It may have confused some of you to see a select number of gamers fall into paralytic fits of glee over an ESRB rating for Earthbound on the Virtual Console, marking the quirky SNES RPG's first appearance in North America after almost 13 years.

Those uninitiated to the game might've wondered what the fuss was all about. "Balderdash," you exclaimed to nobody in particular. "What's the big deal about an ESRB rating? Who cares if it comes out on the Virtual Console?"

At face value, EarthBound's appearance on the Virtual Console might seem an insignificant feat. But for the fan community that has fought tooth and nail for the series in an unwelcoming territory, the rating is a nod from Nintendo that ...Read more

Long-time Nintendo programmer Colin Reed has left Nintendo for a position at Microsoft, Shacknews has learned.

During his 11 years at Nintendo, Reed served in many key programming roles, including technical lead on NST's Metroid Prime: Hunters (NDS) and main system programmer on Nintendo EAD's Pikmin (GCN).

Reed will be joining the team at Microsoft responsible for the racing-sim series Forza Motorsport, which is headed up by internal studio Turn 10. Prior to his departure, he was working with NST on an undisclosed project.

His resignation marks the latest high-profile departure from Nintendo. In late April, Metroid Prime series developer and wholly-owned Nintendo subsidiary Retro Studios lost three pivotal staff members.

Nintendo of America has released a new Channel for the Wii, enabling owners to download DS game demos and transmit them to the portable system.

Dubbed the Nintendo Channel, the free download also provides more detailed information on certain games and enables users to buy titles from select online retailers via the console's Internet Channel.

The Nintendo Channel is currently available for download from the online Wii Shop Channel.

Shacknews has learned that several key employees from Metroid Prime series developer Retro Studios are no longer with the company.

Design director Mark Pacini, art director Todd Keller, and principal technology engineer Jack Mathews were escorted off the premises last Friday. The simultaneous departure of senior staff members is generally indicative of an intention to branch off and form a new development studio.

Contrary to other rumors, Shacknews has also learned that Retro Studios is not in danger of closing.

Founded in 1998 and purchased by Nintendo in 2001, Retro was responsible for the Metroid Prime trilogy, which concluded with the company's first Wii title last August. The studio's current project is unknown, though it has stated its intent to move away from the Metroid franchise.

The New York Times reports that owners of Nintendo's Wii console purchase roughly 20% less games than PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 owners, owing to the system's expansive install base.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says that the average Wii owner buys only 3.7 games a year, compared with 4.7 for the Xbox 360 and 4.6 for the PlayStation 3.

"It reflects the broadening of the demographic," Pachter said. "Nintendo's market doesn't feel the same sense of urgency to buy every game that's coming out."

Additionally, the sales of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl dropped 90% month following its release, indicating that the base of hardcore gamers anticipating the title' had been depleted. Smash Bros. Brawl sold more than 1.4 million... Read more

The president of Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain has recanted comments that a new model of the Nintendo DS handheld would appear at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, MCV reports.

Speculation of a DS hardware revision ramped up last week when Enterbrain president Hirokazu Hamamura had reportedly claimed that a new DS model would be unveiled at this year's E3.

Enterbrain has since issued a statement offering that Hamamura never made such comments in the first place. The publisher blamed a misinterpretation of Hamamura's comments for sparking the rumor.

Recent comments from Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain, have ignited a wave of speculation that Nintendo may announce a new version of its wildly popular Nintendo DS handheld at this year's E3 Media Summit.

The offerings of Enterbrain include the gaming publication Famitsu, which is typically among the first to report on new games and details.

According to Bloomberg Japan, Hamamura noted his belief that Nintendo could unveil a new DS at E3 this year, which runs from July 15-17.

It was unclear if he was referring to a simple redesign or an actual new dual-screened platform. Given that the system regularly tops sales charts in North America and Japan, a revised version of the existing hardware would be the most logical assumption.

When asked for comment, a Nintendo representative apparently told Bloomberg that the company could make no comment at the time.

Nintendo of America today revealed the first details on Mario Super Sluggers (Wii), the latest sports title to star Mario and what Nintendo referred to as "his unpredictable pals."

Much like the Wii Sports baseball mini-game, Sluggers has players literally swinging and pitching with the Wii Remote. However, unlike Wii Sports, it will allow players to charge up power moves with button presses.

