NintenGen

Wii U News: Nintendo Network, NFC, DLC detailed

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

The Wii U news keeps coming in as 2012 is getting off to a fast start for Nintendo. At the recent investors meeting in Japan, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata outlined some new things concerning the Wii U's online component and how it will communicate in close proximity with Near Field Communication. The possibilities are huge if implemented correctly but here are the details so far:

NFC:

"Already by now, the Wii U is known for its new controller with a screen, among other features. For this controller, please be advised that we have decided to install a NFC function.

As many of you know, NFC is the acronym for Near Field Communication, which is a set of standards to establish radio communication in close proximity. The NFC I’m referring to here is the noncontact NFC standard that is compatible with FeliCa and MIFARE, and is expected to be widely used around the world in the near future.

By installing this functionality, it will become possible to create cards and figurines that can electronically read and write data via noncontact NFC and to expand the new play format in the video game world. Adoption of this functionality will enable various other possibilities such as using it as a means of making micropayments."

Nintendo Network:

"As the final topic of today, I’d like to spend a little time talking about the new network service from Nintendo, which has something to do with the subject of micropayments using NFC that I have just mentioned.

As those of you who have enjoyed playing “Mario Kart 7” that we launched late last year should know, its online competition mode includes the system called “Communities.” Each player can create his or her own online “Community” and decide the rules and conditions of the races to be conducted there, and anyone who enters the designated “Community number,” can join to enjoy the matches there. With that system, the company is offering a new kind of network service, which is different from the network services Nintendo has been offering under the name of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

For “Mario Kart 7,” we have already started using as the name of this new network service…"

…“Nintendo Network” Service

The Nintendo Network service is our network platform which will cover the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U.

Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers.

For example, competitions and communication among users, as well as the sales of digital content, will be covered within the Nintendo Network."

DLC:

"The “Community” matches of “Mario Kart 7” that I have just referred to is one example. As for the sales of downloadable add-on content, “Tobidasu Pricla Kiradeco Revolution” (Japanese title), which Nintendo has already started the download sales to the owners of the Nintendo 3DS, is the first title for which consumers can purchase and download add-on content. We will make available the downloadable add-on content for this Nintendo first-party digital download title in the near future. As for the download sales of add-on content for packaged software, it is expected that “THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY,” which is scheduled to be launched on February 16 by Square Enix Co., Ltd. is going to be the first software title for which applicable music will be sold by Square Enix as downloadable add-on content. While we are on this subject, when we discuss anything relating to add-on content, our remarks are very often reported by the media by their attaching such modifiers or notes as “the ones used for social games.” Please note that Nintendo, as a software maker, does not plan to deploy businesses where our consumers cannot know in advance which item will appear as the result of their payment and they have to repeat the payments and, before they know it, they end up spending a huge amount of money in order to obtain the items they originally wanted to purchase. As a software maker, Nintendo believes that its packaged software should be sold to our consumers in a form so that the consumers will know in advance that they can enjoy playing the software they purchased just as it is. We believe that our consumers will be able to feel more secure if we offer our add-on content as an additional structure in which those who love the game will be able to enjoy it in a deeper way for a prolonged play time."

Read the entire transcript here

It looks like Nintendo is hitting the floor running with these announcements. I like the idea of having multiple user accounts per system instead of just one for all the family, making for less confusion on who bought what with who's money. The Near Field Communication sounds extremely awesome since making payments with a Credit Card can be a hassle with always re-entering numbers etc. The idea of putting your card near the controller would fix those issues really quick and the account would not even need to save the information if it just reads it instantly each time you use it, thus making security even better. Great news all around!

Speculation Wii U GPU vs. Xbox 720 GPU (update)

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

(Wii U reported dev kit GPU pictured above)

(Xbox 720 reported dev kit GPU pictured above)

This is going to be an interesting bit of speculation since last night IGN announced the specs GPU powering the next generation Xbox and the net went ablaze with comments and opinions.

