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The 19th Century Called, It Wants Its Game Boy Back
Steampunk may be growing a little long in the tooth as far as internet crazes go, but that doesn’t mean we turn our backs on it completely. Fancy steampunk Game Boys, for example, are worth a second look. Designed by Game Boy modder Thretris, it’s an original 1989 model, and comes with not just a…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 23, 2010 -
Will The Next Zelda Game Change Based On Your Pulse?
Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto may be toying with new ways to shake up The Legend of Zelda, adding more than just Wii MotionPlus support for the next adventure of Link. Is he also considering Wii Vitality Sensor-based gameplay? While Miyamoto didn’t confirm whether the next Wii Zelda game would feature pulse-pounding, biometrics-based additions, he…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 22, 2010 -
Smash Bros., Metroid, Scribblenauts Creators Making Free WarioWare Microgames
Nintendo’s upcoming WarioWare: D.I.Y., the game that lets players create their own playable microgames, is tapping a handful of all-star developers to create free downloadable content, including the makers of games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid and Scribblenauts. Followers of WarioWare: D.I.Y. may already be aware of Nintendo’s celebrity-made microgame giveaways. The Japanese version…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 22, 2010 -
Nintendo DSi XL Delivery Comes With a Five-Foot Surprise
A delivery man just brought this to my door. Inside, a DSi XL for reviewing. But what he left in his truck was more interesting. “I’ve got a five-foot sub for ya,” he said smiling. For me??? You know how I love my sandwiches, especially when they are subs delivered to my home. Was this…
By Brian Crecente Published March 22, 2010 -
Super Guide, Vitality Sensor and Netflix DS: A Conversation With Nintendo
While both Sony and Microsoft are focusing on their own forms of motion gaming this year, Nintendo plans to continue their efforts to change the way we play games. Speaking with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently, the charismatic executive walked me through some of Nintendo’s 2010 game plans including the publisher’s push to…
By Brian Crecente Published March 22, 2010 -
The Nintendo Download: This Is The Story Of A Cave
It’s Cave Story week on the Nintendo Download, and Nintendo has gotten every other WiiWare game out of the way in order to make sure Studio Pixel’s eagerly anticipated action adventure has center stage. IT feels like we’ve been waiting forever, but we don’t have to wait no more. Cave Story for WiiWare is here,…
By Mike Fahey Published March 22, 2010 -
Nintendo And McDonalds: A Short History
The king of fast-food. The biggest Japanese video game company. Nintendo and McDonald’s have been in cahoots for years The recent news that McDonald’s is using the Nintendo DS to quickly train new part-time employees is just the latest in a long, long line of Nintendo-McDonald’s tie-ups. This collaboration helps McDonald’s cuts training time in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 22, 2010 -
Mario Creator Has Never Called Video Games “Art”
Are video games art? Or are they entertainment? Let’s see what Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. Last week, Miyamoto was in London to receive a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Fellowship at the GAME British Academy Video Games Award, reports the Associated Press. “It’s a great…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 22, 2010 -
Awkward: Zelda Music On Reality TV Show
There’s a big TV show called America’s Got Talent. Britain’s Got Talent, too. Even Norway has it, and we like Norway’s the best, as it’s the only one with uncomfortable live renditions of a song from Ocarina of Time. The real action begins at 2:20 in the clip above, but if you’d like to sit…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 22, 2010 -
Pikmin 3 “Well Underway” Says Miyamoto
Nintendo designer and Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto was in London today to pick up his BAFTA fellowship award, an honor he reciprocated by delivering his acceptance speech in pure English. What did Miyamoto have to say, specifically about Pikmin? According to the tweet-reporting of the Official Nintendo Magazine UK, Mr. Miyamoto offered the briefest…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 19, 2010 -
How To Write Pokemon Music? Pretending!
In the West, when one says “Pokémon music”, this song probably leaps to mind. We are not talking about that this song. Besides heading up the Pokémon franchise, Junichi Masuda also composes battle music for the series. “There is no doubt that I am inspired by many great composers. But when I work on the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2010 -
For $2600, This Mario Had Better be Super
Currently for sale on eBay: this Mario pendant, lined with gold and covered with diamonds. Perfect for any Nintendo fanboy currently in the rap or drug dealing business. Bids are open if you’d like or, if you’d prefer not to let somebody else secure such a tasteful and reserved piece of jewellery, you can exercise…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2010 -
Wipeout: The Game Set To Disappoint Fans Of Futuristic Racing This Summer
There’s a new Wipeout game coming to the Nintendo Wii and DS this summer, but don’t get too excited – it’s not what you think. For nearly 15 years, Sony fans have thrilled to the balls-out futuristic racing action of the Wipeout series, with each installment bringing new challenges and more speed to the beloved…
By Mike Fahey Published March 18, 2010 -
A Cave Story On My Wall
Hitting March 22, the Wii version of classic PC game Cave Story will include new options and visual enhancements. It won’t, however, include this spiffy canvas that just showed up on my doorstep by indie artist Christopher Reavey or this letter from game creator Daisuke Ayama.
By Brian Crecente Published March 18, 2010 -
Metroid: Other M Isn’t Completely Off the Rails
Playing through a section of Metroid: Other M last week, I couldn’t help but notice that the Wii title felt at times very much like the sort of game the developers said it wasn’t: An on-the-rails shooter. During his talk at the Game Developers Conference last week, Metroid co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto said the game was…
By Brian Crecente Published March 18, 2010 -
Why Doesn’t Pokemon Get Global Simultaneous Releases?
DS title Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver were released in Japan on September 12. The games didn’t come out in North America until this March. With so many games these days getting either global or near global releases, what gives? “We do our best to make our games so North American players can enjoy the game…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010 -
Metroid: Other M and The Great Samus Schism
While Metroid: Other M may feel like a departure for the series in the way it plays and the influences brought in by fabled designers Team Ninja, at its heart it is meant to be a unifying game for the series. In fact, the unifying game for all things Metroid. While Star Wars has its…
By Brian Crecente Published March 17, 2010 -
Dead Mario And Crucified Jesus
To depict the true meaning of game over, artist Kordian Lewandowski called on Mario, Princess Peach and, well, Jesus. Carved by a 24-year-old Michelangelo, La Pietá shows Mary cradling Jesus in her lap after he has been crucified. The statue was vandalized in the early 1970s when an Australian geologist took a hammer to the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 17, 2010 -
Mario’s Inferno Sticks It To EA’s Marketing Team
Few trailers in recent memory have polarised gamers as much as EA’s Dante’s Inferno clip for the Super Bowl. Would you have liked it more if, say, Dante was not Dante, but Mario? I like it more. Well, except for the Bill Withers. Even in this parody version, it still doesn’t sit right. If you…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 17, 2010 -
Who Is Brave Enough To Squeeze Into This Vinyl Samus Zero Suit?
Only answer if you’re also wealthy enough to afford the form-fitting suit that made Samus Aran more of a sex object after Metroid: Zero Missions, because this custom-made Zero Suit probably won’t go cheap. The folks at Wii Folder are auctioning off this one-of-a-kind bounty hunter get up on eBay, which they call “the best…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 16, 2010