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Joystiq Top 10 of 2014: Mario Kart 8
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Mario Kart 8, much like its host console, made a poor first impression when it showed up in demo form back at E3 2013. In the same way that the Wii U met with equal parts confusion and indifference when it debuted – thanks to that odd controller– Mario Kart 8's anti-gravity racing felt like the most tiresome sort of tacked-on gimmick early on. "Oh, it's Mario Kart! But super pretty! And upside down!" Great. Super. Who cares? But also like the Wii U, Mario Kart 8 hides deep pleasures just beneath the surface. Beautiful, smart, overstuffed with rewards, and functional in ways the series has only toyed with in the past, Mario Kart 8 was a burning hot spot in Wii U's brightest year yet.
PSA: December 31 marks Wii U Digital Deluxe promo deadline
This is it, folks. Time to make those holiday gift cards count. If you're an owner of the 32GB Wii U Deluxe console, you've got one more day to earn bonus eShop credit in Nintendo's Deluxe Digital promotion. The promotion rewards Wii U Deluxe owners with credit for making purchases on the Wii U eShop. Specifically, owners can get 10 percent of their purchases back in eShop credit. If you've been waiting to make any eShop purchases, or if this is the first you've heard of the promotion, tomorrow marks your last day to earn points. Points earned via the promotion can be exchanged for eShop credit until March 31, 2015. You can find the relevant details on the promotion's website. [Image: Nintendo]
A brief history of do-it-yourself Mario
Nintendo's Mario Maker – launching early next year – may be the company's first official foray into do-it-yourself level editing but, as many people know, would-be game designers have been using unofficial channels to do just that for close to two decades using Nintendo's most popular brand. The end result? A fan community like no other, filled with passionate people from all over the globe, all working toward one common goal – creating an absolute boatload of deviously designed Mario levels. Of course, long before there were dedicated toolsets, there was the humble game ROM. In addition to allowing people to finally brag about beating Ghosts N' Goblins, NES game ROMs had/have the added bonus of being fairly easy to manipulate. What better title to screw around with than the original Super Mario Bros.? It didn't have too many sprites and, oh yeah, there's that whole "pretty much defined video games for an entire generation" thing. So the ROM-smiths went to work. It was simple stuff at first, like getting rid of Mario's mustache or even his clothes. Naked Italian plumbers soon gave way to stoned Italian plumbers. Most of the notable hacks of this early era were simple one-offs created for shock value, like Super Bud Brothers, which replaced some of the game's bushes and character sprites with weed leaves, and the disgusting Super KKK Brothers in which, well, you can probably guess its horrific gimmick.
Joystiq Discussion: How do you like your Best of the Year list?
How do you evaluate Tetris and Metroid in the same breath? Does that even make sense? One's about manipulating space using a small collection of simple shapes while the other's about exploring an alien world as an increasingly dangerous bounty hunter. Yet they're both video games. They're electronic works of art defined by how the audience touches and prods them. Deeply different yet similar at their most basic levels. This is the central conundrum that always arises at the end of the year. When looking back and determining what was the very best amongst 2014's video games, it's hard to compare certain works. Does a game like Assassin's Creed: Unity, made by hundreds of people, get compared to something like Shovel Knight which was made by just a handful of creators? Do you even count things like Simogo's The Sailor's Dream? It's tricky. Yet when you're talking about the very best, maybe it doesn't matter that things are so different. These are the games that excelled; end of story. The question then: how do you like your Best of the Year? Do you like everything lumped together, a free-for-all to spotlight the things that were the greatest no matter what? Or should the Best of the Year be broken into smaller categories so as to make sure that every game is on equal footing against similar works? Take the poll, discuss in the comments. How do you like your Best of the Year list? [Images: Nintendo]
UK charts close out 2014 with CoD: Advanced Warfare as king
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the last UK No. 1 of 2014, which isn't too surprising since this week's charts are nearly identical to last week's. You can check out that almost static top 10 below the break (along with the sometimes underwhelming but always customary music video). Meanwhile above the break, we're going to look back on a year of UK charts through the hallowed medium of statistics. And so: Joystiq's Somewhat Scatterbrained UK Charts Statistics of 2014 20 different games topped the charts in 2014 across 52 weeks 5 of those were re-releases, with 7 weeks worth of No. 1s between them Surprise surprise, FIFA 15 scored the longest run of consecutive No. 1s in 2014 (6) Between them, FIFA 14 and FIFA 15 held the top spot for a total of 15 weeks Add in Advanced Warfare and Titanfall, and that total goes up to 25 weeks The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was Joystiq's lowest-rated game to earn a UK No. 1 (2 stars) Grand Theft Auto 5 became the UK's all-time bestseller when it hit PS4 and Xbox One. No. of times we've badly shopped Chelsea footballer Eden Hazard a la FIFA 15 into images of other games: 3, including this week.
