nintendo of america
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'Super Mario Bros.' movie delayed to April 2023
It will premiere in North America on April 7th and in Japan on April 28th next year.
Nintendo of America head responds to 'distressing' situation at Activision Blizzard
In an internal company email obtained by Fanbyte, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser says he was distressed by the allegations detailed in The Journal's investigation.
Club Nintendo closing, 'new loyalty program' on the way
'Club Nintendo is dead, long live the new loyalty program,' is the message from Nintendo this morning, after the company announced it's closing its current rewards service. Users in the US and Canada have until the end March to earn Club Nintendo Coins and until the close of June to redeem them, signalling when the service will finally hang up its brown boots. "We thank all Club Nintendo members for their dedication to Nintendo games and their ongoing love for our systems and characters," said Nintendo of America executive VP Scott Moffit in the company's press release. "We want to make this time of transition as easy as possible for our loyal Club Nintendo members, so we are going to add dozens of new rewards and downloadable games to help members clear out their Coin balances."
Nintendo issues further statement on Amiibo shortage
"Certain sold-out Amiibo may return" to store shelves at some point, according to a new Nintendo of America statement provided to Joystiq last night. That may offer hope to those hunting down the rarest toys, but it doesn't necessarily run counter to earlier statements indicating "other [less popular] figures likely will not return to the market once they have sold through their initial shipment." Nintendo of America's full statement reads: "Some Amiibo were very popular at launch, and it is possible that some Amiibo in the United States, Canada and Latin America may not be available right now due to high demand and our efforts to manage shelf space during the launch period. Certain sold-out Amiibo may return to these markets at a later stage. We are continually aiming to always have a regular supply of Amiibo in the marketplace and there are many waves of Amiibo to come."
Nintendo of Europe to keep 'regular supply' of Amiibos
Nintendo of Europe plans on replenishing its sold-out Amiibo stock following word that some of the figurines will be discontinued. The publisher told GameSpot that its "supplies of Amiibo are currently available in the European market." The statement runs slightly counter to that of Nintendo of America yesterday, which acknowledged that "due to shelf space constraints, other figures likely will not return to the market once they have sold through their initial shipment." "We are continually aiming to always have a regular supply of Amiibo brought into the marketplace and there are many waves of Amiibo to come," Nintendo of Europe added. The concerns began with a tweet from Canadian retailer VideoGamesPlus, which said that Nintendo discontinued the Marth, Wii Fit Trainer and Animal Crossing Villager Amiibo toys. Nintendo of Europe noted the popularity of the figures, adding that "it's always possible that a few retailers may have sold out." Regardless, we'll always have our ass-kicking, borderline-sentient Mario Amiibo to toy with. [Image: Nintendo]
Nintendo: Pre-orders of Super Smash Bros. surpass Mario Kart 8
Super Smash Bros. pre-orders are at a record high for Wii U, eclipsing those of summer hit Mario Kart 8. In a Bloomberg interview, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said his company expects Smash to give the console a sales boost similar to the one provided by Mario Kart 8. In last month's financial results, Nintendo revealed the racer is at close to 3.5 million sales, with Wii U shipments up to 7.29 million worldwide. "The launch of Mario Kart 8 has essentially doubled our Wii U sales year-on-year," Fils-Aime said. "Our expectation is that the sell-through for Smash is going to be very strong, certainly on par with what we saw with Mario Kart 8. We think the impact on hardware will be similarly dramatic."
Nintendo lines up 8-hour gameplay stream, including Smash 3DS
Nintendo continues its holiday push with an 8-hour "gameplay" stream this week that's set to feature among others the handheld Super Smash Bros. The House of Mario is broadcasting from its American headquarters this Friday, September 12, though it didn't give specific times to tune in. Nintendo said it'll first "be covering some upcoming games" for Wii U and 3DS before getting into gameplay, but it coyly kept what those other games are beneath its cap. It's hard to know if we can expect a Direct-like slew of announcements or not, but it's safer to say there'll be more Smash info, simply because the game's almost out. The 3DS Smash launches in Japan on Saturday, September 13, and over there NicoNico is preparing its own Smash broadcast, also scheduled for this Friday (3AM PT/6AM ET/11AM UK). So, if there is any news left - and supposedly leaked character videos suggest there is - now's the time, though that info may arrive earlier in the day during NicoNico's broadcast
Wii MotionPlus patent suit thrown out
A federal judge in Seattle has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nintendo of America, which claimed that the company's Wii MotionPlus peripheral violated a patent owned by Triton Tech of Texas. Originally filed way back in the prehistoric times of 2010, the lawsuit named both Nintendo and Apple as defendants, alleging that both companies had violated its patent, No. #5,181,181: "Computer apparatus input device for three-dimensional information." The abstract, available in full here, describes a device that uses accelerometers and rotational sensors to calculate movement across three dimensions, and then wirelessly transmit that data back to a central computer. While that does sound like a dead ringer for the Wii MotionPlus when put in a nutshell like that, there was evidently enough minutiae in the patent's full-length definitions to keep Nintendo in the clear.
