The Australian and New Zealand branches have launched into the social media age.

Nintendo Australia has simultaneously launched pages on social media sites Facebook and Twitter. The pages promise to promote the latest information about 3DS and Wii U games with a more region-specific focus than the company's international branches.

Among the first news posted was the official confirmation that Mario Kart 8's previously announced European limited edition is coming to Australia as an EB Games exclusive.

Smashing in for a second round.

Today, Evo (Evolution Championship Series) founder Tom Cannon announced that Super Smash Bros. Melee will be at the 2014 Evo tournament.

This will be the second year in a row that the Nintendo fighter will join the competition. Last year, an astonishing 700 competitors stepped up to bat, making it the largest Melee tournament in history.

The Kickstarterted Wii U and 3DS eShop game won't hit its March 31 release date.

Shovel Knight is being pushed back from its scheduled March 31 release date on Wii U and 3DS to give the developer some breathing room in the final parts of development.

Yacht Club Games said in a Kickstarter update that the delay will just be a few weeks "to make sure it’s a world class experience,... Read more...

In addition to Imageepoch handling animations, a few Nintendo employees from the New Super Mario Bros. team helped Arzest out on the game.

Nintendo developers from the New Super Mario Bros. series helped out developer Arzest on Yoshi's New Island.

In addition to Takashi Tezuka, the legendary Nintendo developer who produced all of the New Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi's Island games, some of the developers include:

The pouches are available in light blue or pink.

Two new Animal Crossing 3DS XL pouches are now available as Club Nintendo rewards in North America. The pouches, which feature three different icons from the series, are available in either light blue or pink and cost 500 coins.

These pouches were designed for the 3DS XL, but Nintendo points out that they will also accommodate a standard Nintendo 3DS, as well as any piece of hardware from the Nintendo DS family.

Mega Man Zero gets a reincarnate.

Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune is teaming up with Inti Creates (Mega Man Zero) to make Azure Striker: Gunvolt, a new 2D, action side-scroller coming to the Japanese 3DS eShop this summer.

The game is set in the near future where the psychic protagonist, Gunvolt, joins up with a rebel force and... Read more...

You can use your hard-earned coins on some Virtual Console and downloadable games.

Club Nintendo members can use their coins to get Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (3DS), Number Battle (DSi/3DS), Yoshi (Wii U) and Bonsai Barber (Wii/Wii U).

On Nintendo 3DS, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is available for 150 coins. The DSiWare title, Number Battle, is available for 200 coins.

May the Force be with your balls.

Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force, the first expansion for Star Wars Pinball, will release on March 13 on the Wii U eShop.

The DLC will cost $/€ 9.99, and include these three intergalactic tables:

Pokemon X/Y's online will also be down for an extended period of time.

Various activities surrounding the Nintendo Network will be stopped temporarily at some point this week.

Beginning Monday, March 10 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time/Tuesday, March 11 01:00 CET, all the online services for Pokemon X and Y will be unavailable for a period of 14 hours. This includes online... Read more...

Rolling a little late, but for a good cause.

Initially planned to come out on the Wii U eShop on March 24, Armillo is being pushed back to May 12, according to developer Fuzzy Wuzzy Games.

The developer is using the time to fine-tune the game and polish it. Some existing levels will be redone as well. "It will make us happier with the final product," a representative from the studio said. "We apologize for the wait, but hope it'll be worth it in the end."

Time to get yourself a new virtual girlfriend.

On March 27, players will see Konami’s New LovePlus+ come to the Nintendo 3DS. The game features three girlfriends, Rinko, Manaka and Nene, that players can take on dates, play mini-games with, or even have conversations with.

In Anywhere Date mode, players can model their own date course to... Read more...

A brand new dev creeps a brand new game toward the Wii U and other platforms.

Game Studio 78, a new studio from Portugal, has recently launched an Indiegogo campaign for Hush, a game planned for Wii U, among other platforms.

Hush is an episodic action/adventure with RPG elements. In it, players will control Ashlyn and face their fears to survive levels in an orphanage.... Read more...

A demo will drop in May that can carry over to the final game.

The Denpa Men 3: The Rise of Digitoll is coming to the 3DS eShop in North America and Europe in the summer, according to developer Genius Sonority. A demo will be available in May that will allow players to carry their save data over to the final game.

The third entry, which came out in Japan... Read more...

The Natsume platformer is finally coming to the 3DS eShop.

Yumi's Odd Odyssey is launching on the North American 3DS eShop on March 20 for $29.99.

Publisher Natsume originally planned for it to come out earlier in the year, but the game hit some snags along the way, delaying it to mid-March.

The first ever appearance of the Umihara Kawase series in North America, Yumi's Odd Odyssey originally came out in Japan last summer. The 2D puzzle platformer features online leaderboards.

Time for another Shaq Attack.

Shaq Fu: The Legend Continues has been announced via Indiegogo, and will make its way to Wii U if it surpasses $1,080,000 in contributions, and 3DS if it passes $960,000.

The game will be a sequel to the critically panned SNES and Sega Genesis fighter Shaq Fu. Instead of a fighting game, The Legend... Read more...

The last time I was a part of cubical combat, I ended up in human resources.

Cube Tactics has been announced for release March 13 on the American and European Nintendo 3DS eShops by co-developers, Teyon and Fun Unit.

Cube Tactics is a war strategy game in which players will combine the powers of various soldiers and cubes in battle. The game will include over 25 single... Read more...

Blok Drop U drops onto the Wii U, we see a couple more Virtual console games, and Runner2 gets a sale.

This week, the Wii U and 3DS receive both new games and old. Blok Drop U is a neat puzzler that'll only cost you a couple McDoubles-worth of dollars. Meanwhile, you can control Commander Video at a discounted rate for the one-year anniversary of Runner2. Let's dive in!

Wii U eShop Games

Blok Drop U - $1.99

Explore new depths in EnjoyUp's revamped version of their 2012 DSiWare release.

Abyss is coming to the Nintendo Wii U at some time in the future according to the games developer, EnjoyUp Games.

Abyss takes players on a mission through darkness to collect 'Gaia' energy stones while combating the ever present effects of gravity. The updated Wii U version of the game will include... Read more...

The bundle includes a blue shell statue so you can terrorize your friends.

A Mario Kart 8 limited edition bundle is launched alongside the game on May 30 in Europe.

The bundle comes with the game as well as a statue of the series staple blue shell item. Images of the statue and bundle are below.

Mario Kart 8 is currently scheduled to be released on May 30 in Europe, and pre-orders for the bundle are up now. There is no word on a release of the bundle for Japanese or North American markets.

Buy it and get a discount on Mario Kart 8 on the eShop.

Super Mario Kart is coming to the Wii U Virtual Console in Europe on March 27.

Those who purchase the game will be able to save the cost of the SNES game off of a digital purchase of Mario Kart 8 when it arrives on May 30. There is no word on such a deal for the North American or Japanese markets.