Nintendo

Don't believe the hype: Super Mario Galaxy is not that great

After sifting through a host of reviews calling Nintendo's new Super Mario Galaxy game "one of the best Mario adventures yet", I decided to head down to my local Gamestop and pick up a copy.

Now, it should be noted that I have played each and every Super Mario game dating back to Super Mario Bros. and have always been a fan of the series. In fact, to this day, I still consider Super Mario Sunshine to be one of the better games in the Mario franchise. Further, Super Mario 64 was simply a marvel of its time and easily one of the best experiences I've ever had gaming.

But after playing through Super Mario Galaxy for the past week, I simply don't get all the hype surrounding the game. Is it a good game? Sure. Is it a great game? No.… Read more

Can Nintendo show U.S. the love, too?

Still not jealous over all of the awesome bonuses Nintendo Japan has been giving its customers as part of the Club Nintendo rewards program? Well, get ready to say no friggin' way!

Nintendo has announced three free bonus items that it will be giving to its platinum members of the Club Nintendo service this year. Those customers with platinum status--meaning they purchased enough Nintendo products between 10/1/2006 and 9/30/2007 for over 400 Club Nintendo points--will be able to select one of the following items:

1. Wii Super Famicom Classic Controller: A Wii controller attachment that looks … Read more

Wii Zapper: Hands-on review

If you grew up with a Nintendo Entertainment System in your house, then you no doubt remember the Zapper, the gray (or bright orange) light gun that let you shoot at ducks, bulls-eyes, and banditos. After almost 20 years, Nintendo has brought the Zapper, at least in name, to the Nintendo Wii. It's available in stores today for just $20, and it includes a free game, Link's Crossbow Training.

Instead of a light gun, the Wii Zapper is a simple gun-shaped plastic shell that houses the Wii remote and nunchuk attachment for use in certain shooting games. Simple, … Read more

Report: PlayStation 3 price cut helping console recover

Over at the San Francisco Chronicle this morning, Ryan Kim has a story contending that Sony's oft-maligned PlayStation 3 may well find much-needed new life in the wake of its recent price cut and the release of some new titles.

Sony better hope so. The PS3, which a year ago this reporter predicted would win the console wars, has been the troubled electronics maker's worst nightmare. Sales lag far behind Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360, and the available games have been less than inspiring.

But now, Sony has lowered the price of the top-end, 80GB … Read more

Wii virtual console releases for this week

Find out how Mario & Luigi got their starts in this week's virtual console release.

Wrecking Crew (1985, NES, 500 Wii points)--Apparently Mario & Luigi had gigs in manual labor before they were cleaning pipes and grabbing mushrooms as full-time plumbers. Sonic 3D Blast (1996, Sega Genesis, 800 Wii points)--The first game to take Sonic into the third dimension, Sonic 3D Blast was well received by fans and critics alike. While the story didn't depart from the classic formula, the new 3D take reinvented the series. Super Air Zonk (1993, Turbografx16, 800 Wii points)--Super Air … Read more

Sony finally 'gets' gaming again

Has it finally happened? Has Sony finally found the solution to its year-long Playstation 3 problem? It certainly looks that way.

According to the company, Sony has cut its software development kit prices in half to $10,250 in North America, $8,600 in Japan and $11,250 in Europe. And while this may not mean much to some, to me it indicates a startling change of course by a company that had heretofore lost sight of what is important in this generation.

And although I've beaten on Sony quite a bit on Digital Home, this change in policy -- namely, price reduction -- could spell trouble for both Microsoft and Nintendo.… Read more

Episode 606: The Kindle is coming!

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Nintendo DS will be most successful gaming device ever

An analyst at Pacific Coast Securities made waves today when he claimed that the next iteration of the Nintendo DS is complete. According to the analyst, the new DS "is thinner (it has no GBA port), has onboard storage, and larger screens."

He went on to claim that Nintendo has no plan of releasing the new version "until sales begin to tail off in all three major geographies."

Wow. So does that mean we will never see another Nintendo DS? Because as far as I can tell, there is no sign of tapering sales and people are running to stores just to have different colors.

Regardless of whether you're a PlayStation zealot or even a Sega fanboy who can't find it in yourself to buy a Nintendo product, you must admit that Nintendo has been incredibly successful with its DS. And if you ask me, sales will continue to be strong and each update will compound growth until one thing finally happens--the Nintendo DS will become the most successful gaming device of all time.… Read more

A new Nintendo DS on the way? Don't hold your breath

Yesterday, GameSpot reported that Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson says Nintendo is gearing up to release a redesigned DS. Apparently, Wilson's "contacts" have told him that a new DS is complete. This redesigned DS, Wilson says, is slimmer than the current DS Lite, includes onboard memory, and features a larger screen. More interestingly, this new DS doesn't have a slot for Game Boy Advance games.

Call me a skeptic, because I'm pretty darn skeptical about this theory. Wilson seems to be straddling the line between "short-term prediction an industry analyst pulled out of … Read more