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'Super Mario Maker' lets you record custom sounds in Mario levels
Prepare for joyful levels full of farts, curse words and all manner of silly sounds. When it launches for the Wii U on September 11th, Super Mario Maker will feature an option to add custom, recorded sounds to your own Mario levels, alongside pre-recorded noises and musical notes. That's just one feature shown off in a seven-minute overview video Nintendo released today. Check out how you'll edit levels, make music, use Amiibo, add perfect long jumps and unlock new elements in a handful of Mario universes. Maybe start perfecting your animal noises now.
Mario and Sonic look absolutely stunning in Unreal Engine 4
Unreal Engine 4 has shown us what the next generation of video games can look like: large, realistic and mind-bogglingly gorgeous. Frankly, its tech demos are breathtaking -- technical marvels that show off photo-realistic apartments and stunningly beautiful landscapes; but what happens when you cram cartoonish mascots like Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog into these technical marvels? Mind-blowingly awesome YouTube videos, that's what.
Artificial intelligence learns Mario level in just 34 attempts
Perhaps it's that all the levels have simple, left-to-right objectives, or maybe it's just that they're so iconic, but for some reason older Mario games have long been a target for those interested in AI and machine learning. The latest effort is called MarI/O (get it?), and it learned an entire level of Super Mario World in 34 tries.
'Super Mario Maker' out September 11th, demo this week at Best Buy
After a year of teasing, Nintendo's finally revealed when we'll get to make side-scrolling Mario levels of our own in Super Mario Maker: September 11th, 2015. Can't wait that long? The gaming giant is partnering with Best Buy again, and tomorrow (June 17th) from 4PM to 9PM local time, select stores will have demo kiosks where you can kick the game's tires. As a reward for you enduring the crowds of kicking fans, you'll snag a 30th anniversary Mario button. Pretty cool, right? Supplies are limited, of course, and Nintendo's set up a website to help you locate where the nearest participating yellow-tag store is. Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
Nintendo leaks an 8-bit Mario Amiibo ahead of E3
It should come as no surprise, given Nintendo's propensity for creating Mario games, that the company can't stop making Amiibo based on its most-famous character. Since the NFC toy line was introduced last November, we've already seen five: Super Smash Bros. Mario, Mario Party Mario, Gold Mario, Silver Mario and Dr. Mario. Thanks to an email from Nintendo Spain (first spotted by Nintendo Inquirer), it appears there's going to be a sixth: 8-bit Mario. The newsletter included an image of the retro-styled figurine along with a shot of an unannounced Animal Crossing collection that'll feature at least four characters from the series.
Transform parts of your screen into Mario levels with Screentendo
You know what's a good cure for office boredom? A Mac app that changes parts of your screen into a playable level straight out of Super Mario Bros. Thanks to Aaron Randall's Screentendo desktop add-on, a similar process to that of taking a screenshot can have you playing a unique Mario level in seconds. In this case, game building is a two-step process that first determines the underlying structure of the image before generating those bricks on top. Randall admits that the app isn't without flaws, and that it's more of a proof-of-concept than anything else. For example, the image rendering works best on images with high contrast -- like the Google logo captured in the video after the break.
Silver Mario Amiibo will drive collectors insane this month
Nintendo has already released a gold version of its Mario Amiibo, so guess what's coming next? A silver version, of course. We suspected as much after both figurines leaked back in February, but today the console maker has made it official. The special statue -- which is identical to the Amiibo figure from Mario Party 10, albeit painted silver -- will arrive in stores on May 29th for $12.99. When the gold version debuted, it was available exclusively in Walmart stores across the US. That made it something of a collector's item, riling fans that were desperately trying to maintain a complete set. This time around, it seems Nintendo has opted for a more conventional release. The company is still struggling to keep up with the demand for Amiibos however, so if you're interested, act fast on May 29th.
Nintendo rides are coming to Universal's theme parks
Over the years, Nintendo has crafted a diverse roster of beloved video game characters. They're colorful and instantly recognisable, so inevitably some fans have wondered whether a Disney-style theme park could be built around them. Well, wonder no more. Nintendo announced today that it's teaming up with Universal to build new rides in some of its theme parks. It's staying tight-lipped on the details, but says to expect "spectacular, dedicated experiences" based on Nintendo games, characters and worlds.
