A confluence of factors could see the Pokémon fighter get a massive push in Los Angeles

For the last couple of years, Nintendo has had a major tentpole Wii U release at the end of May with major online functionality, DLC plans, and (later) Amiibo support that has set the tone for the entire year. 2014 saw the ludicrously (in Wii U terms) successful Mario Kart 8, and early reports have... Read more...

It’s been a year since Wii Sports Club finished development. That team is likely working on something new.

It’s been a while since a Wii Sports game was a focus at E3. You’d have to go back to E3 2009, when Wii Sports Resort was a few weeks away from release, to when Nintendo paid mind to the series that helped launch the Wii. They tried to capture the same magic of Wii Sports and Resort with Nintendo... Read more...

The NWR staff chats about the fourth wave of Amiibo.

Today is a big day for Nintendo fans as the fourth wave of Smash Bros. Amiibo figures are available in North America. If you’re lucky, you can go get Pac-Man, Charizard, Wario, Lucina, Robin, Greninja (only at Toys”R”Us), Jigglypuff (only at Target), Ness (only at GameStop), Inkling Boy, Inkling... Read more...

This late Wii game is secretly an amazing board game starring Mario and Dragon Quest characters.

I first discovered Fortune Street at E3 2011, when it was revealed that the Wii version of the long-running Japanese series Itadaki Street was coming to America. Fortune Street, for better or worse, is a game that demos horribly. With no one on line for it, I wound up playing it on the last day of... Read more...

This time, the games are going to be named after theoretical constructs.

As I write this, we’re about a month out from E3 and no Pokémon game of any kind has been announced for 2015 yet. If one is coming, it is (almost) unquestionably going to be announced at or right around the show. It could be announced beforehand (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were announced on... Read more...

Could the return of the legendary tournament be a complete crapshoot?

When Nintendo revealed their E3 plans, most of us were very excited to hear that they were brining back their legendary Nintendo World Championships. This old competition has become so well known over the years due to it having a special, and extremely rare, set of competition cartridges that ran... Read more...

A case study in mobile game design and alliance building

Nintendo recently released their investor Q&A session in English and the report gives some interesting information about how Nintendo will conduct business going forward.

Nintendo Isn't Doing Mobile Like Everyone Else

As would be expected, a full third of the questions are focused on Nintendo's... Read more...

Andy takes a look at Leaptrade, a new game trading service.

Everyone’s done it: you take your copy of that Madden game from 2 years back over to GameStop or hoping to knock $10 off the cost of the more recent edition, only to find out that they’re willing to give you, at most, $0.50. How can this game really be worth so little? Well, the obvious answer... Read more...

Like it or not, Nintendo’s recent patching practices suggest the company is more in line with major publishers than fans want to admit.

I think most people agreed that it was highly unlikely that the upcoming Wii U Zelda game would actually release in 2015, as was originally announced by series producer Eiji Aonuma at The Game Awards in 2014. Still, when Aonuma recently revealed that the game would be delayed until 2016, it was a... Read more...

Now that Nintendo's working with Universal, where could Mario, Link, and friends fit in Orlando?

Nintendo’s officially working on theme park rides and attractions with Universal Studios. My mind, much like many of your minds, is racing with possibilities and potential. An F-Zero roller coaster? An epic Zelda dark ride? A real-life Peach’s Castle? Some hapless dude dressed up as a Toad? Sign me up. After I let my mind run wild, though, I started to think: where the heck is Universal Studios going to fit Nintendo?

The Nintendo DS library is ripe with games worth giving a second look to!

I’ve already talked about what five games I’d like to see most on the Nintendo 64 Wii U Virtual Console. But now I would like to take a look at the other new system that’s getting all the Virtual Console attention, the Nintendo DS! It feels like only a few years ago I put my Nintendo DS Lite... Read more...

For three glorious hours, Splatoon was playable with very few issues.

When Nintendo announced their plans for the demo/beta of Splatoon with Splatoon Global Testfire, the majority of the Nintendo World Report staff expected the worst, especially since the demo was limited to three hours over the course of less than 24 hours. After all, we've all experienced dodgy online... Read more...

Online is the major focus of Splatoon, but will restrictions hold it back from greatness?

During the recent Splatoon Direct, it sunk in that Splatoon will truly live and die on the strength of its online community when it launches on May 29. Right now, roughly three weeks from release, we’re at a point where what we see is what we get. In the case of Splatoon, what we see is a huge game... Read more...

Our original reviewer takes a look at Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.’s new update.

The new update that makes enemy turns faster in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. has been available for a while and since then, our original reviewer Bryan Rose has gone back to the game to see if his opinion has changed at all. Also see below for the thoughts of Neal Ronaghan, someone who didn’t touch the game until post-update.

Why play as Luke when you can play as Luuke?

When Star Wars is a topic of discussion, I think it is safe to say that I am the most vocal fan on the staff of Nintendo World Report. Since Disney owns Star Wars, it’s safe to assume that we’ll be seeing characters from a Galaxy Far, Far Away in Disney’s flagship toys-to-life game. While I... Read more...

Not recommended, even for Kairon.

Nintendo has done a good job so far with providing value with their downloadable expansions for software. The Mario Kart and Hyrule Warriors DLC packs are filled with good content (depending on your threshold for Tingle and Baby Park). Then there's the recent update for the StreetPass Mii Plaza, which... Read more...

Wouldn't you like to give these five games another try?

Nintendo 64 games have finally arrived on the Wii U Virtual Console! Sure, I could have played the many N64 games that were released on the Wii Virtual Console, but then I’d be missing out on cool features like Resume Points. The modern Wii U Virtual Console experience is much more preferred these... Read more...

Between impossible to obtain merchandise and doing a bad Pokémon impression, Fire Emblem may be cut off at its peak.

Among the Fire Emblem intelligentsia, I’m probably considered one of the casuals. Although I loved Fire Emblem Awakening, I turned off permanent death and wouldn’t touch Lunatic+ with a 39 ½ foot pole. Apparently, a lot of people agreed with me, since Awakening marked the highest sales ever for the franchise that was at risk of going the way of Intelligent Systems’ other strategy series Advance Wars before.

No Rock Band is unfortunate, but the Wii U version of Guitar Hero Live should be just fine.

If you have any interest in the budding music game renaissance going on in 2015 with Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero Live, you only have one option on Wii U. With no Rock Band 4 on the way, Guitar Hero Live is the only rhythm game heading to Nintendo’s system this fall. At this early stage, we don’t... Read more...

Neal investigates why Wii U games rarely seem to focus on the system’s exclusive features.

In the summer of 2012, I remember feeling excited about the Wii U, giddily anticipating Nintendo’s next console. After experiencing Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3, ZombiU, and much more at various pre-launch events, the wait for November was agonizing. The GamePad, to me, was a new controller filled with... Read more...