A much-needed Saturday release for one of Japan's biggest franchises

The long-awaited traditional RPG take on Monster Hunter will be hitting Japan this October.

Monster Hunter Stories will release in Japan on October 8, and will also have amiibo support that unlocks new monsters in the game. The designs in the first wave, launching day-and-date with the game, are... Read more...

It's kind of hard to get what you're looking for when Googling “Dual Core Wii U”.

It's a very busy day for the North American eShop with a full slate of indie releases for both the Wii U and 3DS – and there's a pretty common price for most of them. Your $9.99 will get Futuridium EP Deluxe or Dual Core, a couple of different takes on the shooter, or Rynn's Adventure or Dragon Fantasy: The Black Tome of Ice, which put their own spin on fantasy adventuring.

Based on a beary interesting Japanese 3DS title

A long-hibernating 3DS title from Japan will be launching in Europe and Australia this summer/winter with new features.

The 2013 game Kuma Tomo has received an update to include amiibo support and will release in Europe on 1 July and Australia/New Zealand on 2 July as Teddy Together. No pricing has been given in Europe per Nintendo policy, but Nintendo Australia has confirmed the game will launch for AU$49.95 indicating a budget release.

UPDATE: Not so much.

UPDATE: The MH name was used in a report by the Morgan Stanley analyst as shorthand for a potential 3DS successor, but is not an actual codename.

A lot of inexpensive dungeon crawling this week.

NISA is lowering the price on some older 3DS dungeon crawlers in Europe beginning with Thursday's eShop update.

Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner Soul Hackers, Etrian Odyssey IV and Etrian Odyssey Untold will be reduced to €9.99/£8.99 from a regular price of €39.99/£34.99, while Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth will be reduced to €19.99/£17.99.

The sequel to the popular indie throwback finally lands on Wii U and 3DS.

Next week's eShop update will include a big indie RPG sequel.

Dragon Fantasy: The Black Tome of Ice, the second game in the retro-themed RPG series, will launch next week on both Wii U and 3DS for $9.99. The first game in the series launched last summer, and the sequel takes cues from 16-bit RPGs.

It might be familiar to Record Breakers or those who have experienced Odysseys.

Sega has outlined the plans for add-on content for the upcoming 7th Dragon: Code VFD to add on to the game's already massive size.

A free doll of the killer rabbit Nagamimi will come with the game on launch day (July 12 for North America) along with some paid content for grinding assitance and character recruitment.

Light the fire up in the night.

It’s another week where the biggest release is already out in North America with the Minecraft Super Mario Pack update hitting late Tuesday evening. But for those who are looking to spend a little money this week, you’ve got options as well, including a game long thought of as a PlayStation exclusive... Read more...

Including a big one North America already has

The Nintendo Selects line for Europe is expanding again in June.

Nintendo announced the five new 3DS games joining the lineup on 24 June, and they will be reduced to €19.99/£15.99 on the eShop the same day.

The five news games are:

Some reasonable requirements for those who want to try their luck

Following trials in Australia and New Zealand, the field test for Pokémon Go has expanded to the United States.

Prospective trainers can sign up on the Niantic Labs website to attempt to gain access to the much-hyped product. An Android phone running version 4.3 (Jellybean) or higher, or an iPhone 5 or newer with iOS version 8 or higher, along with "an element of luck".

Future articles on the subject will not be written in Variety Speak.

Nintendo has given clarification on their plans for expanding into the film business.

CEO Tatsumi Kimishima, in an interview with Japan's Asahi daily newspaper, confirmed that Nintendo will handle most of the work on films with their properties, but are also willing to give other production companies the opportunity to use Nintendo properties for an unspecified fee. Whatever the project becomes, it is still 2-3 years from being completed.

Probably the one day there's absolutely NO RPGS coming out, right?

Level-5's mischevious Yo-Kai are making a return engagement on 3DS this fall.

Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls versions will hit in stores and on the 3DS eShop this fall to coincide with season 2 of the anime and a new line of toys. Nate/Natalie will grab an upgraded watch and a whole new set of Yo-Kai, including some that are exclusive to one of the versions.

Apparently cosplay isn't *too* popular.

The first global Splatfest is in the books, and the Fancy party dazzled their way to victory.

Global: Fancy 358, Costume 342 (52-48, 51-49) At Flounder Heights, the sharp dressed squids and kids were the sharper shooters on the day following a narrow win in the popularity poll. Callie's worldwide... Read more...

If you haven't cashed in the Humble Bundle, you'll have to take the Wii U version.

Following the removal of VVVVVV from the 3DS eShop due to a security flaw, a second game with a backdoor has been discovered - and it was in the recent Friends of Nintendo Humble Bundle.

Citizens of Earth has been removed from the eShop temporarily due to a similar bug being found that prevents the title from being run but allows unsigned code to run in its place. The game being a part of the bundle led to the hack being dubbed "Humblehax".

Will there be a second Bravely appearance, or did everything (Nova) Bomb?

In a good month to be an exclusive, Nintendo software performed to expectations according to April's NPD report.

The big mover for the month was Star Fox Zero/Guard, with the dual pack finishing 10th in the combined system NPD chart and 5th on a single-system basis, though with only a bit over... Read more...

The hunt begins in July.

Monster Hunter Generations will invade on July 15, with a new round of hardware to go with it.

The collaboration will release on the same day in North America (published by Capcom) and Europe (Nintendo publishing), and a demo version of the game will be available beforehand as is standard practice.

As well as yet another update to the Wii U version.

The first round of DLC for Hyrule Warriors Legends has a release date, and the rest of the content appears to have its windows.

The Master Wind Waker pack, which includes My Fairy content and adventure maps, will release next Thursday (May 19). The pack is strictly for Legends, though both Legends and the Wii U Hyrule Warriors will also receive a free update that day to add Medli to the playable character roster.

It involves bacon. No, not that kind.

Nintendo recently changed the rewards on MyNintendo, and today they added a new option for getting coins on a regular basis.

Users who opt into receiving Nintendo marketing emails will receive a 30 Platinum coin reward for opting in, and 10 coins each month so long as the opt-out is not taken. For those who have it disabled, you can re-enable it by clicking on your Mii in the upper right corner and going into Account Settings.

Pray they don't charge a buck a reset in Fire Emblem.

Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing will have Miitomo's upfront cost on mobile when they launch later this year.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal (subscription or Googling "Nintendo To Make Next Two Mobile Games Free" required) DeNA CEO Isao Moriyasu stated “‘Fire Emblem’ and ‘Animal Crossing’ are both free-to-start apps" and a Nintendo spokesperson confirmed the same.

Welcome to die and die and die and....

Nintendo really knows how to provide a nice contrast with the big releases of the week. The major 3DS release is Disney Art Academy, a quiet little game devoted to drawing some of the finest profit producers in entertainment. If you’re feeling a touch more hardcore, there’s Super Meat Boy, the... Read more...