Nintendo

A Little Something About Where Shigeru Miyamoto Sits

I wasn’t sure just how much Nintendo game designer Yugo Hayashi was joking when he recently told me that he thinks he got the gig directing the new Star Fox because of how close he sat to his company’s top game designer. Well, the man himself, Shigeru Miyamoto, was right there, so I asked him.…

Computer Is Learning To Make Mario Levels By Watching YouTube

First they’ll take our jobs. Then they’ll take our Mario. While Nintendo works hard to let us build our own Mario levels, the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing an “artificially intelligent system” that can build its own stages The terror comes not in the fact it can build levels—procedural generation is everywhere these days—but…

New Fire Emblem Has Same-Sex Marriage

Some Fire Emblem Fates (Fire Emblem If in Japan) news! Some of it good, some of it not so good. First, the good! Fire Emblem Fates is going to allow same-sex marriage. Because marriage is such an important part of the game, that’s a big deal! Nintendo tells Polygon “We believe that our gameplay experiences…

Thanks To 73,000 Supporters, They’re Making A Successor To Banjo-Kazooie

For about the last seven years, Grant Kirkhope has been trying to convince people in the gaming industry that it’s time to make a game similar to 1998’s Banjo-Kazooie, one of the great 3D platformers of the Nintendo 64 era. Says Kirkhope: “I was told: ‘Grant, you’re talking nonsense. No one wants this game. Platformers…

Guy Beats Super Mario World In 23 Minutes…While Blindfolded

Fun fact: you don’t actually need to see Mario levels in order to beat them. Marvel as speedrunner PangaeaPanga clears Super Mario World without actually looking at the game using a combination of good timing, and precise jumps. The entire thing takes a whopping 23:14, which is impressive considering the circumstances at play here: Kind…

Nintendo’s Reggie Talks Metroid, Amiibo, And (Of Course) Mother 3

My annual interviews with Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime are upbeat affairs. He’s always feeling good about the line-up and remains unruffled as I pepper him with as many questions about as many topics as I can squeeze in. If you’ve seen Reggie interviews before—or if you’ve done them—you know what you’re going to…

Kotaku reader Bonny John’s running a pretty cool project by drawing one Pokémon every day. He’s at number 251 of this series, and since it’s a milestone for him, he celebrated it with this fantastic Celebi piece. Here’s the full image and a WIP shot below. Head over to TAY for all the other pics…

Visiting Tokyo’s Super Mario Cafes

There are Super Mario Cafes in Tokyo? Oh yes, but only for a limited time. In honor of Super Mario’s 30th anniversary, Nintendo is teaming up with Tower Record Cafes in Tokyo for a trio of newly-opened Mario-themed cafes. Tokyo resident, Nintendo super fan, and all around good guy Kyle McLainswung by all three (in…

I’m So Happy Rhythm Heaven Took Pity on Me

Dear Nintendo: Thank you for taking pity on my poor arrhythmic soul. I love the Rhythm Heaven series of games. The musical mini-games are fantasticand a joy to play. And while I am fantastic at some (and not so much so at others), I can usually at least pass any given song on my first…

“4J studios has been doing a great job, and we’ll continue to [work with them]” — PlayStation’s Adam Boyes to us at E3, confirming 4J will keep improving Microsoft-owned Minecraft on PlayStation platforms. Boyes wore a Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary pin when he talked to us, but Mario isn’t coming to PlayStation.

Smash Bros. Glitch Turns Pac-Man Into Unstoppable Terror

So this is scary. Pac-Man, one of the cheeriest-looking characters ever known in video games, has unlocked what looks like one of the biggest trolls moves in Smash Bros. thanks to a recently discovered glitch. Nicknamed the “trampoline stage drop” by the influential Smash forum Smashboards, the glitch makes the Pac’s opponent fall through through…

You Can’t Play Zelda: Triforce Heroes With Only Two People

You can play the newest Zelda game alongside two other people. You can play it by yourself. But you can’t, according to director Hiromasa Shikata, play Zelda: Triforce Heroes with a party of two. Bad news for anyone who was hoping to plow through the co-op dungeon game—announced for 3DS during Nintendo’s conference on Tuesday—with…

Rhythm Heaven’s Remix Stages Are Genius

The normal levels in the Rhythm Heaven series are good, but it’s the Remix Stages that make the games great. The Rhythm Heaven games are essentially musical mini-game collections. But unlike most music games, you aren’t playing music per se. Rather you are pushing buttons in time with the beat based on the aural cues…

The new Animal Crossing is letting you choose your skin tone People have been asking for the option for years, and Nintendo’s granting their wish with Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. It’s a step in the right direction, albeit a long overdue one. Hopefully it’ll carry over to the next full Animal Crossing game.

How The New Metroid Prime’s Co-Op Works

Nintendo only made the ancillary sports-game component of its perplexing newMetroid Prime game available to demo at E3 this week. But the developer did offer a small slice of how the four-player co-op—intended to be the meat Federation Force’s gameplay—will work in action as well. The developer showed it in action during one of its…

I Am So Hyped About Shin Megami x Fire Emblem

I am so excited about Genei Ibun Roku, the upcoming Wii U JRPG that mashes together Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem. Everything Nintendo has shown off for it so far has been EXCELLENT. Today, the Nintendo Treehouse held an extended segment on Genei Ibun Roku, showcasing everything from the game’s plot, to the nitty…

Did those puppets at Nintendo’s E3 presentation look familiar? There’s good reason! Muppet fansite ToughPigs contacted The Henson Company, who confirmed it worked with Nintendo. Jim Henson’s son, Brian Henson, reportedly directed the opening video, too. Contact the author at [email protected]

Super Mario Maker’s Online Features Sound Really Cool

Nintendo isn’t exactly known for its on-point social features. But based on what they’ve shared on Mario Maker thus far, it really seems like they’re going to nail it this time. Yesterday, Nintendo held a Treehouse stream event where they described some of the features we can expect in their upcoming game where you can…

Everything We Could Find Out About That New Metroid Game

E3 2015’s top head-scratcher so far: Why would Nintendo bring back their dormant Metroid franchise, a series known for fairly quiet, careful solo sci-fi exploration, with a multiplayer shooter that’s also a sports game? Good thing I had a half hour with the game’s producer to find out. Meet Kensuke Tanabe, veteran producer and designer…

Nintendo’s E3 Digital Event Sure Disappointed Lots of Folks

It’s not just in the English-speaking part of the internet that felt letdown. The Japanese-speaking part wasn’t exactly blown away, either. This year, Nintendo held a Digital Event for E3. There was news (like here, here, and here), and while some fans were happy (puppets!), many were not. No wonder Kotaku named it one of…