Also, a new Speed Boot mode is coming early summer.

Games using the Wii U GamePad's Near-Field Communication (NFC) functionality will be demoed at E3 2014.

Also, an early summer system update will make use of a new Speed Boot Menu option that will allow GamePad users to start up the game quickly. See how it works in the short video at the bottom of this news story.

They overcame that "technical problem" that was preventing them from doing this.

DS games will be hitting the Wii U Virtual Console at some point, said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.

While no timeline was given, Iwata noted that they "solve(d) the technical problem" to create the DS Virtual Console on Wii U.

Brain Age was shown as one of the games for the service. There is still no word on Game Boy Advance games coming to the Wii U Virtual Console.

Spring 2014 has gotten shortened to May.

Mario Kart 8 is coming out in May 2014 across the world, according to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.

Previously listed as a spring 2014 release since its announcement at last E3, more information about Mario Kart 8 will be revealed in upcoming Nintendo Direct presentations.

Your guess is as good as ours.

Nintendo's business plan for the next decade will revolve around developing a "Quality of Life" based platform.

No details are available yet, but Nintendo President Satoru Iwata indicated that more details would be revealed in 2014, and the platform would be launched in April 2015. The new business area would impact Nintendo's profitability in the fiscal year ending 2016.

Board members to see pay cut as well.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced that he and other board members will receive a pay cut in their salary for the next five months. The decision came after Nintendo reported a 30 percent decrease in profits today.

Iwata will reduce his salary by half while other board members will receive... Read more...

Business strategy will be discussed Thursday.

Nintendo’s profit fell 30 percent in the nine months between April 1 and December 31, 2013 according to according to Nintendo’s Third Quarter Earnings Report released today.

Overall profit was reported at 10.2 billion yen ($99.7 million) which was down from the 14.55 billion yen ($142.6 million) from the previous year. Quarterly numbers were not reported.

Wii U continues to underperform.

The Nintendo 3DS exceeded expectations and became the best-selling platform in America this past year, according to Nintendo’s Third Quarter Earnings Report released today. This report reflected sales from April 1 to December 31, 2013.

Sales for the console was tied to successes of 3DS exclusive titles which saw high sales during the year. Outside of the United States, the 3DS saw limited growth, with global sales hitting 11.65 million.

Now could be a good time to sell your stock.

Nintendo will be buying back up to 10,000,000 shares of their own stock, the company announced today. The move was decided following a meeting of the Board of Directors and will be pursued in accordance with the Japanese Companies Act.

The number of shares to be acquired reflects 7.82% of stock in the open market and will be purchased using up to 125,000,000,000 yen ($1,209,250,000) from January 30 to March 31 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

'Monster Hunter 4 goes G' whatever that means.

At Monster Hunter Festa '13 Final Round, Capcom announced Monster Hunter 4G for 3DS, the expanded version of Monster Hunter 4, which sold more than 3 million copies in Japan since it was released in September 2013, and released a trailer. Monster Hunter 4G is scheduled to come out in fall 2014. Players of Monster Hunter 4 will be able to transfer most of their save data to the new game. 

The canned N64 sequel to EarthBound might have been closer to reality than what was previously thought.

The original Nintendo 64 version of Mother 3 was at least 80 percent complete before it was canceled. This information comes from an interview conducted by Shigesato Itoi with Shigeru Miyamoto in 1999 in which the famed Nintendo creator was giving a status update on the then in development title.... Read more...

The depths of the moon will be explored across a long-term episodic model.

Mutant Mudds developer Renegade Kid has announced Moon Chronicles, a first-person shooter for 3DS that will be released over several seasons, beginning with a remake of DS title Moon from 2009.

The first season of the game, which was outed earlier this month by a trademark listing, will be launched... Read more...

It's another slow week in Nintendo Downloads.

If you thought the last few weeks were slow, this week has them all beat. The releases for this week included both Life Force, for the 3DS VC, and Mighty Bomb Jack, on the Wii U VC. That's it.

3DS eShop Sales

Fractured Soul - $5.99, until February 6

Shin Megami Tensei IV - $29.99, from January 27 to February 3

Find out why Miyamoto was so against the use of the peace sign by the plump, lovable plumber. 

Shigeru Miyamoto pushed strongly for a peace sign “ban” in Mario titles. While it isn’t known exactly when he started to push this agenda, in an interview Shigesato Itoi conducted with Miyamoto in 1999, Miyamoto explained that the main reason he wanted to get rid of the peace sign was to help shake the “kiddie” image, and to make sure that people would not only know Mario for the gesture. 

Miyamoto clarified in an interview from 1999 what Mario being mature really meant.

The idea of a “mature,” or “grown up” Mario that was circulating various websites in 1999 was never really clarified in English speaking media, however, Shigeru Miyamoto made it clear what he meant in an interview with Earthbound creator Shigesato Itoi. For Miyamoto at the time, it came down to creating a Mario that could be enjoyed by nearly everyone and not just something that was marketed to children. 

Plus a super energized teaser trailer!

Conception II will be released on April 15 for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita, Atlus announced today. A teaser trailer was also released today showcasing footage of various characters and battle sequences.

Pre-orders of the game for either system will include special packaging and a soundtrack composed by Masato Kouda, with music from the teaser trailer included on the album.

I trust there'll be no objections?

The original trilogy of Phoenix Wright games is getting another re-release, this time in a special trilogy pack for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on April 17.

The lengthily-titled compilation, Gyakuten Saiban 123 Naruhodo Selection, collects the first three games in the series onto one 3DS cartridge... Read more...

Back from the grave and into the hands of gamers in Japan, and possibly you soon.

Pokémon Bank is available now on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in Japan. The title, which was originally released on December 25 in Nintendo’s home territory was later removed due to it being a cause of various network issues. A 30-day free trial will be available to those who download the software. Gamers in Japan will have until February 21 to start their trial. After the free trial period, the service will cost 500 yen per year. 

Cue region-locking hatred.

An announcement today from MarvelousAQL Europe revealed that Rune Factory 4’s European release has been canceled.

The game released originally in Japan back in July 2012 and in North America during October 2013 to favorable reviews. It was set for a Spring 2014 release in the EU, but despite MAQL’s best efforts to release it as planned, they stated this morning that “it is, unfortunately, not possible to do so at this time.”

It's on like... never mind.

Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze includes online leaderboards.

The ranking system includes the typical Nintendo rank sorting options. Global Top Rank allows you to to view top records from around the world, while Global Player Rank shows records surrounding your current rank. Friends Top Rank lists the rankings of those on your friend list.

The 8-bit shoveler continues to progress.

Shovel Knight has entered the alpha cycle of development, according to Yacht Club Games. The NES-style action adventure game is planned for both Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. While no release date has been set, Yacht Club indicated that it would be "Past Winter," adding further that this meant past March/April.