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Nintendo will close its Wii Shop Channel in 2019
A month after Nintendo launched the Wii in November 2006, the company introduced the Wii Shop Channel, a marketplace for downloading apps to the system. Over a decade and two console generations later, Nintendo is shutting it down...eventually. Today, the company gave notice that users won't be able to add points to their Wii Shop accounts after March 26th, 2018, and won't be able to purchase on the channel beyond January 31st, 2019.
Nintendo ordered to pay $10 million in Wii patent lawsuit
Today, a Dallas jury awarded iLife Technologies $10 million in its patent infringement lawsuit against Nintendo of America. The suit, which was brought forth in 2013, alleged that Nintendo used iLife's technology when creating its motion-sensing Wii Remote.
Nintendo's hardware visionary is calling it a day
Alongside today's impressive earnings report, Nintendo announced that long-serving employee Genyo Takeda is stepping down as company director this June. Holding the title of representative director and also sitting alongside Miyamoto as "Technology Fellow", Takeda has played a key role in defining both Nintendo's hardware and software.
The Switch is the fastest-selling console in Nintendo history
If you've had a hard time finding a Nintendo Switch at the store, there may be good reason for that. The Friday through Saturday sales for Nintendo's latest console surpassed the first two-day sales for any system "in Nintendo history," according to tweets from the New York Times' Nick Wingfield. The info comes from an interview with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.
Quirky Wii U game 'Project Giant Robot' has been cancelled
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be the last Nintendo-made game for the Wii U after all. If you were holding onto hope that the quirky Project Giant Robot would still grace the system, it was in vain. As Polygon reports, the build-your-own battle-bot demo has been scrapped and won't see the light of day. A representative said that the decision was made "after considering our overall product and development strategy."
'Mario Kart 64' is the Wii U Virtual Console's latest addition
Sure, Mario Kart 8 is great and all, but if you wanted to see the original version of "Toad's Turnpike" on the Wii U, your options have been pretty limited. Tomorrow changes that, as Mario Kart 64 will release on the system's Virtual Console. Revisiting the Nintendo 64 game will run you $9.99, and for that you'll get off-TV play and dim, washed out graphics -- the latter is a staple for just about everything on Virtual Console.
Nintendo rumored to end Wii U production this week (update: nope)
The Wii U game console has come to the end of the line -- its production line, specifically. Eurogamer reports multiple sources have confirmed that the final Wii U unit will be built this Friday. (Update: Nintendo told Japanese site ITMedia that the rumors are not true -- a spokesperson said so unequivocally, adding that new Wii U titles are still in development. The company typically implicitly states when it ends production on its consoles.)
New 'Shovel Knight' expansion haunts the chapel next spring
One of the best throwback games in recent memory is definitely Shovel Knight from developer Yacht Club Games. Last September (it's been that long?), the team dropped the free "Plague of Shadows" expansion for all platforms. This year, we have word of when the next add-on will release. "Specter of Torment" will come out sometime next spring, according to a tweet from Yacht Club. Not much else is known at the moment, but the team did offer a huge update back in June all about new protagonist Specter Knight -- wall climb! Dash slash!
Play 'The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword' on Wii U today
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is available to purchase and download on the Wii U via Virtual Console today. This is the original version of Skyward Sword with no remastering or updates, Nintendo announced during its 3DS-focused livestream this morning.
'Darksiders' rides again on PS4, Xbox One and Wii U
Aside from the next Legend of Zelda Wii U owners don't have much to look forward to in terms of forthcoming games. Breath of the Wild is the lone glimmer of hope in the console's twilight years, but there could be another -- perhaps even before that new Zelda makes its debut next spring. If those folks are hankering for something similar, albeit with a post-apocalyptic take, maybe Darksiders: Warmastered Edition will fit the bill.
Crowd Play puts the audience in control in Telltale's 'Batman'
There are plenty of gripes that your choices in Telltale's point-and-click adventure games don't make a difference in how their stories play out. But with the studio's take on Batman, that appears to be changing. What's more, you won't be the only one making the often incredibly difficult narrative decisions. The studio is introducing feature called "Crowd Play," and according to Shack News it's something you turn on at the outset of a game. Doing so creates a shareable web link, and people with the URL can vote on different dialog options, which are then tallied live onscreen.
