Dcubed

Not sure if I want SEGA getting hold of them. On one hand they've given full creative control to all of their partner/affiliate studios they've worked with, but at the same time they also gutted their US localisation department and cut down on retail releases and localizations of games like Yakuza (mind you though, they're really giving Miku a good solid push in the west, so... maybe they wouldn't gut Atlus USA... at least not immediately...)

How heavy is the new battery? Supposedly the reason why they went for a smaller battery in the first place was to keep the Gamepad's weight down, so I'm interested to see how much heavier this new battery is compared to the original!

Yeah I know what you mean, it's utterly maddening! And when the arcade versions of games do get proper home releases, there's almost always something wrong with it, be it crappy quality emulation (Capcom Classics Collection, Data East Collection, The SNK NeoGeo Collections, all the backbone developed garbage and most XBLA releases), missing features (hi Sega Megadrive Collection!) or some other crap like crummy controls (hi Metal Slug Collection!). And when you finally do see releases on a really great quality emulation service (Virtual Console Arcade) or collection (Capcom Arcade Cabinet, Model 2 Collection), they never have the games you actually really want! It's just so bloody frustrating to see games either never get a release, or see really crappy quality releases that aren't worth your time. It's unbelievable that we STILL don't have a true arcade perfect port/home console emulation of Ghosts N' Goblins or Sunset Riders or Killer Instinct 1 & 2! At least the Wii VC was kind to the NeoGeo. It might not have them all, but it did end up getting a good solid chunk of the total library (The Japanese service in particular got just over half of the entire console library - not bad in all really)

No, sadly not. It's the NES version that was originally released - not the arcade version or the updated "Donkey Kong Original Edition" (the enhanced NES version with the missing content restored that was included with the red Wiis). They have never actually put up Donkey Kong Original Edition for sale anywhere. It has always been used as a giveaway (the US got it on 3DS for free when people bought NSMB 2 on the eShop - think there were some other games they did it with as well...)

You guys don't know what you're missing. That game is bloody amazing! It also doesn't require any Japanese knowledge (in fact, lacking Japanese knowledge just makes the whole thing even funnier ) It is STILL a mainstay muliplayer game in my household, almost 10 years later!

I'm not even a big fan of BOF and I think this is utterly disgusting. Fuck you Capcpom!

An MMORPG? Ok, that's not what I was expecting... (Hype dropped to zero) Game also got a massive graphical downgrade; not that I really care, but it's funny feeling vindicated when I called BS on that blatently, obviously super fake CGI trailer (the hilariously fake HUD was the best part - total giveaway )

Oh wait hang on, NOA have changed the date to TBD now... http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/4NQl8Z33RTd6xIgnjGuz_f84o2Z1UHka Last minute snafu? Or did somebody at Nintendo spoil a surprise that was meant to be directly announced next week I wonder...

Yeah, but if they were all combined together at years' end then they'd have a much stronger impact than they would do when spread out across 2014! Look back to 2009, when the Wii was revived from its post 2008-mid 2009 slump. It was saved by the triple combo of Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus and NSMB Wii. It was the power of those games combined within a short span of time that revived the console. Likewise, the 3DS was revived by the triple combo of SM3DL, MK7 and MH3U - all released together at around the same time. Hell look at what the 3DS is going through now in the west! Out of the games released this year, the only one that truly has massive system selling power is Animal Crossing NL, but the console's sales starting their upswing well before that, because of the combination of quality (but not necessarily huge system selling) titles, in a short span of time and in a consistant manner. Think like Pikmin. Scattered, they are weak, but together they are powerful! It's still possible that they can achieve this effect, so long as those 2014 games all hit before March (Smash Bros 4 can still be excluded). If they fail to keep a consistent schedule going until MK8, they might as well not bother then.

The problem here though is that out of all of those games, only one really has a solid chance of moving a significant amount of systems (Super Mario 3D World). Wind Waker HD is a port of a 10 year old game. It's a nice addition to the lineup, but it in of itself will not push units (why would it? It's a game that prospective Wii U owners probably already own!). Likewise, Wii Party U and Wii Fit U will not have nearly the same clout as their predecessors. That just leaves DKCTF, which I'm sceptical about its prospects when you consider that the Wii U already has a major 2D platformer under its belt (It'll no doubt sell massively to the existing audience, but who would by a Wii U for that game alone when they weren't interested in NSMBU?) Nintendo's obviously banking on the effect of having a library of titles to sell, rather than having just the one massive title, but I question whether or not their current combo is enough. I'd be feeling much more confident if they could include Mario Kart 8, X, Yarn Yoshi and Bayonetta 2 in that lineup, because I get the feeling that the lineup is still going to fall short of reaching that tipping point...

