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
Early sales estimates of the Nintendo 3DS continue to trickle in. Depending on which analyst you want to believe, Nintendo sold anywhere from 500,000 to 750,000 units during the five days in March it was available here in North America. The only problem with these numbers is that Nintendo can now expect consumers to confused as to what system they should get, the 3DS or plain ol’ DS. Decisions, decisions. → Read More
Though Steve Jobs says the iPad offers the best way to surf the web, a recent survey from Google’s AdMob says more people are using tablets for gaming. → Read More
Back in February, we saw some great little Mega Man keychain things. At the time, I questioned their practical value, though being Mega Man related, they have great inherent value. That is still the case, and this new set of Rockman robots would be a great… something, for somebody. I can’t get any more specific than that. You have to buy the whole $36 set, and there are some mystery ones. [via GameSwag and Go Nintendo] → Read More
The Nintendo 3DS isn’t selling quite as quickly as Nintendo may have wanted. Media Create, which is sorta like a Japanese NPD, says that Nintendo has sold 836,000 units since its release in late February. The New Normal would have liked to see at least 1 million units sold, particularly since Nintendo shipped 1.5 million units out of worldwide total of 4 million to Japan. What gives? → Read More
This is very, very neat. It’s a portable N64 called the D64 that can actually be used to play multi-player games. Gadget of the year, right here. → Read More
Oh boy. The Sun has the story of a man who bought the Nintendo 3DS for his young son, but had to return the device because it made him ill. Nintendo has already recommended that the console not be played by children under the age of seven, and that everyone else should limit 3D-playing time to 30 minutes per session. Not good enough, claim some folks. What’s the point of getting a 3DS if you’re only to play it in 3D for 30 minutes at a clip? → Read More
With the hoopla over the Nintendo 3DS dying down and the hard reality of the thing clear, it’s time to take stock and assess if the 3DS is right for you and/or your family. First off, I’ll say I’m a fan. It’s a wildly fascinating device and the 3D effects are amazing – when done correctly. I believe the 3DS has legs and will maintain sales at a steady clip over the next few years and I also think Nintendo has set a new level of interactivity and creativity in the creation of this new handheld. This isn’t just an upgraded DS, it’s a new handheld console. Let’s go through a few reasons why the 3DS is worth picking up – and a few caveats before you buy. → Read More
European video game retailer, GAME, has been handing out memos asking their employees to engage in some questionable business practices. The instructions told employees to take money out of the register and buy Nintendo 3DS consoles from the nearest Tesco supermarket — which happens to sell the 3DS at a loss for $55 less. → Read More
Whenever some corporate entity releases their new piece of hardware into the wild, iSuppli outs their obligatory cost analysis. As novel as iSuppli’s research may seem, knowing the real costs of the gadgets we’re addicted to is more frustrating than newsworthy. And, thanks to iSuppli, we learn that the Nintendo 3DS enjoys almost 60% margins, similar to the DSi. → Read More
After a recent thorough teardown of the 3DS and its components, Chipworks was able to figure out how much RAM the 3DS has. X-raying the chip in question, the Fujitsu MB82M8080-07L, led to a special model code being discovered inside the die. → Read More
Nintendo has long defined the rules of childhood. In Nintendo’s world, logic and whimsy are intermixed and there is always a bigger boss and another castle. We learned from Nintendo that you can always turn your enemy’s weapons against them and that evolution is a fact. We learned that the best stories are played out in your head and even when you don’t have a lot of friends you at least always have Mario. Nintendo also defined video gameplay. Their NES console, while seemingly underpowered, sat under millions of Christmas trees and at millions of birthday party tables for almost a decade. Their audience grew up, new members joined, and the SNES, Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii pushed the envelope ever so slightly with each generation. The Game Boy grew up too, morphing into the GBA, the DS, and now something else entirely. The Nintendo 3DS isn’t hard to love. It’s a cute little handheld aimed at an interesting demographic. Because children under 7 shouldn’t use the 3D feature, it seems Nintendo has made this for tweens and, more important, early adopters in the 18-36 market. → Read More
It’s Nintendo 3DS weekend, and Walmart (of all companies~!) has a pretty decent deal going on. Select stores will accept old DS models for credit, credit that you can then apply toward the purchase of a 3DS. → Read More
You’ll be paying $250 when you pick up your Nintendo 3DS this weekend, but how much does it cost Nintendo to put the thing together? An estimate puts the total parts cost to Nintendo (not counting R&D, marketing, etc.) at just less than $100. These Apple-like levels of profit we’re talking about here. → Read More
This is some full-bore M.C. Escher stuff here, people. This cartridge contains a full NES and can play other NES cartridges. The cart uses a Famicom clone, sometimes called a Nintendo-On-A-Chip, and a few ports drilled into the plastic case. → Read More
One of the objections often raised against 3D, and with justice, is that people with certain common vision problems can’t see the 3D effect. It just has to do with 3D technology assuming a certain level of intact functionality in the visual system, and the fact is that a significant portion of the population, for one reason or the other, doesn’t meet that level. Our own Matt Burns can’t really see 3D. But he doesn’t let it get him down.
Then there are objections that it could affect the vision of children under 6. Fair enough — but then someone put 2 and 2 together, and thought “wait, couldn’t we use 3D to detect vision problems in the very young, and correct them before it’s too late?” Yes, it appears, we can. → Read More
In stark contrast to the Apple Store’s bottom-up model for mobilizing games and apps, Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime has said that his company isn’t really interested in that kind of model right now. In an interview with Gamasutra discussing indie game development, Fils-Aime said:
I would separate out the true independent developer vs. the hobbyist. We are absolutely reaching out to the independent developer. Where we’ve drawn the line is we are not looking to do business today with the garage developer. In our view, that’s not a business we want to pursue.
http://player.ooyala.com/player.swf?embedCode=l2YXNiMjpSUvVanaWmKuNpqZ1LTgy4AQ&version=2 As part of our continuing coverage of the Nintendo 3DS I recorded a quick video overview of the device prior to our full review. Here is our initial hands-on for some further context. → Read More
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