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Platform Wii U Publisher Nintendo Developer Nintendo Release Date 11/18/2012

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8.5

New Super Mario Bros. U review: new tricks

Exploration is rewarded with the kind of tricks that I remember sharing with friends at school growing up It all starts with the world map. New Super Mario Bros. U sprawls the entire Mushroom Kingdom out onto one big map, rather than a series of linear levels or smaller maps split up by zone as seen in previous New Super Mario Bros. games. The impact from this change is hard to spot initially, as the first few of the game's eight themed worlds seem to have simple levels. But by the third or fourth world, I stumbled across my first hidden exit, and New Super Mario Bros U's depth was revealed. Levels that appear to be straightforward, left-to-right scrolling stages — even those early ones — have branches that lead to rooms full of coins, bonus power-ups or even whole extra...

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Nintendo reports 52 percent increase of first-party 3DS software sales in the U.S.

Nintendo sold 2.1 million first-party Nintendo 3DS software units in the U.S. during the first 18 weeks of 2013, an increase of 52 percent over the same time period last year, Nintendo reports. Since its launch on April 24, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins sold almost 94,000 physical and digital copies. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon sold more than 140,000 physical and digital units in April in the U.S.. The game sold more than 530,000 units in the U.S. since its launch on March 24. New Super Mario Bros. U for the Wii U, which launched in November last year, shifted 770,000 physical and digital units in the U.S. to date. Nintendo notes that data of physical sales of games in April are sourced from the NPD Group and digital downloads of games data is from Nintendo's internal sales...

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New Super Luigi U DLC launching this summer in North America

New Super Luigi U, a downloadable campaign for New Super Mario Bros. U which makes Luigi the star of the show of last year's co-op platformer, will launch this summer in North America, it was announced on this morning's Nintendo Direct presentation. During the presentation, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata showed off some of Luigi's unique abilities. In Super Mario custom, Luigi has a bit more inertia than his brother, letting him jump higher and slide further. All courses in the DLC start with just 100 seconds on the board, forcing you to move quickly through them. The DLC will also launch in Europe this summer, and the Japanese version of today's Nintendo Direct outlined a June release window for the region. The DLC, which was announced during a February Nintendo Direct presentation,...

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Nintendo's PAX East 2013 lineup includes Pikmin 3, Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Nintendo is bringing a handful of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS titles to PAX East 2013, including major upcoming games such as Pikmin 3 and Animal Crossing: New Leaf, the company announced today. Nintendo's PAX East slate features seven Wii U titles and nine 3DS games, as well as the Wii Street U app. The lineup contains a mix of unreleased titles and games that are already available. Here's the full list: Wii U: Pikmin 3 The Wonderful 101 Lego City Undercover Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Need for Speed Most Wanted U New Super Mario Bros. U Nintendo Land Wii Street U 3DS: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon Animal Crossing: New Leaf (guided demonstration) Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity HarmoKnight Kersploosh! Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate ...

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UK Wii U ad showing GamePad-only play banned as misleading

The U.K.'s first TV spot for the Wii U has been banned by a regulatory agency for being misleading, reports Wii-Consoles. The minute-long commercial, which you can view above, highlights the ability to take a Wii U game off the TV and play it entirely on the GamePad — New Super Mario Bros. U, in this case. The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority, an independent watchdog group that maintains advertising regulations in the country, received a complaint about the ad that called it misleading: The complainant charged that the ad implies all Wii U games can be played on the GamePad alone, which is not the case; in fact, the majority of existing Wii U titles don't support the feature. Nintendo of Europe's U.K. branch defended the ad to the Advertising Standards Authority. Nintendo...

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New Super Mario Bros. U launches YouTube tips and tricks channel

Fans of New Super Mario Bros. U have a new way to unearth secrets and tips for the Wii U's Super Mario title. Earlier this month, Nintendo launched a YouTube channel to "share exciting and helpful gameplay videos" from the game. The channel currently includes 13 videos that guide players through ways to find 1-Ups, star coins and complete challenges. Nintendo alerted gamer owners of the new YouTube channel through a Wii U message, saying that they will be "posting a wide variety of videos including gameplay tips, tricks, and Super Play videos showing unbelievable stunts and runthroughs." Wii U owners can access the channel and watch the videos, through the console's internet browser.

