Tag: Nintendo

Konami Celebrates 20 Years Of Contra With Anniversary Bundle

Every so often the phrase “only 90s kid will remember..” pops up. Whatever said after can be either ridiculous or hilarious. However, nothing will hold a meaning more true to the phrase than Contra. Konami, the developer behind Contra, has bundled the original game alongside different variants from different country releases and its sequels on the game’s 20th Anniversary.

The game that was released in 1987 to critical acclaim worldwide. Starting as a run and gun shooter game in the arcades, Contra’s port to the PC and the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) cemented its near legendary status. 20 years passed and it is still remembered as a ‘classic’ that 90s kid adored when they were younger, playing with siblings or friends for hours on end.

The basic premise of the game had the player battling enemies, both humans and aliens, as military personnel. The setting and timeline depended on the country where the game is released, but more often than not it was a futuristic shooter. The official Japanese release set the game in 2633 A.D.

The game’s popularity had seen it ported to various systems, namely PC, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and MSX2, from the Arcade original. Konami’s Contra Bundle is to feature the Hard Corps and Operation C variant while also including the European adaptation Probotector and Super Probotector alongside the Original 4 titles (Contra, Super Contra, Super C and Contra 3)

Also Read: Galaxy Note 10 Rear And Front Camera Setup Revealed In Leaks

Konami has also announced that the free updates will bring the Japanese versions of Contra and Super Contra to the collection as well. No drastic changes to the gameplay will be made but tweaks for a better overall experience on the PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One. The bundle is set to be released this summer along with bundles of Castlevania and other timeless arcade games carrying a price tag of $20 (approx. Rs.1,400)

May 29, 2019
Pokémon Go: Nintendo’s First Augmented Reality Game for Android and iPhone

’90s kids rejoice. If you thought you had grown out of the Pokémon craze then think again. Nintendo has announced Pokémon GO, an augmented reality app for Android and iOS users that allows users to become Pokémon trainers in the real world where they can hunt for and battle Pokémon.

The app will use real-time location information that will encourage players to explore their neighbourhood, communities, find friends and rivals to play, trade, duel, and discover Pokémons together.

Let’s be honest, as kids we’ve always wanted a Pokémon game that was more than what the Game Boy offered (though they were pretty cool as well). Now, as slightly older kids we can finally live the dream.

We’ll just leave this video here for you.

Nintendo will also bring out the Pokémon Go Plus. This is a wearable Nintendo-built Bluetooth device for the wrist so that you can play the game without having to open the app on your phone. Basically this device will beep and buzz when a virtual Pokémon is detected near your area. So if a virtual Pikachu is hanging around in your backyard, the device will buzz and flash notifying you that a Pokémon is nearby and ready to be captured. All you need now is an Ash Ketchum cap and you’re ready to ‘Go’.

Nintendo has teamed up with Google Spin-off company Niantic and The Pokémon Company to develop this AR game. Nintendo has released 3D augmented realtiy games on the Nintendo 3DS. This, however, will be the first time Nintendo enters the smartphone gaming area.

The game is expected to come out next year. It is still too early to know whether Pokémon fans are ready to walk out on to the street and wave their hands and phones in the air, trying to catch Pokémon. But for now, the video sure blows us away and the excitement is real.

September 11, 2015
10 Amazing Facts About How Mario Was Born

We all grew up playing it. We grew up, obsessing about ‘The’ ultimate game. But do we really know anything else about Mario other than the fact that he’s a brick breaking, flower shooting, turtle hunting, plumber?

1. Nintendo president, Hiroshi Yamauchi was desperate to try and break into the arcade games division in North America but they turned out to be a complete disaster to the American consumers with the game, Radarscope.

2. In 1979, Nintendo hired Shigeru Miyamoto who was then simply an in-house artist, to create a game that would salvage the situation. And indeed, it did. Donkey Kong was born.

Artist, Shigeru Miyamoto

3. Before Mario became Mario, Donkey Kong was loosely conceptualised on Popeye. However, since Nintendo lost the exclusive rights to the cartoon series, Miyamoto was left with his own imagination.

4. Donkey Kong was about a carpenter who had to save his girlfriend from his pet gorilla. This little carpenter helped Nintendo hammer its way into the American arcade game scene. Donkey Kong sold over 65,000 units, totally.

5. That carpenter then, was called ‘Jumpman.’ However, everyone knew that Jumpman didn’t identify with the American audience and Nintendo had to come up with something approachable.

