Nintendo

Reportedly, Nintendo is implementing a new system which would let players manage their Nintendo Network accounts via smartphones and PCs, allowing them to, for example, buy downloadable games remotely. Apparently it’s expected by the end of the year. [NicoNico, via Siliconera]

Wii U Sales Are Really, Really Bad

It’s no secret that the Wii U is struggling. However, the extent of which the console is struggling might surprise you. According to Nintendo, between April 1 and June 30 of this year, the Wii U sold 160,000 units. Those are global sales figures. Over three months. Ouch. Simple math tells us that the Wii…

Please, Nintendo, Make A 3DS That Looks Like This

Nintendo’s made some killer hardware over the years, but my favourite of the lot is probably the Game Boy Micro they released done up in a Famicom colour scheme. It’s just…ungh. So gorgeous. This is something similar for the 3DS. It’s sadly just an external case, though, one made by Datel, and while it’s got…

Nintendo is (finally) releasing a black version of the 3DS XL on August 11, just in time for the release of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

“If [Sakurai] wants, my body is ready.” That’s Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime, answering a fan question a month ago about whether he’d be in the next Smash Bros. game. Now, there’s a petition asking creator Masahiro Sakurai to actually add Fils-Aime as a playable character—and it’s got almost 7000 signatures. [via CVG]

Life-Sized Mario Can Be Yours for Nearly $3,000

It’sa him, Mario! Witha you, person who just spent almost three grand. As New Launches points out, this 150 cm (4.9 ft) Mario statue is available on Amazon Japan. It was launched a few years back and is priced at 285,000 yen, which is around US$2,900. This seems like something designed for retail displays—or people…

There’s now a lovely little message from Earthbound creator Shigesato Itoi on the game’s official website, and Nintendo has even created a dedicated Wii U Miiverse page for Earthbound news. Hopefully they’ve got some surprises coming!

How do you transform poor Lucas from Mother 3 into something completely horrifying? Tighten his body and swap his face with Wario’s. The unspeakable result would be a hysterical Smash Bros. character, that’s for sure. Dayshot is an image-based feature that runs every morning, showcasing some of the prettiest,funniest game-related screenshots and art that we…

“The truth is we were doing prototype tests of Pikmin for the DS and 3DS, but it turned into unit management with only the touch pen, and no matter what it just didn’t seem like Pikmin.” Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto to 4Gamer, on their early plans to develop Pikmin 3 for handhelds instead of the Wii…

Super Mario Recreations of Famous Surrealist Paintings Are Magnifique

Three years ago, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto told me that he had the work of Surrealist painter Rene Magritte floating around his head when he was crafting the few first Super Mario games. It makes sense when you think about it. There’s a certain mind/eye trickery in the Mario games that definitely has its roots…

Remember, Mario Kart’s Arcade Version Lets You Drive A Tank

For around a decade now, while it’s been a smash hit on consoles, Mario Kart has also been an arcade racer, thanks to a partnership between Nintendo and Namco Bandai. The latest version of the game, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX is out this week in Japan, and this clip shows what it looks like…

Here’s more of Platinum’s Wii U superhero game The Wonderful 101 in action. I don’t know what the hell is going on half the time, but I do know that I’d very much like to play this game.

A Bunch of People Got Tricked Into Thinking Mario & Luigi Are Gay. Um.

Here’s something that sure escalated quickly: neoGAF user sphinx noticed that at current, there are an absurd number of Spanish websites that report some variation of the idea that Mario and Luigi are gay. Upon further inspection, it seems like it’s dozens of sites who believe this. So, uh, how did that happen? You’d think…

The original Kid Icarus flies onto the Wii U’s Virtual Console in the latest Nintendo Download. There’s also Picross e2 and Chain Blaster, too. Check out the full list of games that will be digitally available in the coming week right here

Guy Proposed By Modding Contra, But She Had To Finish It First. Ouch.

Veteran gamer EquinnoxX documented how he modified an old Contra cartridge with a proposal message to his girlfriend at the end of the game. Knowing that Contra is not necessarily the easiest game to beat, it feels like a somewhat cruel—but nevertheless fantastic—way to do it. He posted a huge gallery and shared some interesting…

The Next Super Smash Bros. Won’t Have a Story Mode or Cutscenes

Hey, remember Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Remember the Subspace Emissary adventure mode? Did you see the CG cutscenes? Well, thanks to spoilers, you won’t have any of those in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U and 3DS. In his bi-weekly column in Weekly Famitsu, Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai revealed some…

Inside Japan’s Pleasure Hotels

Trysts. Young lovers. Parents who want to get away. “Love Hotels” offer short stays and some truly off-the-wall rooms. Love Hotels, or “rabuho” (ラブホ) for short, began in Osaka during the late 1960s. Japan’s version of the “no-tell motel”, they became big business, and even Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi opened one. At that time, the…

This Is What It Looks Like When Celebrities Play Wii U

Celebrities: They’re just like us! They have bad hair days. They hate waiting in line at the DMV. And just like us, they stand around looking uncomfortable when they play Wii U at conventions. Nintendo today sent over a bunch of celeb photos from the San Diego Comic Con last weekend, and some of them…

Mario Needs To Stop Dwelling On The Past

Mario is a man we’ve become well accustomed to, we’ve followed his escapades for decades now. But despite bringing us new experiences he seems to harp on the past an awful lot. The good news is, Mario, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Music: Danse Morialta Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Wish…

This Ridiculous Pokémon Load Time Is Fake

There’s a new Pokémon game. It’s called Pokémon X/Y and recently gameplay was showed off on Japanese television. Don’t worry; the game doesn’t appear to have ridiculously long load times. The above GIF is a fake! This is gameplay footage that has been given a long “Now Loading…” screen. As several Kotaku commenters have pointed…