Nintendo

Nintendo Eshop Goes Down For Christmas

As thousands (tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands?) of people wake up this morning to find Nintendo Switches under their Christmas trees (Hanukkah bushes? Kwanzaa shrubs?), they are discovering that they can’t actually download any new games. For the past three hours, trying to log into the eShop has resulted in an error message with…

Hackers Say Nintendo Switch’s Latest Firmware Update Removes Secret Golf Game

A few months ago Switch hackers showed the handheld had a hidden emulator designed to play NES Golf but only on July 11th, the date Satoru Iwata, former President of Nintendo and the game’s programmer, died. Now they say the company has overwritten the code as of the 4.0.0 firmware update. According to Switchbrew.org, these…

Vs. Super Mario Bros. Is The Meanest Trick Nintendo Ever Played

Super Mario Bros. is available on the Switch! Well, a long-forgotten version of it, anyway, that’s probably not the one you were expecting. While Nintendo hasn’t yet begun to add its classic console games to Switch, we’re getting something else instead: Nintendo’s classic arcade games, courtesy the Arcade Archives series by the publisher Hamster. This…

Xenoblade 2 gets a patch today that tweaks a few small things. You’ll get an extra zoomed-in map overlay when you press L3, and hitting X will now open the fast travel menu right at the area you’re in. “Tiger Tiger” gets an easy mode and there are a bunch of bug fixes. Sadly, this…

Nintendo’s Arms Gets Its Last New Character

Nintendo’s carnivalesque boxing game Arms, released in June, just received what looks like its final content update. Arms 5.0 just dropped along with the new fighter Dr. Coyle, the “empress of the ARMS lab,” and was appended by an announcement that, from now on, Arms will only be receiving balance patches. “As a big update,…

The Switch Gets An Excellent 2D Zelda Clone Today

Nintendo has not yet released a two-dimensional Zelda game for the Switch, but Blossom Tales is as close as you’re gonna get. If you’re looking for a new action-adventure to scratch that Link to the Past itch, this one’s for you. Blossom Tales, which came out for Steam earlier this year but is now on…

Nintendo Power Comes Back In Podcast Form

Nintendo Power magazine ceased publishing at the end of 2012. It was a nostalgic time full of sad goodbyes and fond memories. Its last cover was even a call-back to the first issue, where Mario pounds his fist triumphantly into the air while standing on a mushroom. But today, on the five-year anniversary of its…

Breath Of The Wild iMessage Stickers Make Texting An Adventure

There is nothing you have to say that cannot be said with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s new animated iMessage stickers. Released today on iTunes for $1.99, the official Breath of the Wild sticker set features 24 animations to use in place of ponderous words while texting with your friends or loved…

Wii U Games, Ranked By Probability Of Switch Ports

After Zelda, Mario Kart, Pokken, and now Bayonetta, which Wii U games will end up on Nintendo Switch next? Here are the most (and least) likely suspects. Nintendo hasn’t been shy about porting its Wii U games to Switch, and for good reason: Wii U had a few excellent games, but it was also the…

Breath of the Wild‘s DLC Boss Has A Funny Weakness

Breath of the Wild’s new DLC focuses on Hyrule’s past, telling stories of Link’s companions and the ancient world that came before them. The final boss, a centuries old foe, has a surprising weakness. The Champions’ Ballad’s final challenge is a boss fight against Monk Maz Koshia. The ancient Sheikah tribe warrior employs a variety…

Dragon Quest Builders comes to the Switch on February 9. The Minecraft-style building RPG was one of several Kotaku writers’ favorite games of 2016, and we’re ready to play it all over again in 2018.

Splatoon Player Becomes A Ninja Squid

In last night’s Splatoon 2 exhibition match between Eclipse and Saikai on InkTV, one squid decided to hide and wait in ink, until the perfect moment came to spring their trap. Saikai was pushing up on Eclipse’s turf with the Rainmaker when, as their teammates fell, Eclipse player “10sion” dove into the safety of their…

Splatoon 2’s Lobby Ain’t What It Used To Be

Splatoon 2’s hub world of Inkopolis is a place to relax, try out new gear, and share awesome art. When the game launched in July, it was a metropolis brimming with positive illustrations. Five months later, it looks like a shitpost disaster town. The quality of art in Splatoon 2 has long been dependent on…

New Ocarina of Time Glitch Lets Players Roll Through Fire and Water Temple

Throughout Link’s adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time he must find new tunics in order to survive the extreme heat and cold. These items have been considered essential for completing dungeons, but speedrunners have found a risky way to never use them thanks to a new glitch. In order to survive the…

The Nintendo Switch Gave Me Back My Video Games

For the longest time it felt as though video games were growing up with me. When I was a kid, video games felt like they were for kids. They were platform games with furry animal mascots. They were as vibrant and sugary as the cordial I guzzled whilst playing them. Even zeitgeist games like Street…

The Switch’s Screen Is Great For Pinball

Zen Studios’ Pinball FX 3 might not look as good on the Switch as it does on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but neither of them play the long game like this. Zen’s community-driven video game pinball platform made its Switch debut this week. The latest iteration of Pinball FX allows players to earn…

New Clam Blitz Mode Highlights The Best and Worst of Splatoon 2

While Clam Blitz is very fun, it’s hampered by Splatoon 2‘s glaring flaws. Clam Blitz, which was added to Splatoon 2 today, isn’t complicated to play, but is confusing to explain. In this game mode, you have to pick up golden clams that are scattered across the map and put them in the enemy’s basket.…

Zelda Breath Of The Wild’s Newest DLC, According To Nintendo Switch Players

Switch owners are sharing all sorts of hilarious clips of the new Champions’ Ballad DLC on social media through the built-in video capture feature. As always, there are some kick ass Breath of the Wild moments, alternative shrine solutions, and a bevy of Hyrule hijinks. Here are some of our favorite clips and GIFs. Bike…

Switch Accessory Turns Your Joy-Cons Into A Very Good Dog

When the Nintendo Switch was revealed last year, one of the most significant observations was how much the Charging Grip with a pair of Joy-Cons attached looked like a robot dog. Hyperkin’s Pupper Switch controller attachment follows that line of thinking to its adorable conclusion. Pupper is a charging controller grip, so players can slide…

Mario And Bowser Get Along Much Better As Build-A-Bears

Look at those smiling faces. They’ve had their difference in the past, but now they’ve bonded over the shared trauma of being stuffed and sold to children at the mall. Bowser and Mario join Yoshi, Toad, Luigi and Peach in Build-A-Bear’s new Super Mario collection this weekend. If you’d rather order online, you can get…