IGN reported that the Xbox 720 will be about 20 percent more powerful than the Wii U making it around six times more powerful than the original Xbox 360. What is most interesting about this article is that IGN also made the statement that the Wii U will be five times more powerful than the Xbox 360 which surprised a lot of people who originally thought that Wii U would only be fifty percent more powerful current HD systems and focus on easy ports with marginally better graphics.

It was already reported a few days ago that developers have received final Wii U dev kits and that they seemed to be more powerful than expected. The final GPU and specs have not officially been released for the Wii U so it could mean a lot of things. The last reported dev kit GPU for the Wii U had a Radeon HD 4850 powering it but needed to be underclocked due to overheating. The developers have said that the target specs were going to be the HD 4850 but dev kits were still being modified; which probably means size, RAM and clock speeds.

What the "more powerful than expected" statement could mean is that Nintendo was able (with help) to develop a highly modified Radeon HD 4850 or something that is the equivalent and shrink it down to fit the smaller console environment. Nintendo most likely told developers that performance would be very close to the HD 4850 but the actual chip would be something totally new.

So now we move on to the Xbox 720's GPU target for it's dev kits: the HD Radeon 6670. This GPU is a bargain bin type GPU that was released last year and can play most games at a decent frame rate at medium settings. The information when comparing these two GPU's of the Wii U and the 720 leaves me a little confused.

Take a look at the direct comparison of both cards performance and specs :

"The Radeon HD 4850 1GB comes with a GPU clock speed of 625 MHz, and the 1024 MB of GDDR4 memory runs at 993 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also features 800(160x5) Stream Processors, 40 TAUs, and 16 Raster Operation Units.

Compare those specs to the Radeon HD 6670 (OEM) 1GB, which features GPU clock speed of 800 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR5 memory set to run at 1000 MHz through a 128-bit bus. It also is comprised of 480 SPUs, 24 Texture Address Units, and 8 ROPs.

(No game benchmarks for this combination yet.)

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

Radeon HD 6670 (OEM) 1GB		63 Watts
Radeon HD 4850 1GB		110 Watts
	Difference: 47 Watts (75%)

Memory Bandwidth

Performance-wise, the Radeon HD 6670 (OEM) 1GB should theoretically be a little bit better than the Radeon HD 4850 1GB in general.

Radeon HD 6670 (OEM) 1GB		64000 MB/sec
Radeon HD 4850 1GB		63552 MB/sec
	Difference: 448 (1%)

Texel Rate

The Radeon HD 4850 1GB is quite a bit (more or less 30%) more effective at texture filtering than the Radeon HD 6670 (OEM) 1GB.

Radeon HD 4850 1GB		25000 Mtexels/sec
Radeon HD 6670 (OEM) 1GB		19200 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 5800 (30%)

Pixel Rate

If using lots of anti-aliasing is important to you, then the Radeon HD 4850 1GB is a better choice, by far.

Radeon HD 4850 1GB		10000 Mpixels/sec
Radeon HD 6670 (OEM) 1GB		6400 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 3600 (56%)

Please note that the above 'benchmarks' are all just theoretical - the results were calculated based on the card's specifications, and real-world performance may (and probably will) vary at least a bit."

Link to Hardware Compare

Even though this is a theoretical benchmark, the specs of the HD 4850 do heavily out number that of the HD 6670. I'm not really sure what this says for the 20 percent difference in power that IGN is stating that the Xbox 720 will have over the Wii U since these specs seem to show that the Wii U's GPU will actually be the better performer. The extra power that the next Xbox may have more over the Wii U could possibly be more RAM and a higher CPU clock speed or more cores to work with, but overall it looks like the Wii U will be able to stand proud on it's own for quite some time.

Remember that the Wii was the only system that Nintendo intentionally made under-powered in specs when compared to other systems. How quickly people forget that back in 1996 when the Nintendo 64 was released, for a couple months Nintendo had the most powerful piece of tech available because the first 3DFX Voodoo cards for the PC gamer were just starting to barely make it to the market.

For the gamer that played Wii and only Wii this generation, the leap graphically to the Wii U will be as massive as the Super Nintendo to the Nintendo 64.

