The next Smash Bros. is getting some help from outside Nintendo.

Namco Bandai Games and Namco Bandai Studio will be working as developers of the next entry in the Smash Bros. series.

Masahiro Sakurai will be heading the project and will be joined by Namco employees Masaya Kobayashi, acting as producer, and Yoshito Higuchi, acting as director.

At the conclusion of the Japanese Nintendo Direct presentation, Sakurai and Kobayashi delivered personal messages regarding the collaboration.

Another week, another batch of downloadable games head to Nintendo platforms.

A Virtual Console game, two DSiWare games, two eShop titles, and a WiiWare game make up this week's Nintendo Downloads.

On the 3DS eShop, we finally get Order Up!!. Order Up!! was initially supposed to be released as a retail game, but later became a downloadable. The game mixes cooking with restaurant building. It can be downloaded now for $9.99.

The Mutant Mudds developer's follow-up eShop game will be $4.99 and hit on June 28.

Bomb Monkey's North American release date is set for June 28 for a price of $4.99, according to developer Renegade Kid.

The second eShop title from the developers of Mutant Mudds, Bomb Monkey is a puzzle game that is played with the 3DS in book-style. It features a variety of modes. You can check out our impressions of the title from PAX East.

Very soon, there will be more Nintendo Direct goodness for the West.

Nintendo of Europe and Nintendo of America are hosting Nintendo Direct events starting June 21 at 9 p.m. PDT and June 22 at 12 a.m. EDT for the American version and June 22 at 5 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. CET and 2 p.m. AEST for the European version.

The European event will be hosted by Nintendo of Europe... Read more...

What could Nintendo have to announce so soon after E3?

Nintendo will be hosting a Nintendo Direct event noon tomorrow (11:00 PM Eastern, 8:00 PM Pacific, 5:00 AM Europe), for the Japanese market.

Hosted by Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, the announcement states that Nintendo will be talking about software and news for the 3DS and Wii. Both systems played a secondary role to Wii U during E3.

Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli also says he doesn't understand concerns that Wii U is weaker than current consoles.

A "respected developer" is working on an unnanounced Wii U game using CryEngine 3, according to Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli. 

"I've seen the game running and it looks really great," Yerli told Computer and Video Games in an interview, adding that the company's CryEngine 3 game engine "actually runs beautifully" on Nintendo's upcoming console.

A major step in allowing 18+ video game classification has been passed.

The Australian Senate has finally passed the R18+ rating bill for video games.

Jason Clare, Minister for Home Affairs was delighted and had the following to say on the matter, “These are important reforms over 10 years in the making. The R18+ category will inform consumers, parents and retailers... Read more...

Kirby's anniversary game compilation may not arrive in Australia.

The highly anticipated collection of classic Kirby games set to launch very soon in Japan may not be coming to Australia, despite a US release slated for September.

We contacted our buddies at Nintendo Australia for information regarding the nasty rumor that had been circulating the net, and sadly the official word is that there are currently no plans to bring the game down under.

Those of you wanting the popular reward may be out of luck.

Club Nintendo's 3DS/DS 18 Game Card Case might never come back in stock, as reported by Nintendo Consumer Support Advisor Marc Boese.

The news was obtained when GoNintendo reader Whatami asked when future shipments could be expected, which led to the following response:

"Thanks for contacting... Read more...

The era of retail games on the eShop begins... kind of.

Order Up, released in Europe as a retail release last December on 3DS and in 2009 on Wii, will take up more than 310 megabytes worth of space on the Nintendo 3DS SD card. The game, which releases this upcoming Thursday, June 21, weighs in at a whopping 2,485 blocks equalling just over 310 megabytes worth of storage.

Nintendo is bringing a Wii U demo tour to select Club Nintendo users in certain regions.

Shortly after E3 2012 came to a close, Nintendo sent out Wii U Experience invites to select Club Nintendo members in the New York area. The event, which offers playable Wii U demos, is taking place during the last week of June.

They also seem to be sending out invites to Club Nintendo members in other areas, including Miami Beach (mid-July).

The collection gets a slightly reduced price and simplified control scheme for all included games.

Kirby’s Dream Collection: Special Edition, known as Hoshi no Kirby 20 Shūnen Special Collection in Japan, will be priced at 3,800 yen (roughly $48) in Japan. Pricing on Wii software varies, but new Wii games in Japan typically retail for around 5,800 yen (almost $74).

Kirby’s Dream Collection... Read more...

The sequel to Renegade Kid's first eShop game will add boss battles.

Renegade Kid is planning to make a sequel to Mutant Mudds, their first eShop game, and release it in early 2013, according to Renegade Kid Co-Founder Jools Watsham.

The sequel will retain the 2D platforming of the original, which is set to finally hit Europe next week, but will add boss battles.

The new Mario 3DS game will be coming in August.

New Super Mario Bros 2 for the Nintendo 3DS will be launching in Australia and New Zealand on August 18, 2012.

New Super Mario Bros 2 will be the first title to be available to buy at retail stores or as a digital download from the eShop, giving consumers more options in how they want to purchase the game.

Nintendo, however, has no current plans to make any of their own.

The Wii U has been designed to support both free-to-play content and microtransactions, according to statements from Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata at an analyst  presentation at E3 last week."We have designed the system from a technical standpoint to allow developers to freely take advantage... Read more...

The industry veteran talks about the recent convention and a trend he deplores.

In an interview posted today by GamesIndustry International, game developer Warren Spector relayed some of his thoughts on the tone of the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo, as well as his studio Junction Point's upcoming sequel, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.

While he noted that he was preoccupied for much of the convention this year, Spector detailed several qualities of the show that stuck with him.

Wii U supports two GamePads, but when can we see it implemented into games?

First and third-party titles for the Wii U supporting two GamePads will not be available at the Wii U launch or in the launch window.

"Games need to be built that can take advantage of the two GamePad controllers," Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime explained. "It's going to be well... Read more...

Do you really need multi-touch for your Wii U? Reggie weighs in on the matter.

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime explained the company’s stance on using single-touch functionality as opposed to multi-touch functionality with the Wii U GamePad.

GamePad in hand, Fils-Aime said, “When we went through the building of this and, given some of the functionality, we thought that the single-touch was a more appropriate option, especially when you’ve got other buttons configurations.”

The series' Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis says Dead Space 3 on Nintendo's new system is not a thing right now.

Dead Space 3, which is set for a February 2013 release, is not coming to Wii U as of now, according to Visceral Games' Steve Papoutsis, who is the company's vice president and general manager as well as an executive producer for the Dead Space series.

Papoutsis was asked by a fan on Twitter about the game's possible Wii U release. He replied, simply, "not currently in the plan."

Expect more than classic Kirby games in the upcoming collection. 

Kirby’s Dream Collection: Special Edition is receiving additional content on top of the included six games in the collection. 

Not only will gamers be presented with an art booklet and a soundtrack, a new game mode will also be included. The game mode, called “Motto Challenge Stage” in... Read more...