Nintendo

Nintendo Is Slowly Reinventing The Video Game Instruction Manual

Like the daily newspaper, the printed phone bill and personal checks, the video game instruction manual is facing extinction in our increasingly paperless world. Hold off on mourning, though. Nintendo has spent the last year or so quietly implementing a digital revival that’s been a joy to behold. If you haven’t noticed what’s been going…

The Curtain Opens on a Special Final Fantasy 3DS XL

Aw, look at that! They’re all singing. How adorable. Upcoming 3DS game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call is the latest entry in the Final Fantasy-themed music game series. To mark its April 24 release in Japan, the game is getting a special 3DS XL. No word yet about a Western release for the game or…

​Four Reasons To Love Bravely Default

Four heroes. Four special moves. Four musical anthems that play during those special moves. 1. Tiz’s Theme – “You Are My Hope” Genre: Celtic Disco Solo Instrument: Penny Whistle Adjective: “Driving” 2. Agnès’ Theme – “Wind’s Direction” Genre: Magical Waltz Solo Instrument: Violin Adjective: “Sparkly” 3. Ringabel’s Theme – “Love’s Vagrant” Genre: Vaguely Argentine Solo…

​Nintendo Wants Their Platforms To Be More Like iOS

Nintendo’s fighting on two fronts. The first, very real battleground they’re waging war on is in retail, where their Wii U home console is struggling to build a user base. The second area of struggle has been in the hearts and minds of observers trying to decide how much faith to put into the company’s…

Here’s 21-year-old illustrator Piper Thibodeau’s rather cartoony reimagination of the Kanto starter Pokémon. Compared to Charmander in the third picture, Squirtle and Bulbasaur both look so grumpy and bored, you might consider not using them in battle at all. Squirtle’s evolution line is in the top pic, here’s Bulbasaur and Charmander. Head over to Cryptid…

Check Out Kirby‘s Own Take on Super Smash Bros.

The newest Kirby game, Kirby Triple Star Deluxe came out on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan earlier this month, and its story mode is only the tip of the iceberg in what it has to offer. There are tons of additions to Kirby’s classic gameplay. We’ve already looked at Kirby’s new copy abilities, but that’s…

Let’s Not Get Too Excited About Nintendo’s ‘Mergers and Acquisitions’

In the past, major video game companies like Square and Enix merged. It’s a big deal when something like that happens! Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently mentioned “M&A” (aka mergers and acquisitions), setting off speculation around the internet. But what does he mean? It’s not yet clear—he could just be talking about licensing Nintendo characters.…

Nintendo Thinks Free-To-Play Is Hurting Their Business

The term “free-to-play” has become anathema to some gamers, and Nintendo doesn’t seem to like it all that much either. In fact, Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata says he believes that this trend is actively hurting their hardware business. Last week’s Q&A between Iwata and Nintendo’s investors was published in English today, and it’s full of…

Gaming Tip Or Life Lesson?

Boot up the forthcoming Nintendo 3DS role-playing game Bravely Default and you’ll get some tips about how to enjoy the game “to the fullest.” You see these tips before you even see the game’s title screen. You get a different screen of tips each time you start the game. Some explain how to use Bravely…

Texting While Driving Can Get You Seriously Hurt (In Mario Kart)

By now we should all be on board with the idea that texting while driving is a particularly dangerous and irresponsible thing. But how does it affect one’s driving within Mario Kart? A physician and some elementary schoolers found it significantly increases the risk of driving backwards, among other hazards. The study, led by Dr.…

Nintendo has been a family business. After the company’s former president Hiroshi Yamauchi died last fall, he left his stake in the company to his four children. And now, Bloomberg reports, they’re looking to sell stock.

The Week in Games: Back in Business with Bravely Default

We now return to our regularly scheduled The Week in Games, now that we have enough titles to properly justify discussing an upcoming week for them. Key releases are Bravely Default on 3DS, the latest episode of The Wolf Among Us, and The LEGO Movie Video Game doing a Full Ginsburg on all eight (8)…

Six Months of Work Went Into This Attack on Titan/Smash Bros. Mashup

For a fan of both Super Smash Bros. and Attack on Titan, this is about as good as it gets. Hell, if you’re a fan of just one of them, this video by AmazingArtistYellow still will make your morning. With the exception of Dr. Mario and Zero Suit Samus, the gang’s all here for the…

The history and evolution of the Moblins are no longer a secret to everybody, thanks to this all-encompassing feature by GameXplainGameXplain. Here is something I did not know until today: The etymology of “Moblin.” It’s derived from the Zelda brutes’ name in Japanese, which itself comes from the Japanese words for “Forest” and “Goblin.” You…

When Is A Console Worth Buying?

Most people probably don’t consider themselves early adopters unless they’re really excited about that newest black box that lets you play games. Dedicated fans, gadget enthusiasts, that kinda thing. But there are other considerations, too. Like, how many games are out for the thing? How much do they cost? How much time can you spend…

Watch Us Explore the Awesomeness of Kirby in 3D

Sucking is usually a bad thing—unless of course you’re playing Kirby The newest Kirby game, Kirby: Triple Deluxe, came out in Japan on the 3DS earlier this month. It is full of all the goodness you’ve come to expect when platforming. As everyone’s favorite pink puffball, you float around, suck in enemies, copy their powers,…

Lucario, The Badass Aura Pokémon, Is Returning to Super Smash Bros.

After debuting in Brawl, the high-risk-high-reward Pokémon fighter is now confirmed to be part of the new Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U. The official Japanese website released several shots of Lucario in action. They are, predictably, quite awesome. Yes, even the one where they do yoga. Take a look: And, as per…

For The Love Of Buttons

Screw touchscreens. There’s something satisfying about the press of a button. The push, the give, the click, the release. You just know something’s going to happen. This video, called I Love Buttons, pretty much sums it up. God, the buttons that have a heavy pop are just the best. The clip was made by Nicolas…

Even Wii U DLC Is Getting Cancelled

Warner Bros. has reportedly cancelled all upcoming DLC for Batman: Arkham Origins. Seems the poor Wii U just can’t catch a break. Companies cancelling games (or failing to announce ports) for the console is bad enough, but not even bothering to bring over DLC? That’s some of the easiest money to be had in video…

How To Fix ‘How To Fix Nintendo’ Articles

Articles about how to fix Nintendo are doomed. Doomed. If articles about ‘how to fix Nintendo’ do not follow this advice immediately, there might not be any more ‘how to fix Nintendo’ articles. Could you imagine that? I know. It’s scary. Small, niche video game websites without ‘how to fix Nintendo’ articles. I don’t know…