Nintendo

Everything You Need to Know About The Wii U (That Nintendo Was Willing To Tell Us)

The new Wii is called the Wii U. It’s coming out in America on November 18 and will cost $299, not counting hidden costs. Nintendo blasted out a ton of news about it today. But they didn’t tell us everything. Here’s What We Know It’s $299, for the basic version that includes the console (which…

Balloon Trip Breeze Brings Back Memories of the NES’ Balloon Fight

What I recall of Balloon Fight on the Nintendo Entertainment System was whaling on one button or the other to maintain altitude, to the point of thumb cramps. Balloon Trip Breeze, the Wii U’s obvious homage to the NES classic, relies on the use of a stylus with the Wii U GamePad’s touchscreen, as Kotaku‘s…

Mario Gets His Race On In “Boost Rush” Mode For New Super Mario Bros. U

At Nintendo’s press event today, Jason took a look at the new “Boost Rush Mode” for New Super Mario Bros. U for the Wii U. Here, you can see the mode in action—it involves pushing the screen to scroll faster by hitting boost blocks. Also, check out the nifty secret Luigi finds near the end.

Hold Off On Trading In Your Wii for a Wii U If You Want To Be Able to Keep Your Data

GameStop may be offering a trade-in bonus on your Wii right now, but you may not want to rush to trade up for a shiny new Wii U just yet. Wii owners will be able to transfer their data—including saved games and purchased Wii Shop titles—from their Wii to their new Wii U, but there’s…

Draw Up Some Crazy Plays in the Dirt with the Wii U’s GamePad in Madden NFL 13

The basic pass routes in American football are, off the top of my head, the post, the slant, the square-out, the streak, the hook and the wheel. Here, Kotaku‘s Jason Schreier introduces us to the Curli-Cue, the Zag-Zig-Zag, the One-Oar-In-the-Water and the Field Sobriety Test, all of which were improvised routes using the touchscreen feature…

You Asked For More Pikmin, So Nintendo Is Giving It To You. Twice.

Pikmin 3 isn’t the only Pikmin game on Wii U. Watch me throw Pikmin as Captain Olimar in this mini-game for Nintendo Land, the compilation title for Wii U that’s out on launch date, November 18.

Argh, Metroid, Your Minigame is so Cute

Watch me pilot a space ship in Metroid Blast, a mini-game that will be included with Nintendo Land when it ships for Wii U on November 18.

Dress Heihachi Up as Mario, Kazuya as Link in the Wii U Version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2

There’s already a ton of character customization options in the newly released Tekken Tag Tournament 2 but the Wii U version will be getting fan service of the highest order. Namco Bandai will be releasing themed outfits that turns characters into Bowser, Zelda or other characters from iconic Nintendo games. TTT2 on Wii U will…

Nintendo Wants To Take Over Your Living Room

Today’s Nintendo news bonanza taught us two things. 1. Nintendo has learned how to use the Internet. Finally. 2. Nintendo is using this newfound knowledge that the Internet exists not just to support games, but to try to take over your living room. It’s one hell of a gamble. Let’s flash back to 2006. When…

Batman: Arkham City Looks, Um, Different on the Wii U [UPDATE]

These screens are supposed to be showing off the new armored looks Battle Armored Tech (B.A.T.) Mode for Batman and Catwoman in the Wii U edition of last year’s hit superhero game. But, really, these shots highlight the fact that Arkham City doesn’t look demonstrably better on Nintendo’s upcoming console. Honestly: these images look terrible.…

Wii U Games Will Cost $59.99

Games for Nintendo’s new system will cost $59.99, the Mario creators have confirmed to us. This is an increase from last generation: the standard retail price for Wii games was $49.99. The Wii U comes out November 18. The base package will run you $299.99.

How The Wii U’s Launch Price Stacks Up

As we learned this morning, the Wii U will launch on November 18, 2012—almost six years, to the day, after the Wii launched—and it will come in two versions, costing $299.99 and $349.99. Many of us had running bets or civil disagreements over our best guesses for the Wii U’s launch date and price. It’s…

Canadians who pre-order New Super Mario Brothers U Canada’s Future Shop chain will get a swanky steelbook. Lucky ducks.

Here’s What Nintendo TVii Looks Like In Action

Shot at Nintendo’s event in New York City today, here’s a live look at Nintendo TVii in action. Nintendo TVii is the Wii U service that will allow you to use the second screen to interact with media, follow sports scores, and do all sorts of other random connected and streamy things. What do you…

What’s Inside the Wii U? Let’s Get Technical

We know what we’re getting here in North America on September 18 and how much it will cost us, but what’s on the inside? Here’s the technical details on Nintendo’s most powerful game console yet. Wii U Official Tech Specs Launches: November 18 Price: $299.99 for Basic Set / $349.99 for Deluxe Set Size: Approximately…

This ZombiU Trailer Shows You What It’s Like To Play With The Wii U’s GamePad

Trying to describe the experience of playing a Wii U game that takes advantage of the GamePad’s accessibility and extra space as well as ZombieU does is a difficult task. That’s why this trailer is here to do it for you instead. You can see how shooting, weapon upgrades, friend notifications, sniping, and rummaging through…

The Wii U Version of Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uses the GamePad Screen for Splitscreen Multiplayer

A live demo of the newest Call of Duty game showed off how Black Ops II’s splitscreen multiplayer will work on the Wii U. Two players can go head-to-head with one playing using the GamePad’s screen and controls and another using the controller to participate on a big-screen TV. We’ll have more on the Wi…

Bayonetta 2 Is a Wii U Exclusive

Nintendo just revealed that Bayonetta 2 is coming to the Wii U. Osaka-based game studio Platinum Games, who developed the first Bayonetta, is once again bringing the character to life. Nintendo is publishing this Wii U exclusive. Atsushi Inaba of Okami fame is producing, and Yusuke Hashimoto, who produced the first Bayonetta, will be directing.…

Nintendo Unveils “Nintendo TVii” App For Wii U

Nintendo unveiled the “Nintendo TVii” app for their new Wii U console today at their press event in New York. The app, which runs as a “second screen experience” on the game pad, is personalized to each member of the household, with a separate set of recommendations and favorites for each profile. It connects not…

Preorder LEGO City Undercover for the Wii U, Get an Exclusive Minifig

It’s never too early for preorder bonuses! At today’s Nintendo event it was announced that folks that put their money down on the Wii U’s LEGO-powered launch game will secure an exclusive minifig, which is all LEGO fans really need to know. The minifig in question is of Rex Fury, the evil criminal mastermind you’ll…