Joystiq's favorite races in games
It was revealed this week that the Heavensward expansion for Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn would introduce not only new jobs, but a new race for players to enjoy: the Au Ra. Featuring tails, scales and horns, the Au Ra blend humanoid features with those of dragons, and who doesn't want to be a dragon-person? The news also gave us a chance to reflect on our own favorite races in gaming, which we've collected here for your viewing/judging pleasure. Of course, not everyone will have the same taste in fictional species (though one does make an encore appearance on our list) so tell us: what's your favorite race in games? >>Joystiq's Favorite Races In Games<<
Outfit your Hyrule Warriors with costume DLC, now available
If you missed out on pre-ordering Hyrule Warriors to snag retailer-exclusive costumes inspired by Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time (or wanted more than one set of said costumes), there's good news waiting for you in the eShop, as four costume packs are now available for $0.99 each. Note: While the full game can be purchased via Nintendo's website, the DLC waits in the wings of the Wii U eShop. The Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time costume packs each provide Link and Zelda with costumes inspired by the respective game. A fourth pack, called the Demon King Costume Set, provides two new costumes for Ganondorf - one inspired by his appearance in Ocarina of Time and one inspired by Twilight Princess. All of the costume packs now for sale are the same as those given to customers who pre-ordered (or in the case of the Ganondorf costumes, those in Club Nintendo) so be careful not to make a double purchase. [Image: Nintendo]
Please notice the Crunchyroll app on Wii U, senpai
Thousands of hours of anime are now available on Wii U consoles via the Crunchyroll app on the eShop, Nintendo and Crunchyroll have announced. The app, which hosts shows like Naruto Shippuden, One Piece and Sword Art Online, features sample videos for free, but if you want total access, you'll need a Premium membership. Crunchyroll offers several different Premium memberships: one that provides unlimited selection of manga ($4.95/month), one providing unlimited selection of anime ($6.95/month), and an "all-access" version which combines anime and manga while adding drama shows to the mix ($11.95/month). [Image: Crunchyroll]
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse trailer shows 4-player gameplay
Nintendo recently shared a new trailer for Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and while its voiceover is in Japanese, that doesn't stop anyone from enjoying its gameplay. The trailer grants a few examples of how players can use lines traced on the Wii U GamePad for things other than guiding Kirby, as well as glimpses of transformations like Tank, Rocket and Submarine Kirby. Multiplayer scenes are also shown, with Waddle Dee characters appearing to move freely and having the capability to carry Kirby through stages. According to Serebii translator StreetsAhead, the above trailer also explains the extent of Kirby and the Rainbow Curse's amiibo support. StreetsAhead noted that Kirby amiibo allow players to use the star dash ability at any time, while Meta Knight amiibo dole out a character-themed mask and higher attack power. King Dedede amiibo also lend a mask, in addition to a more resilient health bar. StreetsAhead added that players will be able to use each amiibo once per day on one stage. You can trace a trail from store shelves to your Wii U when Kirby and the Rainbow Curse launches on February 13. [Image: Nintendo]
Joystiq's favorite new characters of 2014
It takes all sorts to make up the video game worlds we explore, and sometimes a few characters stand out as our favorites. From the buffoonery of Ratbag to the big splash made by the Troupple King, this year featured a host of unique new faces. As we close out another year of gaming, we look back at some of our favorites. Of course we couldn't highlight them all, so we ask: What are your favorite characters of 2014? >>Joystiq's Favorite New Characters of 2014<<
Federal court dismisses Wiimote patent case against Nintendo
Nintendo has prevailed in yet another patent lawsuit, this time against Texas company UltimatePointer LLC, regarding a case we first reported on in 2011. UltimatePointer asserted that Nintendo's Wiimote infringed on its patent for an "Easily Deployable Interactive Direct-Pointing System and Presentation Control System and Calibration Method Therefor." In a Seattle federal court, Judge Robert S. Lasnik ruled that the Wiimote does not infringe on UltimatePointer's patent and found that a number of the company's claims were invalid, meaning no trial is required. Nintendo of America Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Richard Medway offered the following statement about the decision: "We are very pleased with these decisions, which confirmed Nintendo's position from the beginning – we do not, nor have we ever, infringed these patents. The result in this case, once again, demonstrates that Nintendo will continue to vigorously defend its innovations against patent lawsuits, even if it must do so in multiple courts and commit significant resources to defend itself. Nintendo continues to support reform efforts to reduce the unnecessary and inefficient burden patent cases like this one place on technology companies in the United States." And now this one gets thrown in the "backlinks about Nintendo patent disputes" pile. Electronics company Philips recently won a dispute in the UK against Nintendo regarding the Wii and Wii U's use of a camera and motion-sensing technology. Nintendo plans to appeal the UK decision, and Philips has filed against Nintendo in the US as well. [Image: Nintendo]
