Might not be an exclusive digital offering
Nintendo is a smart cookie when it comes to milking franchises. Its products, services, and software regularly offer the perfect balance of new and old. The latest example of this is Wii Sports Club – a digital remake of the original Wii Sports in HD, with online play and Miiverse functionality joining...
News APEXICON - Fantasy Puzzle Combat Campaign Adds Modest Wii U Stretch Goal
Nintendo reached out to Actos Games over word game
We've consistently banged the drum, here on Nintendo Life, highlighting how Nintendo's support for Unity tools and HTML5 on the Wii U could bring an enticing range of download-only games to the system's eShop. One potential addition, courtesy of the HTML5 tools available through the Nintendo Web...
Nintendo Download 7th November (Europe)
Wii Sports returns, Layton's legacy, Olympics, Batman and much more
The download details for Europe arrived a little later than usual this week, possibly because it's a rather lengthy release list. We have high profile retail games on Wii U and 3DS, along with some interesting download-only options and discounts both permanent and temporary. There's...
Bugging you?
When the original Donkey Kong proved immensely popular, Nintendo decided to ride off its success and create a sequel changing the roles, making Mario the villain and Donkey Kong Jr. the hero. What is surprisingly not well known, however, is that there was a third game after that. While the next logical next might have been to allow you...
News Crowdfunding Campaign For Paradise Lost: First Contact Includes Wii U Stretch Goal
Alien life-form is found
A Kickstarter campaign has crash landed for extraterrestrial stealth-puzzler title Paradise Lost: First Contact, currently seeking $70,000 to gain funding for development. A Wii U version could possibly be in the works if it meets its staggering stretch goal of $250,000 by 1st December. Set in a bio-engineering facility,...
News Nintendo of America Cuts Recommended Price for Nintendo Land
If you don't have it with your Wii U, now's the time
We suspect a significant percentage of current Wii U owners have a copy of Nintendo Land, simply due to the 32GB model — with which it was originally bundled at launch — selling in greater numbers in the system's early days. A number of upcoming bundles are shaking up the formula, however, and...
October2013
Fangs for the memories
The Castlevania series is enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment, thanks largely to MercurySteam's commercially successful Lords of Shadow sub-series. However, as many hardcore Castlevania fans will repeatedly tell you until they are blue in the face and you are deeply, deeply bored, the God of War-style gameplay...
Nintendo Download 31st October (North America)
Wii Fit U, LEGO heroes, Super retro vampire slaying and much more
It's time for the Nintendo Download update, North America, in which we learn what delights will be infesting the Wii U and 3DS eShop platforms this Halloween and beyond. We have a stone-cold classic Super NES title on the Wii U, while one of the most lucrative Wii franchises makes its...
News Nintendo Reports Continuing Improvement in Download Sales
Pokémon X & Y prompting more players to keep their 3DS with them
Satoru Iwata's Q2 financial briefing focused on three key areas — the strength of the 3DS, the strategies to revive the Wii U, and the continuing growth of Nintendo's download sales and platforms. In that final category, Iwata-san made clea
Ball out?
Back in 1985, when Nintendo launched the NES in North America, there were a slew of games released with to-the-point titles like Baseball, Golf, and the game of the hour, Pinball. At the time, inviting these simple, accessible games into your home was almost life changing, and we have great memories bouncing around our heads of how they...
News Phantasm Studios Seeks To Resurrect Ghosts 'N Goblins With Or Without Capcom's Blessing
Ghosts 'N Goblins: Demon World slated for Nintendo eShops
Newly-established Phantasm Studios is looking to bring the legendary Arthur back from the dead with a fresh entry in the Ghosts 'N Goblins series. CEO and founder Monty Singleton has lifted the lid on a Kickstarter campaign to raise the necessary funds for development, but there's a catch: he...
News F1 Race Stars Aims To Scratch Your Mario Kart Itch On Wii U This Christmas
Cartoon racer is exclusive to the eShop in Europe and North America
Codemasters has revealed that F1 Race Stars: Powered Up Edition will be racing onto the Wii U eShop this December in both Europe and North America. The title was announced many months ago and was assumed to be getting a retail release, but it then mysteriously dropped off the radar...
News Wii Sports Club Will Download Automatically With SpotPass
Assuming you have 1.3GB of space available
Yesterday we brought you some information from the latest Iwata Asks, in which it was explained that Namco Bandai had stepped in to take on development duties. Naturally those in attendance spoke about a variety of topics, another of which is the fact that — if you have 1.3GB of available space (on the...
News Shin'en Multimedia Announces FAST Racing NEO for the Wii U eShop
By popular demand
It's been common knowledge for a good amount of time that Shin'en Multimedia is planning multiple Wii U projects, with the intention to continue its support for Nintendo hardware. It's also been confirmed in the past that a successor to WiiWare title FAST - Racing League was on the cards, and after some recent Twitter prompts the...
Won't somebody think of the children?