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Japan Review Check: The day a "girl game" outscored the Mario Bros.

Japan's Famitsu magazine published their final round of review scores for the year in this week's issue, and the results were surprising for two reasons. One, the magazine finally got around to publishing their reviews of Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U, a good two and a half weeks after both were released in Japan. Two, despite many Japanese forum posters expecting one or both to get a perfect 40/40 score in Famitsu, neither title was even the top scorer of the week. That prize, oddly enough, went to White Album 2, a PlayStation 3 port of a "girl game" adventure earlier released in two parts on Windows PCs. A slightly censored version of what was an 18 and up-only game on the PC due to anime-style sexual content, the PS3 port received scores of 10, 9, 9 and 9 for 37 points,...

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Nintendo announces eShop-exclusive games for European Wii U launch, system update required

When the Wii U launches in Europe tomorrow, Nov. 30, the Nintendo eShop will offer several games for download, according to a press release from the company. The titles available exclusively through the eShop will include: Trine 2: Directors Cut for €13.49 (£10.99) Puddle for €7.99 (£7.19) Nano Assault Neo for €9.99 (£8.99) Little Inferno for €14.99 (£12.99) Chasing Aurora for €11.99 (£10.79) Nintendo will also offer demos for games like FIFA 13 in addition to full game downloads for retail titles like New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, ZombiU and FIFA 13. Before European Wii U owners can access the content, they'll need to perform a system update that provides access to the Nintendo eShop, as well as Miiverse, Wii U Chat and the system's web browser....

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The surprising (mundane) tech behind the Wii U's magical GamePad

The most magical element of Nintendo's new Wii U console is powered by a relatively mundane piece of technology. Second-screen gaming, the ability to view full maps, menus or even play an entire game on the 6-inch screen built into the WIi U's GamePad, is made possible by a special form of Wi-Fi. The technology, co-developed by Nintendo and wireless and broadband communications giant Broadcom, marries run-of-the-mill Wi-Fi with a powerful bit of proprietary software to create a two-way stream of low-latency, high-definition video and controls between the Wii U and its innovative GamePad. That complex suite of software is designed to mitigate interference and deliver a smooth video signal and communication speeds, said Dino Bekis, senior director of wireless connectivity at Broadcom. ...

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New Super Mario Bros. U to get additional courses after launch

Wii U launch game New Super Mario Bros. U will get additional downloadable courses after the game launches, much like recently released Nintendo 3DS game New Super Mario Bros. 2, according to the latest Iwata Asks Q&A. "We're trying to think of ways of play that are different from New Super Mario Bros. 2, but we haven't made anything yet! " game designer Takashi Tezuka tells Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. "The mechanism for adding courses is already there, so please stand by for an update on what they'll be like," adds New Super Mario Bros. U planner Daiki Iwamoto. The full Iwata Asks interview touches on the creation of New Super Mario Bros. U, which started development in the form of course design before the concept of the GamePad had been finalized. The introduction of the...

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GameStop reports high demand for Wii U consoles, games

GameStop is "bullish" on the upcoming Wii U launch, with high demand for both hardware and software exhibited by strong pre-order numbers, said GameStop executives on an investor call today for the retail giant's third-quarter financial report. The company is now reporting that "nearly 500,000" people have joined its wait list for Wii U consoles. GameStop set up the wait list in late September exclusively for PowerUp Rewards members, and as of mid-October, more than 250,000 customers had joined the list. GameStop president Tony Bartel noted, "We have limited knowledge of [Wii U] supply, and we may not be able to satisfy the strong demand during our fourth quarter." According to GameStop executives, the uncertainty in Wii U supply is a major factor in how cautious the company is being...

New Super Mario Bros. U Releases
North America
  • Wii U
    • Released 11/18/2012
    • Publisher Nintendo
    • Developer Nintendo
    • Score 8.5
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