2014's Box Art: The Year in Review
Gaming is as deeply entrenched in the online age as it's ever been, with more downloadable games hitting storefronts than ever before. So there's no better time than now, while we still can, to commemorate the year through the lens of box art. So many hours and so much thought goes into creating box art, with designers working their utmost to grab consumer attention at ground level. That makes for a curious mix of designs, turning the average store shelf into a kaleidoscope of logos, familiar faces, and occasionally glittering artwork. That very much remains the case this year. We've taken 50 of 2014's retail releases - we've restricted it to games that hit physical store shelves (sorry, Shovel Knight) - and compiled them into a gallery to chronicle the year. As for which box art stood out from the rest, we welcome you to illuminate us in the comments. What was your favorite video game box art of 2014? Which of the covers we didn't include were ones you really liked? And what about the coulda-shoulda-done-betters? Let us know! >>The Year in Box Art<<
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is UK's Christmas No. 1
Ding dong merrily on high / In the UK CoD is winning Ding dong verily the sky / In LA Kotick's grinning Spa-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-aycey Kevin in excelsis! Like an exosuit-clad soldier sneaking stealthily down the chimney, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare sneaks up on FIFA 15 to nick the UK Christmas No. 1. Activision's shooter usurped EA's kicker with a last-minute promotion, which according to Chart Track makes it the fifth CoD ever to claim the top spot in merrytime. Outside of that excitement, the UK charts are getting into the holiday spirit by barely moving an inch. Nonetheless, if you jingle below the break you'll find the full top ten, and this week a very festive edition of the customary music video - sort of.
Unwrap Shantae and the Pirate's Curse on Wii U on December 25
After stormy seas kept sassy Shantae sequestered from Nintendo 3DS shores earlier this year, we weren't really sure when the half-genie girl and her pirate rival, Risky Boots, would team up to take down the Pirate Master in Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. Thanks to a tweet from developer WayForward made earlier this week however, it looks like Wii U owners can expect to find the 2D platforming adventure available on the eShop for $19.99 starting Christmas Day, December 25. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, a Kickstarter-funded adventure starring WayForward's purple-haired heroine, has been delayed from its 2014 launch window. [Image: WayForward]
Nintendo currently plotting next console, Miyamoto confirms
In an interview with the Associated Press, Super Mario Bros. creator and leading Nintendo visionary Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that the Japanese console giant is already working on a successor to the now two-year-old Wii U. "For the time being, our focus is on the Wii U hardware, but Nintendo as a whole has groups working on ideas for new hardware systems," Miyamoto said. "While we're busy working on software for the Wii U, we have production lines that are working on ideas for what the next system might be." Keep in mind, this sort of far-future planning is routine for console manufacturers. It would be surprising if the "production lines" Miyamoto mentioned have moved beyond the early planning stages. Don't worry, it's going to be at least a few more years before you have to work another Nintendo console into your budget. [Image: Nintendo]
Toys R Us: Lucario amiibo pre-orders not being canceled
Numerous Toys R Us customers received emails from the retailer this morning, seemingly canceling their pre-orders for the Lucario amiibo figure. As a Toys R Us spokesperson told Joystiq in a phone conversation today, the emails were part of a "technical issue," and pre-orders for the figure will not be canceled. Toys R Us added via email, "we apologize for any inconvenience that may have been caused pertaining to customers' amiibo pre-orders. Please know that we are working on an email communication to all customers effected, which will provide instructions on how we plan to fulfill their order." The Lucario amiibo was revealed in November as a Toys R Us-exclusive figure, though the retailer's listing for the figure is currently missing from its storefront. Toys R Us was unable to offer specific inventory data for amiibo, but assured that the issue was unrelated to its supply of the figures.
