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...

Nintendo is working on new features for the Mii Plaza, as well upcoming titles that will make use of the Miis.

New features will be making way to the Mii Plaza on the 3DS by end of this year, Iwata announced at a recent investors briefing. Iwata was asked about updates for the application, and he responded by saying that he has heard complaints regarding the lack of replay value and that Nintendo plans to update the Mii Plaza with new features later this year.

Australians will also have a cool limited edition bonus.

Nintendo Australia announced today that Xenoblade Chronicles will be released for the Wii on September 1, 2011, for both Australia and New Zealand.

The first production run of the game will also include a special soundtrack CD, containing 12 tracks from the game.

The game will be priced at AU $99.95 and NZ $133.22.

Iwata speaks about Nintendo's future plans for the eShop.

During a recent Q&A, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that Nintendo is currently preparing a paid item transaction system (DLC), for both the 3DS and the Wii U. He also added that Nintendo will likely not be using this themselves, because they believe doing so would not be good for building a strong relationship with their customers.

Nintendo global president gives reasons for why the price has dropped so close to launch.

The drastic markdown of the Nintendo 3DS retail price was done at this time due to a need to increase market penetration before anticipated holiday season games are released, to boost sales to predicted levels so that it can be a sound successor to the Nintendo DS, and to reassure retailers and software publishers that the expansion of the platform will not be an issue.

An action packed week with 3D golf, mikoshi racing and some classic baseball.

The European download services have expanded their libary with six brand new titles, and as per usual most of them are for the eShop and DSiWare.

Gameloft's Let's Golf 3D marks the first real Nintendo 3DS Download Software title for the western audience. For the price of €6.00/£5.40, the package... Read more...

Poor 3DS sales means pay cuts across the board. 

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata will be taking a 50 percent pay reduction in response to poor Nintendo 3DS sales. The news was revealed at a conference in Tokyo, where Iwata stated to investors that he would be taking responsibility for the low sales figures.

Iwata was making approximately ¥137... Read more...

A DSiWare/eShop-heavy week featuring 3D golfing, ropes that burn and brothers who brawl.

Six new games have been added to Nintendo's download services, with DSiWare and eShop receiving the most titles.

The lone eShop-exclusive title is Gameloft's Let's Golf 3D. Players will be able to fully customize their golfers and take them through exotic locations. The game is available for download for $6.99.

The just-announced Virtual Console titles on 3DS will have additional features in their final releases.

NES games released on the Virtual Console for Nintendo 3DS will eventually be improved over the initial versions.

The pre-release versions available through the Ambassadors Program, as announced earlier, will have some missing features compared to the final releases. The earlier versions will... Read more...

Nintendo drops 3DS price around the world and announces release dates for Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7.

The Nintendo 3DS retail price will decrease in several regions.

In Japan, the price will drop by 10,000 yen. This brings the price of the handheld from 25,000 yen to 15,000 yen effective August 11.

In North America, the 3DS will be priced at $169.99, effective on August 12, 2011.

The European retail price is set by the individual retailers, but the trade price has been dropped by around a third.