Satoru Iwata to assume Nintendo of America CEO role
Nintendo president Saturo Iwata will assume the additional role of Nintendo of America Chief Executive Officer, overseeing NoA President and Chief Operating Officer Reggie Fils-Aime, who remains in place. The move is one of several board changes in the wake of planned retirements.The executive-level musical chairs will see Iwata replace current NoA chairman and CEO Tatsumi Kimishima, who will transfer to Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters as the General Manager of Corporate Analysis and Administration, and General Manager of the General Affairs Division.In a statement, Nintendo said the move will support "the company's unified global strategy" and "allow streamlined decision making and enhance Nintendo's organizational agility in the current competitive environment."Nintendo released its fiscal-year financial statement this morning, with the company's net profits almost half of its projections at just over ¥7 billion, or around $71 million.
Nintendo blocking EU eShop access to 18+ content during the day [update]
Nintendo has begun blocking access to Wii U eShop content rated PEGI 18+ between the hours of 3 a.m. and 11 p.m. in European territories, Eurogamer reports. This means the four-hour window from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. is the only time during which games like Assassin's Creed 3 or ZombiU can be purchased, or even have their trailers viewed.We've checked with a fictional panel of experts, and the general consensus is that this a totally weird thing for a company to do, especially considering that the Wii U already has parental controls implemented in its operating system. The block appears to apply to all accounts and it's uncertain whether it's possible to opt out of the restriction in any way.What we do know: if we were given a Wii U but had to wait until just before midnight to download the game we wanted, we'd just go to the damn store and buy it. We've reached out to Nintendo of Europe and Nintendo of America for more information; perhaps there's some other logic at play here that isn't apparent.Update: Nintendo of America tells Joystiq "This is a European policy and does not impact Nintendo of America."
Latest PS3 challenges Wii U storage philosophy; EU, US disparity explained
The new, slimmer PS3 comes in two forms in the US, 250GB for $270 and 500GB for $300. Europe gets the 500GB model and a 12GB Flash-based system. All of these consoles support Flash storage expansion via USB, and the US version allows internal HDD replacement. The US gets two larger systems because its consumers demand more "out of the box," according to SCEA VP of marketing, handhelds and home consoles John Koller, speaking to Engadget. "The smaller Flash drive isn't coming to North America, and a lot of that reason is the digital consumer," Koller says. "We really want to make sure, out of the box, that there is an option for them to be able to download that content. That is really critical for us, very very important." Nintendo is taking a different approach to storage with the Wii U, launching 8GB and 32GB models with the ability to easily attach any form of external storage, even "a full-on three terabyte hard drive," says Nintendo America CEO and president Reggie Fils-Aime. "The reason we did it that way is that the cost of that type of storage memory is plummeting," Fils-Aime continues. "What we didn't want to do is tie a profit model to something that's gonna rapidly decline over time. We'll let the consumer buy as much as they want, as cheaply as they want." Sony sees US consumers are more willing to buy a new console with a larger hard drive than to purchase external storage. "When you look at some of the earlier chassis, and the really early adopters – the 20GB, and the 60GB – that consumer had a choice," Koller says. "They could either go out and buy another hard drive – and it's an easy install, so we make it easy for the consumer if they want to take a hard drive off the shelf and plug it in, they can do that. They had a choice of doing that, or purchasing another PlayStation 3. And what's been happening is we're seeing a lot of adoption of second consoles in-house." Besides, Sony doesn't make any money if you buy a Western Digital hard drive. But neither does Nintendo.
