Nintendo
eShop welcomes Ambassadors
3DS owners, today’s eShop update includes–along with Mario’s Picross and three DSiware titles–a welcome message to all its freshly-inducted Ambassadors. (Toadsworth isn’t actually the program mascot, but he should be: He’s classy, he’s good with PR, and he needs the work.) “You are a Nintendo 3DS Ambassador!” proclaims the message, which can be...
Forget hardware: Nintendo’s problem is lack of games
What’s the cause of Nintendo’s current slump? It has nothing to do with hardware, says Kotaku’since 2009, the company has simply stopped making killer-games: Nintendo’s quandary isn’t how to turn the 3DS into the next DS or as an answer to the iPhone or whatever hardware comparison seems fun to make. Their quandary is where their next Wii Fit is, where the successor to Wii ...
Satoru Iwata explains Nintendo’s abrupt 3DS price reduction
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata today discussed with shareholders his decision to suddenly slash the price of 3DS. A price cut for a system so soon after it’s launch is obviously troubling news to investors, so much so that Iwata himself has taken a pay cut. When asked why Nintendo decided to drop the price of the 3DS system so soon after launch, Iwata stated, “For us to maximize the effect...
It’s hard not to like Nintendo when they do stuff like this
In an age when executive greed and entitlement runs rampant, it’s refreshing to see Nintendo reducing their own salaries by 50% during tough times. We’re rootin’ for ya, Ninty. Just get back to making great games often and the money will follow.
Did Nintendo just admit the death of dedicated handheld gaming?
Like many of you, I awoke to news yesterday that Nintendo had cut the price of the 3DS by an unprecedented 32% in one fell swoop. Wired Magazine called it a “fire sale.” More unprecedented was how quickly it happened; only four months after the 3DS launch. (NOTE: Nintendo’s other slow selling systems, N64 and GameCube, saw 25% price drops six months after launch. Virtual Boy was ...
Nintendo reports $323 million in losses, decides to charge a fair price for the 3DS
Who would have know that things could change this swiftly for the house that Mario built? Perhaps because of poor sales and the impending arrival of the Playstation Vita, effective August 12th the new MSRP for a shinny new 3DS will be $169.99. Aren’t you glad that you’re an early adopter? For the previous quarter, Nintendo has reported revenue of 93.93b Yen ($1.1b) with losses of...
Nintendo gives quake victims the gift of games
Nintendo of Japan has been quite generous to victims of the Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred this March to the tune of $3.6 million. Nintendo has been mum on the subject of other such donations, detailing that they did not feel that they should show their actions off to the world, and have a policy of not involving the media. A member of the Japanese Hachimaki Blog has post...
Club Nintendo rewards alert: Two great ones
I don’t break in with news of everything Club Nintendo suddenly offers, but I really think you’ll want to know about these:
Free content keeps coming: Nintendo Video arrives on 3DS
Don’t look now, but 3DS is becoming quite a feature-packed little gizmo. The newest addition, available beginning today for free download, is the Nintendo Video service. What is it? The basic concept involves Nintendo surprising you with an unpredictable, ever-changing selection of 3D short films, music videos and promotional material, sent to your 3DS via spotpass while your machine’s...
Ocarina soundtrack arrives; blows mind.
If you registered a copy of Ocarina 3D quickly enough, you stood a good chance of guaranteeing a free copy of the game soundtrack. The CDs are shipping, and mine arrived this weekend. No complaints or nitpicks here: this is an extraordinarily perfect bonus. This is exactly what a game soundtrack CD should be, and it blows the pants off the disappointing Mario history soundtrack included with the M...
3DS Netflix arrives and works great. Except for one thing…
Netflix hit the eShop today! After a quick download (free) and a couple of hours testing, I’m happy to report that the 3DS version of Netflix is fast, uses the dual screens well, and delivers–mostly–a very enjoyable, satisfying experience. Films and programs load briskly, and I experienced no buffering pauses during my viewing. The interface, very similar to the Wii version, allo...
Eiji Aonuma wants to work on a new game, but not Zelda
In an interview with Industry Gamers, Eiji Aonuma discusses his wish to work on a non-Zelda title. Makes sense, Aonuma has been with the franchise since Ocarina of Time. Industry Gamers: Speaking of the personal side, do you wish at times that you could work on something other than Zelda? You’ve been sort of the go-to guy for the Zelda franchise for a long time now. Do you have a creative de...