Dave hosts a small debate on the subject of players being allowed to change the difficulty level in mid-game.

In the last few years, I've noticed a rather unusual trend in gaming. A number of recent releases allow the player to adjust the difficulty in the middle of the game. I haven't personally noticed this "feature" in any Wii or DS games yet, but I'm told that Trauma Center (Wii) has it. It's tempting... Read more...

Here's why you can be confident that there are no money hats or outside influence at Nintendo World Report.

We have used the same process for reviews since our very first reviews of import GBA games in early 2001. I oversaw the development of this process (although not the review format itself) and gained more and more influence as time went on, because my ideas seemed to work and make everyone happy.... Read more...

Take a look back at Nintendo's triumphs and stumbles in the new generation.

The one year anniversary of Wii's launch seems like the perfect time to take a look back and assess how the console has performed in its early life. I'm not only talking about sales – obviously, the system has performed spectacularly in that respect. I would like to praise some of Nintendo's choices... Read more...

If publishers want to stay in it for the long haul, the answer is to lower game prices, not raise them.

When EA CEO John Riccitiello said that the $60 video game won't work in the games industry of the future, it reminded me about something Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said at an investors' briefing last year:

"The real value of the software must be judged with its contents, not with the medium... Read more...

Why review scores are ruining gaming.

Today's art world is dominated by merchandising and consumerism; we buy art from the movie theater, iTunes, and GameStop. Because today's popular art is recordable, and therefore reproducible, it can be sent to as many locations as need demands. This has put a glut of art at our fingertips. No other... Read more...

…is a sorry state indeed. But there is hope.

I want to start off with some rhetorical (and not at all bitter) questions for Nintendo.

Where are the new, must-play online games from Nintendo on DS?

If NST could do voice chat, lobbies, and rivals in Metroid Prime Hunters a year ago, why isn't it in any other games from Nintendo?

If Nintendo WFC has been up and running for a year and a half, why aren't first-party Wii games like Excite Truck and Mario Party 8 online?