Join us live tonight at 9:30pm PDT on Twitch!

Hey everyone, Curtis (aka "CurtDogg") here, and I'm gonna be taking over the official Nintendo World Report Twitch channel every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night, at 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time. I'll not only be streaming/commenting on the various games in my backlogg, but I'll also be interacting with all you lovely readers out there, both in the chat and on Skype. I feel like these streams would also be a good opprotunity for me to get to know fans of the the site, and vice-versa.

Fire up your Wii U and start downloading another update.

Nintendo has made a new firmware update available to Wii U owners today. This follows last month's major Wii U firmware update, which had added a slew of noticeable upgrades to the system's performance and capabilities.

Nintendo claims that this latest update provides "further improvements to overall system stability and software compatibility." This description, while not very specific, could mean that Nintendo is working on improving the Wii U in small ways even between major updates.

WayForward brings the beloved half-genie to new regions.

WayForward has confirmed through their official blog that Shantae is coming to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console on June 20. In anticipation of the release, new box art has also been revealed for the game.

Unlike the original Shantae released for the Game Boy Color, which only released in North America, players in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand will also have the chance to download the critically acclaimed game.

Shantae and the Pirates Curse for the 3DS eShop, the third game in Shantae’s series, still lacks an official release date, but is expected later this year. Previously, WayForward had released Shantae: Risky’s Revenge for the Nintendo DSi in 2010, which was well received.

Deathstroke confirmed as playable character, but will he be available on the Wii U version?

The first trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins shows Batman busting some crooks before he encounters Deathstroke for a battle in a storage facility. After the battle is over, Black Mask makes an appearance telling Deathstroke that he's "not the only assassin in town." A wounded Batman is then seemingly bludgeoned by Black Mask. The trailer ends with Batman standing on a bridge.The villain Deathstroke will be a playable character, courtesy of a pre-order bonus that is currently only confirmed for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The status of the DLC for the Wii U version is unconfirmed. We have reached out to Warner Bros. for comment.The Wii U DLC for a recent Warner Bros. game, Injustice: Gods Among Us, is set to release several months after the other versions, and the Wii U version didn't participate in any pre-order bonuses.Batman: Arkham Origins is set for an October 25 release on Wii U, and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, a 3DS game made by former Metroid Prime developers, will be out on the same day. Check out the trailer below.

Nintendo's anti-hero Wario launches his Game & Wario cashgrab site.

Nintendo has launched a marketing campaign for Game & Wario called Crowdfarter in an amusing parody of this generation's developers turning to social donation networks such as Crowdfunder and Kickstarter.

The "campaign", spearheaded by Wario himself, aims to gather "100 katrillion coins" in order to finance Wario's dream of, well, being rich. Readers are encouraged to "donate" to the cause by liking the page on Facebook or posting comments via Twitter. Incentives for doing so come in the way of some downloadable goodies, new trailers for the game and a digital badge that proudly proclaims "I crowdfarted!".

Notion Games' Super Ubi Land is now Super Ubie Land as requested by Ubisoft.

Notion Games’ platforming title, Super Ubi Land has been renamed Super Ubie Land.

Notion Games made the decision to alter the Kickstarter funded title’s name after they received a request from Ubisoft to change it due its similarity to Ubisoft’s own name. According to Notion Games’ Twitter, the decision was met without animosity on either side, saying, “Ubisoft has been a great help!”

Super Ubie Land is slated for release on Wii U, PC, Mac, and Linux devices. A demo is currently available for the PC, Mac, and Linux versions. A release date has yet to be announced.

Ubisoft believes in the Wii U. Do you?

Ubisoft said it plans to continue supporting the Wii U when asked if it will rethink its backing of the platform.

When approached by GameIndustry International on the topic of their support of the Wii U, the response received remained positive: "As with any new console, it takes some time to grow an established base. Ubisoft has a varied and high-quality line-up for Wii U, with more big titles on the way including Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag and Splinter Cell Blacklist." When it comes to their role on the Wii U: "We're confident that this will help in continuing to attract gamers to the Wii U system and that Nintendo will take steps to ensure that the Wii U is successful in the market."

Ubisoft says it is focused on the PC version instead.  

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online for Wii U was revealed to be on hold during its development stage.

When asked about the Wii U version of Ghost Recon Online, the official Twitter page for the game responded, "The Wii U version of the game is currently on hold while we focus on developing the PC version." The PC version was released last August, so improvements to that are most likely what is being worked on.

At E3 2012, senior vice president of sales Tony Key told IGN the Wii U version was taking "a little bit longer" in order to make sure it was done right.  

Capcom has released new screenshots from the upcoming Monster Hunter 4 on their Japanese site.

Capcom has released new screenshots and artwork on their Japanese site for their upcoming title, Monster Hunter 4. The game is due out this summer in Japan on the 3DS, no North American release date has been set.

The screenshots include some new monsters as well as some concept art of the environments to be featured in the game. Among the new monsters is what appears to be some sort of land shark, as well as some images of a Lagombi, who many may remember as one of the monsters featured in the demo of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. Check the gallery below for all the images.

Big John Games releasing fishing simulator on eShop.

Big John Games is releasing Big Bass Arcade: No Limit on the 3DS eShop sometime later this year. The game was originally intended to be a retail release on the Wii, but was converted to a downloadable 3DS title last year. The game will feature ten lakes, forty tournaments and challenges, seven fish species, ten lures, and a record tracking system. Once a fish is hooked, the game can utilize either the 3DS's touch screen or button inputs as the virtual fishing reel.

Development on Big Bass Arcade: No Limit is complete, and the game is currently in testing at Nintendo.