6. Many wouldn’t know that Mario is named after, Mario Segali. Who was he? He was the Nintendo warehouses landlord that barged into their office asking for his rent. Hence, Arakawa named him Mario and the rest was history, as they say.

7. Mario debuted in his own game in 1981 with ‘Mario Bros.’ It was about him and his brother, Luigi, who were now plumbers, trying to complete various tasks in order to save the day.

8. Mario Bros has sold 200 million units till today but this still wasn’t the winner for Nintendo till Super Mario came out in 1983 (that sold 500,000 famicoms within 2 weeks) Never thought a couple of plumbers could do that, did you?

9. Design wise, it’s interesting to note that an artist instead of a programmer, created this iconic game. But this is exactly what Nintendo needed in order to break into other markets. He was fresh with his ideas and lent a story-like element to the game.

“I didn’t know how to make a really cool character..so I made Mario.” – Shigeru Miyamoto

10. When Mario was first created, he had a bright red cap because it was tough to animate hair and make it move and he had a thick moustache so that the makers didn’t have to draw a mouth. He wore bright overalls so that he was easily visible too.

Miyamoto is a world famous name today, with other iconic games like legend of Zelda series, Star Fox, Wii Sports/ Play/ Fit. And Mario then went on to evolve into a three dimensional character with numerous versions of the basic game, like Mario Kart, Mario Space, Mario Golf, coming out. However, no one could replace the originality and simplicity of the first game and the characters it involved.

Today, either the sheer simplicity of Mario the plumber would get lost or we would finally get to witness Mario’s world through an Oculus Rift. While some might call it outdated, others would do anything to bring a part of their childhood memories back. Which one would you be?

August 2, 2015
Nintendo Looks to Release Five Smartphone Games by 2017

Nintendo, as we all know, is the world’s largest video game company that has produced several famous titles. Super Mario World, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda were a part of everyone’s childhood if they were born in the 90s. The good news is that the company is back, and will soon be releasing five smartphone games by March 2017.

On March, Nintendo joined hands with DeNA, a Japanese company that makes free games for mobile phones. The two companies intend to make new gaming applications featuring Nintendo IP, which will be developed specifically for smartphones. Nintendo and DeNA also agreed to develop cross-platform service that will run on smartphones, tablets, PCs and Nintendo’s own devices. Satoru Iwata said that a new line of games would be developed for the smartphones instead of porting existing titles.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Satoru Iwata” author_title=”CEO of Nintendo Co., Ltd”]

Regarding the number of the titles, you may want to know that we will release approximately five titles by the end of the next fiscal year, which is the end of March 2017. You may think it is a small number, but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases thoroughly, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business.

[/quote]

Nintendo will continue to make new games in future, and is working on a new console with codename ‘NX’. Iwata stated that the company is eyeing on smartphone gaming to generate a good amount of revenue. Seems like Nintendo will bring down the rain with these five new releases.

May 8, 2015
Nintendo Executives Take Pay Cuts For Faltering Wii Sales

Following some pretty miserable financial results, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said he will take a 50% cut to his salary. For at least the next five months, Iwata will take home half as much money as usual, and other prominent executive staff will see pay reductions as well. Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda, will take a 30% pay cut, while other board members will take a 20% pay cut.

The cuts will stay in place until June, when the board will see if it deserves to go back to normal. That will depend not so much on a turnaround in the Wii U’s fortunes – which won’t really be evident until nearer Christmas – but in how Nintendo presents itself to investors and convinces them it has a new plan for turning themselves around.

The struggling Japanese gaming firm revealed profits slumped 30 per cent in the nine months to December, falling to 10.2 billion yen (£60 million).

Nintendo also warned it expects sales to “decrease significantly” in the current quarter as Christmas sales end.

The Super Mario Brothers and Donkey Kong creator has been weighed down by weaker-than-expected sales of its Wii U console, launched at the end of 2012.

Nintendo will be holding a big corporate meeting tomorrow to outline and plan its new business strategy.

January 29, 2014
Nintendo Only Shipped 160,000 Wii U Consoles Worldwide in Q2

Nintendo has released its latest financial results, and revealed quarterly Wii U hardware sales of just 160,000. Software sales for the system were just 1.3 million units.

During the period Nintendo sold 90,000 Wii U consoles in Japan, 60,000 in the US and only 10,000 in Europe and Australia.

In the previous three months Wii U sales were 390,000 hardware units and 13.42 million games, which left the company short of it’s projected 4 million sales in the financial year.

