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Smash Bros. screenshot visits 3DS single-player mode
Another week, another excuse for Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai to tease players with a screenshot from the franchise's upcoming 3DS/Wii U debut. This time we see an image of the handheld's single-player mode. "To be clear, the new Super Smash Bros. games do not feature a story mode like The Subspace Emissary," Sakurai wrote in a message posted to Miiverse, where the above screenshot debuted. Despite this, the image appears to depict a 2D stage occupied solely by Mario's three dimensional character model. Superficially, that seems similar to both Subspace Emissary and the Adventure mode found in Super Smash Bros. Meleé, but there's not enough information available to deduce anything solid. The Wii U and 3DS incarnations of Super Smash Bros. currently lack a release date, though Nintendo claims that both games should debut before the end of 2014.
Here is Club Nintendo's favorite Wii U and 3DS games of 2013
Nintendo compiled a list of 20 games that Club Nintendo members noted as their favorites from 2013 recently. Nintendo featured ten games for each for 3DS and Wii U, with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate as the lone game that landed on both lists. Among the Wii U games selected by Club Nintendo members are the obvious Nintendo-published choices in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Super Mario 3D World, The Wonderful 101 and Pikmin 3. The best-of list also includes Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Rayman Legends and Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, the latter being the single eShop-only game of the Wii U group. The list of 3DS favorites are marked by both Pokemon X and Y, Fire Emblem: Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Head past the break to see the full Club Nintendo-selected Wii U and 3DS list of favorites from the year.
Watch Mario destroy Master Chief, Connor and Lara Croft
With all the advances in video game technology, it's easy to forget simpler times. Mario never needed guns or knives or a cybernetic super suit. Sometimes, as this video proves, all you need is a pair of overalls, some sturdy boots and one mighty impressive keister. A fortuitous Piranha Plant doesn't hurt either.
Corrupted Super Mario 64 shows the real mushroom kingdom
Sometimes cartridges go bad. We can't explain what is going on in this footage of a corrupted Super Mario 64, presented by the same individual who posted that creepy Sesame Street footage earlier this year, but at least we know to avoid Princess Peach when she's baking a cake. Peach smash!
Mario and Luigi get a Nintendo 3DS XL bundle in silver, shipping now for $200
In order to properly celebrate what it's calling the "Cyber Monday of Luigi," Nintendo has outed a new limited-edition version of its 3DS XL handheld. The silver-clad unit has the two brothers on its outer lid while arriving preloaded with Mario & Luigi: Dream Team right out of the box. The $200 package is available today and follows on the heels of the pricier Zelda-themed gold version that arrived last month. Of course, color choices have been plentiful for the Nintendo faithful, should that gamer that you're shopping for have rather specific aesthetic sensibilities.
Super Mario 3D World powers up in launch trailer
This launch trailer for Super Mario 3D World offers a brief overview of the game's cast of characters and varying power-ups along with glimpses at the stages players will leap through. Among the characters not shown is Rosalina, an unlockable fifth character that stars in Super Mario Galaxy. The trailer, intended for European audiences, notes the game's November 29 release date, though it will launch November 22 in North America. Our review of the game was positively glowing, finding the platformer "utterly delightful from top to bottom."
$25 Google Glass hack uses 3D printed webcam mount to let you play Mario with your eyes
We're not entirely sure Google would give the thumbs up to everything detailed in the below video by University of Maryland PhD student, Brandyn White. But hey, any video about Google Glass that includes the phrase "you can even use a banana" will generally pique our interest. There's a lot of cool stuff in the below video, but the long and short of it is a $25 hack involving a webcam mount printed on a Formlabs Form 1 that brings pupil-tracking to Glass's portfolio of control inputs. That means an alternative control method for those times when you can't use your voice (the library, for example) or hands (the common example of climbing a tree while wearing Glass as outlined in the video). Naturally, White uses his newfound abilities to play a bit of Super Mario. That probably would have been our first choice, too, Brandyn.
