Nintendo Direct

A perfect boost

Nintendo has pulled another Nintendo Direct rabbit out of the hat with its Mario Kart 8 videos, which were released straight onto YouTube. There were subtle regional differences, including the range of titles available in the undoubtedly attractive free Wii U game Club Nintendo promotion, while the North American broadcast had a...

Choice of 10 in Europe, 4 in North America

After what were undoubtedly constant requests from fans — referenced directly by Satoru Iwata — Nintendo has unleashed new Mario Kart 8 Nintendo Direct broadcasts to reveal more about the upcoming Wii U blockbuster. Though regional variations were generally minor, there were subtle differences such as a...

Watch the entire presentation here

Nintendo sure likes to keep us on our toes — it has just published a special, unannounced Nintendo Direct broadcast devoted to Mario Kart 8, which launches worldwide next month. The video — which is available in two different flavours, North American and UK — runs for over 30 minutes and contains details on...

Tomodachi Life and Super Smash Bros. delivered buzz

Nintendo sure knows how to play with our expectations. After a month had passed from its February Direct broadcast we were left guessing on when the next would come along, and logical predictions passed without any results. We waited and wondered what was happening while Nintendo maintained its...

It looks bonkers and amazing

We've known for a little while that 3DS title Tomodachi Life was being localised, but Nintendo of Europe and Nintendo of America have now released special mini Nintendo Direct broadcasts to not only provide full confirmation, but also to show off the wacky world of this Mii life-sim. To get the important detail out of...

Details galore

The latest Nintendo Direct, admittedly, would have done nothing for those not enamoured with Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series. We suspect, however, that many with a love for Nintendo have at least a passing fondness for the series, albeit we're not all pros that specialise in unpicking the intricacies of move sets and physics...

Enjoyable online multiplayer for everyone

News out of today’s Super Smash Bros. Direct has revealed Nintendo will be implementing a strict code of conduct into the online portion of the upcoming Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS, "just like in Miiverse, to keep things pleasant,” according to series director Masahiro Sakurai. Anonymous matches...

Prepare yourself for a smashing time over the net

The online modes for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U were finally revealed to the world in Nintendo's recent Super Smash Bros. Direct presentation, and it seems that both inexperienced and competitive players have something to be happy about. The online portion of the game, which has been...

Sheik and Zero Suit Samus now individual characters with full move sets!

Nearly lost in the shuffle of all of today's huge Super Smash Bros. announcements during the Nintendo Direct, three returning characters were announced: Yoshi, Sheik, and Zero Suit Samus. Since characters don't change forms any

Picking up a few things before the fight

A rush for customization items and power-ups will be the highlight of a new multiplayer mode exclusive to Super Smash Bros. 3DS, series creator Masahiro Sakurai revealed in the Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct. "Smash Run" will give up to four players 5 minutes to simultaneously scramble through a mish-mash...

Greninja and Charizard Join the Expanding Roster

Today's Nintendo Direct devoted exclusively to the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS revealed a ton of information relating to game modes, online play, and characters. One of the most exciting new additions, for me at least, was the tremendous amount of Pokémon-related content confirmed to...

Smooth like buttah

During today's illuminating Nintendo Direct, Masahiro Sakurai revealed that Super Smash Bros. for 3DS will run at a super-smooth 60 frames per second. Amazingly, this technical feat will be possible even if users are playing in 3D mode — a problem in other games, perhaps most notably the battle sections of Pokémon X and Y,...

Portable version hits retail first

It has been confirmed during today's Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct that the two versions of the game will be released at different times during this year. The 3DS instalment is coming this Summer, while the Wii U edition will be hitting retail in the Winter. It was also confirmed that both versions will...

Super, Smashing, Great.

The moment you've all been waiting for, as Nintendo is set to reveal further details about both Super Smash Bros. games coming to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in this very special Nintendo Direct. Join us for this broadcast with live stream, live blogging and live chat. #NintendoDirect #SmashBros

Here we go...

In recent weeks we've been wondering when the next Nintendo Direct would hit, with predictions and theories of the next broadcast denied by silence from the big N. That silence has been lifted today, and those excited by Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS should most definitely pay attention — a Super Smash Bros. Direct is coming...

Lots of games, few major surprises

The first Nintendo Direct of 2014 is down and, at this stage, it's tricky to digest and 'grade'. On the surface it was actually packed with announcements — some unique between North America and Europe — with a number of new titles shown, while footage was revealed for major titles such as Mario Kart 8,...

Football Manager 3DS, sort of...

During yesterday's Nintendo Direct broadcast, Nintendo of Europe President Satoru Shibata confirmed that Nintendo Pocket Football Club will arrive on 17th April. It's a title that was shown last year, and brings a rather light-hearted approach to the football management sim genre; don't expect head-scratching...

Burning brighter with every glimpse we get

Ubisoft's artistic action-RPG Child of Light has been drawing plenty of attention since its announcement last year, and yesterday's Nintendo Direct has treated us to yet another gorgeous trailer. There's plenty of gameplay brought to light as the young Princess Aurora battles, explores, and puzzles her way...

Level-5 offers the whole series at a discount

In early January a rating suggested that the fourth and final Guild01 download title was on the way to the West, and now Weapon Shop de Omasse has been confirmed for the 3DS eShop in Europe and North America; it arrives on 20th February and will cost $7.99 in North America, with no price yet given for...

Oh my...

While JRPG fans that adored Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii may have been hoping for a release date for Monolith Soft's latest in Nintendo's most recent Direct broadcast, we had to settle for some real-time in-game footage of the combat system. It was exciting to see, as it was the first time that a sustained period of gameplay had been shown...

Europe to receive limited edition Yoshi 3DS XL

Among the wealth of exciting news revealed in Nintendo's Direct presentations today was new information on Yoshi's New Island for 3DS. Due to release on 14th March in both Europe and North America, the next instalment in the series will feature a number of new gameplay features, and bears an art...

Also available in Europe, but strangely not the UK

Level 5's popular soccer-based RPG Inazuma Eleven has finally made its way to North American shores. Kick-off took place immediately after the end of the North American Nintendo Direct presentation, with the game now being available to download for $19.99. The game is also available in Europe...

The gang's all here!

In today's much anticipated Nintendo Direct, CEO Satoru Iwata announced that Mario Kart 8 will officially be launching on 30th May in both NA and EU; this follows the late January confirmation that it was to be a May release. Iwata-san also announced that a few new "unexpected" characters will be added to the game's roster. For...

Run silent, run deep

Anyone remember Steel Diver on 3DS? It was an idea Nintendo originally pitched as a demo for the dual-screen capabilities of the original DS, but only really saw the light of day as a full release on its 3D successor. Ironically enough, it went under a lot of people's radars at the time, but Nintendo announced at E3 last year...