For the three months ended June 30 net sales were up 3.8 per cent to ¥81.5 billion ($832.6m / £547.5m) with net profit at ¥8.6 billion ($88m / £57.9m), compared to a loss of ¥17.2 billion for the same period last year.

Nintendo suffered an operating loss during the period of ¥4.9 billion ($50.2m / £33m) due to research and development for the Wii U and increased marketing costs overseas for the 3DS.

A lack of software support – both from Nintendo’s own in-house development teams and third-party publishers – combined with a high initial price tag and a slow user interface did little to accelerate sales over the Christmas period.

Almost nine months on and little has changed. Nintendo has slashed the price of the Wii U, but the games drought continues. Considerable mismanagement over the functionality of the console and its innovative GamePad tablet controller has also done little to persuade consumers.

July 31, 2013
Blimey! 5 Year Old Boy Finds Porn On Christmas Present Nintendo 3DS Bought From GameStop!

A five-year-old boy in Colorado got a nasty surprise on Christmas morning when he unwrapped a Nintendo from Santa to find it had pornographic images on it. His father said he had to return the refurbished Nintendo 3DS Santa had left under the Christmas tree after discovering the images on the device purchased at GameStop.

Unfortunately for all involved, the device wasn’t properly wiped of its previous owner’s content, which included porn. As such, Braydon discovered the images while playing with the device and asked his brother for help in getting rid of them.

Mark Giles, from Colorado, said his son Bryton had been waiting all year for a Nintendo 3DS but when he finally opened it both father and child broke into tears.

He cried as he told NBC News his son told him about the porn straight away, saying “Dad, I don’t think you should be looking at these pictures.”

“I just handed him the 3DS,” Bryton said.

After complaining to GameStop electronics store where he had bought the device, Mr Giles said he was told the six homemade images were put there by a previous owner and weren’t spotted before the device was resold. But he said the damage had already been done when it came to his son.

[quote]”You can’t unsee this, he’s five years old… he’s not going to forget about this tomorrow,” he said.[/quote]

GameStop has issued a statement saying it wants to make it up to the Giles family.

[quote]”We have a rigorous quality control process in place to ensure that existing content is removed from all devices before they are re-sold. Out of millions of transactions each year, ones like this happen very rarely. Our number one priority is to make this right for our customer,” the company said.[/quote]

GameStop sent the family a new Nintendo 3DS, as well as a handful of games.

[CNET]

December 28, 2012
Nintendo Says Wii U Will Launch On November 18

Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U gaming console will start at $300 and go on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 18, in time for the holidays, the company said Thursday.

A “deluxe” version will sell for $350. It will be black instead of white and include extra features such as more memory, a charging stand and the game “Nintendo Land.”

Nintendo Co. has been trying to drum up excitement for the Wii U, which is the first major gaming console to launch since 2006. The device has a touch-screen controller called the Wii U GamePad. It also plays games made for the original Wii.

Nintendo said the latest game in its wildly popular Mario franchise, “New Super Mario Bros. U,” will be available when the new console launches. It will include new ways to play that use the GamePad. It will also offer new challenges for advanced Mario players, such as trying to complete a level without touching the ground. “Mario” and other classic games have long been Nintendo’s main draw.

The company also announced new entertainment features for the console. Called “Nintendo TVii,” the service collects all the ways users have to watch movies, TV shows and sports. This includes pay-TV accounts along with services such as Hulu and Netflix. The GamePad works as a fancy remote controller and will let viewers browse shows they can watch.

TVii “brings all of your services to one place,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America.

So if you like the TV show “Modern Family,” for example, it will pull in the show’s episodes from every available source.

[Washington Post]

September 13, 2012
Nintendo unveils Wii U along with 23 new games

The Wii U is the first Wii device to sport it's own screen.

Gaming giants Nintendo unveiled the launch version of their new family gaming device, the Wii U. Presenting the device at the Nokia centre at the E3 gaming event, Nintendo was light on details about the insides of the device, and chose to focus more on the game titles it’ll be bringing out this year for the console.

The Wii U has seen a massive change from what was showcased last year and is now a tablet styled device which comes with a bunch of buttons, including 2 analog sticks on both sides, a stylus and a camera on top of the device for both gaming applications and video chat! This is the first Wii device to sport a dedicated screen.

[quote]Game machines had to be connected to the TV. They couldn’t have a more important role than the TV. We decided our next system would have its own dedicated screen … and make it the first screen people go to when they go to the living room. With the Wii U gamepad we have the first dedicated personal screen in the long history of videogames said game designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto.[/quote]

Shigeru Miyamoto at the presentation.

