Best Buy will open up their in-store wireless networks to allow kids (and kids at heart) to download games in their stores. They will also, obviously, sell the 3DS and will provide a “firsthand look at the platform with experts” in store.
While it’s certainly magnanimous of Best Buy to open their Wi-Fi to the masses, I wonder how much of this will end up being an upsell? “Pair your 3DS with Wi-Fi for $15,” anyone? → Read More
Oh no! Nintendooo! It’s a good thing you’re announcing a new console next month, or else we’d all be worried. Only 172,000 units sold in April? That is a crying shame. I sold more units of my autobiography, Bearmaster: The First 28 Years. Maybe that price drop will help, but it’ll take more than a $50 discount to take you safely through 2011. [via Eurogamer] → Read More
Can a $35 piece of plastic offer a compelling and immersive 3D experience? Well, yes and no. The Hasbro My3D is a fun idea – it’s basically a stereoscopic viewer that splits images on the iPhone or iPod Touch into two discrete sides. It really works and is quite cool when you initially try it.
When you look through the lenses you see a half-resolution 3D image that reacts to the motion of the iPhone in three dimensions, allowing you to move around and rotate in the 3D world. Little cut-outs on the bottom let you tap onscreen buttons and there are multiple games including 360 Sharks, a swimming simulator, and Bubble Bolt, a Monkey Ball clone. Games are free but will eventually cost $5. → Read More
What would you do if you were Nintendo, sat on a 5-year old console and were about to announce its successor? You would probably lower the price to boost sales, and that’s exactly what Nintendo in the US today did with the Wii. → Read More
The Wii successor/Project Café rumors have died down since Nintendo’s official announcement a week ago, but there’s still a little info leaking out (allegedly) here and here. Today has brought a few more nuggets to the web, so let’s take a look. → Read More
There’s no way to tell for sure that this is a tattoo of the regular and not the sharpie variety, but it’s a crazy idea either way. As we’ve seen, you can scribble your own AR card with magic markers, so this guy thought (naturally) “maybe I’ll just get it tattooed on my arm!” And he did. Or didn’t. Either way, it works, and it’s Nintendo fanboyism of the highest degree. Except he can’t play using it, because you kind of need your hands for that. [via Kotaku and Tiny Cartridge] → Read More
Now this is a great idea: Nintendo has rented a few spots in the Jet Blue Terminal at JFK (I can’t confirm they’ve done this elsewhere but I’ll ask). They have folks on hand to show off the device and there are plenty of chairs and 3DS devices for kids and, presumably, the adults in charge of their care, to use. → Read More
The 3DS isn’t selling well and it’s your fault – at least that’s what Nintendo is suggesting. According to Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, most people don’t know what the heck to do with the thing. Jeez! CVG points to this quote:
The value of 3D images without the need for special glasses is hard to be understood through the existing media. However, we have found that people cannot feel it just by trying out a device, rather, some might even misestimate it when experiencing the images in an improper fashion.
Nintendo posted a new financial report today, and in a nutshell, things aren’t looking too good. The company’s net profit dropped a whopping 66% to $944 million in the fiscal year that ended March 31, compared with $2.78 billion in the same period a year earlier. Revenue in the same time frame fell 29.3% to $12.2 billion. → Read More
Shigeru Miyamoto, who has apparently eluded his handlers, is dropping information left and right about Nintendo’s new console and other enticing issues. After pretty much confirming “Café” yesterday and talking about Super Mario 3DS, he has now mentioned that the lack of big games from Nintendo lately is due to their focus on finalizing the 3DS and developing the new console.
Oh, and he wants to remake A Link To The Past. What you say → Read More
Nintendo’s Miyamoto let the cat out of the bag today at a London event, confirming both Café, the new console rumored to be announced at E3, and a Tanooki suit in Super Mario 3DS. I don’t know which is the bigger news. → Read More
The rumors continue. After a big blast last week and some specs shortly after, Kotaku is reporting that the rumors of an enormous new controller with a 6.2″ touchscreen are real. I’m trying to make allowances for Nintendo weirdness, but I just have to get a few reservations off my chest. → Read More
You would think that Nintendo would have foreseen all the design issues of the 3DS, well, years ago. The company has been working with clamshell handhelds for over 30 years. However some 3DS owners are reporting that their top screens are getting scratched and some d-pads are cracking. → Read More
Here’s something to save up your coins for, at least if you’re in Japan. Nintendo’s “Club Nintendo” rewards program lets you trade product registration and stuff for little rewards, like a Game & Watch replica or a case for your DS. And one new item in the Japanese Club Nintendo is this giant AR card, that creates virtual Miis as big as you — if you were inside your 3DS, that is. Or you could just make one with magic markers. Either way. [via Akihabara News] → Read More
A few rumors hit the net last night regarding the next Nintendo console. Only a few minutes after I posted them, I had to update with a few more that had hit in the twenty minutes it had taken me to write it up. And now there are even more! Either a disgruntled employee is seeding these rumors, or it’s deliberate leakage from the big N. → Read More
The 3DS hit the ground running last month after nearly a year of hype and media coverage. Early estimates pegged the first week sales numbers around 500k-750k. Yeah, those were a bit high. Nintendo itself just revealed through an interview with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime that the numbers were more like 400k. March as a whole was good for the DS family with the entire line accounting for nearly 860,000 units sold with the previous generation units racking up 460k during the entire month. → Read More
We heard in March that a new Nintendo console was slated for an E3 release. We also heard more recently that the Wii is getting a price cut in May. The rumor mill is grinding, grinding, and an anonymous source claiming Nintendo is already showing the console to developers is adding grist today. → Read More
Good thing you kept all your old SNES cartridges, right? Hyperkin, the accessories manufacturer, has developed the SupaBoy, a portable SNES. Fingers crossed, it should be available this summer. → Read More
Looks like a Wii price cut is incoming. Reports late last night surfaced about a May 15 move to $150 (down from $200), and today internal documentation~! from K-Mart also shows the console moving down to $150. → Read More