*Update*

There were more rumors posted yesterday about the Wii U only being 2x as powerful than the Xbox 360. It seems that the comments were made by a developer or someone close to development late last year before final dev kits were received. The article posting the rumor also said that the new IGN information was pretty much correct.

Wii U final dev kits "more powerful than anticipated"

2012-01-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

The final Wii U dev kits are out to Third Party developers but with an important revision. When the Wii U Alpha kits were first sent out during and before E3 of last year, the GPU inside them was based on an AMD HD 4770-4850 and had to be underclocked because of overheating.

It seems that Nintendo has given the final dev kits more power and a different architecture to prevent overheating. This comes from a trusted source who has been posting information on NeoGAF and B3D for the past several months. Others have confirmed that this is true as well. Here is the quote:

"Final devkits are out, and rumor has it they differ quite a bit from earlier kits. Supposedly more powerful than anticipated, too."

Link

The GPU in the Alpha dev kits was already at least 2x the power of the Xbox 360 even while being underclocked. It will be nice to see some games running on the Wii U now that the final specs are ready to go. A full powered GPU to go along with less heat consumption to me only means that they shrunk the die and allowed for more processing power and thus could be based on anything from an AMD HD 4850 to somewhere in the HD 5000 series (just speculation of course). I'm excited to see more!

Nintendo Network to rival Xbox Live?

2012-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

Not only does it seem to appear that Nintendo is releasing an actual online infrastructure, but also could be trying to outdo some of the features on the competitors services as well. This is all rumor of course but could be something rather huge for Nintendo fans who have been dying for an online system that could give them a more smooth experience.

Here is a quote from the source of this rumored info:

A never before seen icon has appeared on the box-art of Theatrythm: Final Fantasy. Clearly written in the upper right-hand corner is a logo with the words “Nintendo Network”. On the back of the box it says that the game will offer DLC, which apparently will be one of the functions of the new network. According to reports around the industry, the Nintendo Network will be the new network on the 3DS and the Wii U, somehow integrating and connecting the two systems. Screenshots show that already in some places around the world, Mario Kart 7 is running on this new network. So, apparently, multiplayer online gaming is confirmed as a part of the network, not just DLC. What new features will Nintendo Network offer and how will it unify the Wii U and 3DS? All this may be announced at the conference scheduled for January 26th. Next week. Last year, Nintendo announced new details about the 3DS at the very same conference, so we can expect some new details to be revealed again this year.

A source that wished to remain anonymous has told us that Nintendo will launch a website accessible from any web browser that will handle configuration of your Nintendo Network account for use on the Wii U or 3DS. He also stated that Nintendo Network will include many new features that haven’t been used before by Nintendo. According to his accounts: Nintendo Network = Sony PSN = Xbox Live.

UPDATE: Our source saw the article and wanted to make sure that people understood that he didn’t mean necessarily that Nintendo’s service will be better or feature every single detail that Sony and Microsoft do, rather that until now Nintendo hasn’t even tried to compete but now they are going to create a service that is in full competition with the others. But of course, each one will still have their own style. However, he had one other detail to add: “What I can add to all this is that there is in fact one feature that is significantly ahead of one of the competitors, and I’m not talking about the well know ability to video chat. A few users on another console will be quite upset.”

Link to story

Resident Evil 6 a Wii U launch title?

2012-01-20T07:17:00.000-08:00

Now don't quote me on anything because this is just speculation. Capcom and Nintendo have been best buddies lately with Monster Hunter being a huge success on both the Wii and 3DS; also when they release a Resident Evil game on a Nintendo platform it usually has very good sales with Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition selling over 2 million copies.

If you watch the full RE6 trailer, at the end the release date says November 2012. This would put the release right on or after the launch of the Wii U and perfect sense for Capcom to make it's first entry on the next Nintendo home console. It would most definitely be a port of the 360/PS3 versions but the Wii U controller could make for an experience that is even better with the usually cumbersome inventory system of past Resident Evil games made easy and more intuitive.

It seems like a no brainer for Capcom to release this on the Wii U. Resident Evil 5 didn't happen on the Wii so I think we'd all agree that Capcom owes Nintendo fans a true Resident Evil game and not another rail shooter.

