Most Recent: Wii U

Nintendo Download: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Puyo Puyo Tetris, TumbleSeed, more

Posted on April 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

After being on store shelves for almost two month, Nintendo’s next wave of major new releases for the Switch are ready to launch this week on the Nintendo eShop.

Leading things off is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the ultimate version of the kart racer that was originally released for the Wii U in 2014. Players will receive all the content included in the base game and both DLC Packs, as well as Switch-exclusive content including five new characters (Bowser Jr., Dry Bones, King Boo, and Boy and Girl Inklings), a brand new Battle Mode, new weapons, and the ability to carry two items at the same time. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be available to download tomorrow, April 28.

Also available to download for the Switch this week is Puyo Puyo Tetris, a crossover puzzle game that’s built for multiplayer play. But don’t worry, single-player Adventure and Challenge modes are also on the menu.

Finally, TumbleSeed will be available to download for the Switch early next week, on May 2. Designer Greg Wohlwend (who also contributed to Threes and Ridiculous Fishing) describes the game as “a deceptively deep roguelike about balancing a seed up a dangerous and ever-changing mountain.”

You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases on the Switch and Wii U) after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Switch, Wii U | Tagged ,

Nintendo’s 2016-2017 Annual Report: Big sales for Switch, Zelda BotW, Pokemon + Fall release dates for Xenoblade 2, Mario Odyssey, more

Posted on April 27, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo published their annual financial report this morning, and the company gave us our best look yet at the Switch’s retail prospects, as well as reconfirmed several 2017 releases.

The big announcement today is that Nintendo has sold 2.74 million Switch consoles around the world as of March 31. Nintendo originally predicted that they’d sell two million around Switch consoles in March, so it’s safe to say they surpassed their goal. The consolemaker expects to sell ten million more Switch consoles before the start of their next fiscal year. If this prediction proves accurate, the Switch will have matched the total sales of the Wii U in a single year.

Moving on to games, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has proven to be fairly popular, with total sales of 3.84 million copies sold (2.76 on the Switch and 1.08 on the Wii U). And don’t count out the 3DS just yet. According to Nintendo, Pokemon Sun and Moon combined to sell 15.44 million copies since they were released in November.

Nintendo closed out their report with the promise of a bright future, reiterating that all of their upcoming Switch and 3DS game are still on track to be released in 2017. Super Mario Odyssey and Fire Emblem Warriors are both still set for the Fall, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is still penciled in for a “TBA 2017” launch date.

Other titles scheduled to be released this Fall include Monster Hunter Stories, Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters, Kirby‘s next 3DS game, and Miitopia. Ever Oasis (June 23), Hey Pikmin (July 28), Splatoon 2 (July 21), and Arms (June 16) are set for this Summer.

Nintendo will most likely reveal a lot more about all of these games at this year’s E3 Expo… unless they get delayed, of course.

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the NES fangame transforms Breath of the Wild into an 8-bit adventure

Posted on April 24, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo famously created an 8-bit prototype of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to help the development team get acclimated to working with its many interlocking systems. Fans have been clamoring for a chance to play this prototype since its reveal, but Nintendo doesn’t appear to be in any rush to make it available for public use.

Naturally, a dedicated Nintendo fan, Winter Drake, has decided to create a playable version of the prototype in his spare time.

The fangame is known as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the NES, and a demo is currently available as a free download through Itch.io. Nintendo is usually quick to ask their lawyers to issue a “Cease and Desist” order when their characters are used in a fan-created game, but the developer of Breath of the NES has vowed to finish at any costs. Specifically, they told Kotaku that he plans to swap out Link and his Hyrulian enemies with original characters when the time comes:

“When a lot of people hear about this project, they jump to worrying about a cease and desist from Nintendo,” Winter Drake told Kotaku. “While I’m going to stay hardworking on Breath of the NES for as long as I can, if Nintendo asks me to stop using their IP, I do plan to continue development with my own original characters. I’m having way too much fun creating this world to just give up.”

Winter Drake also said they’re not creating a direct conversion of Breath of the Wild, but want to “capture the spirit” of the game:

“This project is still in its early stages… I’ll be adding more areas with distinct elements and atmospheres, puzzle elements for dungeons, and lots of ways to creatively kill enemies,” Winter Drake, the developer behind Breath of the NES, told Kotaku.

“I have a lot of plans for original features in the game, and although I’d like to capture the spirit of BotW and NES Zelda, I’m not restricting myself to be perfectly faithful.”

Winter Drake will be providing additional updates on Breath of the NES’s development on Twitter.

Posted in News, PC, Retro, Switch, Wii U | Tagged

Splatoon manga coming to North America in Fall 2017

Posted on April 24, 2017 by John Scalzo

CoroCoro Comics published a manga series based on Nintendo’s Splatoon in Japan after the game’s launch in 2015. Serialized in CoroCoro magazine, the series, which was written and illustrated by Sankichi Hinodeya, was eventually compiled in two volumes.

