Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move highlights the new eShop releases this week. The 3DS puzzler has players guiding poor little mini Marios away from hazards by building a Pipe Dream-esque maze. The Wii U Virtual Console picks up two new games in the classic shooter Xevious and puzzle platformer Solomon's Key.
You can also pick up Chasing Aurora for half price on the Wii U until May 16. A demo for the Wii U version of Resident Evil: Revelations arrives May 14.
It's hard to get more credible than "authentic refurbished Nintendo products" from Nintendo's official store. Nintendo of America is selling refurbished 3DS and DSi consoles, starting at $100 for Metallic Rose and Midnight Blue DSi XLs, and $130 for the 3DS in Aqua Blue and Midnight Purple.
Nintendo's blurb says its line represents "the only refurbished products in the market that have been cleaned, tested, and inspected to meet Nintendo's high standards." Well then. The portables have a one year warranty and are guaranteed to work, even if there are any "minor cosmetic blemishes."
Alas, Eurofriends, it seems this one's a NoA thing. "We currently have no plans and have made no announcements for this type of activity in Europe," Nintendo UK told Eurogamer.
Nintendo's blurb says its line represents "the only refurbished products in the market that have been cleaned, tested, and inspected to meet Nintendo's high standards." Well then. The portables have a one year warranty and are guaranteed to work, even if there are any "minor cosmetic blemishes."
Alas, Eurofriends, it seems this one's a NoA thing. "We currently have no plans and have made no announcements for this type of activity in Europe," Nintendo UK told Eurogamer.
When Deoxys was first introduced back in 2005, it was revealed as part of a cross-promotion between Pokémon and NASA designed to help teach kids about DNA. Perhaps you didn't realize, when you woke up this morning, that you lived in a world where NASA and Pokémon had collaborated.
On 3DS, the collection of NES Mega Man games grows with Mega Man 4. And Color Commando launches on DSiWare, a puzzle-platformer about placing blobs of paint around a level to neutralize same-color monsters.
One of these events will be for American distributors, with another closed event "for mainly the Western gaming media." Iwata noted that Nintendo is not planning to announce any new hardware at this E3, with showing off software the main focus.
While Nintendo is dropping a lot of mainstream press attention with this move, it makes a lot of sense for a company with the recent financial history of Nintendo to skip out on some expensive pageantry. Especially when the company makes E3-level announcements monthly, for a tiny fraction of the cost.
Nintendo is performing online maintenance for all its systems today as it prepares the Wii U's spring system update. The update, which will introduce the Virtual Console proper (among other things), may be fully launched by tomorrow according to a Facebook tease by Nintendo of America.
The extended maintenance is scheduled between 1PM PT today (4PM ET, 9PM UK) and 7PM PT (10PM ET, 3AM UK). The eShop and shopping channels for the Wii U, 3DS, Wii, and DS will be affected, so expect them to go down during those hours.
The extended maintenance is scheduled between 1PM PT today (4PM ET, 9PM UK) and 7PM PT (10PM ET, 3AM UK). The eShop and shopping channels for the Wii U, 3DS, Wii, and DS will be affected, so expect them to go down during those hours.
Rockstar has released the soundtracks for its most recent Grand Theft Auto games onto Spotify and iTunes. Sadly, just the tunes from Grand Theft Auto 3 and every entry since are here – none of Rockstar's zany commercials or satirical talk radio stations.
The only place to get the full soundtracks still is through Rockstar's box set releases; however, if you want to just listen to the ads, you can point your browser to The Advertising Council.
Rockstar recently revealed the box art for Grand Theft Auto 5, due on September 17 for Xbox 360 and PS3. Even though over 100,000 have signed a petition calling for a PC port, Take-Two has not announced Grand Theft Auto 5 for the PC at this time.
The only place to get the full soundtracks still is through Rockstar's box set releases; however, if you want to just listen to the ads, you can point your browser to The Advertising Council.
Rockstar recently revealed the box art for Grand Theft Auto 5, due on September 17 for Xbox 360 and PS3. Even though over 100,000 have signed a petition calling for a PC port, Take-Two has not announced Grand Theft Auto 5 for the PC at this time.
Also out on April 16: Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers on 3DS. It'll be out digitally and in stores as well. Today, you'll be able to download the Dillon's Rolling Western sequel.
Get your finest green tuxedo ready, Los Angelenos, because the Legend of Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses concert is coming back in June. The touring show features a full orchestra performing classic tunes from the series, and this event promises "newly approved" music straight from the land of Hyrule.
The show starts at the Greek Theatre on Wednesday, June 12, which puts it right on the second day of E3 2013. If you want tickets, they'll be available this Saturday at 10AM through Ticketmaster.
This is a newly scheduled stop on the Zelda tour, but it's not the only one: The full schedule has dates around the rest of California, in Texas, and up in Seattle and Toronto as well.
