Nintendo

We’re Lucky The Original Pokémon Games Got Made At All

Celebrating Pokémon’s 20th anniversary, Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda looks back on the early days of developing Red and Green. It sounds like a tough time! Masuda notes that his computers would always overheat and break down during Pokémon Red and Green’s development, and that he personally went through four computers in six years. “I sure…

Super Mario Bros., Beaten Blindfolded In Under 15 Minutes

For three months, one man has been practicing Super Mario Bros. without actually looking at the screen. That work has now paid off. Watch as きらめきでどーだい clears Super Mario Bros. in 14:46…while wearing a blindfold: It’s cool to see how, exactly, he accomplishes this feat. A lot of it comes down to timing, and you…

The Future of Nintendo’s New Healthcare Platform Isn’t Certain

Back in 2014, Nintendo announced it would be releasing a new health-based platform sometime between 2015 and 2016. Well, it’s 2016, so where is it? Not ready, says Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima. It might never be. According to Asahi, it’s possible that the platform could be abandoned. The newspaper reports that Kimishima told investors, “It’s…

The Up-All-Night Stream Plays Detective Pikachu [Stream Finished]

There are crimes afoot in the world of Pokémon, and only Detective Pikachu and his plucky human sidekick have any chance to solve the case! Update: The stream is over but you can watch all four hours of it at the links below! Part 1 Part 2 Detective Pikachu was released on the Nintendo 3DS…

The World of Pokémon Gets Dark as Hell

Don’t worry! While Aipom might look dead, this Pokémon has only been knocked out in the newly released Great Detective Pikachu. That red stuff? Ketchup. Squashed tomato or not, damn, this looks grim. Photos: Brian Ashcraft | Kotaku To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter@Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East…

The Biggest Selling Amiibos of 2015, Ranked By Region

Wonder what the most popular Amiibo in Japan is? What people are buying in Europe? Or in the United States? Nintendo releasedthe 2015 sales rankings for the top ten Amiibos in those three regions. Let’s see how they stack up during that calendar year. Japan 1. Inkling Girl (Splatoon) 2. Ika (Splatoon) 3. Inkling Boy…

Today, Nintendo announced pre-registration for Miitomo, Nintendo’s upcoming smartphone app, begins on February 17. It will be released the middle of next month in eight languages (Japanese, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French, and Russian) and in sixteen regions around the world (the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Luxemborg, Spain, Italy, the…

One Man’s Five-Year Quest To Find A Shiny Pokémon

Under normal circumstances, there is only a one in four thousand ninety six chance you’ll find a shiny Pokémon out in the wild. Some people have played Pokémon all their lives and have never actually encountered a shiny, one of those fabled Pokémon that comes in a special, rare color. [This post was originally published…

Eight-Year-Old Boy Apologizes to Nintendo

While some might argue that it’s often Nintendo who should be saying sorry to fans (ha!), one eight-year-old boy in Japan wrote the company an apology after spilling water all over his 3DS. Japanese Twitter user Illilrecounted how the boy had put the Nintendo handheld in his bag with his thermos, but didn’t put the…

Strong Game Sales Are Helping Power Nintendo

Nintendo has posted their financial data for the nine month period between April and December of 2015, showing some rather strong software sales: just Splatoon sold over four million copies, for example. For the 3DS, Nintendo’s best-selling game in this period was Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, selling at a total of 2.93 million units…

Damn, Nintendo Is Selling Lots of Amiibos

People sure do like buying (and collecting) Amiibos. Proof of that: In its latest sales figures, Nintendo announced it’s sold 20.50 million Amiibo figures and another 21.5 million Amiibo cards. In February 2015, Nintendo announced that it had shipped 10.5 million Amiibos worldwide. That’s an impressive number, but the current sales figures are even more…

I Rewatched The First Pokémon Movie And It Messed Me Up Real Good

It’s been 17 years since the original release of Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back. Since then, there’s been 19 other Pokémon movies. For veteran Pokémon players, I’m guessing that none of the newer movies match up to the original one, though. The First Pokémon Movie, for those that don’t know, is actually Mewtwo’s…

Announced viaNintendo of America Twitter butt shot, Bayonetta and Corrin arrive in Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS this Wednesday, February 3.

Fan Makes Cool Paper Versions of Classic Game Scenes

The very first stage of the original NES Castlevania, the spooky Ghost House from Super Mario World, our first battle with Bowser in Super Mario Bros. Scenes we probably all remember and encountered one way or another, from the NES days, that Mark Green resurrected with brilliant dioramas. His pieces are basically 3D papercraft versions…

Nintendo too skrong? Two Wii U games and a venerable Gamecube release are among the headlining games announced for the world’s biggest fighting game tournament. Along with Pokken Tournament, Smash Bros Wii U and Smash Melee, the 2016 Evo line-up will include Mortal Kombat X, Killer Instinct and Tekken 7 among others Contact the author…

The New Pikachu Is Freaking People Out, Man

Today, The Pokémon Company gave us our first look at an upcoming Pokémon spin-off, Great Detective Pikachu: The Birth of a New Duo. It stars Pikachu….but not the Pikachu you’re used to. The trailer, in case you haven’t seen it: What stands out about this footage is that Pikachu is speaking actual words. Not only…

The Other Ways Nintendo Is Changing The English Version of Fire Emblem Fates [UPDATE]

Despite being another sequel in a longtime Nintendo series, Fire Emblem Fates is… quirky. Its Japanese version sparked quite a bit of controversy among English-speaking fans when it launched last year. Nintendo is making some fairly significant changes. As I reported last week, Nintendo is removing a scene that’s been regarded as homophobic from the…

First Look at the Talking Pikachu Detective Game in Action

Hinted at back in 2013, Pikachu will play a talking detective in the upcoming 3DS game Great Detective Pikachu: The Birth of a New Duo. Today, we finally get to see the game’s debut teaser. The Japanese title is Meitantei Pikachu: Shin Konbi Tanjyou (“konbi” can also mean “combination” as well as “pair” or “team”).…

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam: The Kotaku Review

When you think of sensational action sequences and explosive setpieces, your mind may jump to big-budget productions like Uncharted or Tomb Raider. Allow me to present a dark horse contender: the unassuming Mario & Luigi series, with its goofy animations and sight gags, which has carved out its own healthy niche in the realm of…

Super Bowl Commercial Shows Pokémon Would Look Amazing In Real Life

Up until the very end of this commercial, the entire thing comes across as a Nike ad—not something about Pokémon. That’s just how fierce it is. As of late, Pokémon advertisements have really stepped up their game. I think back on the stuff for Pokémon Go, the upcoming mobile spin-off for example…. Both of these…