Super Mario 3D World will feature 'a lot' of live-recorded music
If you were drained by the New Super Mario Bros. series' abundant re-use of tracks and underwhelming synthesizers, know that Super Mario 3D World's soundtrack may feel a little more inspired. In an interview with Destructoid, 3D World Lead Composer Mahito Yokota explained that "a lot" of the game's tracks will be live recordings. "We're arranging the music with a big-band feel, taking advantage of a full horn section with trumpets and saxophones," Yokota said. A horn section and stringed instruments flowed through this recent trailer, but hearing that the greater soundtrack will feature plenty of recordings is a bit of a relief. Considering some of the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack's highlights, it'd be nice if 3D World's tunes are also lively enough to remain stuck in the minds of players years after they've finished the game.
Nintendo announces holiday discounts, new Wii U bundles
Just in time for Saint Nick to wedge himself down the world's chimneys, Nintendo has revealed a swath of discounts designed to tempt holiday shoppers toward the House That Mario Built. Nintendo Land, the pack-in game attached to most launch-era Wii U consoles, has been reduced in price from $60 to $30. Wii Fit U on the other hand, receives no discount, but is now available as a free trial. Visit the Wii U eShop and you'll see the game (which is otherwise priced at $20) available for gratis download. Once you've pulled down the software, you then have one month to test the game and potentially shed some of that unsightly holiday weight. In the realm of the new, Nintendo has also revealed Wii Remote Plus controllers which feature either Mario or Luigi themes, and come equipped with $40 price tags. These new controllers are available now. Two bundles have also been revealed. The first features a $300 price tag and includes a Wii U Deluxe console alongside both New Super Mario Bros. U and its New Super Luigi U expansion. A Skylanders Swap Force bundle is slated to debut on November 15 at that same $300 price tag, only this one contains "a white Wii U Basic Set, a Skylanders Swap Force starter pack that includes three Skylanders figures, a Portal of Power, trading cards, Skylanders sticker sheets, a collector poster and a Nintendo Land game disc." If neither of these packages convince you to buy a Wii U, there's also the previously revealed Wind Waker HD bundle, which includes a Legend of Zelda-themed Wii U Deluxe, as well as Wind Waker HD and a download voucher for Hyrule Historia, an in-depth examination of the franchise's lore.
Mario, Luigi, Link costumes in Monster Hunter 4
Nintendo is continuing its amusing tradition of lending iconic franchises to 3rd party games with Mario, Luigi and Link costumes in Monster Hunter 4, today's Monster Hunter 4 Direct revealed. The presentation opens with a look at two Felynes in Mario and Luigi costumes playing around with hammers, a scenario that feels like it's from an alternate universe's Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. At around 24:00, a pair of human characters dressed in Link's tunic appear, armed with the Master Sword and what appears to be Zelda's bow from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The Mario and Luigi costumes will be available for download at 7-Elevens in Japan, Siliconera's translation of the presentation revealed. The Zelda-themed items will also be available via download, but the details regarding those will be revealed at a later date.
