Nintendo

The Joy and Sadness of Playing Pokémon

Earlier this year in Japan, the Pokémon Dragon King Competition got underway. Kids duke it out with cards and consoles. There were smiles, tears, and Pocket Monsters. In the below video, you can see a short digest movie, which the Pokémon Company uploaded to YouTube this week. ポケモン竜王戦2014　ダイジェストムービー [PokemonCoJp via Siliconera] To contact the author…

PSA: Mario Kart 8 is the 10th 11th Mario Kart Just in case you were counting. In related news, Mario Kart 64 was not actually the 64th Mario Kart. Also: the new Mario Kart is pretty good UPDATE: A third arcade Mario Kart game has been released, making this month’s 8 actually the 11th game.…

What Pokémon In a Darker Future Would Look Like

Pokémon would look a lot darker in an alternate future, where not just Pokémon evolved but also bio- and nanotechnology. DeviantART artist Abel Vera imagined Mewtwo and Blastoise in a universe like that. Here’s a Mega Mewtwo X, a Mega Mewtwo Y, an armored, cyborg Mewtwo and a realistic Mega Blastoise: Dayshot is an image-based…

Japan Is Getting a New Pokemon Downloadable Game. It’s Free!

Soon, a new downloadable Pokemon game will be released in Japan—free of charge. Called Thief and 1,000 Pokemon, the 3DS game has players amass an army of Pocket Monsters via StreetPass. Those Pokemon are then used in battle. The more you have, the better your chances are for winning. The game will be available in…

Wouldn’t it be cool if someone remixed the character themes from Bravely Default? Yeah, that’d be cool – and hey, someone has. DJ Cutman & Ralfington, specifically – you can watch a trailer up top or buy the four tracks at loudr.fm.

Motion-Controlled Gaming Is Flailing

I played the Wii for the first time at a trade show in Leipzig, Germany. The consoles were set up in tents, shielded from outside view. Standing in the queue, you’d watch people lift the folds of material in front of the entrance, walk in, then walk out with huge smiles on their faces after…

Console Wars: The Kotaku Book Review

Nintendo didn’t just dominate the American video game industry in the late ’80s. It was the video game industry. As the 1990s began, Nintendo held a stranglehold on 80 percent of the market, a statistic made all the more impressive when you realize that the other 20 percent was split among three different competitors. The…

Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata has some thoughts about Nintendo’s next hardware—and what it needs to before it moves on. This is from Iwata’s most recent Q&A with shareholders and is in light of Nintendo’s struggle to make its Wii U console a hit. Photo by Koji Sasahara, AP Images.

Game Boy Camera Makes For A Whole New Kind Of Street Photography

Photographer David Friedman recently unearthed a set of beautiful black-and-white photos of New York City that he had taken in 2000. The only difference between these shots and the stunning higher-resolution ones available on his professional website? He captured all of the former shots with his Game Boy Camera. As he explains on his blog…

Visiting a Real Life Pokémon Center

It’s an understatement to say that Pokémon is popular in Japan. “How popular” you might ask? So popular that it has its own Pokémon Centers that look as if torn straight out of the games. You can even buy pokémon there (well, stuffed ones anyway). Currently there are eight of these Pokémon Centers in Japan.…

Decorate Your Monitor With These Adorable Pokemon

Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Pikachu by Bobby Chiu You are now looking at Screenburn, a Kotaku blog dedicated to the best gaming images, videos and GIFs online.

Ever wanted to learn how to draw a Pikachu? Nintendo’s got the video game for you. Pokémon Art Academy—the Pokémon-themed art game that was announced for Japan last month—will be out in the U.S. for 3DS this fall.

Happy Mother’s Day From Samus

Happy Mother’s Day by Gonzalo Ordonez Arias You are now looking at Screenburn, a Kotaku blog dedicated to the best gaming images, videos and GIFs online.

NES All-Star Pixel Art

NEStalgia by João Victor G. Costa. See his pixel art takes on Breaking Bad, Sherlock, and more below. Via PixelArtus You are now looking at Screenburn, a Kotaku blog dedicated to the best gaming images, videos and GIFs online.

Legend Of Zelda Papercraft Armory

Legend of Zelda papercraft armory by Cameron Garland. Read on to see Cameron’s take on Adventure Time and Sailor Moon. Legend of Zelda Adventure Time Sailor Moon Via GA You are now looking at Screenburn, a Kotaku blog dedicated to the best gaming images, videos and GIFs online.

Here’s The First Footage Of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

The long-awaited remakes of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were announced earlier this week, and now we have our first, incredibly brief look at the games in action. Fans from around the world packed themselves into YouTube livestreams of this week’s episode of TV Tokyo’s Pokémon Get TV for a chance to catch the first gameplay…

The Return Of The Worst Pokémon Trainer Ever

After more than a year on standby, Dorkly recently returned to continuing saga of Rusty, the Pokémon trainer who kept a dozen Bidoofs in a single ball, killed Snorlax with a Toyota Camry and drowned his Zubat trying to teach it Surf. As Rusty enters a Ghost Pokémon tower, past mistakes return to haunt him.

Wind Waker Link Joins The Assassin’s Creed Universe

I commissioned M.S. Corley to illustrate Wind Waker Link as an Assassin’s Creed IV-style pirate as a gift for fellow Kotaku-writer Luke Plunkett. He created this illustration, and also a color version suitable for use as a desktop wallpaper: Check out more of Corley’s art at his site. He also has several Dungeons and Dragons…

Nintendo Apologizes For Not Putting Gay Marriage In Tomodachi Life

Following widespread controversy earlier this week, Nintendo has apologized for not supporting gay marriage in Tomodachi Life, promising that if they do make a sequel, it will be “more inclusive.” Here’s Nintendo’s full statement, posted on their websitethis afternoon: We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life. Unfortunately,…

Paul Kwon is a concept artist at Riot Games, and when he’s not busy creating League of Legends champions and skins, he creates fan-art of other video game characters—like this superb piece, featuring Midna’s both forms from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The finished pic, in its full glory, is below. Dayshot is an…