Unlike WiiWare, royalties to developers are not held until a certain sales threshold is reached.

Games published for Nintendo's DSiWare and eShop services are not required to reach a sales threshold before royalties can be paid to the developer. This is in contrast to WiiWare, for which a minimum number of downloads must be reached before royalties are released.

We spoke to Nic Watt, creative... Read more...

Nintendo's upcoming symphony orchestra will include a fan favorite and a medley.

The much-anticipated The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony concert has its first two musical pieces revealed by Nintendo composer Mahito Yokota.

The first song announced is fan favorite Gerudo Valley from Ocarina of Time. Yokota noted, "This was a really popular choice from the surveys. I'm really looking forward to how this passionate, rhythmical song is going to sound coming from a live orchestra."

Some removals likely the result of a studio closure, while others lack explanation.

Various WiiWare titles were recently removed from Wii Shop Channels all around the world.

GameArts' The Magic Obelisk has been removed from the North American Wii Shop Channel. No reasons for its absence have been given by the company or by Nintendo.

In Europe, several more games have been removed.... Read more...

Challenge is the keyword in this week's European downloads.

Nintendo of Europe breaks their normal tradition and doesn't give us a Wii download this Thursday. However on the Nintendo eShop and DSi Store, it is the same business as usual.

Owners of a Nintendo 3DS will be able to download Avenging Spirit from the Virtual Console service. You have just been... Read more...

The third entry in the popular Call of Duty series will hit the Wii after all.

A Wii version of the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been confirmed by Activision during an investor's call. Treyarch is developing the Wii edition.

Despite the most recent game in the series, Black Ops, making an appearance on the system, Activision had yet to confirm if the third game... Read more...

It's rumored that Walmart will drop the price of the 3DS three days prior to Nintendo's official date.

Walmart may be dropping the price of 3DS early. According to the website Cheap Ass Gamer, they have received information from a trusted source that Walmart will be dropping the price to $169.99 on August 9th, 3 days prior to the scheduled date of August 11th.

Those that have been hesitant about... Read more...

Capcom's adventure game, Nazo Waku Yakata gets a paid demo in the eShop.

Last Thursday, Nintendo and Capcom released the first paid demo to the Japanese eShop, Nazo Waku Yakata. The paid demo includes the first chapter of Capcom’s 3DS adventure game and cost ¥200 ($2.55). More chapters may also be under consideration, though they are currently undecided.

Actions like this are worrisome, as they may set a precedent that future eShop demos will follow.

Price drops and possibilities of the Ambassador program drive players towards used systems.

Sales of used 3DS systems doubled after Nintendo announced the upcoming price drop, according to Media Create in Japan.

The report cites several possible reasons as to why the sales doubled. One of these is that players may be eager to participate in the Ambassador program, which will offer free... Read more...

The cult indie classic will feature expanded levels in the upcoming 3DS remake.

Cave Story producer Jack Niida confirmed some of the new features in the 3DS version of Cave Story.

The first of these is that it will feature expanded levels. When asked further, he explains that "For the old time fans of Cave Story, there aren’t brand new stages, but what we did for these stages... Read more...

They're even giving away a Wii U!

UPDATE: Follow a minimum of 10 topics on Raptr and have double the chance of winning the grand prize, including the top 20 games at E3, a Wii U, PS Vita and 3DS.

Raptr is hosting a summer-long contest, dubbed the Summer of Raptr, that is promising a laundry list of prizes, with one of the most tantalizing being a Wii U.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror is very likely, but Super Mario Advance 4 might not be.

Nintendo of America will reveal the full list of titles for Nintendo Ambassadors in the middle of August. The information will hit on or before August 12, the day of the Nintendo 3DS price drop in North America.

As it stands right now, a number of titles have been revealed for Nintendo Ambassadors... Read more...

Want to write about video games and live around LA or SF?

Do you like playing, talking about, and writing about video games? Does the video game industry interest you a lot? Do you read “Iwata Asks” when they come out? Are you offended by the Iwata Laugh? Do you even know who Iwata is?

If those questions all make sense to you, and you said yes... Read more...

Gridlock hits the 3DS Virtual Console in the form of a classic edition of Picross.

Five new games hit the Nintendo downloadable platforms today, with DSiWare getting the lion's share.

On the 3DS Virtual Console, we have Mario's Picross, the original title in the Picross series that has players solving picture puzzles in a grid form by giving clues on the top and left edge of the grid. This 1995 release formed the basis for the DS hits Picross DS and Picross 3D. The title costs $3.99 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

Luna teaches fans what all her obscurely-morbid French sayings mean.

WayForward Technologies, publisher of Mighty Milky Way for the DSiWare service, have posted up a translation guide for the adorable little French quips that the main character Luna says throughout her planet-orbiting adventure. What may come as a shock, however, is that they are all quite morbid, completely changing whatever impressions her cute exterior may have led you to form about the character.

The Game Boy Color card battler is coming to the 3DS VC next week in Japan.

Trade & Battle: Card Hero will arrive on the 3DS Virtual Console on August 10 in Japan.

The title, jointly developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems, originally hit the Game Boy Color in 2000 in Japan. This card battling RPG was never released in North America or PAL regions.

Trade & Battle: Card Hero brings the number of 3DS Virtual Console games to 22 in Japan.

Konami's arcade shoot 'em up is scheduled to hit Japan next week.

The next 3D Classic, TwinBee, will launch on the Japan eShop on August 10 for 600 yen.

The shoot 'em up originally appeared in arcades in 1985 and then later came to home consoles, including the Famicom, in 1986. The game did not see an official release outside of Japan until it appeared on Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits on the Nintendo DS in 2007 under the name RainbowBell. Its first sequel, Stinger, was released on the NES.

The team behind the 3D remake of the N64 classic discuss how the game came to be.

The latest "Iwata Asks" column focuses on Star Fox 64 3D as Nintendo President Satoru Iwata sits down with Q-Games, the developers in charge of the remake. The team is composed of Q-Games founder Dylan Cuthbert, Yusuke Amano from Software Development Department of the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division (EAD), Mitsuhiro Takano of EAD and Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto.

Pac-Man fever and a hyperactive wildcat lead the way in this week's downloads.

European gamers have five new titles to look forward this week to on the various online services.

Nintendo 3DS owners will be able to download the all-time classic Pac-Man from the Virtual Console service. The game will be yours for the price of £3.60/€4.

DSiWare-wise, we mostly play catch-up... Read more...

The console will ship in time to receive Ambassador Program games.

The Nintendo 3DS is now available on Amazon.com for around $216. At the time of writing, the price was fluctuating between page loads, so it could be a good idea to check several times for the final price. Both colors, Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black, are available in limited quantities.

While... Read more...

Two more GBA titles are confirmed for the Nintendo Ambassador program.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 and Kirby & the Amazing Mirror have been confirmed to be part of the Nintendo Ambassador Program for users who purchased the Nintendo 3DS prior to the recently announced price drop. 

While not in the original press release from last... Read more...