3DS demos coming January 26th in US

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Nintendo Press Release:

REDMOND, Wash. -- Nintendo 3DS™ owners soon will be able to play free downloadable demo versions of select games. Starting tomorrow, owners can go to the Nintendo eShop to download a free demo version of Resident Evil® Revelations from Capcom. A free demo version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games™ published by SEGA will launch on Jan. 26. The Nintendo eShop will be periodically updated with new game demos.

“The demo program allows Nintendo 3DS players to be among the first to test-drive select games,” said Tony Elison, Nintendo of America’s senior director and general manager of Network Business. “Players can try out new genres or series, often weeks before the full versions are available in stores.”

Additional demos coming soon include Rayman® Origins from Ubisoft and METAL GEAR SOLID® Snake Eater 3D from Konami Digital Entertainment. Specific dates and other games in the demo program will be announced at a later time.

Remember that Nintendo 3DS features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.

Finally Nintendo 3DS owners will be able to try before you buy the games that really matter, like Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid. This has been something that should have been there at the beginning but I'm really happy that finally we get to have this. The fact that it has been missing since launch day could have been hurting sales on some key Third Party games that people may have bought if they had a chance to play it first.

Wii U CES: Another look at the City Demo

2012-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Wii U - CES 2012: Panorama Experience Walkthrough , PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Here in this video you can see in more depth that the demo is in fact a video streaming or pre-rendered on the Wii U. The fact that you can look around the area in such a free way is probably the most impressive part of the demo. The Wii U must have some sort tech that allows it to not only spread a image across two or more screens but also allows for other parts of the image that are not being shown to be streamed on the controller seamlessly. It's really amazing when you think about it.

Rumor (again) Grand Theft Auto V coming to Wii U

2012-01-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

We heard rumors from way back in when the Wii U was first announced that GTA V would be coming as a launch game for the system in 2012. It seems this rumor is coming back yet again:

We posted news earlier today that Rockstar are currently looking for Environment Artists “to get the most from next-gen consoles.”

While the majority of the gaming community immediately jumped to the prospect of this new project being part of Microsoft’s or Sony’s next gen console offerings, the Wii U has for the most part been entirely overlooked. This being said, evidence is mounting that these vacancies could well be tied into a Wii U release of the highly anticipated GTA V.

Link to full story

The article goes on to talk about how much sense it would make to put the game on the system at launch seeing the original Wii launch sales as an indicator. I do see the point in this since when the Wii was first released it didn't have a lot of great quality games besides Zelda. However, this is a new time period and new sets of rules will have to apply this time around when the Wii U hits stores this year. I am excited though for the possibility of having GTA V on a Nintendo system.

Rumor THQ going out of business?

2012-01-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Long time Third Party Developer THQ has been rumored to be going out of business by the end of 2013 with canceling all projects set to release in 2014. If this turns out to be true, I will be very said since THQ has provided Nintendo fans with tons of great games and a lot of memories. Here is some of the rumored info:

"Apparently, The Game Workshops MMO has been cancelled by THQ
@PeterSkerritt they cancelled all of their 2014
Also heard that THQ are offering themselves to Asian firms to increase value!
In addition, word is spreading that THQ has returned IP to Disney AFTER paying the advance, with no refund.
I don't think people quite understand.

This is it.

They canceled all projects targeted for 2014. They only exist right now for the purposes of trying to sell the company."

Link Link Link Link

*Update* THQ Responds to rumors:

"This evening, THQ's Australian PR department issued a statement to the contrary, as posted by VG247. "THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO," THQ said. According to the statement, the only reduction to THQ's lineup has been to move focus away from the "kids' boxed games sector" following poor performance of the most recent version of the uDraw. " Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business," the statement said. "We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry."

Note that THQ said it "has not made any decisions" about Warhammer 40k: DMO -- that's hardly a statement of unwavering support. Regardless, the statement is clear about the rest of the 2014 lineup."

Link to article

Well when a game company is on the verge of going out of business or seemingly so, it's rather big news if you ask me. While it is true that THQ has suffered some set backs with Warhammer, are they trying to hide something that is going on behind closed doors; or are they really not going anywhere after all?

