#Nintendo
11 article(s)
Hyrule Warriors at 12: The Spin-Off That Justified a Console
Twelve years after its Japanese Wii U debut, Hyrule Warriors remains one of Nintendo's boldest gambles: handing Zelda to Omega Force, masters of the Dynasty Warriors formula, to create a spin-off that had no business working—yet somehow nailed it. An anniversary that underscores how much the Wii U deserved better than its commercial fate.
A 2013 Pokémon 3D Video Embarrasses Nintendo at Patent Office
In May 2013, a content creator published a homemade Pokémon 3D demo without knowing it would become evidence against Nintendo thirteen years later. The video has resurfaced before Japan's patent office to challenge the publisher's exclusivity claims. This case illustrates a legal reality the gaming industry underestimates: on patents, prior art can emerge from anywhere, including amateur YouTube channels.
Mario Kart Wii Recompiled in 4K: The PC Port That Changes Everything
An unofficial native port of Mario Kart Wii now runs on PC in 4K, the result of decompiling the original source code. This isn't traditional emulation: the game runs as a native executable, opening real possibilities for performance, visual fidelity, and the longevity of this Wii title. The technical difference is significant, and it raises a question Nintendo prefers to ignore: who actually preserves gaming heritage?
Splatoon Raiders Goes All-In on Solo: Bold Move or Missed Shot?
Splatoon Raiders marks a turning point for Nintendo's ink-based franchise: multiplayer is out, replaced by an exclusively single-player adventure on Switch 2. The series, born in 2015 on Wii U, gradually integrated a story mode—first tentatively through DLC, then more seriously in the Switch entries. But building an entire game around this dimension is a structural gamble that reveals how Nintendo now views its beloved franchise's maturity.
Mario Paint at 34: Nintendo's Hybrid That Blurred the Lines
Released in 1992 on Super Nintendo, Mario Paint wasn't really a game. It was a creation software sold with a mouse, at a time when Nintendo was trying to establish itself in homes as an educational tool as much as an entertainment console. Thirty-four years later, this atypical cartridge remains a textbook example of what a manufacturer can risk when it decides to step outside the boundaries of pure video gaming.
Lego Nintendo: Donkey Kong arcade cabinet coming soon
A new Lego Nintendo set centered on Donkey Kong—specifically an arcade cabinet—is reportedly in development. Six years after Lego and Nintendo's partnership launched, the line is expanding beyond consoles and characters to tap into Kyoto's arcade roots. A choice that reveals much about where this collaboration is headed and Donkey Kong's place in Nintendo's current strategy.
Rhythm Paradise Groove: The Series Finds Its Beat on Switch
Rhythm Paradise Groove lands on Switch and brings back everything that made the franchise's reputation since Rhythm Tengoku on GBA in 2006: absurd musical mini-games, surgical timing precision, and flawless visual humor. The question isn't whether Nintendo reinvented the formula—it hasn't budged a sixteenth note—but whether this Switch version justifies the return of a quiet saga that's never missed its mark when it chose to appear.
Switch 2: 5.9 Million Units in a Year, Second Only to the GBA
Circana data for the Nintendo Switch 2's first twelve months in the US market is in: 5.9 million consoles sold, making it the second fastest-adopted console in US market history as tracked since 1995. Only the Game Boy Advance, with 6.5 million units over the same period, still edges out Nintendo's machine. This result reshapes the competitive landscape in premium hardware and validates a strategy many considered risky.
Eternal Darkness: The GameCube Masterpiece That Never Got a Sequel
Released 24 years ago on GameCube, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem remains one of the most inventive horror games ever made, famous for its sanity system that literally broke the fourth wall. Critically acclaimed and award-winning, it seemed destined for a lasting franchise. Yet no sequel ever materialized. Behind this failure lies a story of rights disputes, fractured studios, and unfulfilled ambitions—the kind of trajectory that reveals how fragile the video game industry truly is.
Super Mario 64 at 30: Fans Made It Immortal, Not Nintendo
Thirty years after its 1996 release, Super Mario 64 never ended up in the graveyard of frozen icons. The community took it into their own hands: pixel-perfect speedruns, mods, unofficial ports, obsessive analysis of every vertex. What Nintendo didn't maintain, thousands of players built themselves. It may be the harshest lesson this game teaches its own publisher.
Zelda Ocarina of Time Remake Takes On GTA VI: Nintendo Charts Its Own Course
Nintendo announced an Ocarina of Time remake without flinching at GTA VI's release date shadow. Where most publishers retreat, Nintendo pushes forward. It's not arrogance—it's a clear-eyed read of its own market. The question remains whether this confidence is justified by what the game actually delivers, and what this remake says about Nintendo's ability to modernize its legends without betraying them.