nintendo

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

Five lessons from E3 2012

LOS ANGELES--I've lost track of how many E3 shows I've been to. It doesn't matter. What's important is that the show used to be larger, more vibrant...and more relevant. What happened?

If you boil down this year's show, new hardware was scarce and new software didn't fill the gap. Still, trends were present and lessons, too, that I hope get applied to next year's show. Yes, it was an odd year this year. … Read more

What the Wii U needs to succeed

It's trendy at this year's E3 to trash the Wii U. Nintendo's next-gen console has its work cut out for it: strange tablet-like GamePad controller, the challenge of making games for its dual-screen potential, the unknown price, and the looming question of whether Nintendo's core casual-gaming crowd has moved on to Apple's iPastures.

What if the Wii U were to succeed?

Nintendo has had a way of pulling rabbits out hats with strange hardware. I remember hating the Nintendo DS when it first was released; it became my favorite handheld. The original Wii was mocked for its name, its lack of HD, and its games-for-everyone mantra. It only became a household name.

If these things come to pass, I think the Wii U could succeed, too. … Read more

E3 2012: The end of hardware

E3 shows tend to fall into two categories. Those that are about hardware, and those that are about software.

Last year, at E3 2011, hardware was king, with the first look at the new Wii U console, as well as Sony's PlayStation Vita. Along for the ride was Microsoft's Kinect camera and the Nintendo 3DS, which, while not brand-new last year, were both finally coming into their own as commercially viable products.

Other than that, it's been a while since hardware was king at E3 (and we're not counting the missing in action Wii Vitality Sensor). … Read more

Nintendo gets social and connected with Wii U, but leaves out price, release date at E3

LOS ANGELES--Nintendo had already unveiled the Wii U well before E3 started, but there were a lot of things going into this show that we didn't know. Nintendo's keynote spent a great deal of time detailing what the Wii U can do, what its online and app services are, and what games we can expect to see. A small amount of time was also spent on the Nintendo 3DS, but today's event was clearly dedicated to the Wii U.

What we didn't get, however, was a date and price. Not surprising, but anticlimactic all the same.… Read more

E3 2012: Five unanswered questions about Wii U

LOS ANGELES--Nintendo showed off nearly two dozen games for the Wii U at its E3 2012 press conference. That's a deep software bench, but with all the emphasis on games, many important questions about the Wii U hardware and user experience have been left unanswered.

How will streaming media work? Nintendo says Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, and other video sources will be available, but there were no further details. Is Nintendo going to have its own video store? Unlikely, but will there be any significant exclusive video content that other consoles don't have? How about live TV, the new holy grail of consoles?

How will two-tablet gameplay work? Even though it was not confirmed until today, everyone knew the Wii U would have to eventually support dual GamePad tablets. But, the company says only single-tablet gameplay is ready to show at E3. This adds to the mix of different ways you can play, combining GamePads, the Xbox-like Wii U controller, and Wii wands.… Read more