Miyamoto says players can share levels in Mario Maker
Players of Mario Maker, the upcoming Wii U game that lets players build their own 2D worlds in the style of the Super Mario Bros. series, will be able to share their creations online, according to Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto. In a recent interview with YouTube personality iJustine (translated by Nintendo Senior Product Marketing Manager Bill Trinen) Miyamoto said, "You'll be able to see what happens when other people play your course or when you play other people's courses. There will be some popularity rankings for the most popular courses and things like that. So there's a lot on the community side." Miyamoto hopes you won't forsake those in your own home though, elaborating that he still pictures couch-based play, with a creator handing off their level to a friend or family member who is in the room. "But of course we will have the internet ability to exchange courses as well." We can't wait to see all the age-appropriate and completely family-friendly designs that the internet will come up with. [Image: Nintendo]
Report: Captain Toad's release date brought forward in UK
Captain Toad's UK adventure may be starting early, after his game began showing up on British doorsteps ahead of its January 2, 2015 due date. While Nintendo's yet to comment, multiple reports indicate the publisher's given retailers the green light to release Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker early - or less late compared to the North American release date. MCV reports it's "been told" all UK online retailers can start shipping the game ahead of a new launch date of Monday, December 22. Similarly, Nintendo Life sources indicate GAME has begun shipping the game out, while VideoGamer.com went to its local GAME store and bought a copy this morning. In other words, if you're a Brit waiting patiently for the Wii U puzzle-platformer, you might want to track down some early treasure on the high street. While you're doing that, we've reached out to Nintendo for official clarification.
Duck Hunt flocks to Wii U Virtual Console on Christmas
As the turkey takes the prominent spot at your dinner table this Christmas, Nintendo has another bird in mind for your TV. The Wii U Virtual Console edition of Duck Hunt, announced earlier this year, will hit the eShop on December 25. Once you're stuffed to the gills, why not take aim at a few virtual ducks? Or, if you need to cater to Grandma's delicate sensibilities, you can always blast a few clay pigeons instead. Here's hoping the Wii Remote makes a decent stand-in for Nintendo's classic Zapper light gun. [Image: Nintendo]
New Nintendo eShop releases: Mega Man Zero, Meme Run
Mega Man X's often-dead pal Zero joins Nintendo's Virtual Console service today with the launch of Mega Man Zero, a 2002 Game Boy Advance spinoff known for its exemplary platforming and punishing difficulty. Power up Zero with new upgrades and abilities as you keep the peace between humans and Reploids in the century following the events of the Mega Man X series. If you're in the mood for more Mega Man, Capcom is currently hosting a themed eShop sale, dropping the prices of many of the Blue Bomber's games for the NES, SNES, and Game Boy. SNES brawler Natsume Championship Wrestling also joins the Virtual Console catalog this week, accompanying Wii U eShop releases like EnjoyUp's minimalist arcade-style puzzler 99Moves, multiplayer eat-'em-up Plenty of Fishies, and Internet meme-infused infinite runner (yes, really) Meme Run. 3DS owners can expect to see a digital version of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D this week, along with Asterix The Mansions of the Gods, Minecraft-like Cube Creator 3D, and Skipmore's action-RPG puzzler Fairune. If you have any French children hanging around, you'll also want to check out Mes Comptines, which might be the 3DS's first-ever French nursery rhyme compilation. Hit the break below, s'il vous plait, to see this week's full release lineup.
