And some new functionality for the Virtual Console titles

The trademarks yesterday were legitimate: Pokémon Sun and Moon will hit the 3DS this year.

The newest Pokémon titles were announced for a holiday 2016 release worldwide, and have added simplified and traditional Chinese to the existing language options for the game.

Pokémon Sun and Moon will also support the receipt of Pokémon caught in the Virtual Console releases of Red, Blue and Yellow versions through Pokémon Bank.

If true, look for "Pokémon Stars" in 2019 or so

A recently launched website named "NerdLeaks" has unearthed what appear to be European trademark filings for future Pokémon games ahead of tomorrow's Pokémon Direct.

The filings appear to show a Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, with the status of the trademark given as "Application under examination" and a filing date of 25 February 2016. A logo is given in both applications.

Eat, sleep, conquer the streak.

There’s a pretty heavy week on the eShop as far as Wii U releases. Several eShop titles including 6180 the moon, Inside My Radio (not an app, surprisingly) and REPLAY: VHS is not dead represent the eShop love, while Metabots AX: Metabee and Rokusho cover the Virtual Console releases for Wii U.

But... Read more...

Both versions doubled up Awakening's opening weekend.

After a single weekend of sales, a shocking number of people have chosen their fate.

Nintendo issued a press release this morning announcing that Fire Emblem Fates has sold more then 300,000 copies in its opening weekend, more than five times the previous record holder Fire Emblem Awakening. The Birthright version was the better selling of the two titles, though Conquest was noted to be "close behind".

Just in time for a prominent anniversary

The next Direct video will be airing Friday and dedicated to a 20th anniversary.

Nintendo has announced a Pokémon Direct will air Friday, February 26 at 7 a.m. Pacific, 10 a.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. GMT and midnight JST on the 27th. It will last for five minutes.

The PR announcement confirms we will "find out the latest about Pokémon games". Previous Pokémon Directs were in 2013, and announced Pokémon XY and Pokémon Bank.

Capcom cops to an inadvertent doubled price on the Blue Bomber's early hits.

UPDATE 8:28pm Eastern The eShop update appears to have gone through as of roughly 8pm Eastern. The price is confirmed at $14.99 US and $18.99 Canadian. Original story follows.

Capcom has advised users not to download the Mega Man Legacy Collection on 3DS as the eShop version is showing a price error.

And no, Jibanyan is not one of the rumor cats.

Europe may be getting a repreive from the RPG swarm, but it will be a brief respite.

The Level 5 production will launch in Europe on 29 April, about six months after the Australian/North American launches. The localization will be kept largely the same, such as the main town being known as Springdale.

The Splatoon crowd is down with Ekans, apparently

Results from the weekend's first worldwide Splatfest:

North America - Blue 399, Red 301 (45-55, 59-41)

Europe and Australia - Blue 378, Red 322 (36-64, 57-43)

Japan - Green 423, Red 277 (39-61, 64-36)

At Ancho-V Games, Pokémon Red won the popularity poll in all three regions; however,... Read more...

All the toy destroying action, none of the microtransactions.

Pokémon's 20th anniversary celebration will carry into April in North America.

A retail version of April 2015 free-to-start release Pokémon Rumble World will release in North America on April 29 for $29.99 US. This rollup release has been out in Japan since December and Europe/Australia for a few weeks.

Remember; The soft reset command on a 3DS is L+R+Start

Let’s face it: There’s one major game in the lineup this week for North America, though there’s two versions of it. Fire Emblem Fates, the long-awaited 3DS RPG in a year full of them, brings along its season pass and the first (free) pack for the ride. Though hopefully, you’re paying $80/$100 for all three versions physically, that’s beyond the scope of this column. In case you forgot why this is big, go read Kim's review again.

UPDATED: You can now get your Miitomo going

Nintendo Account registration is now open.

The new service went live just before 10pm Eastern time, and load time may be slight due to the early rush, but you can create the account at accounts.nintendo.com.

At present, the account functions are limited to establishing a nickname and linking... Read more...

Magneton, how do they work?

The most recent edition of CoroCoro Magazine has confirmed some additional details, including some fan favorite Pokémon appearing as assists.

The new assist pairs include the Colosseum pair of Espeon and Umbreon, the grounded duo of Cubone and Diglett, and the bombers Magneton and Quagsire. Their battle effects include healing and lowering the enemy's Resonance (special) gauge, a air-and-land attack combo and a combination attack.

Time to do a barrel roll because First4Figures has launched their Star Fox line.

A new limited edition Star Fox Arwing statue is now available for pre-order from First4Figures. The Arwing is modeled off the version seen in Star Fox 64 and comes in two different versions.

The first version is the Exclusive variant that can only be obtained from the manufacturer's website. What... Read more...

GameStop can't tell you when they'll ship that Star Fox.

A promotional item intended to celebrate the release of Star Fox Zero appears to have been delayed.

According to our own John Rairdin, the statue was originally slated for release last Tuesday (February 9), then was pushed to Friday the 12th before the release date was removed completely. The statue is still available for preorder, but with no delivery date.

CoroCoro Magazine has the scoop UPDATE: We now have its English name.

This month's CoroCoro magazine appears to feature a brand new Pokémon, the first of the seventh generation.

A trailer showing the magazine cover in Japan, obtained by Serebii, shows a silhouette of a new Pokémon named "Magiana".

In the past, the first Pokémon of a new generation was revealed more than a year before the games released, with Bonsly being playable in Pokémon XD more than a year before Diamond and Pearl came out.

Only a Canadian price is known so far

The Nintendo Selects line is expanding again for North America.

Canadian video game retailer VideoGamesPlus posted a Tweet announcing the new games, which cover some rarities for Wii U, Wii and 3DS. The Canadian MSRP will be $29.99, and the new pricing/packaging will debut on March 11.

The affected games:

We need 20,000 CCs of GamePad, stat!

Japanese retail is seeing something perhaps unprecedented: A shortage of Wii U systems.

According to Japanese retail sources, the system's holiday success caused Nintendo to dip into system supply that was earmarked for early 2016, including the highly sought after Splatoon bundle selling out before... Read more...

Gotta catch - and splat - 'em all!

The 20th anniversary celebration for Pokémon will include a new event course for Super Mario Maker and the first worldwide Splatfest for Splatoon.

The new Super Mario Maker course called "I Choose You!" has players pick one of three starter Pokémon and take the journey from Professor Oak's lab... Read more...

A streak hits the big 5-0.

You might have heard that there’s a game for North America this week that supports every amiibo, amiibo card and even the Mega Yarn Yoshi. Let me save you a click: It’s Word Puzzles, the POWGI-developed word game that has you using amiibo to create puzzles. (Pokken Tournament will have all-amiibo... Read more...

The previously unreleased GBA game that's all about the helicopters.

UPDATE: Kuru Kuru Kururin is now live on the eShop, however the price was corrected to $6.99, a standard GBA price. Original story follows.

The Nintendo game list has added a new game to the list for tomorrow: Kuru Kuru Kururin.

Previously unreleased in North America, the game will launch tomorrow... Read more...