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Nintendo’s Ambassador Program Ad Reads Like a Product Recall
Nintendo is slashing the price of the 3DS and giving away a ton of free games to early adopters. While I’m sure that’s grim news for those who actually work at Nintendo, the marketing for the move doesn’t have to follow suit! The first ad up top is for the British 3DS-owning public. It’s sombre…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallHappy 25th Birthday, Metroid!
In 1986, a number of Nintendo’s biggest franchises made their debut on the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System. Zelda was one, and now this month, we celebrate another: Metroid Both have something in common, something that makes them stand out among other company icons like Mario or Donkey Kong, and that something is a more “hardcore” slant.…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2011 -
Japan Suddenly Wants Used 3DS Units
After clogging up shops for months, used 3DS units are suddenly become hot (well, hotter) with the 3DS now ¥4,000 cheaper and sales doubling. It’s thought the spike is because of the free games Nintendo’s offering. [Media Create]
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 5, 2011 -
Modern Warfare 3 on Wii Is in Familiar Hands
The upcoming Modern Warfare 3 is being developed by Infinity Ward. Or, at least, what’s left of it. The Wii version, however, is being developed by somebody else, somebody just as familiar with the series, if not quite as popular with its fans. That developer is Treyarch, the team behind Call of Duty 3, World…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 5, 2011 -
Capcom Is Charging for a 3DS Demo
A demo is like a sample sachet of shampoo. A piece of sausage a lady at a supermarket offers you. It’s a small, free thing, designed to lure you into buying a product. It is not, and never should be, a product itself. Yet Capcom is testing the waters in Japan with a paid demo…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 5, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Weird & Wonderful World of Australian Video Game Commercials
Before the internet put the entire planet on the same page, there were certain nations on Earth that were a little…slower than others. Places where the latest trends would turn up late, or turn up filtered through a few different sets of hands. Australia was one of those places. Owing to our extreme isolation, particularly…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 5, 2011 -
They Don’t Even Bother Coloring WiiWare Games Anymore
I can understand leaving Mario Picross for the original Game Boy in black and white, but in this day and age a WiiWare game needs to be completely filled with vibrant splashes of color. Shame on you, Monochrome Racing I suppose it’s okay to make your game mostly black and white when it’s a design…
By Mike Fahey Published August 4, 2011 -
Nintendo’s Problem Isn’t Hardware — They Stopped Making Killer Bongo Games
Yesterday Stephen Totilo posited that Nintendo’s problems stem from a lack of killer games. In today’s Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter GeshGav agrees, though his idea of killer games is a little bit different. If I’m known for anything (gaming-wise) in my circle of friends, it’s that I’m a rabid fan of Donkey Konga. The…
By Mike Fahey Published August 4, 2011 -
Silly Excuses for Pikachu Ripoff
Remember that city in Japan that created a Pikachu ripoff? Sure you do! Kotaku posted about it yesterday. The character Eco-chan opened an environmental center in Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and was supposed to be used in green publicity campaigns. According to Japanese news reports, it was only after the character’s costume was complete that a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 4, 2011 -
The History of Nintendo in an Easy Timeline
Sure, the timeline leaves out the gangsters and the love hotels (and even the Kamen Rider blocks), but it does hit Nintendo’s gaming high points from the late 19th century to 2011. In that time, Nintendo’s gone from a small company that made playing cards to a high tech international powerhouse. But one thing hasn’t…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 4, 2011 -
You Won’t Know the Wii U’s Price or Release Date Until 2012
Nintendo might have shown the Wii U off at this year’s E3, but that doesn’t mean the console is gearing up towards a launch in early 2012. All we know for now is Nintendo plans to release the Wii U sometime after April 1, 2012. With declining Wii and DS sales and the lacklustre performance…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2011 -
Nintendo: It’s For Dresses, Now
Honey, if I bought this for you, would you wear it for me? This Game Boy-themed tube dress costs about as much as the original device did—$70. It’s made by HereandThereVintage and available on etsy. Nintendo Dress [Etsy via LikeCool] You can contact Owen Good, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also…
By Owen Good Published August 3, 2011 -
The Xbox 360 Has a Hidden Solution to Your Nintendo 3DS Screen Woes
If you own (and use) a Nintendo 3DS, you’ve probably noticed that the system’s top screen can get marked up and scratched rather easily, just by closing and carrying it around for the sake of Street Passing. Nintendo has recommended that 3DS owners place a cloth between the screens to prevent any damage, but some…
By Jen Schiller Published August 3, 2011 -
Nintendo’s Problem Isn’t Hardware—They Stopped Making Killer Games
Nintendo’s biggest problem isn’t hardware—it’s games. The proper noun that should send Nintendo watchers the most chills isn’t Apple—it’s Wii Fit Apple is merely the topic of a question, the one about who Nintendo is competing with. The other is an answer—possibly the missing answer—about what Nintendo needs to be a confident giant again rather…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 3, 2011 -
Boy, This Lady Loves The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
When nerd heroine Shoko Nakagawa isn’t appearing in Pokémon movies, she’s putting molted bug shells in her hair. And when she’s not doing that, she’s doing other things, like appearing in commercials! Such as a series of spots for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, a game that she was extremely excited to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 3, 2011 -
So What Was One Inspiration for Star Fox?
Well, there was a fox temple Star Fox developer Dylan Cuthbert told Kotaku about. But that’s not all. The game was also inspired by British television. In a recent Nintendo interview, both company president Satoru Iwata and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto professed their love for 1960s British puppet show Thunderbirds Miyamoto admitted that licensing Thunderbirds…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 3, 2011 -
The Far Cry Games We Never Got
Far Cry 2 is a high-powered shooter for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. That’s not all, apparently! According to the resume of Ubisoft’s Philippe Baude, there was a version of Far Cry 2 in the works for the PSP and the Wii in late 2006 and early 2007, but the games were cancelled. Far…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 3, 2011 -
CultureTotal Recall
This Is the Coolest Stuff Nintendo Has Ever Made
You can say a lot of nice things about Nintendo games. Nintendo hardware, too. Wildly successful, iconic and timeless are just three of them. But how often can you say something Nintendo made was genuinely cool? Not very often. Unless you go back to the 1960’s, to a time before Nintendo was making video games.…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 3, 2011 -
Metroid‘s Samus and the Exploded Suit
Artist Justin Currie, admittedly an inexperienced Metroid player, gorgeously illustrates the disintegrating armor of Nintendo icon and bounty hunter Samus Aran, a moment before it fully forms around her (or disintegrates, depending on your point of view). “I’ve never really played any of the Metroid games, but the Samus character has always intrigued me,” writes…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 2, 2011 -
Nintendo’s President Addresses 3DS Owners Who May Feel ‘Betrayed’ by Sudden Price Drop
After dismal sales of the Nintendo 3DS (and declining sales of the Wii and Nintendo DS), Nintendo issued a massive, uncharacterisitc price cut for its newest handheld. It plans on compensating early adopters, but what of the 3DS owner personally wounded by Nintendo’s cutting? Nintendo president Satoru Iwata colored the announcement of the 3DS price…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 2, 2011