Here's the company behind Nintendo TVii (spoilers: it's not Nintendo)
Brad Pelo is suddenly in charge of a major Nintendo initiative for the Japanese company's next big console, the Wii U, despite not being an employee at Nintendo. Instead, Pelo is CEO of i.TV -- a "social television and second screen technology company" that's worked with everyone from Entertainment Weekly to Engadget parent company AOL -- and he's the man responsible for Nintendo TVii. At least he's the man responsible for the company providing the software behind Nintendo TVii (the guy behind the guy, if you will). And his company brings more to the bargaining table than just software -- existing relationships with cable providers and TiVO in the US bolster what i.TV offers Nintendo in a major way. "For Nintendo TVii, there is a mutual benefit in existing relationships we have. Like TiVO for example -- we were the first to bring TiVO to the mobile platform. There's also the benefit of tests that we have done over the years with the cable companies, based on components of our platform," Pelo told Engadget. But how did this all come about? He said it wasn't long after Nintendo's original Wii U E3 reveal. "The genesis of the experience you're seeing here was really when the Wii U was announced, and it was clear that this is the ideal second screen," Pelo explained. "Ideal," in Pelo's eyes, means a closed system with a "dedicated second screen." In so many words, while he acknowledges that tablets offered by other manufacturers are technically superior, they don't offer the same whole-system approach that Nintendo's Wii U is offering. "You might not think of it as the ideal hardware compared to an iPad if I really had a dedicated second screen. But it is in the living room, and it's persistent. It doesn't even really work outside of the living room -- it's attached to the main viewing service in the home," he explained, referencing the Wii U's tablet-style controller.
Fils-Aime: Wii up to 40 million units in US, Nintendo won't abandon it
The Wii has sold 40 million units in the US, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime told investors after the Nintendo Direct Wii U conference today.Even though the Wii U is set in holiday stone with a launch on November 18, Nintendo isn't losing sight of the Wii."We will continue to sell the Wii," Fils-Aime said. "As we sit here today, in the US the Wii has sold about 40 million units. We believe that there continues to be an opportunity with Wii. Yes, these are late, late adopters. And yes, price points are important. But we do believe there's still opportunity for the Wii, and we will continue to sell Wii side-by-side for some period of time."Many Wii games and all Wii accessories are backward-compatible with the Wii U, which Fils-Aime called a "one-two punch in our home console business between Wii U and Wii."Besides, the US isn't the only market for the Wii. "I'm responsible for Canada and Latin America as well," Fils-Aime said. "We think there's opportunity in both of those markets, especially Latin America. You can reach price points, you can reach consumers that candidly we won't be able to reach with the Wii U. That's gonna continue to be an opportunity."Lastly, on the global base, certainly there are markets in Eastern Europe. There are a number of other markets where if Wii has an attractive price point, it'll do well. So, we will continue to be in the Wii business for quite some time."
Nintendo sees next opportunity for Wii success in Latin America, Eastern Europe
"We will continue to sell the Wii," Nintendo America president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime told investors today in a Q&A followup to the company's big Wii U event in New York City. "In the US, the Wii has sold about 40 million units. We believe that there continues to be an opportunity with the Wii." However, where Fils-Aime sees the most opportunity may not be where you expect. "I'm responsible for Canada, and Latin America as well," he said. "We think there's opportunity in both of those markets, especially Latin America." The Wii is currently offered by Nintendo in North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe, but not Latin America. The Wii ranges from $140 to $250, depending on what it comes with. "You can reach price points, you can reach consumers that, candidly, we won't be able to reach with the Wii U. That's gonna continue to be an opportunity," he said. Fils-Aime and Nintendo also have their eyes on Eastern Europe. "On a global base, certainly there are markets in Eastern Europe. There are a number of other markets where if Wii has an attractive price point, it'll do well." He also stood behind the console continuing to sell in its currently available markets alongside the Wii U after the new console launches this November. "We do believe there's still opportunity for the Wii, and we will continue to sell the Wii side-by-side for some period of time." Unsurprisingly, he didn't say exactly how long Nintendo is planning that support, nor would he say if we should expect a price drop for the aging console, but if we had to guess, we'd say "The Wii will drop in price" and "soon."
