Warp Zoned Presents
All Articles: Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Nintendo posts first yearly profit in four years as Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros. 4, Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire sell a bundle
The champagne is surely flowing in the Nintendo office today as the consolemaker has posted a yearly profit for the first time since 2011. After tabulating sales of almost ¥550 billion (about $4.6 billion), Nintendo announced an operating income of ¥24.77 billion (about $207 million) during their most recent fiscal year (April 1, 2014 through March 31, 2015).
It’s quite a turnaround for the company, and it’s all due to an influx of big-selling titles on the 3DS and Wii U. Leading the way was Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U. Nintendo’s ridiculously popular fighting game sold 6.75 million copies on the 3DS and 3.65 million on the Wii U for a grand total of 10.4 million copies. Another connected pair of games almost reached eight figures this past year, but Pokemon: Omega Ruby and Pokemon: Alpha Sapphire will have to settle for a 9.94 million tally instead.
Mario Kart 8 was next on the sales charts, producing sales in excess of 5.11 million copies sold. And speaking of the Mario Kart franchise, Mario Kart 7 sold 2 million copies during the fiscal year, which pushes its lifetime sales past 11.7 million copies. Sticking with the 3DS, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D also performed well in the last 12 months, selling more than 2 million copies.
Finally, Nintendo also shared hardware sales figures for both the Wii U and 3DS. Nintendo’s home console has sold 9.54 million systems since its 2012 launch while the 3DS has chipped in 52 million in sales for the handheld’s entire family.
Director of Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS wants to create as many DLC characters as possible
Masahiro Sakurai, the Director of Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, has had a massive change of heart about downloadable characters. At first, Nintendo’s DLC plan was going to be a one-off special offer for fans who purchased both versions of the game. That’s right, there were originally no plans to sell Mewtwo as a separate download.
That all changes next week when Mewtwo will be offered up to every owner of Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U. Not only that, but Sakurai told Famitsu (via Nintendo Everything) that he wants to offer as many downloadable characters as he can:
It’s a huge undertaking to create a fighter, so I think we can’t make them in large quantities. I’d also like to feel refreshed when the project is over. However, since we have decided to tackle [DLC] once, I’d like to offer as much fun [content] as possible. It will take a while from now, but please look forward to it.
The final decision on which characters will be added to the game still sits with Nintendo, but the consolemaker is listening to fans. They’ve set up the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot and will continue to tally our votes until October.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Nintendo Download: Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart 8 200cc update, more
It’s a Mario Kart kind of day in the latest Nintendo Download. First, one of the best games to ever grace the franchise, Mario Kart DS, is now available to download through the Wii U eShop. Also available today is the free 200cc update for Mario Kart 8.
In addition to adding an entirely new race class to the game, Nintendo has added the game’s second downloadable expansion, the Animal Crossing X Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack, to the Wii U eShop as well. Available on its own for $7.99, or as part of a two-pack for $11.99, the second DLC Pack adds three new racers and eight new tracks to the game.
In other DLC news, Mewtwo will be available to download in Super Smash Bros. For Wii U and Super Smash Bros. For 3DS on Tuesday, April 28. The popular Pokemon character can be yours in a single version of Smash Bros. for $3.99 or in both for just a buck more.
To keep the spotlight shining on their new DLC offerings, only two additional games were added to the eShop today. Cube Creator 3D is a Minecraft-like game for the 3DS while Suspension Railroad Simulator is a suspension railroad simulation.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart DS, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Nintendo is holding a fan vote to add new characters to Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U
Who do you want to see added to Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U? No, really, Nintendo wants to know and they plan to take a few of these fan suggestions and actually put those characters into the game.
While announcing the upcoming inclusion of Mewtwo and Lucas to the latest Smash Bros. games, Nintendo also revealed the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot. Fans are encouraged to suggest a character, list the game they’re best known for, and write up to 500 words about why you think they belong in Smash. Nintendo will continue accepting suggestions until October 3, so it might be a while before we find out who made the cut.