This weekend, Viz Media announced (via Twitter) that they’re translating it into English for a North American release this Fall.

We don’t currently have any more details than that, but fans will get the chance to dive back into the world of Splatoon this July when Splatoon 2 launches for the Nintendo Switch.

Posted in Etcetera, News, Switch, Wii U | Tagged ,

Nintendo smashed sales records in March 2017… but Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the top-selling game

Posted on April 20, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo told us all about their record-setting sales month last week, but the NPD Group made it official today when they revealed their retail report on the video game industry for March 2017.

NPD analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz: “March 2017 will go down in history books as the month Nintendo broke records.The Nintendo Switch had the biggest hardware launch for a Nintendo platform and the second biggest launch for any video game platform since 1995, the time NPD began tracking this category.”

However, even though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild managed to sell more than 900,000 copies, it wasn’t able to secure the #1 spot. Instead, Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the best-selling game last month, likely due to Nintendo’s unwillingness to share their digital sales figures with the NPD Group. Other strong sellers on the Switch included 1-2 Switch (#13) and Super Bomberman R (#17).

Big debuts weren’t limited to Nintendo’s Switch, and it was a banner month for several new releases last month, as Mass Effect: Andromeda (#3), Horizon: Zero Dawn (#4), and Nier: Automata (#9) also smashed expectations. Combined with impressive Switch hardware sales, these games helped the industry record more than $1.36 billion in total sales for the month, a 24% year-on-year increase over March 2016.

The complete list of best-selling games from March 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nintendo Download: Wonder Boy The Dragon’s Trap, Rayman 3, Rayman Advance, more

Posted on April 20, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo’s Switch continues to be a home for interesting retro-themed titles, as two more are now available to purchase through the Nintendo eShop.

Developed by Lizardcube, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is a remake of 1989’s Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, and the side-scrolling platformer has been updated with a hand-drawn visual style and a re-orchestrated soundtrack for its Switch debut. Also available to download this week is Fatal Fury, a re-release of one of SNK’s earliest fighting games.

Nintendo’s other platforms will receive a handful of new downloadable titles this week, including Urban Trial Freestyle 2 for the 3DS. Developed by Teyon, the stunt racer asks players to “pull off insane stunts on top of skyscrapers, speed down busy highways, and take intense rides through the suburbs.” There’s even a few new games available for the Wii U this week, including Virtual Console re-releases of Rayman Advance and Rayman 3.

You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U |

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment campaign update dated for 3DS and Wii U

Posted on April 19, 2017 by John Scalzo

Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight fans will soon be able to play the Specter of Torment campaign on the Wii U and 3DS.

Specter of Torment won’t be released as a standalone download on either platform, but the campaign will be available to download as a free update on April 21 (on the Wii U) and April 25 (on the 3DS):

Yacht Club Games previously broke ground on Shovel Knight’s Specter of Torment campaign for Nintendo’s Switch (March 3) and the PC (April 5). It’ll also be available later this month for the PS4 and Xbox One (as a standalone download), and the PS3, PS4, Xbox One, and Vita (as a free update to Shovel Knight).

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged

Nintendo of America sold 906,000 Switch consoles and 1.3 million copies of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in March

Posted on April 14, 2017 by John Scalzo

There’s been an electric feeling in the air since Nintendo’s launch of the Switch on March 3. Come on, I’m sure you can feel it too. Nintendo is back… and now we have the sales figures to prove it.

Yesterday afternoon, Nintendo of America announced that more than 906,000 Switch consoles were sold in the United States during the month of March. If that weren’t impressive enough, the consolemaker added that more Switch consoles were sold during its first month of availability than any other game system in Nintendo’s history.

Nintendo also revealed that they sold even more copies of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild during the month. Zelda fans purchased more than 925,000 copies of the game on the Switch, as well as nearly 460,000 copies for the Wii U. With total sales of 1.3 million, Breath of the Wild is the “fastest-selling Nintendo launch game of all time, as well as the fastest-selling game ever in The Legend of Zelda series.”

But what about Breath of the Wild’s insane 102% attach rate on the Switch? Nintendo attributed the unprecedented sales success for Breath of the Wild to fans who purchased two copies of the game… a limited edition to keep sealed and a standard edition to play.

“Nintendo always strives to offer consumers something fun, new and different,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s President and COO. “With its various play modes and the innovative features of the Joy-Con controllers, Nintendo Switch provides unique experiences that people can take with them anywhere and share with anyone.”

Worldwide sales figures for the Nintendo Switch will be announced on April 27 during Nintendo’s annual financial report.

Posted in News, Switch, Wii U | Tagged