According to Nintendo, Mario Super Sluggers will arrive later this year, though no firm release date was provided.

A rebranding of the previously announced Super Mario Stadium Baseball, Sluggers is being developed by Mario Superstar Baseball (GCN) veteran Namco Bandai.

Nintendo's marketing strategy has seen dramatic changes since its North American invasion in the mid-1980s. From cutesy cartoons, to cliched nerds in glasses, to Wii-waggling models in tight jeans, nowhere are these paradigm shifts more evident than in the company's television commercials.

Join us on a look back through the years of system selling and Mario marketing, starting in 1983 with a Game & Watch classic and moving up to the present.

1989, Power Glove
Make all the "I love the Power Glove, it's so bad" jokes you want. It doesn't change the fact that you very much wanted one of these babies.

Here is a prime example of Nintendo's futuristic aesthetic, a look that would show up in several other spots--that is, until the public realized that the NES looked more like a toaster than something from Blade Runner.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Jump back to 1983 after the link. ... Read more

Nintendo's highly-anticipated mascot fighter Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) has sold over 1.4 million copies in the week and the day since its North American on March 9, the company announced today.

According to Nintendo of America, the title has become the fastest-selling video game in the company's history, moving at a brisk 120 units per minute. Of the over 1.4 million figure units sold, more than 874,000 copies were sold on the first day of availability.

"Super Smash Bros. Brawl has made the leap from video game to cultural phenomenon," said sales and marketing vice president Cammie Dunaway.

The next big Wii title from Nintendo is Mario Kart Wii, which will be available at North American retailers on Sunday, April 27.

Despite inquiries from Shacknews, the company has yet to concretely address criticisms that Brawl's online component is suffering from... Read more

Several reports have surfaced of companies planning microtransaction content downloads for Nintendo's WiiWare platform.

According to a comprehensive list compiled by Joystiq, studios planning premium downloadable content include Genki, which was revealed by Famitsu to be working on an expansion for its yet-unreleased WiiWare puzzler LONPOS. The add-on pack will run gamers 500 Wii Points ($5), half the price of LONPOS itself at 1000 Wii Points ($10).

Bandai Namco also revealed that it will sell additional stages for Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan Wii, another puzzle title for the WiiWare platform. Pricing for the content was not disclosed.

Madden creator Scott Orr told Develop that his upcoming WiiWare title Spogs Racing would feature "racer packs", which will include new car parts and... Read more

Nintendo today announced that Mario Kart Wii will launch in North America on Sunday, April 27, a few weeks after Europe's April 11 release.

The game ships with 16 new courses, 16 old ones and the ability to race online alongside 11 other players. Also included is the Wii Wheel controller shell, which holds the Wii Remote.

Japanese electronics manufacturers Sharp and Hitachi, makers of the LCD screens used in the Nintendo DS, are under investigation for price-fixing, the Times Online reported today.

The headquarters of both companies were raided by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission yesterday in an effort to gather potential evidence of an illegal price-fixing arrangement.

Sharp, the original supplier of Nintendo DS screens, was joined by Hitachi when demand for the DS skyrocketed a year after the handheld's release.

While both companies confirmed the probe, neither issued any further comment on the investigation. The Japanese government recently enacted a "whistle-blower law" which grants legal immunity to the first company within a price-fixing cartel to come clean.

During a morning session at the Game Developers Conference, Nintendo network administration manager Takashi Aoyama announced a new program that will see Wii users being charged for service while using Wi-Fi enabled games.

Aoyama referred to the program as "Pay and Play," and noted that games supporting it will be marked with a new red Wi-Fi logo to ensure players are not mistakenly charged. No details were provided on the program, though it was noted that Wii Points will serve as the method of payment.

The network guru also mentioned that a new data compression solution will soon take care of Wii storage concerns, shrinking software to a tiny size until needed.

Nintendo today confirmed earlier rumors by announcing a Cobalt/Black version of the DS Lite, which the comapny describes as "like a black T-shirt with a splash of color."

The dark blue color marks the seventh shade the system has received since its inception, and stands as the next logical step on the color wheel following Polar White, Coral Pink, Onyx, Crimson/Black, and the limited-edition Gold and Metallic Rose.