At least one developer has decided to use this opportunity to get one of their characters into Smash Bros. Yacht Club Games has launched the #ShovelKnightForSmash campaign on Twitter to gather votes for Shovel Knight. I don’t know if it’ll work, but they can definitely count on my vote.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Mewtwo joins Smash Bros Wii U/3DS on April 28; Mother 3’s Lucas to follow in June
Nintendo has announced that Mewtwo will be available to download as a bonus fighter in Super Smash Bros. For 3DS and Super Smash Bros. For Wii U on April 28. Players who registered both Smash Bros. games through Club Nintendo will receive the 150th Pokemon for free. The rest of us will be able to add him to either version of the game for $3.99. A 4.99 3DS/Wii U bundle pack will also be available.
Nintendo has a second downloadable character planned for release June. Lucas, from Mother 3/Earthbound 2, will be available to download on the 3DS and Wii U. Lucas previously appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl alongside Earthbound star Ness. Pricing has yet to be announced, but a Lucas trailer is available after the break.
As with any Mother 3/Earthbound 2-related announcement, it’s important to note that this does not mean Nintendo plans to finally bring the oft-requested RPG to America. But it won’t hurt if we all cross our fingers… one of these days, it might just work. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Dragon Age: Inquisition wins “Game of the Year” at 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards
BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition won “Game of the Year” at the 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards, but 2014’s other big releases walked away with the rest of the categories.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and The Last of Us: Left Behind were the only multi-award winners. Shadow of Mordor collected trophies for “Excellence in Gameplay,” “Excellence in Animation,” and “Excellence in Design and Direction,” while Naughty Dog’s expansion to The Last of Us was awarded with the “Most Valuable Add-On Content” trophy as well as “Most Valuable Character” (for Ellie).
The full list of winners (which also includes Destiny, Far Cry 4, Alien: Isolation, Transistor, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, and many others) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Alien: Isolation, Child of Light, Destiny, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Far Cry 4, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, Tabletop Games, The Last of Us, The Last of Us: Left Behind, The Wolf Among Us, Transistor
Another clue points to Tom Nook, Pikmin Amiibos
My wife is currently volunteering at my son’s school book fair. While setting up, she snapped a picture of one of the Nintendo posters available for sale.
Notice anything different? Animal Crossing‘s Tom Nook and Pikmin‘s, well, Pikmin, are front-and-center on this Amiibo poster. That’s quite odd, as Nintendo hasn’t made any official announcements regarding any additional Amiibo releases outside of the Super Smash Bros. and Mario Party 10 lines. Does this mean these two characters are still in the cards as future Amiibos? And does this mean they’ll be announced soon?
Now, don’t go thinking that this poster acts as of these figures. Actually, the art is the same as this GameStop poster (via Reddit) first seen back in December. But with the final design of the new Mario Party 10 Mario figure added to the mix, one can’t help but wonder why these other characters haven’t been taken out of the image. As with any Nintendo-related rumors, take this one with the ol’ grain of salt until you hear it straight from the Big N, but I like my chances of picking up Tom Nook and Pikmin Amiibo figures someday.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Party 10, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Dying Light parkours to the top of the best-sellers list for January 2015
Question… if only one major new title made its way to stores in January, should we be surprised when that game takes the top spot in the monthly sales rankings from the NPD Group? We probably shouldn’t be, and yet, I was still mildly surprised that Techland’s Dying Light was the best-selling game during 2015’s first four-week frame. It was followed by the two biggest titles from 2014… Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at #2 and Grand Theft Auto V at #3.
Minecraft, coming in at #4, continues to rise even without the holiday shopping season to bolster its sales rank.
Every other title in the top ten seemed to land in roughly the same position it held in December. NBA 2K15 held onto the #5 spot while Super Smash Bros. For Wii U / Super Smash Bros. For 3DS dropped two places to #6. Far Cry 4 was lucky number seven once more while the #8 spot was taken by Madden NFL 15 (which dropped five spots from #3). The final two spots were once again held by Destiny (#9) and FIFA 15 (#10).
While the best-selling software list was relatively stable (and saw a 5% year-over-year increase in sales), the PS4 reigned supreme on the console charts after a one-month hiatus. This turn of events was most likely due to Microsoft’s temporary suspension of the Xbox One’s $50 discount (it was reinstated on January 18).
If you’re looking for the full top ten from January 2015 in list form, you can find it after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny, Dying Light, Far Cry 4, FIFA 15, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 15, Minecraft, NBA 2K15, NPD, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U