Well said. The Wii U's main problem is the horrendous lack of 1st party developed/published titles and while there are great titles coming, they're coming far too late. Super Mario 3D World on its own, or even combined with DKCTF/Wii Party U/Wind Waker HD is not enough. That 2014 lineup really should've been hitting the console this year - by then, it'll be too late for them to have any real impact. If the likes of Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, X and Yarn Yoshi (SSB4 had no chance of ever coming out in 2014 and even that might be a stretch) were all coming out alongside this year's titles, then the console might've stood a chance. As it stands, its lineup just isn't good enough

Clearly it's a conspiracy to sabotage the Wii U version and give their investors an excuse so as to not support the console in the future :p If this was EA we were talking about, I might not be so sarcastic here though! Evidently they feel that the investment just isn't worth it, considering the userbase size. The multiplayer mode is basically an entirely seperate game, made by a completely different team, so there's a substantial cost involved in porting it to Wii U. Although, they really should be charging a lower price for the Wii U version to compensate... The Wii U version is being sent to die as it is...

None of the Lego games have ever been released in Japan until LCU I believe, but the actual toys and brand are pretty popular.

At least there's some good news today. AADD is off to a fantastic start! Pretty much exactly the same as Apollo Justice (the current best selling game in the series) Surprised that it had no effect on 3DS hardware sales though. M&L DTB and Pikmin 3 also held better than I had expected (the latter still selling almost perfectly in line with the 1st game - but of course, the lack of an Xmas bump for Pikmin 3 will put an end to that). LCU = bomba. Not unexpected. While Wii U hardware sales trend back down to where they were before Pikmin 3

Trailer is out! Looks totally bonkers

It's Fire Emblem Awakening all over again. I fully expect it to see an EU release in April 2014 (two months after it comes out in the US)

Yeah, it's kind of the whole point of this app. It's the free-draw mode, ripped out of the full game that is still in development. Obviously Nintendo couldn't wait that long until the game was done and felt the need to get something out for now to keep people interested in Miiverse.

Art Academy Sketch Pad comes out next week in the US... http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/4NQl8Z33RTd6xIgnjGuz_f84o2Z1UHka This is the drawing tool from the full version of the game that's due next year.

Old news, but still good news. Nice to see that it's still planned for release before the end of this year

A week should be long enough to procure extra servers right? RIGHT!?

Oh never mind. We're getting Harvest Moon SNES this week (same as the US - yes, we still don't have Megaman X...) Flipnote Studio 3D has been delayed though, so that's probably why the PR was late this week.

TBH, I don't think we're getting a ND this week. The last ND Mini came out only just over a week ago and major NDs usually see release in the middle of a month, or towards the end. As for what's gonna be in it, it'll no doubt be focused on the Summer Autumn Wii U system update. It'll probably also herald the release of the N64 and GBA VC (that might actually happen this month - as the VC release schedule for those consoles would've originally been set for August, when the update was originally due). Also, I doubt that they'll announce a release for Mother 3 before announcing Mother 1's release. Remember, Japan hasn't gotten a VC release of the original game yet either (not even on Wii or 3DS), so that'll almost certainly come first.

Plenty of Nintendo published/developed games feature murder (Eternal Darkness, Hotel Dusk, the Fire Emblem series, Last Window, Paper Mario TTYD, Zelda Twilight Princess, Metroid Other M, Xenoblade etc). The game's subject matter has nothing to do with its chances of localisation. It's just, sadly, a low profile game. I'd love to play it too But let's focus on higher profile stuff first, like Mother 1 & 3 and Fire Emblem 1-6!

It's not just the Wii U VC. Nintendo haven't announced anything about what's coming this week on either 3DS or Wii U... (although we know that Flipnote Studio 3D and Cloudberry Kingdom are due this week) Thursday just so happens to be August 1st. The start of the month where we're due a major bi-monthly Nintendo Direct...

I never said it did, but in the minds of the public, there's a certain sense of legitimacy that retail games have that downloadable games lack. 3DS has plenty of sequels, but not much to call its own. Carving its own identity should be Nintendo's priority now, especially considering that the userbase is plenty large now - with solid momentum behind the platform.