Nintendo

If You’re Getting the Basic-Size Wii U, You May Buy a Digital Copy of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Download Half of It [UPDATE]

Unless you’re planning on adding an external hard drive to your Wii U—either model—it would make almost zero sense to get the downloadable version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and that’s even if a North American digital release gets the discount that the Japanese eShop is going to offer. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 clocks in…

According to Twitter, The Wii U is “AWESOME,” “Overall pretty comfy”

Retailers Best Buy and GameStop have slowly been receiving Wii U demo kiosks to show off the upcoming Nintendo hardware to interested gamers. Though not every store seems to have gotten their kiosks yet, many have. And many gamers have gotten their hands on the Wii U’s GamePad. So what are they saying? What do…

This Pikachu Hairstyle Is Utterly Terrifying

Spotted in a Japanese men’s fashion magazine, this hair and make-up job is Pikachu themed. It’s also frightening. The ears look like clip-on decorations—they were supposedly made with what’s called “sukige” (すき毛), which is fake hair that’s sometimes used for more volume. These were then colored yellow and black. The look is completed with face…

Charizard Sets Japan Ablaze with a Special 3DS XL

This isn’t a matter of having enough badges to train Charizard—you’re going to need to win a raffle to snag this limited edition 3DS XL. Between November 3 and November 26 at Pokémon Center retail shops across Japan (or via mail-in), you can enter to win the chance to buy this very special 3DS XL…

16 Years Later, Super Mario 64 Gets Co-op

Just when you thought one of the world’s greatest ever video games couldn’t get more perfect, along comes modder Skelux to pile more icing on top of the cake. Super Mario 64, for 16 years a singleplayer adventure (well, DS version excepted), has been modified to include a co-op mode. You can see it in…

Is This the Face of a Heel? Debating Fighter Hayabusa’s Virtue in Nintendo’s Pro Wrestling

There were no storylines in Pro Wrestling for the Nintendo Entertainment System, beyond the ones you and your buddies would create for the six wrestlers it featured. But nearly everyone’s status—good guy or bad, face or heel—was easily interpreted in how the character was presented. Star Man was a face. The Amazon would assault you…

This Week’s Nintendo Download is Full of Coins to Collect and Puzzles to Solve

It’s getting cold out. There’s a major storm coming this weekend (on the East coast, anyway). You really don’t want to go out to a store to get your games fix. Lucky for you, here’s this week’s Nintendo Download! The brand new Professor Layton game will be downloadable starting this weekend. It’s also a good…

Here’s A Two-Second Clip Of Reggie Fils-Aime Saying ‘Hey Ice King, Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?’

Because sometimes you just need a two-second clip of Reggie Fils-Aime saying “Hey Ice King, why’d you steal our garbage?”

Nintendo Shows Off All The 3DS Games They’re Releasing In The Near Future

From Paper Mario to Monster Hunter, here’s the full sizzle reel shown off during Nintendo’s live-streamed Nintendo Direct event this morning. Lots of cool-looking games coming to 3DS soon! I’m particularly psyched for Fire Emblem and Paper Mario. Animal Crossing and Professor Layton are also pretty damn slick. And here’s the eShop sizzle reel, which…

The Puzzles In The Newest Professor Layton Sure Look Different

While previous Professor Layton games have featured mostly static, two-dimensional puzzles, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask has more interactive, 3D fare. Which is appropriate, since it’s on the 3DS. THREE DEE. Miracle Mask is out this Sunday.

You Get To Be Mayor And Go Swimming In The New Animal Crossing

Not going to lie. I put way, way more hours into Animal Crossing: Wild World, the first DS entry in the franchise, than I ever should have. After managing to catch a coelacanth on my first day I was, well, hooked. Catch fish, collect bugs, cultivate flowers, buy clothes, decorate your home… these are the…

New Paper Mario Trailer Stars One Hell Of A Goat

Or at least one goat. And a boat. And a world map! And lots of other delightful, charming content that the Paper Mario series is known for. Paper Mario: Sticker Star is out for 3DS on November 11.

Fire Emblem: Awakening Looks Absolutely Tremendous

At E3, Reggie casually mentioned (to Kotaku) that the newest Fire Emblem game will be coming to North America Thank god for that: footage from the game is looking wonderful. Fire Emblem: Awakening is out for 3DS in early 2013.

Two new DLC packs are in the New Super Mario Brothers 2 e-shop today, Nintendo announced in today’s Nintendo Direct

Nintendo is offering free online for Wii U title Monster Hunter 3 (-tri) G HD Ver. Generous!

Luigi’s Mansion 2 Is Ready to Flash Ghosts Next Spring

In Nintendo’s news stream, Nintendo Direct, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced a new feature to the sequel to the game featuring Mario’s brother mostly doing what he does best (screaming in fear); Luigi’s Mansion 2 Luigi’s ghost sucking proton pack, the Poltergust 3000 will be getting an upgrade to combat stronger, more resistant ghosts; a…

Square Enix is aiming for next February to beta test the Wii U version of Dragon Quest X.

Nintendo Just Unveiled Its Own iTunes

It’s called Recochoku (レコチョク). That’s short for “Record-Chokusetsu” or “Record Direct”. And it looks to be Nintendo’s take on iTunes. As Kotaku commenters have pointed out, this is an existing music service in Japan. Nintendo is bringing it to its handheld. The service begins on the 3DS this December in Japan, and there will be…

Portable Gaming Rules in Japan

One of the more noticeable differences between the East and the West is the prevalence of the handheld console. The popularity of handhelds in Japan is fairly understandable. For one thing, the high population density makes open space one of the island country’s most precious commodities. Also, the widespread use of public mass transit leads…

Upcoming 3DS title Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Magnagate and the Infinite Labyrinth goes on sale in Japan on November 23.