Nintendo

The Extremely Rare Mario Opera Returns For One Night Only Next Week

It’s okay if you didn’t even know that there was a rock opera based on Nintendo’s most popular character. The Mario Opera has only ever played once and that was eight long years ago. It’s coming back next week but you’ll need to be in New York City to see it. The stage show is…

Pokémon World Championships Result In Unexpected Winner

That was quite the victory: Italian Masters Division player Arash Ommati beat Japanese champion Ryosuke Kosuge in the finals of the Pokémon World Championships this weekend. This video, uploaded by YouTuber DaringNite, shows the entirety of Ommati’s impressive, mistake-free win. Ommati is the first player from Europe to win this tournament, and it’s particularly impressive…

Someone’s Making a $90,000 Metroid Movie Without Nintendo’s Permission

Didn’t we just go through this with Final Fantasy VII? Someone wants to make a Metroid fan film. They’re raising $90,000. They don’t have any agreement with Nintendo. Of course they don’t. Metroid: Enemies Within launched on Kickstarter on Friday and seeks to fund a 10-minute film pitting Samus against Sylux, the antagonist from the…

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team: The Kotaku Review

Poor Luigi. Mario’s lanky counterpart is most often defined not by his own merits, but by his proximity to his elder brother. Even in 2013, a year that Nintendo has branded “The Year of Luigi,” the green plumber is more punchline than protagonist, complete with Chaplinesque antics and a tendency to cower behind Mario during…

Zelda: Link to the Past vs. Zelda: Link Between Worlds

Via the folks at GameXplain, here’s a side-by-side look at the overworlds of the SNES game Zelda: A Link to the Past (right) and its upcoming 3DS successor, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (left). Spoilers: they are identical. It’s uncanny. (Thanks, Ian!)

Watch The Wonderful 101’s Epic Nintendo Direct Right Here

By the time you watch the Nintendo Direct hypecast for the upcoming Wii U game, you will definitely know when The Wonderful 101 is coming out. Hosted by Platinum Games’ Hideki Kamiya, this morning’s extended preview gave a deep look at the moves, tactics and characters in the upcoming action/strategy title. 101 feels a bit…

Here’s How Pokemon X And Y‘s New Mega Evolutions Work

Yesterday we caught wind of a new type of evolution coming in Pokemon X and Y. Today we learn how Mega Evolution works, where to learn the technique, and which Mega Pokemon will only be available through a special launch day distribution event. Oh, and there are three new Pokemon at the bottom, so if…

Monster Hunter 4 Is Looking Good As The 3DS Continues Its Amazing Year

The absurd string of major games on the once-sleepy 3DS continues next month, at least in Japan, where they’re getting the mammoth Monster Hunter 4 on September 14. A new trailer for the game came out today. Watch it above. Here in America, Monster Hunter‘s a niche thing. Those who are into it love it,…

It’s Spin the Bottle time in the Nintendo Download! The Wii U gets physical with the release of KnapNok Games’ touchy-feely party game today, while the 3DS gets an neat looking platform mining adventure in SteamWorld Dig. Mario and Luigi: Dream Team is out on Sunday, and is DuckTales Remastered really just five days away?…

Why Nintendo Doesn’t Want To Give Its Games to Rivals

Nintendo games appear on Nintendo hardware. That’s the rule! But is Nintendo’s honcho Satoru Iwata interested in bringing the company’s games to competitors’ consoles? Nope. Here’s why. When asked by CVG about the chances of Nintendo’s games appearing on rival systems, Iwata replied, “If I was to take responsibility for the company for just the…

Remembering The Victims Of Nintendo’s 1990 Fruit Snack Rap Attack

In 1990, children across the U.S. flocked to Nintendo Powerfest events to show their appreciation for the company and its products. Nintendo repaid them by making them dance to the Nintendo Fruit Snacks “rap.” Those with sensitive stomachs may want to look away. The video above features Kotaku reader Robert Leonard and his brother RickyLee.…

Store Perfectly Illustrates One Of Nintendo’s Biggest Problems…

Spotted by the fine folks over at Vooks, the above drawing, seen in JB Hi-Fi just perfectly illustrates one of the biggest challenges Nintendo has with the perennially struggling Wii U: the mainstream audience that adored the Wii simply doesn’t know that the Wii U exists. And, if they are aware of its existence, they…

Psst. There Are a Lot of Indie Games Coming To Wii U

Watch this video from Nintendo Europe and you will see that, for 160 seconds or so, the Wii U suddenly seems like a burgeoning indie gaming paradise. What is happening here? Technically, you’re seeing Nintendo of Europe boss Satoru Shibata hype a bunch of download-only eShop Wii U games from European and Australian developers. (Hey,…

Nintendo Sues Modding Business Over Sale of Game-Copying Devices

Nintendo today sued a Miami-based modding business saying its operation “blatantly promotes and sells unauthorized Nintendo games” along with flash cards and other devices to copy them. HackYourConsole.com is named in the complaint, filed in federal court for the Southern District of Florida. Its website lists five varieties of R4 flashcards for sale, plus has…

Let’s Take A Quick Trip To Animal Crossing Plaza

Following this morning’s announcement, I downloaded Nintendo’s Animal Crossing Plaza app to my Wii U to see what I could see. Animals, mostly. Some of them even crossed.

Japanese Luigi Is the Best, Scariest Luigi

At first, I was just delighted to see that Nintendo’s iconic second fiddle was getting a live-action commercial in his native Japan. But, after finding out exactly who’s wearing Luigi’s overalls, this clip featuring Mario’s brother feels even more awesome. The gentleman in the green cap is Junji Inagawa, best known as an actor, producer,…

Animal Crossing Comes To The Wii U With Animal Crossing Plaza

Available today for the Wii U as a free download, Animal Crossing Plaza is a community hub for the popular 3DS town sim, packed with special features to help fans share their AC experience on the big screen. Coinciding with the launch of the Wii U Animal Crossing: New Leaf community, the plaza is a…

Like Vocaloid? This Nintendo Music Game Has It.

Nintendo DS game Daigasso! Band Brothers (aka Jam with the Band) is getting a sequel. It’s called Daigasso! Band Brothers P, with the “P” standing for “producer” and “professional.” Like in the previous game, you can lay down tracks with various instruments. In the latest one, you can pick from 72 different instruments. You can…

Watch All of Today’s Nintendo Direct Right Here

Animal Crossing stuff. Luigi stuff. Multiple flavors of Zelda stuff! That was a fair amount of news to take in during today’s Nintendo Direct broadcast. Now you can peruse it all at your leisure right here. What developments excites you the most?

A Darker Look At The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is set in the same world as its predecessor, A Link to the Past, but it’s way in the future, and the Link you’ll play on the 3DS this November is totally different than the Link you played on Super Nintendo two decades ago. Video footage above.