Apart from that, Nintendo announced 23 new game titles and by releasing some “hardcore games” made it evident that they were ready to make the Wii console a bit more mature as far as the games were concerned. News that the titles – including Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition; Aliens: Colonial Marines; Mass Effect 3; Assassin’s Creed 3 and ZombiU – are under development will help their appeal. Casual gaming titles like Mario, Wii Fit and Picmin 3 also make their way back into the device.

Nintendo also promoted the integration of its Miiverse social network, allowing a user’s friends to pass on tips or boast of their recent scores while play continued.

June 6, 2012
Google gets in on April Fools Day : Google Maps 8 Bit for NES with Video

Google Wants to give you the full Maps experience on the most popular computer system ever made, the Gameboy. Google has deployed thousands of servers to over come the limitations offered by the NES systems. A dial up cartridge allows you to get real time results from said servers.

Google Maps

April 1, 2012
The Nintendo Wii U, the Next Gaming Revolution! (PR)
Nintendo has just announced the Wii U, its the next generation of gaming console coming in 2012. There is a whole new controller with a 6.2 inch touchscreen that lets you not only interact with the game while you play it on your TV, but lets you play the game on the controller when the TV is not available. All the existing Wii accessories and games,softwares will work with the new Wii U.

The Wii U will also have a dedicated graphics processor, which will play all sorts of Heavy graphic games that the Game Devs can throw at it.

Titles include
- Arkham City
- Assassin’s Creed
- Dirt
- Ghost Recon Online
- Tekken
- Metro Last Light
- Aliens Colonial Marines
- Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
- Darksiders II
The new Wii also supports full HD 1080p over your HDMI cable. The standard s-video and component connections remain, there is also a small internal memory along with 4 USB ports and a standard high density optical drive reader.

PRESS RELEASE

Nintendo’s Upcoming Wii U Console Features Controller with 6.2-inch Screen

Nintendo 3DS Continues its Evolution with Mario Kart, Super Mario and the Nintendo eShop as Nintendo Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda

E3 Expo 2011

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–At the E3 Expo, Nintendo introduced a new paradigm for video games and home entertainment: Wii U™, a new console that includes a controller with a 6.2-inch screen. Adding a second screen to the living room creates a multitude of new video game experiences while offering families a variety of options to customize their entertainment.

“Wii U redefines the structure of home entertainment by fundamentally changing how the TV, the game console and the Internet function and interact together”

Previously, video games played on a home console have been confined to the TV and offered identical viewpoints to each player in a multiplayer environment. Furthermore, watching TV and playing console games have been completely separate experiences. The new controller removes these boundaries, creating a more dynamic and fluid gaming and entertainment experience. Visitors to the E3 Expo will see firsthand the type of gaming experiences made possible by Wii U and the new controller such as:

In single-player games:
The new controller can display information on its screen that does not appear on the TV.
The information and viewpoint can also change in the new controller based on the orientation of its gyroscope.
In multiplayer games:
The player using the new controller can have a different experience than those looking at the TV. This will offer a wide variety of competitive and cooperative opportunities.

In addition to the 6.2-inch screen, the new controller also features an accelerometer and a gyroscope, a rumble feature, an inward-facing camera, a microphone and speakers. Adding these features to the Classic Controller™ button scheme – two analog Circle Pads, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons – will enable a breadth of game-play experiences while appealing to both casual and dedicated video game players.

Wii U combines motion-sensing game play with the ability to support full HD graphics. Each Wii U console will be partnered with a new controller and can also use up to four additional Wii Remote™ or Wii Remote Plus controllers. The system is also backward compatible and can play all Wii games and use all Wii accessories. The Wii console has sold more than 86 million units globally and greatly expanded the overall audience for video games. Wii U aims to expand that audience even further. Developers worldwide are already working on new games and experiences for the console.

“Wii U redefines the structure of home entertainment by fundamentally changing how the TV, the game console and the Internet function and interact together,” said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. “The experience enabled by Wii U and the new controller takes players deeper into their games, while reaching out wider than ever before to be inviting to all kinds of gamers.”

Nintendo 3DS™, which lets users see 3D images without the need for special glasses, launched in the United States on March 27 and continues to evolve. Owners will find that their Nintendo 3DS experience is different every time they pick up the system, thanks to new content and updates delivered by Nintendo, by third parties and exchanged between users.