Nintendo needs to embrace iOS as a games platform
In 2011, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata vowed that his company would absolutely not create games for iOS devices. That same year saw the launch of the 3DS, Nintendo's new hope for mobile gaming dominance. Now, in 2013, with its marquee home console, the Wii U, thoroughly underperforming in sales and the 3DS falling considerably short of its predecessor's performance over the 28 months since its release, it's time for Iwata-san to reconsider. I believe Nintendo could be successful making games for iOS, and it's the kind of "creative destruction" that's necessary to keep the gaming giant relevant in the App Store era. Times have changed When the original Nintendo DS hit the market in 2004, the Motorola RAZR was all the rage. Since then, Nintendo has launched an all-new platform in the 3DS. Fliphones have given way to smartphones, with current devices like the iPhone 5 producing gaming experiences that oftentimes surpass those of dedicated portable gaming systems. Mobile gaming is now dominated by app stores, and a franchise like Angry Birds can draw downloads by the billions. There's still room for a console like the 3DS, and that's made clear by the fact that its sales are still climbing. Profits from the 3DS have saved Nintendo from fiscal disaster with the Wii U. However, with 32.5 million units sold over the first 27 months of availability, the 3DS still falls well short of the 40.3 million units the original DS was able to move in the same amount of time. The ground is ever so slowly shrinking beneath Nintendo's feet. On top of this, Nintendo -- perhaps more than any other company -- has franchises that are perfectly suited to life on the iPhone and iPad. Pokémon, Animal Crossing, and even the various iterations of Mario could be easily adapted for iOS. With the generally outstanding quality of first-party Nintendo releases, there should be little doubt that these games would be fantastic. It's hard to imagine a Mario Kart, Pikmin, or WarioWare title not taking the App Store by storm. "But why iOS? Why not Android?" Simple: Apple already caters to many principles Nintendo believes in. Most notable in this regard is piracy prevention. It's the reason Nintendo often chooses irregular media formats for its devices, such as the tiny GameCube optical discs, and why the company has aggressively fought the sale of devices like the R4 card which mimics a DS game card. Unlike Android, Apple's marketplace is highly policed even before software is put up for sale, meaning Nintendo would have less concern over losing money to cracked versions of its games. Google Play generates more app downloads overall, but when it comes to monetization the iOS App Store blows the doors off of Google Play. iOS apps generated more than double the revenue of Google Play, and if there's one thing that would push Nintendo to build mobile games for a platform other than its own, it's cash. Will it happen? I'm not going to say it will definitely happen, but it could, and it most definitely should. Nintendo has already shown that it's not entirely against the idea of iOS apps in general with the release of its Pokédex app. Right now, the Pokédex is seated in the top 25 of the reference section, after having been released in March. But it's not a game, and games are what Nintendo is (obviously) known for. The company may have been just testing the waters with the release of the Pokédex, but from there it's not exactly a stretch to publish a proper game, whatever it might be, on the App Store as well. Nintendo knows that people would buy its titles on iOS, and it knows the money is here waiting, so it may be just a matter of time before it decides to cash the check.
Life-size Mario statue for sale on Amazon Japan
Whether you're the owner of a local gaming shop or the parent of the world's most spoiled child, now you, too, can make a sizable investment in the momentary, fleeting happiness of a youth with this "life-size" Mario statue. Available for ¥285,000 (about $2,900) from Amazon Japan, the statue stands five feet tall and is made from fiber-reinforced plastic. There aren't really any bells or whistles to speak of, what with it being a statue and everything, but it does give the owner a reference point for extrapolating the heights of everyone else in the Mario mythos. Is that worth nearly $3,000? Probably. Do we have $3000? Nope. Click up on the source link below for the fully-in-Japanese details, but be warned that the related items on this listing are not safe for work.
Visualized: The lunacy of E3, live from Nintendo
Instead of its typical pre-show E3 press conference, Nintendo opted to open up its exhibition booth to journalists a bit early this year, teasing a few Wii U games, such as Pikmin 3 and the long-awaited Super Mario 3D World. Much to the amusement of attendees, Koichi Hayashida, the director of that latter title, joined journalists "dressed as a cat," as you can see in the image above. There were meows and everything. Such is our reward for an unusually long wait for the abbreviated event to kick off.
Super Mario Bros 2 coming to Wii U Virtual Console next week
Super Mario Bros. 2 is coming to the North American Wii U Virtual Console service on May 16. The game will launch at $4.99. Super Mario Bros. 2 joins a fairly light list of games on the Wii U Virtual Console, including those that launched the service in April, such as Excitebike, Ice Climbers, Punch Out and Super Mario World. Earthbound will be coming to the service at some point this year as well.
