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“Nintendo Shock” Shocks Japan
“Lehman Shock” is how Japan described the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. “Shock” (ショック) is en vogue in Japan, and a quick way to describe the impact of something often unexpected, like the “Fukushima Shock”, for instance. But “Nintendo Shock”? The Japanese press is using it to describe Nintendo’s current situation: falling Wii sales and underwhelming…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 27, 2011 -
Nintendo Regrets Going It Alone With The Wii
For a console with an impressive install base of more 86 million, you might think that Nintendo wouldn’t have any regrets about the Wii. But Nintendo’s CEO says he does have one regret, one that he intends to address in the future. “I now regret that we didn’t tie up with someone outside the company…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 26, 2011 -
Nintendo Worried People Aren’t Buying 3DS’ Magic
Nintendo’s glasses-free 3DS portable gaming system isn’t selling as well as the company expected because people don’t understand how great the gadget is or how to properly use it, the president of the company theorizes. Addressing a gathering of analysts in Tokyo this week, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata seemed to place most of the blame…
By Brian Crecente Published April 26, 2011 -
Rhythm Paradise Brings Most Exciting Keynote Slide of the Year
Follow up to the cult portable series Rhythm Heaven, Rhythm Paradise is coming to Wii this summer. We don’t know much beyond that it designed to be played “only with buttons”. But it’s clear from the slide a whole world of spaghetti stabbing awaits. Nintendo Heaven Financial Results Briefing (March 2011) [Nintendo.co.jp] Update: It has…
By Joel Johnson Published April 26, 2011 -
Star Fox 64 3DS Remake is ‘Newly-Arranged’ and Motion-Controlled
Star Fox 64 was one of the Nintendo 64’s best video games. It was a fantastic on-rails shooter, it introduced rumble to Nintendo console gaming and it gave the world one of the best pieces of advice ever delivered by software: “Do a barrel roll.” How in the world do the people re-making the game…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 26, 2011 -
It Sure Looks Like Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness is Coming to the 3DS
The magazine scans reader David points us towards are ridiculously blurry and the images vague, but three things are certain: That spiky-haired character is holding a Pokéball, the game is on the 3DS, and that’s Agate Village from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness For more than a decade now, Pokémon fans have been clamoring for…
By Mike Fahey Published April 26, 2011 -
The Coolest Looking Nintendo 3DS Is The Customized One
Deza Egg is a Japanese after market game hardware customizer. So if you’re not happy with the 3DS colors Nintendo is offering, Deza Egg can help. Deza Egg has sixty colors that users can choose from, and users can either send in their 3DS to be painted with prices starting at ¥19,980 (US$244) depending on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 26, 2011 -
Dreaming of Nintendo’s Next Console
You’ve seen our buddy Sam Spratt give us his take on the next Nintendo console’s controllers and appearance, but what about you, dear reader? What about our more talented reader’s takes? I put a call out last week for those handy with PhotoShop to drop us a line and send us some classy, realistic mock-ups…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 26, 2011 -
Why Is Nintendo Releasing a New Console?
Well, besides the fact that Wii sales are on a downward slide, Wii games don’t look good on HD televisions and the console is starting to show its age. Besides all that, there must be a reason. “It’s become hard for software makers to surprise customers with the current Wii,” Nintendo honcho president recently told…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 26, 2011 -
What New Nintendo Games Can We Expect in 2011?
It’s April. Soon it will be May. And to fill out the rest of 2011, Nintendo is going to release games. Most of them have already been revealed, but here’s a handy list of titles Nintendo plans out putting out in 2011. Here’s a rundown, courtesy of Nintendo. Some titles, such as Paper Mario, are…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 26, 2011 -
Mario Kart 3DS Isn’t as Far Off as You May Think
Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto is in Paris at the moment on a 3DS press tour, and in between pressing the flesh and answering questions about his hobbies and pastimes, he’s dropping hints about Mario Kart 3DS Despite the fact we’ve seen little but a glorified tech demo of the latest and inevitable version…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 26, 2011 -
It Really is Time for the Wii 2, According to the People who Robbed Me this Weekend
There may be no clear winner in this generation’s console wars, but there is definitely a clear loser, at least according to the people that broke into my apartment this weekend and stole every piece of electronic equipment they could get their hands on. While they took every other gaming console hooked to my television,…
By Mike Fahey Published April 25, 2011 -
Nintendo’s New Console ‘Playable By Everyone’ At E3
Nintendo’s confirmation this morning that they’ll be showing their new console at E3 left many unanswered questions, but also raised a note of skepticism. The company’s statement on the Wii successor promises “a playable model” of the machine at E3 in June. But would Nintendo just play it on stage and leave attendees to gawk?…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 25, 2011 -
The Best Nintendo Downloadable This Week Isn’t A Game At All
Riding on a wave of WiiWare demos, word searchers, and puzzle games, this week’s most intriguing downloadable offering comes from Flat Black Studios, the animation and software company behind the films Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly. You might not know Flat Black Studios, but chances are you’ve seen their work, whether it be the…
By Mike Fahey Published April 25, 2011 -
Is This A Wii 2 (Project Cafe) Prototype? Or Yet Another Photoshop?
And if it is a Photoshop, it’s starting to seem like the phonies are copying images that could very well be phony. Fantasy feeding fantasy! [Thanks everyone who sent this in!] [Update: Added a second image. Then fixed my post, because I screwed it up. –Joel]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 25, 2011 -
Yes, People Still Buy This Game Boy Advance Game
Japanese website Geimin.net has a list of the top thousand selling games during 2010, based on Media Create data. On the the list, there was one game that stands out. It’s an oddity of sorts. There were 291 Nintendo DS games that made the top thousand, 288 PSP games, 176 PS3 games, 108 Wii games,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 25, 2011 -
Nintendo Wants “New Approach” With Wii Successor
With the Wii successor, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, “We would like to propose a new approach to home video game consoles.” However, don’t count on a 3D home console like Nintendo’s newly released 3D-glasses free portable, the Nintendo 3DS. According to Bloomberg, Iwata said, “It’s difficult to make 3-D images a key feature, because…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 25, 2011 -
Do Not Buy A 3DS From The Home Shopping Network
Your first instinct may be to hate this. For the price-gouging, for the fact they can’t seem to get even minor details right (my what is a 2D camera?). But give it a few minutes and that’s exactly the reason you’ll grow to love it. It’s the Home Shopping Network at its finest! [via Go…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 25, 2011 -
Is Nintendo’s New Machine The Death Of The “Console Generation”?
So, Nintendo has finally confirmed that a new console will be out in 2012, six years after the release of the Wii. With Microsoft and Sony not due to release consoles until 2014 at the earliest, is this the death of the “console generation”? Since the latter half of the 1990s, video game consoles have…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 25, 2011