Did you doubt the Activision CEO when he said Skylanders was hitting Wii U?

Skylanders Giants on Wii U has been rated by the ESRB, proving that Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg's comment at E3 2012 that the series was hitting Wii U was right on the money.

The game was rated E10+ for Cartoon Violence. Below is the full description:

This is an action platformer in which players... Read more...

He believes the GamePad opens up 'fantastic' possibilities for Metroid.

Shigeru Miyamoto is interested in seeing Metroid and Star Fox come to the Wii U.

Mr. Miyamoto points out that the functionality of the Wii U GamePad offers the possibility of interesting new gameplay mechanics. Specifically, he mentioned that "having another screen with the gyro built in really gives you a lot of interesting opportunities for development, and we can bring a lot of our games to life in a completely unique way with that."

The European box art includes a Nintendo Network logo.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon will feature online connectivity through Nintendo Network, according to the box art Nintendo sent out to European retailers. It is unknown at this time what specifically that functionality will entail.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is the 3DS sequel to GameCube launch title Luigi's Mansion. It is being developed by Next Level games, and is set to release later this year.

Join us this Monday night!

Join the Nintendo World Report community this Monday, July 9, for multiplayer action in Kid Icarus: Uprising. We're starting at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 Pacific (1 a.m. UTC for anyone overseas). You can exchange friend codes in the Talkback below, or go stock up in the official NWR 3DS Friend Code thread, which is located in the Handheld Discussion section of our forums.

Platinum members can choose between playing cards, posters, a calendar, and a free game, while Gold members are limited to the calendar or a game.

UPDATE: The prizes are now live.

The prizes for the 2011-2012 North American Club Nintendo year were revealed early this morning and then promptly taken down. It's still very likely these are the prizes, but there could be tweaks when it finally does go live. We'll let you know when the prizes go live and you can make your choice.

All three consoles will be getting the title.

Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition is coming to WiiWare, PSN, and Xbox Live Arcade next week, as reported by developer Zombie Studios on Episode 32 of PlayStation Blogcast.

The game is an update of Frogger's traditional mechanics and features new game modes, like Tile Capture, Freak Out, Battle Royale, and four-player matches against people or the CPU.

Download Nintendo's feudal Japan Punch-Out-esque game for $2 less this weekend.

In case you didn't know, Sakura Samurai is available on the North American eShop for a $2 discount, bringing its normal $7 price down to $5. The sale began at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET today, and will run until 9 p.m. PT/12 a.m. ET on July 8/9.

This game is the third "Game of the Weekend" sale that Nintendo of America is doing for the 3DS eShop. The first two games were Super Mario Land and VVVVVV.

Could Nintendo's new Internet push suggest a change of heart?

New Super Mario Bros. 2 now has an eShop price of TBD.

On July 4, it was revealed that the eShop price of the title had a listed price on the eShop at $39.99, but that has since been removed. Whether it suggests a change in price or Nintendo accidentally revealing the information too early is unknown.

What does "727" mean to you?

Pokédex 3D Pro received a new promotional video on the Japanese Nintendo channel.

Notably, it has been revealed that every single form of every single Pokémon will be in the upcoming eShop title, bringing the total number of in-app Pokémon to 727.

In addition to this, the video also clarified... Read more...

Let's hope those full game downloads can be played across systems.

A unified eShop account system will be implemented by Wii U and 3DS, as reported by a Nintendo Customer Service Representative David Marshall.

"A unified account system will be implemented later this year with the launch of the Wii U. Eventually this same account system will be made compatible with... Read more...

...in Japan.

Hello Kitty & Me! Block Crash Z has been announced for 3DS release in Japan.

The game is part of the Hello Kitty & Me series, traditionally featuring human mascots dressed in Hello Kitty branded clothing. The Block Crash games have gameplay similar to Breakout and Arkanoid, and the 3DS version has 200 stages to play through.

Japanese people receive some good news on the standalone adapter.

The price for the standalone AC adapter for the Nintendo 3DS has received a price cut in Japan. The price was originally set at ¥1500, but the adapter will now be sold for ¥1000. The new price will be in effect starting July 12, 2012. 

This price drop comes not long before the Japanese launch of the Nintendo 3DS XL, where the adapter is not included with the system in that country.

Don't worry though. It's not as bad as you think.

Nintendo "cannot promise" that all online services will be free of charge no matter what, as reported by Nintendo President Satoru Iwata during the recent investors meeting.

"[Nintendo] cannot promise here that Nintendo will always provide you with online services free of charge no matter how deep... Read more...

At least we're not missing out on anything too important in America.

Cave Story 3D will have three bonus exclusive playable characters when it releases in Japan this month.

The three playable characters include the protagonist from Dragon Slayer, the protagonist from Crazy Climber, and one of the farmers from Ikki. Although their inclusion has been known for a while, this is the first time that screens have been released (available in the gallery below).

Two new colors are joining the 3DS family this September.

Two new Nintendo 3DS colors, cerulean blue and shimmer pink, will be launching in Taiwan and Hong Kong on September 28, 2012.

Even with the 3DS XL coming out later this year, Nintendo has not forgotten the original 3DS. The two new colors will see release first in Taiwan and Hong Kong, but it is currently not known if they will make it to other regions. 

You can expect tons more actual songs than what was found in the Mario collection soundtrack.

Hoshi no Kirby 20 Shūnen Special Collection (Kirby’s Dream Collection: Special Edition) for Wii will include a 45-track CD on the included Memorial Soundtrack packaged with the game in Japan. The tracks are all taken from 16 separate Kirby games as well as three additional tracks recorded specifically for the 20th anniversary soundtrack. Tracks are from the following Kirby titles:

Enjoy the game with someone else on separate systems.

Ice Climber on the 3DS Virtual Console now has download play multiplayer in Japan via an update for 3DS Ambassadors.

As of right now, no other Virtual Console game on 3DS has the ability to do this. It is not currently known if or when other games will get similar treatment, though multiplayer capability for the NES games was promised in future updates when the Ambassador program was announced.

UPDATE: The update is now available in North America.

UPDATE: The update is now available in North America from the Nintendo eShop.

European and Japanese 3DS owners can now update their Swapnote application to feature six different colors of ink.

Using the QR code found in this article, your 3DS will take you directly to the eShop to update the application. The update gives you access to multiple colors, but still only allows you to use one kind of color per note.

Pre-orders at GAME and Gamestation stores will come with a nifty gold case.

A collectible gold coin case will be included in pre-orders of New Super Mario Bros. 2 at GAME and Gamestation stores.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 places an emphasis on coin collecting, and gamers will now be able to take the beloved gold coins they collect out of the game. The case itself is large enough to hold the game card, making it a useful way to transport the game in style.

Nintendo vows to not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Iwata commented recently on the lack of momentum for Wii, citing poor third-party support and no social networking functionality.

During the 72nd annual shareholders meeting at Nintendo HQ in Tokyo, Iwata was grilled on the poor showing of multiplatform titles for Wii, and asked how he intended... Read more...