3DS eShop cards become Mario AR Cards in Japan
Nintendo's new eShop prepaid cards aren't just used to purchase content on 3DS, they also are content on 3DS. Nintendo is releasing a series of Mario-themed eShop cards, that also work as AR cards with a new Mario photo app made by the Galaxy/Super Mario 3D Land team.Each denomination comes on a card representing one of two characters: ¥1,000 Goomba or Koopa cards, ¥2,000 Mario or Luigi, or ¥3,000 Bowser or Peach. The 3D models generated by the app show up in photos based on where the cards are placed, just like other photos done with AR cards, and can be posed in different positions and with added effects. Like the Kid Icarus AR Cards, two characters will interact with one another when placed together.Nintendo of America has yet to make any announcements, of either the cards or the Photo Together Super Mario app. We recommend waiting – you don't want to buy eShop credit you can't use, just to interact with an app you can't download.
The Speed Gamers return with another 72-hour marathon for charity
Texas-based marathon-gaming group The Speed Gamers is preparing for its annual winter charity drive once again, this year raising funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation through extensive exposure to Mario and his various exploits.Starting at 7 p.m. Eastern on December 14, the group's non-stop 72-hour gaming session will work its way through a respectable block of Mario games, spanning the vastness of the plumber's body of work, both new and old. The whole event will be streamed live on the group's official website, where viewers can donate to not only help a worthy cause, but to also win prizes and play practical jokes on the marathoners.So far this year, The Speed Gamers has already raised $59,324.36 for charity, thanks to its insane 168-hour Pokemon marathon last June. In total, the organization has accumulated $369,304.15 for various causes since it was founded in 2008.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Wii U launch trailer powers up
This launch trailer for the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 shows some of the humorous Nintendo-themed costumes and items gamers can play around with. The game hits store shelves today next to that brand new Wii U console you've heard so much about.
Mario and Zelda characters meet Maxwell in Scribblenauts Unlimited
The Wii U version of Scribblenauts Unlimited will allow players to summon "dozens" of characters and items from the Mario and Zelda series. "Discovered Nintendo characters and objects will behave in the fun and fantastical ways they do in their respective game worlds," Warner Bros. says.Should you want to tinker with any of Nintendo's beloved characters, Scribblenauts Unlimited features an object editor, which means you should be able to make a nightmarish, yet charming, cross-franchise Nintendo chimera. Look forward to it! WB informed IGN that you won't be able to mess with the Nintendo characters in the object editor. No singing Link for you!
Morning chuckle: Attack of the clone apps
A link to this story on App Store clone apps crossed our desks this morning at TUAW central. We spent quite a bit of time arguing over which one was the most outrageous rip-off of a Nintendo title. It's a wonderful write-up, and I encourage you to pop over and read it all. The entire post is sort of like a FPS game. The Red Bull team offers videos, screen shots and, more importantly, exactly how long each clone lived in the App Store before being shot down by legal. We applaud some of the creativity involved in branding ("Ultra Dario" and "Mole Kart" made us laugh) and were pressed to wonder exactly how much time and effort were devoted to re-engineering these classic titles. Begun, the Clone Wars have. "Mesa buy clone app!" Of course you did, Jar Jar. We look forward to playing the as-yet non-existent Super Σario. Or Pack Mann. Maybe even Above Average Mario Siblings. Or Happy Marco Nicely Affordable Commuter Vehicle. And Mario Super-cool Rave with Mau5. Or Dongle Kong. Remember this wisdom from Field of Dreams: if you build it, they will clone.
Ohio State University marching band salutes video games
The half-time show for last night's Ohio State University vs. Nebraska game included some familiar faces amidst all the fancy footwork. OSU's show paid tribute to a range of video games, beautifully executed in sight and sound, featuring Pokemon, Mario Bros., Tetris, Halo, Zelda and Pac-Man. We dare you to not get chills.The OSU marching band is one of the few brass- and percussion-only bands in the country, and it boasts 225 members. Keep that in mind if you want to watch one of the Joystiq editors in her 2005 Halo 2-themed high school marching show, with a band of 100, some of which were piccolos (ouch).[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
