Nintendo

Nintendo President: We Will Carry On The Spirit Of Hiroshi Yamauchi

Current Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has delivered a brief statement following the death of his predecessor, Hiroshi Yamauchi. The statement, sent over to Kotaku by a Nintendo representative: The entire Nintendo group will carry on the spirit of Mr. Yamauchi by honoring, in our approach to entertainment, the sense of value he has taught us…

This week’s Nintendo Download is brought to you by reanimated Zelda and hot samurai lovin’. The HD remake of Wind Waker drops tomorrow, next Tuesday brings Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure, and today we’ve got Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi. Idea Factory’s samurai adventure visual romance novel for the 3DS. Can the week get…

Longtime Nintendo President Dies Aged 85

Hiroshi Yamauchi, a longtime president of Nintendo (1949-2002) and the predecessor to current boss Satoru Iwata, has passed away today at the age of 85, Nikkei reports Formerly the richest man in Japan, Yamauchi also owned Seattle’s Major League Baseball team, the Mariners (though he famously never attended a game). A champion of the efforts…

Link Almost Had Laser Eyes In Wind Waker

Did you know that the Hero of Time Winds almost shot laser beams out of his eyes? For real. It’s true. When making The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker for the GameCube, Team Nintendo had to figure out a way to use the iconic hero’s newly-cartoony eyes, and one possibility came up quickly: laser beams.…

The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD: The Kotaku Review

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of drinking with me and bringing up the subject of video games, you’ll have suffered through me telling you how Wind Waker isn’t just my favourite Zelda game of all time, it’s my favourite game of all time. Note I say my favourite, and not the best. For one,…

Transform Your Room Into Zelda‘s Hyrule Castle

Just in time for the release of Wind Waker in beautiful HD quality, the artists over at Whatisblik added eight superb Wind Waker-themed wall decalls into their selection. And it matches the unique art style of the game almost perfectly. Each tells a story and features Link with iconic items. My favorites below: Zelda Stained…

That’s a lot of Mega Man action in one shot! Digital artist Orioto painted and pieced together these memorable 8-bit stages perfectly. Dayshot is an image-based feature that runs every morning, showcasing some of the prettiest,funniest game-related screenshots and art that we can find. Send us suggestions if you’ve got them.

Wii Sports Goes HD with Wii Sports Club

Wii Sports is returning, but in high definition, online play, and clubs. Say hello to Wii Sports Club. Revealed today, Wii Sports Club consists of the five sports from Wii Sports (bowling, tennis, baseball, boxing and golf) with Wii MotionPlus controls and in high def. The games, available as digital downloads, come with an online…

Nintendo Giving Away Wii Fit’s Sequel For Free (For A Month)

This is novel. Nintendo just announced that it’ll be letting people download the full version of Wii Fit U and play it for a month, without paying a cent. The offer starts November 1, and “all users need is a Wii Balance Board and a Wii U system with a broadband Internet connection”. Considering Wii…

Here’s How Pokémon X/Y Lets You Dress Trainers

In Pokémon X/Y, you can customize your trainers. This is something The Pokémon Company previously revealed, but here’s a good look at how dress-up works in Pokémon X/Y There seems to be a big game in how the characters look in this mode and in the actual game, but whatever. Not sure which is better…

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Never Looked So Good

When I imagine Sonic and Mario finally duking it out, I come up with something like this. These shots are from an up-res’d PC version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as collected by Duncan Harris at Dead End Thrills. They are just lovely, and hopefully the start of a longer run of screenshots. More shots…

Angry Birds Gloms Some Of Today’s GTA Hype With One Terrific Drawing

This was tweeted today by the people behind Angry Birds. Their new game comes out on Thursday. The Tweet followed an attempt by the folks behind Saints Row to bottle some of today’s GTA V buzz for themselves. And here’s a new promo for Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs, the new contender in the open-world genre that…

The latest screenshot from Super Smash Bros. Wii U, shared by Masahiro Sakurai, raises a few questions. Compared to the other female characters, shouldn’t Samus be much taller and more robust? And what on earth is Peach doing at the end of the line? Dayshot is an image-based feature that runs every morning, showcasing some…

Pokemon Brings Back “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” With A Bad Music Video

“Gotta Catch ‘Em All” never truly left our hearts, but it did leave official Pokemon channels for a bit. The Pokemon Company is bringing it back, and they’ve recruited renowned electronica artist Pogo to produce this bit of nonsense. That’s right kids, this was the big tease. The song is called “Catchatronic”, and it’s a…

Pikachu (And Friends) with No Ears

You’ve seen a Pikachu numerous times, but have you ever seen the character without ears? Online in Japan recently, a thread on 2ch, the country’s largest forum, popped up with people contributing altered photos of iconic characters sans ears. Like this. And here’s the Miffy we all know and love. Here’s Miffy without ears. Rilakkuma,…

The Wonderful 101: The Kotaku Review

The Wonderful 101 is a frustrating game, a confusing maelstrom of aliens and superheroes that seems to punish players for all the wrong reasons. The controls make no sense, the action is disorienting, and the camera is a mess. And then… Then… Somewhere during the first two hours, something clicks. Everything changes. Control schemes that…

Looks Like Pokémon Announcements Are Blasting Off Again

The Pokémon Company has teased us with even more news about something Pokémon-related. The official Pokémon Twitter account tweeted around noon today: “Heads up, Trainers! We’ve got a surprise for you! Tune in Monday at 8 a.m. PDT for a special announcement!” With exciting news like Pokémon Bank and scads of other details about Pokémon…

Mega Mewtwo X Is Cool. More Gender-Specific Pokemon Forms Are Cooler.

It’s been two days since the big Corocoro Pokemon X and Y news explosion and, like clockwork, here comes The Pokemon Company to verify everything and add a little spice. Two Mega Mewtwos and a Mega Garchomp? True. Starter evolutions? Cute! A customizeable Pokemon? Interesting. New Pokemon with male and female forms? Awesome. Let’s take…

Zelda Producer On Majora’s Mask Remake: ‘Ha Ha Ha Ha’

“Please write that I laughed,” Zelda bossman Eiji Aonuma told IGN during a recent interview when asked whether Nintendo plans to remake The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. “Don’t make it sound like I laughed because I was troubled or inconvenienced or put out. I don’t want them to read anything into it. But if…

Nintendo Reached Out to Bring a Beautiful Samurai Pop-Up Game to Wii U

Once upon a time, it felt like Nintendo was giving independent game developers a bit of a cold shoulder. But times have changed and the folks at the House of Mario have been bringing more and more indie games to their platforms. The latest one? A gorgeous touchscreen fable set in feudal Japan that looks…