Nintendo

The Wii U has just received a system update, bringing it to 3.1.0. Nothing major, but here’s the summary anyways. Version 3.1.0 U available via wireless Internet connection includes the following improvements: Improvements to Standby Functions: The standby functions will now regularly connect to the Internet when the Wii U is powered down to check…

It’s Time Nintendo Brought Out a New Franchise, Says Shigeru Miyamoto

Nintendo has a stable of tried and tested games. But those of you who wished Nintendo would do something new, listen up. According to Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo will. In the latest issue of Famitsu, Miyamoto talked about a “new franchise”. Here’s the direct quote (translation via Kotaku‘s Toshi Nakamura): Famitsu: So, starting with…

Report: China Is Ending Its Ban on Video Game Consoles

Since the year 2000, video game consoles have been banned in China. According to a new report, however, that is about to change. Video game consoles could soon be legal in the world’s most populated country. The South China Morning Post is reporting that the Chinese government is expected to reverse its 13-year video game…

Hacked Mario 64 Lets Boy Smash His Own Face In

OK. So this is weird. Reddit user pourmeanother77 has edited a copy of Mario 64 so that his son’s face replaced the texture on the game’s goombas. It’s about as simple a modification as you can do to a game, swapping one file for another, but when the result was “He laughed for a good…

Why Are You Here? Shigeru Miyamoto On The Ocarina Of Time

For many, Ocarina of Time is the greatest video game ever made or, at the very least, one of the most influential. In this Kotaku feature story we speak to its creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, about the making of the game we waited seven years for. “Mr Miyamoto, what are you doing? Why are you here?”…

Nintendo Changes Mind, Allows Smash Bros. Streaming

Only hours after Nintendo blocked fighting game tournament Evo from streaming Smash Bros. Melee matches, the publisher has swiftly reversed its decision. A notice on SRK reads: I’ve just receive word from Nintendo that the Evo Smash Bros. Melee stream will be allowed to proceed. We will be restoring the original stream and tournament schedules.…

The Nintendo Power Glove Gets Its Own Documentary

It was supposed to be the first part in turning yourself into a bad-ass cyborg. An artifact from the glorious gaming future that we couldn’t live inside of yet. Sure, you can laugh at it now but you know you wanted a Power Glove back in the day. The accessory favored by Nintendo superfan Isaiah…

Nintendo Won’t Let Top Fighting Game Tournament Stream Smash Bros

UPDATE – Nintendo has reversed its initial decision, allowing the streaming to take place. In a move that’s already ticking off a lot of fans, Nintendo is denying the world’s biggest fighting game tournament, Evo, from streaming footage of Nintendo’s top fighting game, the GameCube’s Super Smash Bros. Melee The news hit today via an…

Nintendo and Japanese Game Makers Win Another R4 Legal Victory

Today, Nintendo won another legal battle against R4 devices against two Japanese distributors. Upholding the ban on R4 devices, a Tokyo court ruled that the accused, two Tokyo-based R4 sellers, must pay a sum total of nearly US$1 million ($944,921) in damages to Nintendo and fifty or so other companies that had joined in the…

Legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with Game Informer to talk about all things Nintendo—his own role at the company, Zelda, Pikmin, Mario, even sharing his thoughts on the creation of new franchises.

Finally, fans have begun recording live versions of the Kapp’n’s songs from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Here’s one instant-classic, sweetly performed by YouTuber Misterandell I like the Kapp’n, though most of the girls I know who play this game say he’s always hitting on them. (This post at Electropolis seems to back that up.) All…

Shareholder Asks Nintendo Why Its Cafeteria Sucks

Yeah, yeah, Nintendo’s president told investors the Wii Vitality Sensor has been canned. But he says that every year, just about. What fascinated me about his Q&A with shareholders was the fact Nintendo employees think the chow at the company’s cafeteria is pretty bad. From the transcript: “I heard that the quality of the company…

The Latest New Pokemon Is A Cold, Dead Thing

In the interest of appeasing those who would rather keep all of the new Pokemon coming in X and Y later this year a surprise, we’ve employed a time-tested technique of obscuring the latest reveal. It’s a Ghost type. It’s also a Steel type. And it’d be right-at-home in the hands of a DC Comics…

Pokémon’s Creator Talks French Inspiration, Reveals New Pokémon

In Paris, France, the Japan Expo, Europe’s largest public event related to Japanese pop culture, is currently taking place. Junichi Masuda, Game Freak founder and both director and composer for the Pokémon games, recorded a video message to mark the occasion. After introducing himself (in French, no less!), Masuda talks about his own travels to…

In Japan, Nintendo Was Hacked

Nintendo’s Kyoto-based HQ just announced that Club Nintendo, its member rewards site, has been hacked. This was discovered when a large number of access errors began appearing on July 2. That’s when Nintendo began investigating the issue. According to Nintendo’s investigation, there were 23,000 unauthorized log-ins (with 15 million attempts) between June 9 and July…

Retailer Promotes SNES Emulator In Ouya Advertisement

Just in case you’d forgotten that the Ouya console can play emulated games, a major retailer’s advertisement in the UK is only too happy to remind you. GAME’s main Ouya page has a large image showing “a selection of free games” you can try on the Android-powered machine, and one of them is for Super…

Nintendo’s Region-Locking Excuses Are Pretty Weak

In an interview with IGN, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was asked about the company’s insistence on region-locking its current hardware. His responses would be funny if they weren’t so tragic. “From some people’s perspective, it might seem like a kind of restriction. However, we hope people can appreciate the fact that we’re selling our products…

Japan Getting Sweet Pokémon X & Y 3DS Handheld

On October 12, Japan will be getting this very sharp custom Pokémon 3DS XL, bearing illustrations of the two new legendary creatures – Xerneas and Yveltal – making their debut in Pokémon X & Y.

How the Owners of ‘WiiU.Com’ Won Their Case Against Nintendo

Over the weekend it was learned that Nintendo lost its case to take over the website name wiiu.com—a domain registered way the hell back in 2004, before “Wii” even existed as a word or trademark. So what exactly did “wiiu.com” stand for nine years ago? According to the full text of the World Intellectual Property…

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Is So Big It Entered Alpha, Beta, AND Gamma

Most video games, during development, enter QA/fine-tuning phases called “alpha” and “beta.” Not Mario & Luigi: Dream Team! Mario and Luigi’s next RPG outing is so big it gets its own buzzword: Gamma. “This time, we divided the entire development phase into the one to create an alpha version, one for a beta version and…