Hi i have an invention i have been sitting on for a couple of years. it would be perfect for Nintendo DS and would widen it's market tenfold (I believe). I just want to know who to contact regarding this matter so I can sit down and submit my idea. If you could point me in the right direction that would be great! cheers david

- naught
maroochydore

One thing is for sure, no matter how good you think your idea is, Nintendo isn't going to listen to it. There are many legal reasons why, but simply, if you send them your idea and then sometime down the line Nintendo releases something that is an any way similar to that idea, you have the grounds for a lawsuit. That's why big companies will not accept ideas that originate outside of the company.

That doesn't mean you can't do something about it yourself. If you truly think you've got something, you should immediately consider getting a patent. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is the place to get information on that process (provided you live in America). You'll first need to make sure your invention, or portions of your invention, aren't already patented by other people (or Nintendo). That will take a lot of searching on your part unless you hire a patent lawyer to help you with the process. If you can get a patent, that means you're protected from anyone taking your idea without permission and/or compensation to you. That includes Nintendo, should it ever want to use that idea of yours.

Only after that happens should you start shopping your invention around. The chances of getting Nintendo to listen to you are slim, so perhaps you could try contacting third party accessory manufacturers to cut a deal, if whatever it is you have could be made by that kind of company. If all else fails you could make the thing yourself, but that would require a lot of money.

That's all the advice I can give you. Remember, you need to do a lot to get an invention off the ground, but if you can do it, you'll be glad you did!

So I have a question for you and all your readers ! Which classic Nintendo franchises would you like see return to Wii or which do you feel is more likely to return. I know I for one am expecting a new Kid Icarus now that Pit will be getting his long overdue exposure in Brawl and I'm hoping Retro Studios is behind it. But I also admit some games need to be re introduced to this generation so I will throw out some names and see what responses I get from them..... Punch Out, Mario Paint, Excite Bike, Ice Climbers,1080 Snowboarding, Star Fox,Duck Hunt, Hogans Alley, Donkey Kong, Battle Clash, Wrecking Crew,Yoshi's Safari, ah I think that's a good start to get than fans going so lets see what else everyones got !!!!

- NA

Most of the games on that list you made have already seen remakes in one form or another. Excite Truck is Excitebike; Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley have elements that show up in Wii Play; Punch Out!! is sort of present within Wii Sports Boxing. Nintendo has been incorporating elements of its classic library into its more recent releases. In fact, it's always done that to give new games a familiar feeling to gaming veterans.

But the games themselves? Star Fox and 1080 Snowboarding are definitely coming to the Wii eventually, most likely this year. Jungle Beat notwithstanding, there hasn't been a solid traditional Donkey Kong console game since Donkey Kong Country 3. I'd definitely like see a new DK game that has the same presence as the SNES games. Super Scope games like Yoshi's Safari and Battle Clash (which is a personal favorite of mine) won't see direct remakes, but Nintendo should create a shooting game that's a full adventure, something more than a bunch of mini-games strung together like in Link's Crossbow Training.

You're right about Kid Icarus. Ever since Retro Studios finished up Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the first game that came to everyone's mind was Kid Icarus. It makes a lot of sense. The original Metroid and Kid Icarus share many similarities. Retro brought Metroid in 3D brilliantly, so if Nintendo wanted give Kid Icarus the same treatment, Retro would be the best choice to do it. After seeing some of the cutscenes and gameplay involving Pit in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it makes me more excited at the possibility of Retro doing something amazing. It's got outer space and dark caverns down pat. Can you imagine what it could do with bright, open skies?

There have been postings on a few message boards with people claiming their Wii Nunchuks had turned pink.

Is this just a hoax, harmless discoloration, or something we should be worried about? I recently bought a new nunchuk controller and wondered if you guys had heard anything.

- Auric

I've had two Nunchuks since launch and haven't seen any problems with discoloration at all. I don't use mine as much as others do, though. Have any of our readers had problems with Nintendo controllers turning all girly on them? Let us know!

For some reason good or bad games on the 360 and PS3 have gorgeous graphics...the same cannot be said on the Wii... In my opinion there are three tiers of graphics: Trash, GameCube, and Wii. Question: Why is it so hard for developers to make decent graphic games for the Wii, when even trash games on the PS3 and 360 look nice?

- DkNy2kX

A bad driver in a Ferarri is going to go faster than a good driver in a minivan. That's pretty much the situation with consoles. No matter how bad games get on the hi-def systems, developers making games for them have so much raw power at their disposal they'll look decent no matter how badly they make them. While the Wii will never match the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 on the technical level, there's no reason it can't compete artistically. Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 are some of the prettiest games you'll find on any system, let alone the Wii.

Third parties are starting to come around slowly but surely. However, as I've said numerous times in the mailbag, the reason why many third party Wii games haven't reached a GameCube level of graphics is that developers weren't that familiar with the GameCube to begin with. The Wii's extra power doesn't mean a lot to developers who aren't that familiar with the hardware. The extra power of the PS3 and 360 does, though, which is why games are noticeably better than they were from the previous generation.

Hey NWR, having a good 2008? Hope so; I know I am.

Have you noticed that Nintendo fans heavily lean towards the Wii and somewhat neglect the DS? I know consoles are more popular than handhelds for some reason, but I know a lot of people that used to love the DS and have practically moved on to the Wii, pretty much forgetting Nintendo's almighty double-screened handheld.

Why do you think this happens? Nintendo is putting most of its resources towards Wii development, somewhat ignoring the DS themselves, and I believe this has something to do with it. Think about it; Wii has Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Brawl, and Wii Fit / Chess / Music coming, whereas DS has...Professor Layton, Advance Wars, and a few others.

Your thoughts?

- sergioalb64
Baldwin Park, CA

Let's not put down Professor Layton or Days of Ruin. Those are some pretty heavy-duty DS releases. Dragon Quest IX is coming too, though not for quite some time. The Nintendo DS definitely has some high-profile titles coming that will make it the talk of the Nintendo community when they come out.

But let's face it. The DS was released in 2004, which is a long time ago. The Wii is still the new guy in town, and with all the big games that have come out for it and will soon be coming out for it, it's hard not to give it most of the attention. And although the DS is greatly outselling the Wii, consoles are always more prevalent in the game industry. The Wii is going to get all the attention from this point on, not only because of that, but simply because it has a longer future than the DS. The DS has plateaued, and the Wii is still climbing.

As I said, there are still a lot of big games coming out for the DS this year. However, there are going to be bigger Wii games, and more of them, too. The DS had its moment to shine, but now it's the Wii's turn. That's just the way it is.