The show starts at the Greek Theatre on Wednesday, June 12, which puts it right on the second day of E3 2013. If you want tickets, they'll be available this Saturday at 10AM through Ticketmaster.
This is a newly scheduled stop on the Zelda tour, but it's not the only one: The full schedule has dates around the rest of California, in Texas, and up in Seattle and Toronto as well.
Yes, there's another CG and live-action Smurfs movie coming out this July, and Ubisoft is publishing the official game adaptation.
However, instead of the truly off-putting dance game released for the first movie, Ubisoft has smurfed WayForward into making a 2.5D, co-op platformer for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and Wii U, and an "interactive storytelling book and collection of mini-games" for DS. All versions will march into stores this July.
Each playable Smurf has unique special abilities: Papa Smurf can throw potions, Grouchy can stomp, and Vanity can ... pose to become a platform. We don't expect too much from a licensed Smurfs game, but WayForward has a particular talent for licensed games, with Aliens: Infestation and Adventure Time as recent examples.
But Disney Interactive has a second game in the works. A game based on Disney's Planes, the Disney-produced, formerly straight-to-DVD spinoff of Cars, will be released on Wii U, Wii, 3DS, and DS on August 6, three days before the movie is released.
"The game will expand beyond the storyline of the Disney's Planes film," Nintendo reveals, "offering players the opportunity to enjoy the thrill of flight as one of the popular characters from the film."
"I almost feel like, as people get more familiar with Wii U and these touchscreen interfaces, that there is going to come a point where they feel like 'I can't do everything I want to do if I don't have a second screen'." The trick, of course, is getting people familiar with Wii U, something Nintendo has yet to accomplish judging by hardware sales.
"I feel a device like Wii U, with its ability to continue to offer new features and that network connection and the connection to the TV and the interface, really makes it feel that it's more than just a game machine, but something that offers a lot of practical use and practical purpose in the living room," Miyamoto said.
Miyamoto reiterated plans to update the firmware to make it "a little more stable, a little bit more convenient to use from a system standpoint." He's also working on figuring out how to "convey the usefulness of Wii U" to potential owners through games. "For me as a game developer, obviously I look at Wii U from the perspective of what games I can bring to Wii U."
These screens for Lego Legends of Chima: Laval's Journey offer a taste of the action in the totally original adventure from Warner and TT Games. The game will be coming to 3DS and Vita this Summer and to DS this Fall. ...
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Angry Birds developer Rovio reported $71.3 million in net profit in 2012, up $25 million from the previous year, and its revenue doubled to $195.6 million. Rovio attributes the growth to its new gaming franchises, such as Bad Piggies and Amazing Alex, and its consumer products, including all of those Angry Birds plushies, backpacks and clothes lining Target shelves. Consumer products in 2012 brought in three times the revenue as in 2011, accounting for 45 percent of Rovio's total.
Rovio games have been downloaded more than 1.7 billion times, and monthly active users across all platforms hit 263 million in December. Rovio notes that its main sources of revenue within gaming are paid titles, virtual goods and advertising.
Angry Birds Toons premiered in March and Rovio is working on an Angry Birds movie, using its own funds to make that thing happen outside of the standard studio system. Despicable Me producer John Cohen and Iron Man executive producer David Maisel are both on board for the film, which is set to launch in 2016.
Rovio games have been downloaded more than 1.7 billion times, and monthly active users across all platforms hit 263 million in December. Rovio notes that its main sources of revenue within gaming are paid titles, virtual goods and advertising.
Angry Birds Toons premiered in March and Rovio is working on an Angry Birds movie, using its own funds to make that thing happen outside of the standard studio system. Despicable Me producer John Cohen and Iron Man executive producer David Maisel are both on board for the film, which is set to launch in 2016.
Orion's Odyssey is the second Nintendo DS game to seek funding assistance through Kickstarter, following the successful use of the platform as a pre-order campaign for Jason Rohrer's Diamond Trust of London.
Developed by Island Officials, the team of board game enthusiasts behind semi-obscure DS release Hands On! Tangrams, Orion's Odyssey is a "comedy-puzzle game" about a handy robot and his seven-year-old friend, who have adventures on the top screen while solving pattern block puzzles on the bottom screen, arranging differently-shaped blocks to fill each puzzle's shape.
Island Officials originally planned to find a publisher for Orion's Odyssey, but to no avail. "While they all had great things to say about our game and our efforts, they wanted to move away from Nintendo DS to other digital markets including the new 3DS system, as well as mobile phones and tablets," the developer writes.
The team found a publisher willing to take on the plum deal of helping get the game through submission if Island Officials covered all production costs, and so it's asking for precisely $85,412 on Kickstarter.
It's only in the fantasy world of Pokémon that leaving home and wandering the woods from town to town at age 10 – basically becoming a tween drifter – is a sensible career move. Stay in school, kids! And drink your milk.