Urban Champion is back, and is a menace to society. It's a danger to young gamers for two reasons. If you're the type of gamer that thinks brutality and violence has no place in a title played by children, this tale of brawling 8-bit thugs bringing mayhem to the streets is a primitive but potent example of those...
News Wii Sports Club Is The Handiwork Of Namco Bandai, With Nintendo Assisting
External studio was instrumental in getting online Tennis working
It has been revealed during the latest Iwata Asks that Namco Bandai is handling development duties on the forthcoming Wii Sports Club. The selection of sporting titles — upscaled and improved from the Wii originals — joins the ever-increasing list of Nintendo franchises to be...
News Giana Sisters' Halloween-Themed DLC Not Hitting Consoles
Other treats promised in 2014, however
PC gamers who own Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (or the currently PC-exclusive stand-alone add-on, Rise of the Owlverlord), have the opportunity to scare up some additional fun with a free, Halloween-inspired level. Unfortunately, all console versions will be left in the dark. Adrian Goersch, Managing Director...
Clu Clu Bland
Back in the NES days, Nintendo had a lot of experimental, arcade-like games, many of which never quite made it into the big leagues in order to get sequels and the like. Perhaps one of the most often forgotten of these games is Clu Clu Land. Similarly to Kuru Kuru Kururin, you need to know a bit of Japanese in order to understand the...
Nintendo Download 31st October (Europe)
Free fitness for U, Castlevania gets super, a lot of discounts and more
This week's download news for Europe arrived a little later than normal, which we'll assume is an attempt to creep us out before they arrive on the creepiest day of the year. This time around we're light on new releases, though a major Wii franchise makes its awaited début on...
Soapbox The Wii U Virtual Console Needs to Freshen Up
Tom Whitehead's frustrated at the untapped potential of the Virtual Console
OK, I'll join the club and say it. The Wii U and, to a degree, the 3DS Virtual Console are becoming rather frustrating, stale affairs. There's something odd that, years after working through the NES library on the Wii, we're now doing it all over again, despite the fact the...
News Super Castlevania IV Is Coming To The North American Wii U eShop In Time For Halloween
The children of the night, what sweet music they make
Nintendo has confirmed that Konami's whip-cracking classic Super Castlevania IV is coming to the North American Wii U eShop on October 31st — just in time for Halloween. Originally released in 1991, the game stars vampire killer Simon Belmont and is regarded by many Castlevania fans as one of...
News Resident Evil Revelations And Mercenaries Are Half Price On The eShop Over Halloween
A nice treat for North American Wii U and 3DS owners
It's that time of year again where people dress as werewolves and other spooky monsters, carve scary faces into pumpkins and dish out candy on Animal Crossing. Yes, it's Halloween and there are plenty of frightful franchises out there to get stuck into over the season, with Resident Evil being...
"Think of Spelunky mixed with Zelda"
There are a number of intriguing projects on the way to the Wii U eShop, though not all have featured at expos or in Nintendo Direct sizzle reels. Imagine Me by KinifiGames is one such game, a title that was Kickstarted over two years ago for PC, Mac and Linux, and has now emerged as another experience bound for...
News Wii Party U Bypasses the Wii U eShop in Launch Week
Physical-only in both North America and Europe
Rumours have been swirling for a while regarding Wii Party U skipping the eShop at launch, and with both the European and North American updates now issued it's clear that those rumours were correct. We've been seeking comment since the rumours first surfaced and will continue to do so. It's the first...
Nintendo Download 24th October (North America)
Destinies are fulfilled, retail big-hitters arrive and more
It's taken a little longer than normal to receive confirmation, but we finally have the North American download information for the week. This time around the focus is truly on retail downloads, though a much-anticipated download-only title arrives from Capcom. Let's get to it. Wii U...
News Super Ubie Land Will Recieve Another Name Change Before Hitting The Wii U eShop
What's in a name, anyway?
Super Ubie Land has already seen one name change — it was originally called Super Ubi Land, but publisher Ubisoft understandably took issue — and now developer Notion Games has revealed that the Wii U eShop platformer will see another title adjustment before it becomes available. [tweet No details on what the new...
News Proposed Boogerman Reboot Will Feature Earthworm Jim
16-bit icons stick together
We recently reported on a Kickstarter campaign to make a new version of Boogerman, a gross 16-bit platformer which originally appeared on the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis back in the '90s. The creators are seeking $375,000 to fund the project and have raised just over $24,000 so far, with 27 days remaining. They'll no doubt...
Watered down or a sequel on fire?
WayForward’s puzzle-platforming series first debuted on the Wii U eShop back in November of 2012, when the developer gave the original Mighty Switch Force! an HD facelift and deemed it the Hyper Drive Edition. This time, the sequel — which released for download back in June on the 3DS — has been ported to...
UPDATE: Angry Bunnies also confirmed for 3DS eShop release
Slovakian developer and publisher Cypronia has announced four new titles for the Wii U eShop. These include puzzler Color Zen, art package My Style Studio: Notebook and "hairdressing app" My Style Studio: Hair Salon. However, the most interesting release has to be An
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