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Pokémon Conquest Poses Triumphantly Over the Battered Bodies of Game Reviewers
Collecting all the Pokémon in a normal installment of Nintendo’s beloved role-playing series is a daunting enough task for your average game reviewer. Pokémon Conquest asks them to conquer an entire continent while they do it. Man, Nintendo, cut some critics a little slack. Pokémon Conquest combines colorful cartoon creatures of joy and wonder with…
By Mike Fahey Published June 19, 2012 -
Nothing Says “Hack And Slash” Like Toyota Taxis
To promote upcoming 3DS game Samurai Warriors Chronicle 2nd, Koei covered a fleet of Prius taxis with the game’s title and characters—and then filmed a promotional video at Kumamoto Castle and Kato Shrine. The video is nicely shot provides a peek at some of Kumamoto’s biggest attractions. (No, not the taxis.) 戦国無双×熊本タクシー コラボカー出陣式 [YouTube]
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Is the Greatest Cute Bento Maker on Earth
In Japan, parents make bento lunches for their kindergarten kids. To make a healthy lunch look as appetizing (or rather, “fun”) as possible, many parents make them as cute as possible. As a parent of two boys, I’ve tried to make cute bento lunches, with the key word being “tried”. The materials you are working…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 19, 2012 -
Nintendo, PLEASE, Make This Zelda Box Set a Reality
Last year, Zelda’s 25th anniversary came and went with little fanfare from Nintendo. What people wanted was a nice big commemorative box set. What we got was…a concert tour and a 3DS. Designer Jason Nowak knows what we wanted, though, and took a crack at designing it. The results are…beautiful. A wooden box, a little…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 18, 2012 -
Jimmy Fallon Thought the Wii U was a Wii Peripheral
This morning we ran a roundup of clips from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon‘s big post-E3 “Video Game Week,” highlighted by his hands-on time with the Wii U. Fallon’s opening monologue, however, is where the entertainment is, really. Nintendo can’t be too pleased that its Late Night close up begins by describing the Wii U…
By Owen Good Published June 16, 2012 -
Reggie Shows Jimmy Fallon How to Flick Throwing Stars with the Wii U Controller
This week, Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night provided a kind of victory lap for video gaming’s heavy-hitting brands coming out of E3. “Video Game Week” on the show wrapped up last night with Reggie Fils-Aime, the boss of Nintendo of America, giving Fallon some hands-on time with the Wii U. Sure, it’s a hype appearance, but…
By Owen Good Published June 16, 2012 -
The Surprisingly Simple Story Behind What Might Be The Last Great Wii Game
Nintendo has an annoying tendency to keep games all to themselves. Over the past few years, the Japanese company has sat on the rights to much-requested series like Mother, Fatal Frame, and Fire Emblem, stubbornly refusing to translate and ship them over to U.S. shores. So it was a pleasant surprise when the Mario makers…
By Jason Schreier Published June 15, 2012 -
Modern Video Game Heroes as Traditional Japanese Paintings
Those with a fancy for traditional Japanese art and popular video game heroes, this gallery is just. For. You. Artist Jed Henry has been doing this series – called Ukiyo Heroes – for a while now, but he’s finally got enough of them together to run them as a collection. The name derives from Ukiyo-e,…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 15, 2012 -
Nintendo’s Top People Are Discussing Ways To Make Their New Games More Like Their Old Ones
There was something magical about Nintendo’s earliest Mario and Zelda games. Something simple. Something pure. Something Nintendo has gotten away from. Shigeru Miyamoto, the man who led the creation of those first games and is still the chief game design force at Nintendo knows this. He’s noticed that Nintendo’s big games have been slow-starters, that…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 14, 2012 -
Microsoft Not Attending Tokyo Game Show or Gamescom
Today, Microsoft announced that it will not be appearing at either Gamescom or the Tokyo Game Show. Instead, it will rely on its partners and, in Japan’s case, its own events. In an interview with Famitsu, Microsoft stated that it was not abandoning Japan and is planning end of the year promotions. Microsoft did say…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
New Super Mario Bros. 2 Features The Midas Touch And Co-op Play
It looks like Nintendo’s latest Mario game, New Super Mario Bros 2, which is scheduled for release in August, is going for the gold. Literally. The Mario series has always been adding new costumes for the mustached plumber with every game. The previous announcement that New Super Mario Bros. 2 would include a variation of…
By Toshi Nakamura Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Why Nintendo Almost Dumped the Wii U’s Biggest Feature
Each Nintendo hardware has its thing: For the Wii, it’s motion controls; for the 3DS, it’s 3D; and for the Wii U, it’s a tablet-like controller. Dubbed the Wii U GamePad, that controller was almost killed off. “Sometime during that final discussion we almost gave up on the idea of the additional screen,” Iwata recently…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
“Kirb” Your Enthusiasm With These 6 Classic Kirby Games In One
It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since Kirby first appeared on the Nintendo Gameboy. I still remember the first time I saw that cute pink (Well, sort of cream-colored with black outlines on the Gameboy) innocent-looking little marshmallow suck a bird down his gullet and swallow it whole. Since then, the Kirby series…
By Toshi Nakamura Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastHow Nintendo Created a Sex Symbol
Dressed in smart business attire and glasses, she takes her seat behind a desk. She’s here to explain a turn-based strategy game. Yet, online forums are buzzing in Japan that she is “way too erotic”. She is Cepko Culd, Japanese gaming’s newest sex symbol. With Culdcept for 3DS, Nintendo is bringing Omiya Soft’s classic fantasy…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012 -
You’ve Probably Never Seen These Smash Bros. Challengers Before
You can modify the Wii’s Smash Bros. to play differently, sure, but you can also mod it to look differently, using existing models as templates to introduce a whole range of new characters to the game. Samba Di Amigo? He’s there. Woody and Buzz from Toy Story? They’re there. Carl from Up? Yup. There’s even…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012 -
Nintendo Handhelds Given a Very Sexy Sega Makeoever
It doesn’t matter that Sega hasn’t made hardware for over a decade. Let’s pretend that, in addition to teaming up for Olympics sporting games, the company also partners with Nintendo to make handheld game consoles. These customised pieces show a 3DS and DSi with a very Sega makeoever, both given the livery of a Mega…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012 -
Nintendo’s Not Worried About SmartGlass, Because You Only Have Two Hands
While E3 was occupying everyone’s attention last week, Nintendo held an analyst event for their investors. During the Q&A, one meeting participant honed in on something many of us have been wondering since Microsoft unveiled their SmartGlass, and posed the question: “Are you worried about SmartGlass? How does Nintendo intend to differentiate its hardware system?”…
By Kate Cox Published June 13, 2012 -
Nintendo Isn’t Scared of Apple’s Rumored TV
Nintendo isn’t worried about Apple wresting dominance in the battle for your living room. Even if the iPhone maker could announce its long-rumored television at some point this year, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata says he isn’t worried about Apple’s new device taking attention away from the Wii U. In response to a question during an…
By Jason Schreier Published June 13, 2012