Wii U CES: Zelda HD Experience

2012-01-13T07:07:00.000-08:00

I don't think anyone is tired of seeing this tech demo played again and again. It looks beautiful and briefly shows potential of future Wii U games.

Have a great weekend friends!

Wii U CES: City Tech Demo shown

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

So there wasn't much in the way of new things regarding the Wii U at CES, but one thing shown that many did not get to see at E3 last year was the City Tech demo. It is a live video taken in Japan with the controller being able to see all around in real-time. That will be really awesome in future racing games.

Playstation Vita to have difficult US Launch?

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

The Playstation Vita is coming to the United States on February 22nd. The launch lineup looks pretty good with standout games such as: Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Wipeout 2048 and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The prices range from $300 for the 3G model to $250 for the Wi-Fi model. Sony also just announced that for 3G users monthly online data service prices will be $15-25 a month depending on the amount of data used. With all this considered, what else could be an issue with the launch of the Playstation Vita?

Well, one point of interest is that the 3DS is going to have one of the best February months in game release history. If some of you are unsure about what exactly is coming in the month of February for the 3DS, take a look at this:

Resident Evil: Revelations
Tekken 3D Prime Edition
Tales of the Abyss
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D

Combine this list of games with the much lower price of the 3DS and the Playstation Vita might have a hard time starting momentum here in the States.The hardcore gamer purchased the Vita on launch week in Japan during the holiday season last month/year, but the second week of sales saw a drastic 80% drop just before Christmas. The trend could repeat itself here in the US.

The 3DS for example quickly recovered momentum from it's own slow start with the drastic price drop and amazing games at the right time. Sony could be forced to do something similar if it hopes to even keep pace with the 3DS and it's already 12 million system lead in the portable wars.

Reggie's CES Wii U interview summary

2012-01-10T18:21:00.000-08:00

- Will come out between E3 and end of 2012
- When asked about surprise launch at E3, Reggie says 'Who knows?'
- Wii U news throughout the year, not only at E3
- Will not confirm a new Mario game, but says a range of experiences are coming
- 90 million Wii units sold worldwide
- Nintendo wanta a broader, larger audience with Wii U
- full range of entertainment on Wii U
- Says that Mr. Miyamoto is working on something new, didn't specifically say Wii U
- Nintendo sure they'll have great content for launch day and through launch window of Wii U
- Nintendo doesn't care what gaming competitors are doing
- Wants to drive a great, new experience with Wii U that have consumers ready to buy
- everyone is taking motion gaming for granted now, which is a mistake.

Link

So nothing really "new" per say but it is good news to know that E3 will not be the only place to hear about the Wii U during the whole year. Hopefully GDC will shed a new detail or two about this mysterious system that everyone wants to know about but Nintendo won't tell us.

3DS breaks Japan Sales Record

2012-01-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

From Andriasang:

"Nintendo 3DS broke Enterbrain's monthly sales record in December. According to Sankei News, the system sold 1,492,931 units over the month. This is the highest single month sales total since Enterbrain started tracking sales in 1997."

Link

That number is even more impressive when you compare it to the Vita which launched in the same month. The 3DS sold over 1 million more systems than the Vita even though this was Vita's launch and the 3DS had already been on shelves for almost a year in Japan. The price cut to go along with the amazing games for the holiday have proved to be a killer combination not only for the 3DS in Japan, but also in the United States.

A Look Back: The making of Rogue Squadron 2

2012-01-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

How did an amazing game developer like Factor 5 go out of business? It's seriously one of the biggest losses in the gaming industry in the last 6 years. They made a name for themselves with their Gamecube technology that made their games look just as good if not better than anything on the original Xbox. One can only hope that Nintendo will be able to resurrect some form of the company for the Wii U.