'Mario Kart 8' is about to get absurdly fast
How big of a difference do those extra 50 cubic centimeters in Mario Kart 8 make? Well, Iwata and Co. have a video showing the current fastest/most difficult setting (150cc) side by side with the 200cc level the outfit announced last week. The trip around Piranha Plant Slide starts out slowly enough, but it isn't long before the differences start to show. There's roughly a five second gap between when Mario passes the first eponymous flora on the 200cc speed and 150cc, for instance, and the lead only grows from there. By the end of the lap, the lead is almost 15 seconds. That's quite a bit! Anywho, the video, along with a few others, is just below and the free update hits April 23rd -- see you on Rainbow Road.
Nintendo squashes browser-based Mario tribute game
While Nintendo proper might be willing to let some folk make a Mario game, we're a long way from that extending to free browser-based versions of the company's best-known franchise. As such, that Super Mario 64 HD tribute that popped up last Friday is (perhaps predictably) no more. Now back to work, the lot of you.
This is why 'Mario' levels are brilliant
For the past 30 years, if you wanted a masterclass in video-game level-and-objective design you needn't look any further than a Mario title from Nintendo. That didn't change any with 2013's stellar Super Mario 3D World or last year's spin-off Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, either. As Pocket Gamer's Mark Brown dissects in the video below, the ingenuity lies in how the former communicates wrinkles and tasks to the player -- not with a series of terrible tutorials, but gameplay. This is something the game's director Koichi Hayashida draws from four-panel Japanese manga. The structure's called kishoutenketsu, and it comes directly from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto's time spent drawing comics; it's always been influential in how the company has approached game design.
Nintendo's next-generation console is codenamed 'NX'
It should come as no surprise to hear that Nintendo is working on a new console. Fresh hardware takes years to develop, so engineers are always working on future systems while the rest of us play on the current generation of consoles. What we didn't expect, however, is for Nintendo to talk about its next system so soon. In today's press conference, where the company detailed its plans to make mobile games with DeNA, it also teased a new system codenamed "NX." Few details were disclosed, other than it'll involve fresh hardware and gameplay concepts. The NX symbol appeared on a slide alongside the Nintendo Wii U, 3DS and other mobile platforms, which suggests it could launch as a complementary system, rather than an immediate successor to any of its current consoles.
Super Mario AI learns how to play by listening to your advice
As fun as Super Mario Bros. games are to play, wouldn't it be nice if you could coach from the sidelines every now and then? The University of Tubingen has developed an artificial intelligence that lets you do just that. Its Mario AI project makes Nintendo's plumber both aware of his environment and responsive to your advice on how he should behave. You can teach him that stomping on Goombas will definitely take them down, for instance. Mario even has his own systems for feelings and needs. He'll explore the world if he's sufficiently curious, and he'll chase after coins if he's "hungry."
Nintendo's characters show up in someone else's handheld game
Nintendo's iconic characters have appeared more than once in third-party console games (hello Soul Calibur fans), but mobile games have largely been off-limits. However, there are new signs that the gaming giant is taking a more relaxed approach to the handheld world. GungHo has unveiled Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition, a take on the popular puzzle battler that includes many of the characters from Nintendo's most sacred cash cow. It's not surprising that there's only a 3DS version so far given Nintendo's usual disdain for smartphone games, but the regular Puzzle & Dragons is also available (and successful) on both Android and iOS -- it wouldn't take much to get the Mario variant on non-3DS systems. Will that happen? Probably not. Even so, GungHo's game is further proof that Nintendo isn't as protective of its franchises as it used to be.
