-
Super Smash Bros. ‘De-made’ For Game Boy Looks Crazy Enough To Work
This is Super Smash Land, the Game Boy release of Nintendo’s bestselling brawler that never existed until now. And, yes, that’s Kirby and Mario duking it out at Peach’s Castle in monochromatic glory. Super Smash Land is the creation of digital artist Dan Fornace, writes Piki Geek, an 8-bit de-creation that manages to squeeze good-natured…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 13, 2010 -
The Nintendo Download: Family Games, At Last
The biggest surprise about this week’s new downloadable games for Nintendo’s Wii and DSi platforms is that no one had released a game called “Family Games” yet. Oversight overcome. Read on to see what you can download this week. WiiWare Family Games Publisher: Icon Games Entertainment Players: 1-4 ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) Price: 500 Wii…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 13, 2010 -
Nintendo’s Heroes Of The Second World War
Nintendo may have been around during the Second World War, but it wasn’t making video games. If it was, though, maybe some of its most beloved characters would have looked a little…different. A bunch of artists (two of them, Gavin Goulden and Jorge Lacera, from Irrational Games in Boston) are currently running a little showdown,…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2010 -
Nintendo Characters Covered In Plastic And Strung Out On Crack
That “on crack” bit isn’t me being rude. That’s what the guy who made these figures said — that they look like they’re on crack. Mario and Peach were made from ECW action figures while Toad was made from a Mini-Me action figure. Figure maker kodykoala acknowledges that they look weird, but says this is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 13, 2010 -
Nintendo Makes Mario’s Creator Drive To Work
There’s a great piece up on Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto over on the New Yorker, and while we knew much of what’s been written, one thing stands out: the guy’s being forced to drive to work! That’s right, apparently while he used to enjoy walking or riding his bike, these days the suits make him…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2010 -
CultureTotal Recall
These Are Not Action Figures, They Are Nintendo Games
You’ll usually find something being crammed in a “blister pack” when it’s an action figure or a control pad. You don’t normally see video games shipped that way. But it turns out that in Western Europe (and very rarely Canada), in the 1980s and 1990s, you could find classic Nintendo games encased in plastic, hanging…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2010 -
Nintendo’s Revised History Of Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. is 25 years old this year. To commemorate that anniversary, Nintendo is releasing the Super Mario All-Stars collection for Wii. The way Nintendo explains what Super Mario Bros. is and how one plays it has changed over the years. None of those changes are dramatic, though. What Nintendo calls Super Mushrooms in…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 9, 2010 -
This Is Not A Single Zelda Screenshot
It is hundreds of screenshots, composited into recreations of artwork featuring the two stars of Nintendo’s famous adventure series, Link and the Princess Zelda. These screenshot mosaics were made using shots from every single Zelda game ever made. Yes, even the handheld ones, and yes, even the new ones, and yes, even the awful CDi…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2010 -
The Super Mario All-Stars Unboxing Is Sad For Luigi Fans
Nintendo sent a copy of Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii to Kotaku HQ today, a premium package filled with four classic Super Mario Bros. video games and very little mention of the Mario’s frequently overlooked brother Luigi. The star of Luigi’s Mansion does pop up now and then in this celebration of the more…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2010 -
Smash Bros. Creator Tells Tales Of Game Development Hell
The man behind Nintendo’s insanely popular fighting game series, Super Smash Bros., worked tirelessly to give fans their GameCube sequel to the Nintendo 64 original. He calls the making of that game “grueling” and part of a “really destructive lifestyle.” Masahiro Sakurai, the game designer of Super Smash Bros. and its two sequels, writes in…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2010 -
Toast This Zelda Wine Glass Cover
When YouTube user Sp0ntanius covered the tune “Song of Healing” from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, he didn’t do it with traditional instruments. He did it with wine glasses and water. And he did it with himself. Several Sp0ntaniuses play the tune in a one-man-band and even help each other out by filling their…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 8, 2010 -
With These Cards, Show Your Po-Po-Po-Pokémon Face
There are Pokémon cards that are used to play the Pocket Monsters card game, and then there are these. And these are magnificent. Nintendo is releasing a set of Pokémon playing cards. There are, of course, a Pokémon Black set and a Pokémon White set, with two Zekrom cards as the Joker for the White…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 8, 2010 -
Who Is The Mother Of Video Games?
People say Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario and more, is the Father of Video Games. If he’s the father, then who’s the mother? Yu Suzuki, creator of titles like Virtua Fighter and Out Run, reckons it’s him. “If Miyamoto was the father of gaming, I suppose that makes me the mother,” Suzuki tells website 1Up.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 7, 2010 -
The Nintendo Download: Hot And Cold Running Fluidity
Nintendo celebrates water in all its form and splendor in Fluidity, a WiiWare platformer and the star of this week’s Nintendo Download. Fluidity puts the player in control of a heroic pool of water, navigating the ancient and mystical Aquaticus encyclopedia to rid it of corruption. Twisting the Wii remote rotates the world, allowing your…
By Mike Fahey Published December 6, 2010 -
Kiss Your Copying Software Goodbye, Japan!
Under current Japanese, it is illegal to upload or sell pirated games and movies. It is legal to copy for one’s own personal use. Better get all your personal copying done pronto, because that’s going to get harder. According to the Asahi Newspaper, Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs is readying new legislation that will revise…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 6, 2010 -
The Nintendo Wii Wants To Be Japan’s Social Butterfly
You’re in the company rec room, why not play the Nintendo Wii? You just had a nabe party, you up for some Wii? Hey, it’s your day off, how about playing…the Nintendo Wii? Nintendo’s latest series of ads seem to be put forth just that: when people get together, they can play the Wii. Fair…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 6, 2010 -
The Gingerbread House That Nintendo Built
OK, they didn’t really build it. But Nintendo did send along the supplies, complete with Nintendo-themed candies. Trish, Tristan and I built the Gingerbread house, complete with a trapped Mario, waiting for his princess to save him. Rudolph by J.E.L.L.i.
By Brian Crecente Published December 3, 2010 -
This Is The Worst Michael Jackson Video Game Ever
Some publishers of Nintendo DS games like to install their own anti-piracy measures, which while being unable to prevent pirates from physically copying a game, can prevent people from enjoying those pirated copies. It appears as though the DS version of Michael Jackson: The Experience DS is one of those games. Users who grabbed the…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 3, 2010 -
Fading Wii Speak Faces Phase Out
Wii Speak’s retail availability is being curtailed and, if demand for it doesn’t improve – which doesn’t appear at all likely – Nintendo will phase out the microphone peripheral completely. In a statement, Nintendo has confirmed Wii Speak’s limited retail availability as part of a phasing out of it altogether. However, the company that it’ll…
By Owen Good Published December 2, 2010