A new system update is now available for the Nintendo 3DS system. Users who connect to a wireless broadband Internet connection and install the system update will instantly gain access to the Nintendo eShop, which contains a variety of games and applications for download using a cash-based system.

Users can browse original 3D software, 3D Classics (select classic video games re-mastered in 3D), classic Game Boy™ and Game Boy Color games, and more than 350 games and applications currently offered for the Nintendo DSiWare™ service. Visitors can also see videos and screen shots for games, plus see how other players rank games.

The system update also provides Nintendo 3DS owners access to free items, including an Internet browser that can show 3D images on sites specifically designed to show 3D images, a download of a re-mastered 3D version of the NES™ classic Excitebike™ game (free until July 7) and Pokédex™ 3D, which lets users discover and view more than 150 Pokémon™ from the Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version games in visually engaging 3D.

Nintendo also announced a huge lineup of upcoming new and fan-favorite franchise games, many of which are playable on the E3 Expo show floor in booth 4922.

Nintendo 3DS: Super Mario™, Luigi’s Mansion™ 2, Mario Kart™, Kid Icarus™: Uprising, The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time™ 3D, Star Fox 64™ 3D, Animal Crossing™, Paper Mario™, Picture Lives!, The Rolling Western™.
Wii: The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword, Kirby™ Wii, Wii Play™: Motion, Mystery Case Files™: The Malgrave Incident™, Mario Party™ 9, Rhythm Heaven™ and Fortune Street™.
Nintendo DS™: Kirby™ Mass Attack, Professor Layton and the Last Specter™, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker™ 2 and Super Fossil Fighters™.

Nintendo kicked off its E3 Expo Presentation by announcing a number of initiatives to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. A re-mastered 3D version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time launches for Nintendo 3DS on June 19, while Wii owners will see the arrival of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in the 2011 holiday season. Additionally, Nintendo announced a tour of orchestral concerts featuring music from the beloved franchise. Additional commemorative activities will be announced at a later date.

For the duration of the E3 Expo, Nintendo will provide fans with exclusive videos and Nintendo content on the Nintendo Network. People can visit http://e3.nintendo.com to watch developer interviews, get all the information about new games and see coverage coming directly from the show floor. The same exclusive content also will be streamed through the Nintendo® Channel to Wii owners who have a broadband Internet connection.

For more information about Nintendo, visit http://www.nintendo.com or http://www.facebook.com/nintendo.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console, Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.7 billion video games and more than 600 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.

Note to editors: Through July 7, Nintendo press materials for the E3 Expo are available at http://press.nintendo.com/e32011. The username is E32011 and the password is nintendo. To obtain a permanent login, please contact Deanna Talamantez at 213-438-8742 or [email protected]. Users can receive instant Nintendo information by subscribing to the site’s RSS feed. B-roll is available at http://www.thenewsmarket.com/Nintendo.
June 8, 2011
App a Day:Contr2Brothers – Contra for iOS

Well we found an app that brings back a few childhood memories of sitting in front of the TV and furiously mashing the controls of the NES to kill a few bad guys and achieve 14-bit glory. Here we have a misappropriatly named game called Contr2Brothers – a copy of the good-old game Contra. It features the same game-play as the original with on-screen controls that are slightly tough to use. The game claims to offer 30 lives but we still haven’t figured out how to get there. The audio is a little irritating after a while so you might want to mute it. One good feature is that the game supports upto 2 players via a bluetooth connection. Download it from the link below to relive your childhood…

[xrr rating=3/5 label=”Price : $0.99 ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]

[xrr rating=4/5 label=”Ease of Use :” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]

[xrr rating=3.75/5 label=”Features :” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]

Contr2Brothers – IceFish

[qrcode]

April 29, 2011
Nintendo to launch next Wii in 2012 and show it at E3 2011 (PR)

Nintendo just put an end to all rumors about the next WIi. The company will show the new Wii at E3 2011 and will make it available in 2012.

What could Nintendo possibly bring to the gaming experience this time ?

Press Release

April 25, 2011

To whom it may concern:

Re: Wii’s Successor System

Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011.

We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.

Sales of this new system have not been included in the financial forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012.

April 25, 2011
Super Mario shown off in 3D first person, gives us a Headache

Freddie Wong is a full of imagination Youtube publisher who in his latest video appears as Super Mario in First person shooter mode. Combine this with Xbox Kinect = epic exercise and massive headache. Check out the video and tell us if you would be inclined to play a game like this. All powerups and pole dancer included.

March 19, 2011