Legend of Zelda prototype cartridge goes to auction: $150,000 proves your loyalty to Hyrule (video)
And you thought that Nintendo World Championships gold cartridge would make a nice start to the retirement fund. An eBay auction from tjcurtin1 is offering a prototype NES cartridge for the US release of The Legend of Zelda at a Buy It Now price of $150,000, or roughly ten times more than the typical final bid that Price Charting quotes for a typical NWC cart. While it looks like an unassuming yellow chunk of plastic, it's actually a Nintendo of America copy from February 23, 1987 -- half a year before the definitive action adventure reached the US market. The game still plays and can even save its game on the still functional, industry-first battery backup. Just remember that it's not necessarily going to reveal any design secrets from Shigeru Miyamoto or Takashi Tezuka: the seller warns that he can't see any practical differences between the early copy and the (also included) shipping version. Anyone well-heeled enough to buy the prototype is therefore going solely for the collector's value. But for those determined to be the coolest kid on any block about 25 years late, there's only one way to go.
Nintendo hires Disney vet Duncan Orrell-Jones for new network business job
Nintendo of America announced the creation of a new "senior vice president of Network Business" position this morning, and hired Duncan Orrell-Jones to staff it. Orrell-Jones will "spearhead the development and evolution of Nintendo of America's digital strategy for the company's Nintendo 3DS and Wii U video game systems," as the company describes it. At very least, he'll be the one to point fingers at if the Wii U's eShop isn't to your liking.His last employer was Disney, where he worked on expanding the Disney Interactive games business across multiple platforms outside North America. Orrell-Jones begins the new gig on July 1.Nintendo has been showing a new interest in the online market recently. Most notably, of course, it's planning to sell retail Wii U and 3DS games digitally, but we've also seen promotions and discounts on the 3DS eShop today, something that only happened once in the Wii's lifespan (to date).
Watch Reggie Fils-Aime zombify Jimmy Fallon with the Wii U
Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to demo the upcoming Wii U console Friday. Fils-Aime turned Fallon into a zombie (without biting!) in ZombiU and played Takamaru's Ninja Castle from Nintendo Land.
Nintendo registers 'Super Mario 4' domain
Nintendo of America registered "supermario4.com" early this month, as discovered by an IGN reader. IGN speculates that this title could be related to the as-yet nameless side-scrolling 3DS Mario game announced late last year. Of course, Nintendo is aggressive about picking up domains for names it might use, so this isn't exactly ironclad proof of the next game's name.There's also the little matter of there already being a Super Mario Bros. 4. Super Mario World was subtitled just that for its Japanese release. Are we to believe that there could be two Super Mario games with the same title? That's just too confusing to be plausible.
Nintendo 3DS celebrates first birthday, sells 4.5 million consoles in the US
Nintendo of America has lifted the lid on how many 3DS handhelds were purchased in the first twelve months of life in the US of A. 4.5 million of the devices have been taken home since March 27th of last year, surpassing the 2.3 million classic DS units sold between 2004 - 2005. Whilst the company's playing coy with how many units were sold worldwide, given that the Japanese arm of the company recently passed the five million mark, we can reasonably expect Ninty Nintendo's outlook to be healthier than it has been for a while. Head on past the break to read the official line on all matters three dimensional and cast your mind back to a simpler time, when games could only travel in the dimensions that existed behind the glass.
Nintendo doesn't plan on fixing Maka Wahu track in Mario Kart 7
"Wuhu Island" may sound like an innocuous place, but it's apparently rife with dirty, dirty cheaters. And that cheating doesn't sound like it's stopping anytime soon, with Nintendo telling StickTwiddlers that the island's "Maka Wuhu" track in Mario Kart 7 won't be patched or updated to fix the glaring glitch found at the start. "We are aware that it is possible to navigate a certain part of the track in Wuhu Island in a way that allows a large part of the course to be bypassed," Nintendo rep Buddy Roemer (no, not that Buddy Roemer) told the site. And though Nintendo acknowledges the glitch, Roemer said there "are no plans to update the game to remove this shortcut." Not for the moment, at least. The logic behind not updating the game is perhaps even more bizarre than acknowledging the glitch and refusing to fix it. "Doing so would create an unfair advantage for the users of the original release of the game," Roemer said, though he did also say the request for a fix has "been added to our records for Mario Kart 7." We imagine a printout of the email is now sitting in an official three-ring binder somewhere, biding its time next to fan art of Yoshi with a glider.