Japan: 3DS outsells all Sony products combined

2012-01-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

The 3DS remains on top of the sales list for hardware even after the new year in Japan. Selling 197,952 systems just 5 days after Christmas, the 3DS outsold Sony's total figure for all their hardware combined which totaled 174,252. Amazing performance for the new hot item in Japan. Here are the official numbers:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| System | This Week | Last Week | Last Year | YTD | Last YTD | LTD |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3DS | 197,952 | 482,200 | 0 | 4,282,142 | 0 | 4,282,143 |
| PS3 | 67,199 | 75,943 | 76,422 | 1,548,895 | 1,586,122 | 7,636,385 |
| PSP | 62,746 | 101,121 | 99,703 | 2,079,152 | 2,898,041 | 18,729,363 |
| PSV | 42,648 | 72,479 | 0 | 439,986 | 0 | 439,986 |
| WII | 33,208 | 91,176 | 77,307 | 883,583 | 1,674,438 | 12,163,221 |
| NDS | 5,802 | 14,396 | 99,578 | 657,787 | 2,871,621 | 32,808,486 |
| 360 | 2,453 | 4,245 | 3,708 | 115,548 | 210,826 | 1,536,045 |
| PS2 | 1,659 | 1,582 | 2,480 | 78,014 | 85,919 | 21,774,107 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| ALL | 413,667 | 843,142 | 359,198 | 10,085,107 | 9,326,967 | 99,369,736 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| PSP | 62,746 | 101,121 | 99,703 | 2,063,612 | 2,822,454 | 18,553,398 |
| DSiLL | 3,356 | 8,470 | 47,798 | 346,735 | 1,440,676 | 2,294,319 |
| DSi | 2,418 | 5,894 | 48,039 | 290,329 | 1,204,782 | 5,834,050 |
| DSL | 28 | 32 | 3,741 | 20,723 | 226,163 | 18,094,646 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Link

Have a great weekend guys!

Wii U: The Making of Killer Freaks

2012-01-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and we finally got something in video form that is Wii U related. This is basically a making of video of the first teaser trailer Ubisoft showed for Killer Freaks.

3DS Sells More in Its First Nine Months Than Wii Did

2012-01-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

From Nintendo PR:

Nintendo 3DS Crosses 4 Million Mark
Driven by Fast-Selling Software Nintendo 3DS Sells More in Its First Nine Months Than Wii Did

"REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Whether they were on the go or at home, whether they played in 2D on the TV or in glasses-free 3D in their hands, gamers of all ages celebrated the holidays with Mario™ and Zelda™. Super Mario 3D Land™ and Mario Kart™ 7 for the Nintendo 3DS™ system not only became the fastest-selling titles in the history of their respective franchises when they launched, but they are now also the first Nintendo 3DS titles to sell 1 million units each in the United States. On the console side, The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword, which also broke launch records, became the 45th Wii™ title to sell more than 1 million units in the United States.

“One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam”
.“One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising.”

Nintendo sold more than 12 million total hardware units in the United States in 2011, marking the fifth year in a row that the company has accomplished that feat. This includes more than 4.5 million units of Wii, more than 4 million Nintendo 3DS systems, and more than 3.4 million units of the Nintendo DS™ family of systems. This brings the installed base for Wii and Nintendo DS to 39 million and more than 51 million, respectively.

With a strong lineup of software on the horizon, including new installments in the Mario Party™, Pokémon™ and Kid Icarus™ franchises, as well as third-party games such as Resident Evil® Revelations from Capcom and METAL GEAR SOLID® 3D Snake Eater from Konami for Nintendo 3DS, that momentum should continue into the first quarter of 2012 and beyond.

In addition to the milestones reached by new software, two evergreen Nintendo titles celebrated milestones as 2011 drew to a close. Mario Kart Wii™ passed 11 million units sold and New Super Mario Bros.™ for the Nintendo DS family crossed 10 million total units sold."

Link

Amazing news for the 3DS. This was good of Nintendo to get this info out to the public as soon as possible to make sure that the perception remains stronger for the system here on out.

