Nintendo

Pikmin 3: The Kotaku Review(s)

I can’t review Pikmin 3 just once. I won’t. I’m going to review it seven times. Before I get to the reviewing, though, let me do some explaining. In case you don’t know. Pikmin games are made by Nintendo and were dreamt up by Shigeru Miyamoto, the man credited with inventing Mario and Zelda. Pikmin…

With Pikmin 3 releasing today, now’s as good a time as any to catch up on the history and trivia behind this series—including its origins as a GameCube tech demo, its influence on Super Mario Galaxy, and the fact Nintendo crossbred a new flower variety (Bacopa Cabana) to promote it. [Did You Know Gaming?]

Watch Us Play… Pikmin 3 And Try To Do This Thing Called ‘Teamwork’

Pikmin 3‘s timed missions are tough, even in co-op. Here’s one of the early ones. Kotaku‘s Steve Marinconz and I had just seven minutes to slay a mighty monster. Could we do it? We recorded the video a couple of days ago, if that matters to you. For more impressions of the Wii U’s first…

Whoops! Target Advertises Wii As Wii U

Brand confusion has long been an issue for the Wii U. Thanks to the confusing name and the similarities between the look of Nintendo’s newest console and their last one, some have mistaken the Wii U for a Wii accessory. This certainly can’t help. As spotted by Twitterer @Shane1323, Target’s most recent ad for the…

Pikmin 3 is finally here and you can download it this weekend. The ultra-cute strategy game leads the list of downloadable games hitting Nintendo hardware this week. Cloudberry Kingdom also comes out right about now, along with Kirby’s Dreamland 2, Disney’s Planes and Harvest Moon, too. Check out the full list of games that will…

Why Nintendo Says it Doesn’t Make Art

Nintendo has been fighting an uphill battle with the Wii U. To say sales havenot been good is a bit of an understatement. But the news is not all doom and gloom, and Nintendo’s dandy helmsman, Satoru Iwata is ever optimistic. In a3-partinterview with Toyo Keizai Online, Iwata talked about the gaming industry and game…

Modern Mario Has Blood, HD Graphics And…Dragons

Now, there’s nothing wrong with the original Super Mario Bros. It’s a classic. Still, I can’t help but gush over this “modern” take on the game by Deloix; it manages to bring Mario to 2013 without completely shedding its retro roots. At the very least, I’d play an HD remake that looked like this. I…

Wii U Arkham Origins Won’t Have Multiplayer, But Will It Cost Less?

Holy smaller video game, Batman! Warner Bros. has confirmed that the newly-revealed multiplayer modes for Batman: Arkham Origins won’t be included in the Wii U version of the game. As spotted by Eurogamer and IGN, the official press release accompanying the multiplayer announcement indicated that Arkham Origins‘ multiplayer modes will only be available on PS3,…

Nintendo’s Brighter Gaming Future

Amid much ado about Nintendo’s high 3DS sales and low Wii U sales, we’ve also got an updated chart of game release dates from the House of Mario. This one shows the major releases for both Nintendo consoles, though it surely omits most of the surprise downloadable releases the company loves to dole out. What…

The 3DS and Its Strong Lineup Push Nintendo to a Profit

While the Wii U’s sales may be a stark disappointment to Nintendo, it still found hope in its handheld lineup, with particular thanks to the western release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Sales of the 3DS and its titles helped boost the company to a profit in the first quarter of its fiscal year. The…

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…