Rightfully earning the last laugh at E3 2016, Nintendo’s Zelda show wound up winning the day.

Let’s start this off by eating some crow. I didn’t track down any exact quotes of mine, but back in April when Nintendo confirmed that the new Zelda would be the only game playable at E3 2016, I likely guffawed. I might have said something like “well, they sure as hell gave up this year.” It seemed like yet another arrow to the heart of E3 following EA’s split, Disney’s demise, and Activision’s lack of booth.

Honestly? We can probably just say this is all Francis the Chameleon’s fault.

At E3 2016, Nintendo showed off Paper Mario: Color Splash, due out on October 7 on Wii U. The Treehouse Live demo confirmed what most figured: this wasn’t a secret sequel to Thousand-Year Door’s RPG stylings. Instead, it’s a card-based follow-up to Paper Mario: Sticker Star. When Color Splash hits later this year, the non-RPG Paper Mario games will outnumber the RPG ones.

We ponder the upcoming 3DS game and what it could (or couldn't) be.

The vitriol around Metroid Prime: Federation Force is often overwhelming. From the moment the game was announced, it’s hard to discuss the upcoming 3DS game without the conversation devolving into the negativity that surrounded it since its debut. Now that we know more about it and Federation Force... Read more...

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss (but a little better).

Friday was the grand re-opening of Nintendo’s flagship (and only) permanent retail store: Nintendo NY. Fanfare was in abundance, with a media-only ribbon cutting ceremony in the morning and a line that wrapped around more than three city blocks filled with fans waiting to enter the store when it... Read more...

We try to divine what Amiibo portend about America, Europe, and Japan.

Nintendo is getting into the routine of showing investors what Amiibo are selling best in each region these days. With the figurines out in stores for more than a year, there is enough of a sample size and variety to look at each region and draw (asinine?) conclusions about what characters and series that region likes the most. Who knows: maybe the sales of certain Amiibo in regions are a predictor of future games and series.

When regular sentences won't do, try some haikus.

I’ve gotten into the habit of keeping a running tally of games I played throughout a year in a running ranked list. It ebbs and flows as I spend time away from games and play new ones, but overall, I’ve enjoyed seeing how my favorite games of the year play out from month to month. After a lot... Read more...

This soft and comfy chair is a little small but is still one of the best bean bag chairs I’ve ever sat in.

A few years back, I reviewed the Sumo Sultan, a mammoth beanbag chair from Sumo Lounge that was, back in my post-college haze, more comfortable and bigger than my own bed. The Sultan is wonderful but unwieldy if you don’t have the space. On the other hand, the Sumo Gamer, which I’ve been kicking... Read more...

Nintendo released the stats for what Amiibo are selling best in each region. We go through the lists to see what’s fresh these days.

At the new Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima’s first investor presentation, he touched on Amiibo and the best-selling ones in each region. With more than 20 million Amiibo sold worldwide, the sales rankings for each region have quite the sample size, so let’s dive in and see what these lists say about each region and character.

Shall I compare a game to a summer's day?

A long time 'go HAL Labs made 3D PicrossAnd from the word go, that game had my heartIts logic puzzles oft put me at a lossNo matter, I played the hell out of that cart

Soon after that time Nintendo told of the 3DSAnd its magical screens of stereoscopic 3D wonderPosthaste we thought 3D Picross could be a successIf HAL was not at work, surely it's a blunder

We give you the rundown on the late Satoru Iwata’s successor and what it means for Nintendo.

Nintendo's new president, Tatsumi Kimishima, has been with Nintendo for 15 years, but he isn't a name most Nintendo fans are familiar with. So, who exactly is the newest head of Nintendo?

Well, the reason you likely haven't heard much about Kimishima is that he doesn't have a development background.... Read more...

In addition to vehicles, Skylanders SuperChargers is bringing out crazier level ideas.

While the addition of vehicles might be the focus of Skylanders SuperChargers, the staple Diablo-style levels in the upcoming game are shaping up to be more dynamic than ever before. Each major area features a unique element, ranging from a level that takes place on a giant dragon that sways and moves... Read more...

Neal sits down and tries to sort out Disney Infinity, Lego Dimensions, Skylanders, and Amiibo.

Since the toys-to-life trend erupted in 2011 when Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure debuted, each year has been more bombastic than the last, whether it was the addition of numerous Skylanders Minis and Traps, the launch of Disney Infinity in 2013, or the debut of Amiibo in late 2014. This year might... Read more...

While creating Mario Maker stages is wonderful and intuitive, it takes way too long to unlock all of the items and enemies.

When I first heard about Super Mario Maker’s measured rollout where you’re slowly given access to more creation tools over the course of nine days, I wasn’t fazed. Having access to all of the tools at once would be intimidating. I thought it made sense and wouldn’t be limiting. After a night... Read more...

The latest mainline Dragon Quest game has been revealed, but does it even have a chance of making it out of Japan?

I'm so very excited for Dragon Quest XI, which was recently announced to be coming to 3DS, PS4, and maybe Nintendo's mysterious future console, the NX. Set to hit Japan in 2016, the latest mainline entry in the fabled RPG series seems to be doing some neat things, such as presenting both a 3D and... Read more...

Tembo the Badass Elephant is a vibrant platformer from Game Freak that is, sadly, not coming to Nintendo platforms.

When it comes down to it, the fact that Tembo the Badass Elephant isn’t coming to Nintendo platforms is a huge bummer. The Game Freak-developed game is coming out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam tomorrow, but even though the developers are the guys who make all of the Pokémon games (and Drill... Read more...

Grasping to memorialize a wonderful man who guided a gigantic video game company, programmed like a pro, and held a bunch of bananas.

Even before he became Nintendo's President in 2002, Satoru Iwata was already a legend. He made Balloon Fight. He guided HAL Laboratory to make the Adventures of Lolo, Kirby, and so much more. He helped make EarthBound a reality. He did wonders with early Pokémon games. He, while in a managerial role,... Read more...

Guaranteed to infuriate you when they never get announced or your money back.

When it comes to E3 predictions, logic is a good thing to focus on. Logically, Nintendo’s show this year should contain a few surprises. Logically, most of 2015’s lineup has already been announced. Logically, anything that’s show-stopping is a year or more out. But that doesn’t mean we can’t... Read more...

It’s been a year since Wii Sports Club finished development. That team is likely working on something new.

It’s been a while since a Wii Sports game was a focus at E3. You’d have to go back to E3 2009, when Wii Sports Resort was a few weeks away from release, to when Nintendo paid mind to the series that helped launch the Wii. They tried to capture the same magic of Wii Sports and Resort with Nintendo... Read more...

The NWR staff chats about the fourth wave of Amiibo.

Today is a big day for Nintendo fans as the fourth wave of Smash Bros. Amiibo figures are available in North America. If you’re lucky, you can go get Pac-Man, Charizard, Wario, Lucina, Robin, Greninja (only at Toys”R”Us), Jigglypuff (only at Target), Ness (only at GameStop), Inkling Boy, Inkling... Read more...

This late Wii game is secretly an amazing board game starring Mario and Dragon Quest characters.

I first discovered Fortune Street at E3 2011, when it was revealed that the Wii version of the long-running Japanese series Itadaki Street was coming to America. Fortune Street, for better or worse, is a game that demos horribly. With no one on line for it, I wound up playing it on the last day of... Read more...