ICYMI: Deaf translation gloves, mind-controlled UAVs and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-28536{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-28536, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-28536{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-28536").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: Two college students from the University of Washington won an invention prize at a MIT competition for their SignAloud gloves, which translate the words deaf or mute people sign into spoken words. University of Florida held a drone race with mind-control headsets as the controllers. And China's National University of Defense Technology made a robot that can tase people. If you too know about (and marvel at) the all-girl, pop metal band BabyMetal, check out the Super Mario Maker version. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
'Pokemon Snap' strikes a pose on Wii U next week ...in Japan
It's been almost 17 years to the day since Pokémon Snap released on the Nintendo 64 and we still haven't seen a sequel. The quirky on-rails first-person "shooter" that had you taking pictures of the pocket monsters in their natural habitat released just as Poké fever was catching on here in the States, but since then fans' imaginations have been the only place for a follow-up. Next week on April 4th Nintendo is releasing the game on the Wii U Virtual Console. In Japan. Where it'll cost a paltry ¥1,028 ($9.15).
Nintendo says it's not stopping Wii U production
Contrary to reports from Japan's well-regarded business rag, Nikkei, Nintendo has told ITMedia that it has no plans to halt Wii U production so soon. "That's [Nikkei's report] not an official announcement. We plan to continue production through the rest of the year." (Admittedly, Nikkei's Nintendo scoops have been hit and miss in the past.) Despite rolling out a steady stream of new hits, the console is failing to gain the traction of the original Wii, and the higher-powered PS4 and Xbox One continue to make Nintendo's home console a distant third in installed user numbers. The games maker is hoping more exposure, courtesy of its tip-toeing foray into mobile, might help improve sales.
'Star Fox Guard' is bundled with 'Zero' April 22nd
Slippy Toad has a chance to shine come on April 22nd this year. But more than just playing a support role the game you already knew about, Star Fox Zero, there's more action in the form of Star Fox Guard. It's a game that sounds an awful lot like a tower defense title. It stars Slippy and his uncle Grippy and you're managing cameras to battle foes, and, well, it sounds like there's a quasi-Super Mario Maker element of sharing your creations online, too. This might look familiar if you paid attention to Nintendo's E3 presentation a few years back as Project Guard.
Watch today's Nintendo Direct right here!
The moment is almost upon us: the next Nintendo Direct starts at 5 PM ET / 2 PM PT. But before you get your hopes up too high, it won't have anything to do with the company's Wii U follow-up, the machine that's codenamed "NX." Same goes for any announcements about Nintendo's mobile initiative. Instead, we're promised that this event will be all about games releasing over the course of spring and summer. What're those? Well, we still haven't heard an awful lot about Star Fox Zero since its delay so expect that to change.
These were some of 2015's best selling games
What games sold the most copies in 2015? Exactly the titles you'd expect: the latest entries in long-running franchises like Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Madden NFL 16 and Fallout 4. It's not surprising -- sequels have the springboard advantage of an existing fanbase -- but disappointing: not a single new IP shows up on the NPD's top 10 best selling games list for last year.
Playdate: Breaking the sound barrier in 'Fast Racing NEO'
Nintendo's seemingly forgotten about the futuristic, hyper-fast racing series F-Zero when it comes to a Wii U release, but developer Shinen hasn't. We first caught a glimpse of Fast Racing Neo at PAX this year and came away incredibly excited, so of course we're streaming it today. But that's not all: We're also going to spend some time with the troubled The Devil's Third from Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive mastermind Tomonobu Itagaki. Join myself and Sean Buckley as we broadcast two hours of Wii U games starting at 6 PM Eastern / 3 PM Pacific.
'Minecraft' is coming to the Wii U on December 17th
While it might feel like Minecraft is available everywhere, gamers have had to look on as the popular franchise launched on every other company's platforms bar Nintendo's. Today, however, we have some good news: after months, nay years, of waiting, the Japanese game maker confirmed the sandbox game is finally coming to the Wii U on December 17th. As expected, Minecraft will come with a multitude of add-on packs, giving budding builders the chance to get festive ahead of Christmas or play with characters from popular movies and TV shows like Star Wars, The Simpsons and Dr Who.
The NX is not another Wii or Wii U, Nintendo's new boss says
Tatsumi Kimishima has big shoes to fill as the new president of Nintendo, following the unexpected death of Satoru Iwata earlier this year. Kimishima laid out his winding path toward leadership to Time, noting his involvement in the Great Wii Shortages of the mid-2000s and painting himself as a silent puppet master pulling strings across Nintendo for decades. He also laid out bits of his vision for the future, including some insight into Nintendo's mysterious new console, the NX.
