MarioMaker
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'Super Mario Maker' for the 3DS only plays in 2D
If you were hoping that the handheld version of Super Mario Maker played in three dimensions, take a seat. Polygon has stumbled across the GameStop listing for the 3DS edition, the box for which comes with a prominent caveat that it only plays in two dimensions. It's not that much of a surprise, given how few 3DS titles really harness stereoscopy in a meaningful way -- even Pokémon X and Y mostly saved it for battles. Not to mention, of course, that Super Mario Maker is the most two-dimensional of games, and certainly won't need any extra depth. If you can't wait to try your hand at becoming the next Miyamoto (spoiler: it's hard), then it'll set you back $39.99 on December 2nd.
You can search for 'Mario Maker' levels on the web next week
Crafting truly brilliant Mario Maker levels isn't easy, but finding them soon will be. Nintendo just announced its "Super Mario Maker Bookmark" portal will go live on December 21 so you can search for levels to play from a computer or mobile device instead of just on your Wii U. Better yet, you'll be able to flag those primo levels from whatever device you're working with — they'll appear in the Course World tab so you don't have to worry about finding your favorite works all over again.
Playdate: Putting your custom 'Super Mario Maker' levels to the test
When we asked for your Super Mario Maker levels you guys and gals responded in a big way. Don't believe us? We have a Gmail folder with over 300 responses to prove you otherwise, and more keep coming in every day. Sean and myself were absolutely floored by the creativity the Playdate community showed and honestly it was hard to narrow the field down to just 30 or so entires. Sadly we had to do just that because we only have two hours to broadcast. Did your masterpiece make the cut? Tune in starting at 6PM Eastern / 3PM Pacific and find out as we run through nothing but community-built death traps either on this post, the Engadget Gaming homepage or Twitch.tv/joystiq if you want to join in our chat.
'Super Mario Maker' crushed my dreams of making video games
"Isn't this supposed to be fun?" I asked myself over and over again. I knew the answer was "yes," but I still wasn't having any. I'd been playing Super Mario Maker, a video game that lets you make your own Super Mario Bros. levels and play them on a real Nintendo console, and I was completely miserable. It didn't make any sense. I'd dreamed about making Nintendo games since I was 6 years old, but when the company gave me the chance to prove a game design genius lived under my skin, I flopped. It was then that a shocking and heartbreaking realization washed over me: I hate making video games.
Wanted: your custom 'Super Mario Maker' levels
Something happened when we were broadcasting the Wii U's Super Mario Maker on Playdate last week. Sean Buckley and myself (and almost assuredly someone from Twitch chat) thought it'd be a great idea to play through levels that the community made, live on the internet. And guess what? That's absolutely what we want to do, but we'll need your help. For a future stream we'd love to do nothing but play custom levels created exclusively by our loyal Playdate viewers. All you need to do is take the ID code for your masterpiece and drop it in an email to EngadgetPlaydate@gmail.com. It's easy! We're playing pretty loose with the rules too. You can send us a couple of your favorites (but fewer than 30) if you're having a tough time narrowing it down to just one, and all that we ask if you not have anything lewd contained therein.
'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.
'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!
'Mario Maker' level-design game launches in September
Mario Maker is due out for the Wii U in September, Nintendo announced today during its live stream. Mario Maker allows players to design their own Mario levels, featuring styles from across the series' storied history.
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.
These are the biggest Nintendo games at E3 2014
Nintendo's in a weird place. The company's got a game console that no one's buying, the Wii U, and it's the only place to play some of gaming's biggest franchises: Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong. The list goes on. Nintendo's also got a tremendously popular handheld game console, the 3DS, but Wii U software was the focus of E3 2014. Rather than a press conference like in the past, Nintendo chose to unveil its E3 news in a digital venue: a Nintendo Direct video stream. Much of Tuesday morning's announcements were available to play at E3, impressions of which we've shared below. And yes, we played a lot of Smash Bros.
Making your own Mario level is incredibly fun, but difficult to master
Today, I wrote my very own level of Super Mario Bros. at E3. Featuring a pyramid of goombas, several randomly placed pipes, a dozen mystery blocks in a row and countless coins scattered throughout, my creation was a jumbled mess; coming up with a cool world for Mario to navigate is a lot easier said than done. But it was mine. In the first half of next year, Wii U owners will have the same opportunity thanks to a game called Mario Maker. It's Nintendo's first attempt at producing a level creator similar to LittleBigPlanet or Project Spark, and it tugged at my heartstrings. For a brief moment, I shared the same experience as a small group of video game designers: Armed with a Wii U GamePad and its included stylus, I placed enemies, pipes, platforms and other Mario obstacles anywhere I wanted. In my demo, I was allowed to choose between the original game's 8-bit style and the high-def style from the franchise's recent titles. And just to make sure my Mario genesis was actually playable, I was able to play through it in real time.
Nintendo teases 'Mario Maker' for creating custom Mario levels on Wii U
We had a feeling Nintendo was going to announce something called "Mario Maker," a game that allows you to create your own levels in Super Mario Brothers -- after all, Nintendo Enthusiast found a poster for the damn thing in the company's E3 booth. Indeed, Nintendo just teased it in a press event, though it only provided a scant few details. In a series of screenshots, we saw someone creating custom levels, with the help of the Wii U's included stylus. Though you can design the level using old-school 8-bit graphics, as in the screenshot above, you can also go with the sort of modern look found in Mario's newer titles. No word on exact release date, except that it will hit North America and Europe sometime in 2015.