The newly painted systems will hit stores on February 10.

New sales data released by Nintendo illustrates the company's fiscal year third quarter performance, broken down in hardware and software sales by region.

Nintendo's Wii hardware made its strongest showing at retail in the Americas, but software sales were around 15% higher in Europe. Meanwhile, DS hardware sales were strongest in Europe for the third quarter, but software sales in the Americas were roughly 45% higher.

Additionally, in transcripts of Nintendo's third quarter report meeting translated by Develop, the company said that it believes that the underperformance of third-party software on the Wii is only temporary, citing the console's short time on the market for in-house development's advantage over third-party software.

"Our software sales percentage is currently high because our internal teams teams know the Wii's special characteristics best, and they started development quite a bit before the Wii's release," the company said. "However, we believe ... Read more

Nintendo has announced that sales for the first nine months of its current fiscal year topped $12.3 billion and that its profit exceeds $2.4 billion--nearly double those of the same period from last year.

The company attributed the jump to extremely strong sales of its Wii and Nintendo DS hardware and software. Over 24.5 million Nintendo DS units have been sold across the past nine months, with the Wii selling in excess of 14.29 million during the same time frame.

Based on these figures, the company now expects the fiscal year's sales to total $15.2 billion, with $2.5 billion of that being profit. In all, the company has sold... Read more

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is predicting that Nintendo will report sales of $5.28 billion in its Q3 report on January 24, and raise its fiscal year 2008 sales outlook above its current value of $14.5 billion, Gamasutra reports.

Global DS and Wii hardware sales during the third quarter, estimated around 12 million and 7 million respectively, were cited for the boost in projected yearly earnings. "Nintendo's recent financial performance has been spectacular and we continue to believe its FY:08 guidance is conservative," said Pachter.

Japanese commercial research company Enterbrain also reported that Nintendo sold 5,019,337 Wiis in Japan since its late 2006 launch. As of December 2007, the total North American install base for the Wii was over 7 million.

Meanwhile, Sony's PlayStation 3 has enjoyed a boost in sales worldwide... Read more

The Walt Disney World resort is currently testing the use of the Nintendo DS as a Wi-Fi-enabled interactive guide, map and informational tool for guests attending the park.

Initial details of the program were provided through members of WDWMagic via an instructional pamphlet, which is mirrored here.

WDWMagic poster SewIn2Disney recently participated in the testing phase and brought back several more details, including word that the software is distributed on large cartridges that surround the bottom of the DS with padding. SewIn2Disney also discussed the path-finding feature of the software, which helps people find the fastest route to a specified location.

This lastest non-traditional application of the DS comes as part of Nintendo's recently announced intention to expand the handheld's practical, non-gaming functionality. Previously, Nintendo had introduced tour guide service for the DS in certain Japanese museums as well as Seattle's Safeco Field, where fans equipped with a DS can use the portable system to watch replays, order food and drinks, and browse scores and trivia.

Nintendo was reached for comment, but has not responded as of this writing.

Riding a wave of strong software releases and still-fresh hardware offerings, the North American console video game market grew a massive 43 percent in 2007, according to new numbers released today by the NPD Group.

Overall industry sales totaled a record $17.94 billion--compared to 2006's take of $12.53 billion--with software making up $8.64 billion of the pie. The highest-selling games list, which doesn't factor PC software sales into the mix, was unsurprisingly lead by Bungie's Halo 3, followed up by Nintendo's remote-including Wii Play.

The top ten software titles follow, listed in order of units sold:

1. Halo 3 (Bungie, Microsoft Game Studios, X360) - 4.82 million
2. Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 4.12 million
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 3.04 million
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft, Activision, PS2) - 2.72 million
5. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo EAD Tokyo, Nintendo, Wii) - 2.52 million
6. Pokemon Diamond Version (Game Freak, Nintendo, NDS) - 2.48 million
7. Madden NFL 08 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts, PS2) - 1.90 million
8. Guitar Hero II (Harmonix, Activision, PS2) - 1.89 million
9. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft, X360) - 1.87 million
10. Mario Party 8 (Hudson Soft, Wii) - 1.82 million

Consoles hardware sales topped out at $5.12 billion, with Nintendo again leading the competition. The yearly numbers are as follows, with life-to-date totals... Read more