The Japanese National team is ready to charge up for the big game!

Pikachu, among other Pokémon, will be the official mascot of the Japanese soccer team for the upcoming World Cup games.

Adidas, who is the official kit designer of the Japanese National team, announced their new relationship with Nintendo today. Pikachu, Bulbasaur and others will all be donning the "Samurai Blue" kit gear in preparation for the upcoming games.

He'll just have to do his stealthing somewhere else.

Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima doesn't believe Solid Snake will return as a playable character in either of the upcoming Super Smash Bros. games this year.

In an interview with Geoff Keighley for Twitch, Kojima stated, "I'm not working on that game so I don't know, but I don't think that's likely."

Wii Sports Golf is getting a new nine-hole course.

A new update to Wii Sports Club today adds the nine-hole Wii Sports Resort course to Golf. Also, the entire game, including all three currently released sports, is free next weekend.

The free trial, open to every Wii U owner, will be active as of March 21 at 9 a.m. PT and end at 11:59 p.m. PT... Read more...

This week, Yoshi's New Island is the big one.

This week, Yoshi's New Island is the big game on the new releases block! But there are also a slew of other games coming out for both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Want to play the Super Mario Bros. game that didn't exist here until 1993? Now you can! Do you wish to further refine your ABC skills? It's here! Enjoy popping bubbles? We got that for you here as well this week, so let's take a look.

Make sure you stretch before jumping, dancing, kicking or diving on this deal.

Bit Trip Presents: Runner 2 Future Legend of Rhythm Alien is on sale for all platforms for $4.99, $10 off the regular price.

Developer/publisher Gaijin Games announced the sale as a celebration of the game's one year anniversary. Since releasing on February 26, 2013 in NA for the Nintendo Wii U, Runner 2 has reached over a million copies sold worldwide.

Get your mad chess skills on March 20.

Pure Chess will be coming to the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS eShops on March 20 for £4.99/€5.99/$7.99.

Developer VooFoo Studios states that Pure Chess "aims to reflect the beauty and depth of the widely respected game". It will have a tutorial mode aimed toward beginners who aren't familiar... Read more...

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Bravely Default lead the pack for Nintendo.

February 2014 software sales for both Nintendo 3DS and Wii U rose above February 2013 sales thanks to both Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Bravely Default.

In February, Wii U software sales were 180 percent higher than software sales the previous February. 3DS software sales also rose 25 percent when measured up to last year's sales.

Looks like Mario and company will golf underwater, complete with wonky physics.

A new Mario Golf: World Tour trailer showcases an underwater level previously seen in screenshots called Cheep Cheep Lagoon.

The trailer shows Daisy playing golf underwater. Bloopers, in addition to other enemies, are shown swimming along the course, possibly impeding players who wish to make that perfect shot.

As if you needed any more reason to buy this awesome Metroid-ish platformer.

SteamWorld Dig is on sale for 50% off on the 3DS eShop in both North America and Europe. From now until March 16, you can get the acclaimed title for only €4.49, $4.99 or £3.99.

SteamWorld Dig is a mining adventure game that released in August 2013 to many positive reviews, including our own!

This Wii U-exclusive endless runner features different play modes, Miiverse support, and more.

I've Got To Run, a 2D platformer from new developer 4 Corner Games, is coming to the Wii U eShop in North America in Q2 2014 for $1.99/$2.19 CAD.

The game is a procedurally generated endless runner where you control Roy the Marshmallow Boy as he runs through three different modes. The first, Endless... Read more...

Sad news for those who like to spend their time speaking to strangers in Morse code.

Steel Diver: Sub Wars will soon be receiving an update that fixes how often several errors occur while playing online over the Nintendo Network. The update will also add several new features that fans have requested, though specifics have yet to be revealed.

Sadly, this update will also do away with the game's online Morse code chat room. Players will still be able to communicate via Morse code during and before matches however.

The Australian and New Zealand branches have launched into the social media age.

Nintendo Australia has simultaneously launched pages on social media sites Facebook and Twitter. The pages promise to promote the latest information about 3DS and Wii U games with a more region-specific focus than the company's international branches.

Among the first news posted was the official confirmation that Mario Kart 8's previously announced European limited edition is coming to Australia as an EB Games exclusive.

Smashing in for a second round.

Today, Evo (Evolution Championship Series) founder Tom Cannon announced that Super Smash Bros. Melee will be at the 2014 Evo tournament.

This will be the second year in a row that the Nintendo fighter will join the competition. Last year, an astonishing 700 competitors stepped up to bat, making it the largest Melee tournament in history.

The Kickstarterted Wii U and 3DS eShop game won't hit its March 31 release date.

Shovel Knight is being pushed back from its scheduled March 31 release date on Wii U and 3DS to give the developer some breathing room in the final parts of development.

Yacht Club Games said in a Kickstarter update that the delay will just be a few weeks "to make sure it’s a world class experience,... Read more...

In addition to Imageepoch handling animations, a few Nintendo employees from the New Super Mario Bros. team helped Arzest out on the game.

Nintendo developers from the New Super Mario Bros. series helped out developer Arzest on Yoshi's New Island.

In addition to Takashi Tezuka, the legendary Nintendo developer who produced all of the New Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi's Island games, some of the developers include:

The pouches are available in light blue or pink.

Two new Animal Crossing 3DS XL pouches are now available as Club Nintendo rewards in North America. The pouches, which feature three different icons from the series, are available in either light blue or pink and cost 500 coins.

These pouches were designed for the 3DS XL, but Nintendo points out that they will also accommodate a standard Nintendo 3DS, as well as any piece of hardware from the Nintendo DS family.

Mega Man Zero gets a reincarnate.

Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune is teaming up with Inti Creates (Mega Man Zero) to make Azure Striker: Gunvolt, a new 2D, action side-scroller coming to the Japanese 3DS eShop this summer.

The game is set in the near future where the psychic protagonist, Gunvolt, joins up with a rebel force and... Read more...

You can use your hard-earned coins on some Virtual Console and downloadable games.

Club Nintendo members can use their coins to get Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (3DS), Number Battle (DSi/3DS), Yoshi (Wii U) and Bonsai Barber (Wii/Wii U).

On Nintendo 3DS, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is available for 150 coins. The DSiWare title, Number Battle, is available for 200 coins.

May the Force be with your balls.

Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force, the first expansion for Star Wars Pinball, will release on March 13 on the Wii U eShop.

The DLC will cost $/€ 9.99, and include these three intergalactic tables:

Pokemon X/Y's online will also be down for an extended period of time.

Various activities surrounding the Nintendo Network will be stopped temporarily at some point this week.

Beginning Monday, March 10 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time/Tuesday, March 11 01:00 CET, all the online services for Pokemon X and Y will be unavailable for a period of 14 hours. This includes online... Read more...