nintendo

How much will the Wii U cost?

Despite more than a year of teases, one critical aspect of Nintendo's Wii U remains a mystery: the pricing.

With two E3 gaming expos now under its belt, we know plenty about the Wii U. Nintendo has showed off many HD games and fully revealed the second-screen GamePad tablet.

Earlier this month, CNET Senior Editor Scott Stein mused on the Wii U's retail cost, saying: "The Wii U needs to undercut the competition and be practically an impulse purchase. Is that even possible?"

To answer that question, perhaps we should look at Nintendo's past.… Read more

Is a Nintendo Wii a good deal at $79.99?

It wasn't that long ago that the Nintendo Wii was one of the most sought-after items on the planet. Especially around the holidays, when supply simply couldn't meet demand. The then-revolutionary game console was selling on eBay for double, triple, even quadruple its $249 list price.

Now you can get it for 80 bucks.

Specifically, GameStop has the refurbished Nintendo Wii console for $79.99, plus $4.99 for shipping (and not including sales tax, where applicable). That's the lowest price I've ever seen.

Of course, Nintendo's next-generation Wii U console is just around the corner, … Read more

Nintendo goes big on 3D with 3DS XL

It's time to live large, change your fate and flip out:

Nintendo just ordered up a supersized version of the 3DS. Going on sale on August 19 for $200, the 3DS XL is 90% larger than the original 3DS. Nintendo could have taken this product in a new direction for gamers by using the extra space to add a second analog stick. But no, the XL has the same design as the 3DS. It's also a bit odd that Nintendo didn't announce this two weeks ago at E3.

So who would want the 3DS XL? Larger screens … Read more

What Nintendo needs to do to make a comeback

Nintendo is one of the most iconic companies in gaming, but it faces the real possibility of oblivion if it doesn't find a way to turn its fortunes around.

In October 2007, less than a year after the release of its blockbuster Wii console, Nintendo was worth $78.50 per share. That equated to a market cap of $85 billion -- double the value of Sony at the time.

However, Nintendo's fortunes have only gone south since then. With Wii sales cooling and mobile apps the hot trend in gaming, Nintendo's stock collapsed this month to $14.… Read more

Nintendo 3DS XL to pop out August 19 for $199.99

Nintendo has announced a new entry in its portable game lineup.

Dubbed the Nintendo 3DS XL, the device delivers the same glasses-free 3D experience as its predecessor, the 3DS, but comes with much larger screens. According to Nintendo, the upper display will come in at 4.88 inches, while the lower screen will be 4.18 inches. The 3DS currently has a 3.53-inch upper display and a 3.01-inch lower screen.

Rumors had been swirling for quite some time that Nintendo was planning to launch a 3DS with larger screens. However, last week, gaming icon Shigeru Miyamoto tried throwing reporters off the scent … Read more

Nintendo to developers: Make all Wii U titles available for download?

Nintendo wants to give gamers more access to titles for its new Wii U, according to a report.

The game company is currently making it as appealing as possible for developers to make all of their Wii U games available for download, according to Wii U Daily, which claims to have spoken to a European developer who previously provided accurate information on the console.

The developer went on to tell the blog that Nintendo is "offering insane incentives for publishers to sell retail games as downloads on the console." The games, according to the developer, would be available … Read more

Top 5 game controllers

Console game controllers get no respect. These days especially, with all the attention paid to mobile games, touch-screen control, and Microsoft Kinect, everyone has lost sight of the irreducible awesomeness of a sweaty gamepad.

With this thought in mind and the hype of E3 2012 fading in the distance, I offer you my best attempt to round up the Top 5 game controllers of all time. … Read more

Miyamoto: We're on to the 3DS' successor

Nintendo is more than satisfied with the 3DS, and now its handheld sights are set on the company's next-generation portable, according to gaming icon Shigeru Miyamoto.

Miyamoto, who created some of Nintendo's most popular franchises, including Mario, Zelda, and others, told IGN in an interview published yesterday that he believes the 3DS is "the best for this generation" of handhelds. And because of that, Nintendo is now thinking about "a future generation of handheld."

Miyamoto's comments come just after Japan's Nikkei reported that Nintendo was planning to launch a 3DS XL, featuring … Read more

Gaming handhelds relegated to 'niche' status by iOS, Android

Nintendo's GameBoy and its ilk were once all the rage in the mobile-gaming market. Now gaming handhelds are little more than niche products, according to one analyst.

"Mobile devices will compete with dedicated handheld gaming devices, but select consumer segments like core gamers and those individuals who do not want or have a smartphone or tablet will still provide some demand," ABI Research senior analyst Michael Inouye said today in a statement on handheld gaming.

ABI Research believes Sony and Nintendo will ship about 38 million gaming handhelds in 2013. In 2008, the handheld business hit a … Read more

Microsoft aims for the jugular with Xbox ecosystem

LOS ANGELES--It's been a big year for the people behind Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game console, and its growing ecosystem. Month after month, the machine tops the console sales charts, and it boasts some of the most anticipated exclusive games in the industry.

This week, of course, the Xbox team is cheek-by-jowl with all of its partners and developers, and its competitors. It's E3 week, after all. And at its Monday media briefing, and at its mammoth booth at the Los Angeles Convention Center here, Microsoft has been touting its latest attempts at separating the Xbox from … Read more