Nintendo

In Japan, Some of the Wii’s Network Services Are Going Offline

Today in Japan, Nintendo announced that a handful of its network services would no longer be offered. As of June 28 this year, Nintendo will end the following services: Forecast Channel, News Channel, Everybody Votes Channel, Nintendo Channel, and Check Mii Out Channel. What’s more, Nintendo is ending the ability to exchange data with friends…

This Guy Wrote A Program That Teaches Itself To Play NES Games

This is amazing. Tom Murphy created a computer program that actually learns how to play classic NES games on its own, with a little instruction from Tom. You can see the computer’s progress (which begins near 6:10, after Tom’s explanation of the program) in learning how to play Super Mario Bros. (and other games) in…

A fourth hacker behind attacks on Sony and Nintendo in 2011 (but not the one that brought down PSN for more than a month) pleaded guilty in London yesterday. All four of them will be sentenced on May 14.

Imagining The Branding For A Nintendo Console That Doesn’t Have “Wii” In Its Name

The Nintendo image is one of the most treasured in gaming. It carries a lot of weight, a lot of history. Yet that weight can sometimes be as much of a burden as a benefit, which is why even the oldest and proudest companies can sometimes opt to drop the vintage in favour of a…

Nintendo Would, Sadly, Never Make A Handheld This Pink

Yes, Nintendo has made pink handhelds before. But not like this. Not with glitter. This fabulous Game Boy Micro was made by Matthew Wiggins, who runs a custom hardware business called Rose Colored Gaming. It’s Kirby-themed, with gummy-style buttons and a classy white back that’s got me thinking delicious strawberry ice-cream. I would buy this…

There Is No Third Console Curse. Don’t Believe It.

The next Xbox will be Microsoft’s third video game console. And there are already those who say the still unannounced machine is doomed. You see, some believe in a Third Console Curse. Whether it’s gamers on the IGN boards or GameFaqs, there’s chatter of a “dreaded console curse.” Heck, even as early as 2009, there…

This Man Will Draw Two Pokémon Doing Whatever You Want*

Drawings of Pocket Monsters visiting the psychiatrist? Hanging out by the water cooler? Racing mopeds? You betcha. Here’s a small sample from Tumblr site illdrawpokemonforyou Want something drawn? Here are the rules. But for goodness sake, don’t request two Pokémon screwing! There are more interesting and funny things that can be drawn. illdrawtwopokemon [Tumblr]

Awww, This Mario Wedding Is So Sweet I Want To Get Married All Over Again

Where 96% of video game weddings are tacky, horrid affairs, potentially awkward for many guests and with a high chance of regret decades down the line, this one gets the balance between “video game wedding” and “normal wedding” just right. The key is in the style and design, with every reference obvious enough to fans…

Here’s the newest trailer for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which comes out for 3DS on June 9. It’s… relaxing.

An Upsetting Collection Of Dead Nintendo Hardware

Writer and student Dennis Pham has, with a stomach of iron, catalogued a collection of images of Nintendo hardware – and games – that are dead. Broken. Torn. Smashed. Whatever, you name it, this batch of gore porn has it all. It is not for the faint-hearted. Indeed, if you work in the tech industry…

Super Mario’s Creator Says Wii U Skepticism Mirrors the Nintendo DS Debut

Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Super Mario and the Legend of Zelda, gave an interview to CNN this weekend about the Wii U that basically amounts to “Please give us a chance.” He thinks the skepticism shown to the Wii U is akin to the early doubts about the first Nintendo DS, and that public…

The Newest Pokémon Looks Startlingly Similar to An Old Favorite

Debuting earlier today on Japan’s “Pokémon Smash” TV show, the latest pocket monster revealed for Pokémon X and Y bears more than a little resemblance to one of the coolest creatures ever to be stuffed inside a tiny plastic ball. Mewtwo, Brute? For those of you who don’t remember Mewtwo, he was a complete and…

Toki Tori 2 hatches on the Wii U and the original Castlevania makes its big 3DS debut in this week’s Nintendo Download. Get your ghostly groove on with the full listright here.

It was only a few years ago that Hiroshi Yamauchi, the man who helmed Nintendo for over fifty years, was the richest man in Japan. Now, according to the latest Forbes rankings, he’s only the 13th richest. Hard times!

I Can’t Play the New Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Until You Pick My Pocket Monster Persona

I love roguelikes. I love Pokemon. I should have been playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity on my 3DS a week ago, but here I am, staring at the character select screen. Which damn Pokemon should I be? In Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity the player becomes a Pokemon, taking on the form…

Mystery Solved: Why No One In Fire Emblem: Awakening Has Feet

Here at Kotaku, we like Fire Emblem: Awakening. But a while back, we had to ask: Why on earth doesn’t anyone in this game have any feet? Everything else about the characters’ design is perfectly normal. But they don’t have any feet. In a new developer interview posted by Nintendo, the localizers at 8-4 (who…

Oh Wow, Amazon Really Hates Nintendo Consoles

The conflict between Nintendo and Amazon just keeps getting stranger. For almost two years now, Amazon has not been selling Nintendo’s gaming hardware first hand. You can buy a 3DS or Wii U from the massive online retailer, but it will be sold through a third party. Amazon won’t sell Nintendo hardware themselves. And neither…

Nintendo Is Rolling Out a New AR App for Japan

Later this month, Nintendo will start selling pre-paid cards for downloadable 3DS games that come with AR cards for Issho ni Photo: Super Mario (“Photos Together with Super Mario”). It’s a new 3DS app that uses the AR cards to allow you to take snaps of and with the Mario characters. The first set, on…

Tiny Nintendo Consoles Made Out Of LEGO

Flickr user CK Tsang has, with great patience and attention to detail, rebuilt Nintendo’s first two serious home consoles – the Japanese Famicom and Western NES – into teeny tiny LEGO models. Where his designs shine is the detail. Rather than just create the boxes, he’s made tiny control pads, tiny cartridges that slide into…

The Wii U Won’t Be Getting Unreal Engine 4 [Update]

This week at the Game Developers Conference, Epic Games took their usual opportunity to show off the latest developments in their whiz-bang Unreal graphics technology. In addition to the shooty/demonic demos in futuristic/fantasy settings, one of the most touted features of the engine was that it can scale from next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 4…