Japan Magazine Famitsu Readers pick top 50 Nintendo games

2012-01-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

1. Super Mario Bros. NES

2. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64
3. Super Mario 64 N64
4. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past SNES
5. Mother 2 SNES
6. Xenoblade Wii
7. Legend of Zelda NES
8. Super Mario RPG SNES
9. Smash Bros. Melee GC
10. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Wii
11. Fire Emblem – Seisen no Keifu SNES
12. Famicom Mukashi-banashi Famicom-DiscDrive
13. Super Mario Kart SNES
14. Famicom Tantei Club Part II Famicom-DiscDrive
15. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker GC
16. Fire Emblem – Monsho no Nazo SNES
17. Legend of Zelda – Links Awakening GB
18. Super Mario World SNES
19. Super Mario Sunshine GC
19. Smash Bros. Brawl Wii
21. Donkey Kong Country SNES
22. Ice Climber NES
23. Mother NES
24. F-ZERO SNES
25. Kirby Super Star SNES
26. Mario Kart Wii Wii
27. Mario Kart 64 N64
28. Pokemon Red/Blue/Green/Pikachu GB
29. Super Mario Bros. 3 NES
30. Super Mario Galaxy Wii
31. Star Fox SNES
32. Magical Vacation GBA
33. Kirbys Air Ride GC
34. Golf NES
35. Joy Mech Fight NES
36. Donkey Kong Country 2 SNES
37. Super Mario 64 DS DS
38. Legend of Zelda – Twilight Princess Wii
39. Legend of Zelda – Majoras Mask N64
40. Animal Crossing: Wild World DS
41. Donkey Kong NES
42. Smash Bros. N64
42. Volley Ball Famicom-DiscDrive
44. Banjo-Tooie N64
45. Baseball NES
46. Famicom Tantei Club Famicom-DiscDrive
47. Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi NES
48. Metroid Famicom-DiscDrive
48. Metroid II – Return of Samus GB
50. Super Mario: Yoshis Island SNES

Link

I hope you all had a good New Year's Day yesterday and are ready for what I'm sure is going to be an exciting 2012.

3DS is becoming dominant

2011-12-30T07:17:00.000-08:00

The system that everyone in the press seemed to be writing off as a failure just 4 months into it's launch seems to be making a name for itself.

The 3DS has been on fire with it's sales reaching nearly 500k a week in Japan and close to that in the United States. With the PS Vita releasing during the Holiday season in Japan, it was imperative that Nintendo had games to counter act the situation.

Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 and Monster Hunter 3G seemed to really catapult the system very quickly to it's little brother's DS level. The new year is upon us in only 2 days and it's seems that the 3DS will be bringing in the new year with a bang.

Have a very safe weekend my friends! See you next year....

Gaming should always be this fun

2011-12-29T07:13:00.000-08:00

Elpresador has to be one of the funniest if not the funniest Call of Duty commentators on YouTube. This is what gaming is all about, having lots of fun while pissing off your competition. Enjoy it guys and have a good laugh.

Tekken 3D Prime Edition - new trailer

2011-12-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

I'll be honest, I've never been a real Tekken fan. I remember the game well on the PS1 but I was never really into the combat. The 3DS game looks to be pretty much the same old hat for Tekken fans so there should be a lot of people who are going to pick this game up and including the movie with the game only helps the cause.

The Legend of Zelda series timeline

2011-12-27T07:18:00.000-08:00

Link to explanations

This timeline has been updated and made officially released to the the public by Nintendo as part of the 25th anniversary of Zelda.

I feel that this was needed since everyone seemed to have a their own ideas as to when the Zelda series took place or that each game was just it's own universe not related to the other games. Now we can see that there is a coherent timeline that actually makes sense!

Who would have thought that The Adventures of Link was actually the most recent game in the series timeline?

3DS - Swapnote trailer

2011-12-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

This is honestly what the 3DS has needed since day one. I still can't believe that so many features were missing on launch day that are now a normal part of the system. Sending messages to your friends to go along with photos looks easy and fun with Swapnote. This is a free app, so who is going to be downloading this soon?

President Obama buys Just Dance for the Wii

2011-12-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

I don't remember another President that has done similar things in the past. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention but I can't remember the Wii being mentioned by previous Presidents of the United States lol. I've never been into those kind of games but it seems to be all the rage right now.