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Platform Wii U Publisher Nintendo Developer Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development Release Date 11/18/2012

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8.0

Nintendo Land review: magic kingdom

By Chris Plante on Nov 15, 2012 11.15.12

Don't assume the best characters have the best rides The largest attractions in Nintendo Land are also the weakest. "The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest," "Metroid Blast" and "Pikmin Adventure" aspire to be full-featured experiences, complete with campaigns, boss battles and multiplayer modes. But they're all too long and repetitive to be enjoyed as mini-games, and too simple and uninspired to be enjoyed as action games. None truly justify the GamePad. They ask the player to shoot at the screen or tap a target, a task easily accomplished with a WiiMote and Nunchuck. I suspect cooperative play can work with the Wii U, but It doesn't in Nintendo Land But the most troubling problem with these cooperative amusements is the disconnect between the GamePad player and the...

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

By Samit Sarkar on Mar 19, 2013 03.19.13

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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Journey and The Walking Dead win big at the 16th annual DICE awards

By Jenna Pitcher on Feb 08, 2013 02.08.13

At tonight's 16th annual DICE Awards, PlayStation exclusive Journey won eight of its eleven category nominations, including Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction and Outstanding Innovation in Gaming. The Walking Dead won four of its eight nominations, including Adventure Game of the Year, Downloadable Game of the Year and Outstanding Character Performance of protagonist Lee Everett (voiced by Dave Fennoy). Halo 4 won two of six nominated categories, including Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity and Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering. The Academy's Peer Panels evaluated more than 100 games, a peer panel for each category, with 63 nominated for awards. Voting for the awards was online and anonymous. "For the past 16 years, the D.I.C.E. Awards have...

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

By Kevin Gifford on Dec 25, 2012 12.25.12

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 Land: The postmortem interview

By Kevin Gifford on Dec 12, 2012 12.12.12

The Wii U is out worldwide, stowed under Christmas trees or already set up in family rooms across the continent. Bundled with the Deluxe Wii U console, Nintendo Land has a pretty hefty task to undertake: be approachable to casual gamers, keep the hardcores entertained and at the same time show off all the console's new features. How did Nintendo make it? In this week's Famitsu magazine the game's creators shared information about how the game came together at a developer roundtable. The tidbits from the roundtable are shared below. Nintendo Land, much like Wii Sports for the original Wii, largely came about as the design team at EAD put together prototypes for potential launch games. "The Wii U is a game system with a completely new structure," said producer Katsuya Eguchi, "so we...

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Nintendo’s early Wii U experiments revealed

By Megan Farokhmanesh on Dec 08, 2012 12.08.12

The Wii U's developers revealed early prototypes for the tablet-like GamePad controller during a recent Iwata Asks segment. While developing launch title Nintendo Land, the company was also still deciding on concepts for the Wii U. According to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, two-screen gameplay was still an early experiment. It started when a gyro sensor, a device that keeps track of angle and rotation speed, was inserted into a Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS was then attached to a Wii Zapper controller, which later became "the start of two-screen gameplay," said Katsuya Eguchi from the Software Development Department of the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division. Shigeru Miyamoto was so impressed with the experiment that it left an impact on another Nintendo system: the 3DS. M...

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Nintendo Land development began at 'about the same time as Wii U,' says Nintendo president

By Samit Sarkar on Dec 07, 2012 12.07.12

Initial development on Nintendo Land began alongside the Wii U hardware design itself, said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in an "Iwata Asks" session with some of the game's developers. Katsuya Eguchi, producer in the software development division of Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, said the team began performing experiments with dual-screen gaming — playing on a television as well as on a smaller screen in one's hands. "That was back when we haven't yet decided on a concrete concept for Wii U," Iwata pointed out. The initial design, which combined a Wii Zapper and a small monitor, led to the first prototype of the Wii U GamePad: a monitor featuring two analog sticks, with Wii Remotes taped to either side. The developers also spoke of the differences between N...

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Amazon UK ships Wii U Premium bundles without Nintendo Land, offers all buyers download codes

By Alexa Ray Corriea on Dec 03, 2012 12.03.12

Amazon UK is supplying download codes for Nintendo Land to customers in Europe who received Wii U Premium bundles missing the physical game, reports Videogamer. Last Friday on the console's launch day, Amazon customers began reporting that the launch title was missing from their Wii U Premium Pack. The online retailer said omission of the game was the result of a "supplier error" and that only a "small number" of Premium Packs were affected. "It's been brought to our attention that a small number of orders for this item may have been delivered without the advertised game, Nintendo Land, due to supplier error," said Amazon in an email to customers. The email contained a download code and instructions for redeeming Nintendo Land for free off the Wii U eShop. The codes have been emailed...

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

By Dave Tach on Nov 29, 2012 11.29.12

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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Hulu video game hub features trailers, X-Play reviews

By Megan Farokhmanesh on Nov 16, 2012 11.16.12

TV and movie-streaming site Hulu launched a gaming-exclusive hub today featuring new trailers, release information and reviews from X-Play, which recently entered its final episodes. The hub is broken into several sections. Selecting a game will display a basic summary and release information, as well as any related news or trailers. Reviews snagged from X-Play include on Halo 4, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Borderlands 2. Post-Wii U launch, the blog post promised to bring gamers content on titles such as New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land and Epic Mickey 2. Hulu's video game hub is currently available on browsers, with service for Hulu Plus enabled devices expected "over the next few months."

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Dell selling Wii U hardware and software

By Samit Sarkar on Nov 14, 2012 11.14.12

The Wii U and a select few games are now available for pre-order from Dell. Dell's video game section already offers every other modern console and handheld: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS. Dell isn't selling the cheaper Basic Set; just the Deluxe Set. However, it cannot be purchased alone; it is only available in a $459.99 bundle with Madden NFL 13 and Just Dance 4. And there's no guarantee that pre-ordering the bundle means you'll get it on launch day or shortly afterward — according to Dell, it "usually ships" in one to two weeks. Seven Wii U games are currently available from Dell: Nintendo Land, which already comes with the Deluxe Set; New Super Mario Bros. U.; Madden NFL 13; Just Dance 4; Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge; Batman: Arkham City...

Nintendo Land Releases
North America
  • Wii U
    • Released 11/18/2012
    • Publisher Nintendo
    • Developer Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development
    • Score 8
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