Did You Know Gaming examines even more Mario
For the sixth time, the trivia buffs at Did You Know Gaming have aimed their microscope at the world's favorite Italian plumber to learn that Super Mario 64 almost featured two-player simultaneous gameplay and that Yoshi could have been introduced into Nintendo's flagship series much earlier, if it weren't for hardware restrictions. [Image: DYKG]
Nintendo's 'Mario' level creator just got a lot crazier
We got a chance to go hands on with Mario Maker at E3 this past June and it was pretty awesome even if it felt a little bit, well, safe. New footage that premiered at tonight's The Game Awards in Las Vegas blew our previous conceptions out of the water, though. From the looks of the video below, you can alter levels on-the-fly in ways we didn't previously know were possible. We're talking creating a platform to land on mid-jump and turning otherwise fatal bullet cannons into coin-spewing fountains. Not crazy enough? How about swapping in art styles from the past 30 years of the Italian plumber's career as you see fit while running through what starts as level 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. in real-time? Exactly. Hit the jump for a peek at the madness.
New Super Mario Bros Wii crosses 10 million copies sold
New Super Mario Bros Wii reached 10 million copies sold, Nintendo announced via Twitter. The side-scrolling platformer first launched on Wii in November 2009 and became Japan's fastest-selling game for the console two months later. Nintendo's return to 2D platforming action in the Mario series was popular for its multiplayer offerings; up to four players could traverse the Mushroom Kingdom's environments together, knocking into one another along the way. The publisher has since returned to Mario-leaping action on Wii U with games like 2012's New Super Mario Bros. U and last year's Super Mario 3D World, the latter listed by Joystiq as one of the ten best titles that launched in 2013. Nintendo shipped over two million copies of Super Mario 3D World as of May. [Image: Nintendo]
Pikachu gets its own Hori Battle Pad for Wii U controller in Japan
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U fighters planning on leading their offense with Pikachu should take note of Hori's controller inspired by everyone's favorite electric rodent – the above version of the Battle Pad for Wii U has appeared on Amazon Japan for 3,434 (~$30 USD), with a release date of November 20. The packaging also depicts a matching Wiimote cover, presumably to help complete the effect. For those unable to order through Amazon Japan, there's always the Mario and Luigi-themed variants available in the North American store for $24.99 apiece. The turbo-enabled Battle Pad for Wii U connects to a Wiimote rather than the upcoming GameCube controller converter and can be used with games that support the Classic Controller or Classic Controller Pro. It won't work as a stand-in for the Pro Controller, however. [Image: Hori]
Super Smash Bros. posters up for grabs from Club Nintendo
Sitting on a pile of Club Nintendo coins, just waiting for some worthwhile physical goods to show up in the program's online store? Hopefully you've got some open wall space, because a new, Super Smash Bros.-themed poster set appeared earlier this week, offering the above spreads in exchange for 700 coins. The set features familiar art with a few crossover tweaks. Sure, you've seen Rosalina and Mario soar through space, but ... hey, which yoga pose gives you the power of flight, Wii Fit Trainer? Isabelle also seems keen on Mayor Villager snatching up a Smash Ball to banish Link, Mario and Kirby from the homely Animal Crossing town. Each poster is 22" x 28", with sets due to ship two to three weeks after coins are cashed in. For those that have never used Club Nintendo, coins can be earned by registering Nintendo games and systems with a Club Nintendo profile. Reward amounts vary, but registering 3DS and Wii U games generally grants 30 and 60 coins respectively, with post-play surveys and smaller, eShop-only games serving up smaller coin stacks. If you've already lined your walls with past poster sets, well ... at least there's still that Smash Bros. soundtrack to earn. [Image: Nintendo]
Super Smash Bros. hints that Mario's extra lives are clones
Descriptions for items within Super Smash Bros. for 3DS have already discussed Metroid protagonist Samus' inability to crawl. Another meme-referencing bit of text surfaced this week, this time providing a theory for Mario's extra lives. According to the description for 1-Up Mushrooms in the European version of the game provided by NeoGAF user SalsaShark, an extra life means "a whole extra version of you." The bit of text within Super Smash Bros. pondered the meaning of Mario's clones and whether "making more copies of yourself the real goal of any adventure" before imagining "a bunch of Marios getting together to discuss it." The North American version rephrases the same notion, which recalls a video of the double cherry power-up in action in Super Mario 3D World, found after the break. Do you have any favorite Easter eggs from Super Smash Bros. on 3DS? If so, share them with us in the comments! The Wii U version of the game will launch November 21. [Image: Nintendo, Imgur]
