Nintendo

Cliff Bleszinski’s Perfect Eulogy for Nintendo Power

After news broke yesterday that Nintendo Power seems all but doomed as a print publication and may be finished outright, I reached out to the biggest fan of Nintendo Power that I know of: Epic Games’ Cliff Bleszinski. Yes, before he led the creation of Gears of War, worked on Unreal Tournament and became one…

Turn That Old, Silver DS Into a Bright Orange Game Boy

Reader Maarten, from the Bureau voor Gamers, sent us this cool project he and his team recently completed, turning an old Nintendo DS “phat” into what’s basically a more modern model of the Game Boy. It’s not the most complex of hack jobs I’ve ever seen, seeing as all they’ve really done is remove the…

Remembering Nintendo’s Other 1980’s Magazine, The Nintendo Fun Club

Today brought reports that, after a publishing run of 24 years, the famous Nintendo Power magazine is no more. If true, it’s a sadder day than most involving the closing of a game publication, because for many Nintendo Power was more than just a magazine. It was a piece of their childhood. Those who are…

3D Video Games Sound as Good as Dead. Good.

3D was everywhere a year or two ago. Now it’s…nowhere. Not even the 3DS, a handheld designed with the tech as its key selling point, uses it that often anymore. So is the tech dead in the water? It is according to EA, with EA Sports boss Peter Moore telling Eurogamer “3D is certainly not…

A Loving Video Tribute To Nintendo Power

Today came the sad news that Nintendo Power, the magazine that guided many of us through our early video games days, has reportedly been shuttered This video from Patrick Scott Patterson shares a ton of the ads, news segments, and other things we most remember about the beloved, long-running publication. “It’s a bird. It’s a…

Looks Like We’ll Know the Wii U’s American Launch Date and Price by September 13

Nintendo is holding a major Wii U press event in New York City on September 13, hosted by Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. An invitation sent to select media outlets today promised a day that will let us learn “more about how the Wii U will change the future of gaming and entertainment.” Sure,…

Unintimidated By Apple, Nintendo’s Boss Says The World Still Needs Dedicated Gaming Handhelds

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata can tell you when Nintendo would stop making its own handheld systems. He can tell you, hypothetically, when a line of machines that has gone from Game Boy to DS to 3DS would end and Nintendo’s games would appear on the hardware made by other companies instead. Last week in San…

Is It Possible to Make Pokémon More Adorable? More Beautiful? Yes, It Seems.

Because, let’s face, it: Pokémon are already pretty damn cute. Yet, Japanese artist Ginger Ale is turning up the adorable meter up to ten (eleven?) for this series of Pocket Monster art. Love the pastels, and the whole watercolor look. There’s a nice children’s book vibe going on that really doesn’t exist in the games…

These Awesome Shoes Are What You Get When You Mix Glitter With Gaming

There have been a lot of very neat gaming shoes in the world before, but these ones are my new favorite. Not only because, as flats, they are something I could theoretically actually wear someday, but because they please my inner first-grader with their sparkles. I like shiny things, okay? Clearly, so does this Etsy…

The Nintendo 3DS XL: The Kotaku Review

Who are you? Are you a person who has a 3DS? You should think about upgrading to the 3DS XL. Are you a person who does not have a 3DS at all? You should get one. The $200 3DS XL is a very good gaming machine, possibly the best portable gaming device ever, which, yeah,…

New Super Mario Bros. 2: The Kotaku Review

Now here’s the story of a guy named Mario. It’s an old story. You’ve probably heard it before. Princess is lounging around, minding her own business. Giant turtle jumps out of the sky. Drags her away. Sticks her in a cage and waits for Mario to follow. The specifics might change every now and then—a…

Video Game Makers Aren’t Your Friends. But If They Were …

Today, Dorkly broke down the major players of the video gaming industry into commonly understood archetypes: Your friends. Doesn’t make them any more tolerable, but it does make them more understandable. Still, I would have figured Activision for your gun-obsessed weightlifter friend who drives a 1989 Celica and listens to the Iron Eagle soundtrack, and…

Nintendo Chief: Mario Is Part Of Gamers’ DNA

The line of games that started with Super Mario Bros and extends to this week’s New Super Mario Bros. 2 have an unusual, innate appeal, according to the president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata. “Sidescrolling Mario has a special existence in that it really is part of the fundamental DNA of gamers,” a cheerful Iwata said…

Team Ninja wants to make another Metroid for Nintendo. You listening, Nintendo?

Assassin’s Creed 3 Director Says Japanese Games Get a Free Pass

Alex Hutchinson, the creative director of Assassin’s Creed 3, thinks he knows why Nintendo can get away with releasing new versions of old franchises. It might not be the answer you expect. After Hutchinson compared AC to other well known franchises, Mario and Resident Evil, website CVG asked the creative director why Nintendo can release…

The Pikachu 3DS XL Is Just Too Adorable

Squeal! Holy smoke, this Pikachu 3DS XL is too cute. Not only that, it’s hard to get. See, this Pikachu 3DS XL will only be sold at the Pokémon Center stores in Sapporo, Tohoku, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The “Pokémon Center Original Nintendo 3DS XL Pikachu Yellow” is priced at ¥18,900 (US$239). The…

The First Fully Downloadable New Mario Game Dominates the Weekly Nintendo Download

With Sunday seeing the debut of New Super Mario Bros. 2, the first Nintendo-published title launched simultaneously at retail and in digital form, a game would have to be some sort of crazy chicken pirate to try and muscle in on this week’s Nintendo Download. So yeah, Mario and two games named Crazy Chicken: Pirate…

Nintendo Criticized For Not Doing Enough To Keep ‘Conflict Minerals’ Out Of Their Products

Many of the materials used to make electronic devices are helping fuel ongoing bloody wars in the Congo—and a new report accuses Nintendo of not doing enough to ensure that their game machines aren’t part of that deadly conflict. The Enough Project, a watchdog group that monitors “genocide and crimes against humanity,” published a report…

This Kiddy Smack Talk Song Will Make Your Day

UK comedian Adam Buxton (one half of Adam and Joe) recently uploaded this song to YouTube. As Kotaku reader Sam pointed out, it was for a section called Song Wars in which both Adam and Joe have to make a song on a theme and listeners vote on the winner. This is the result. Dubstep…

Let’s All Read The Very First Issue of Nintendo Power

Designer Eoin Stanley, who we featured a little while ago on Total Recall, doesn’t just archive beautiful old Nintendo logos. He’s also got on ice something more informative; namely, the entirety of the very first issue of Nintendo Power. It’s not his – it appears to have belonged to a young Mr. Jeremy Salsman –…