3ds

Why the next Nintendo portable needs to be a tablet

The Nintendo Wii U comes out in just a few days, just in time for Thanksgiving-time shopping. Look at its signature feature: the GamePad. It has a 6-inch touch screen. It has a gyroscope. It has buttons. It's more than a little like a supertablet.

But it's not. I've tried using the Wii U. Nintendo's upcoming console is clearly a nod toward the fusion of handheld tablets with TV set-top boxes, a second-screen device if ever there was one. It can play games on its little screen even when the TV that the Wii U is plugged into is turned off or doing something else. And it can even move to another room and be used wirelessly. It's not a tablet, however. A lot of people will wish it were. And that's exactly where Nintendo needs to eventually head.… Read more

New Super Mario Bros. 2: Nintendo 3DS gets a new game that's all too familiar

Jeff: The 3DS needs all the help it can get, so a new Mario Bros. game has worked in the past, why not again now? The problem with that mentality is that after a while, even the great Mario isn't invulnerable to becoming stale. And in the case of New Super Mario Bros. 2, I'm afraid it has finally happened.

Now before you gather up the pitchforks and start heading my way, you'll be happy to hear that I still think the game is fun to play. If you own a 3DS odds are you haven't bought a game in a while, so this will most likely find its way into your portable system. That said, you may fall into the same deja-vu trance that I did while playing and begin muttering, "Haven't I done this before?"… Read more

Mountain Lion roars onto Macs

Mountain Lion roars onto Mac computers and Netflix is getting some new competition:

Mac users can now upgrade their operating systems to version 10.8. The official CNET review praises Mountain Lion for its cloud functionality and useful updates to some core apps. However, a lackluster gamecenter and a dictation feature that requires an internet connection are a bit disappointing. So should you upgrade? If it were any more than $20 we'd say no, but the price for this update is just right.

Apple also announced its Q3 earnings, and while iPad sales soared, a drop in iPhone consumption … Read more

Nintendo on downward spiral as Wii sales fall off a cliff

Nintendo's financial troubles just keep coming.

The venerable game maker announced (PDF) today that it generated 84.8 billion yen (about $1.08 billion) in revenue during the three-month period ended June 30, representing a 9.7 percent decline from the 93.9 billion yen it secured in sales during the same period last year. The company was forced to incur a net loss of 17.2 billion yen ($220 million), which, while disconcerting, was actually better than the 25.5 billion yen figure from last year.

Nintendo's financial position becomes even more concerning when one considers its … Read more

Nintendo's 3DS XL comes with less glare, better 3D performance

Nintendo's 3DS XL might be larger than its predecessor, but the gaming handheld also comes with a few improvements that could make using it a tad bit more enjoyable.

In a recent question-and-answer session with Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata, Takashi Murakami, part of Nintendo's research and engineering department, said he had been working on reducing the glare in the 3DS XL "for quite some time." And it appears those efforts proved fruitful.

"Reflectivity on the Nintendo 3DS was about 12 percent," Murakami told Iwata in the interview. "We decreased that to about 3 … Read more

Xbox, Nintendo 3DS consoles see high sales numbers

Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's 3DS sales are going strong in the U.S., according to numbers the two companies released today.

The numbers, gathered by research company NPD Group, show Nintendo maintaining a 75 percent market share for portable hardware and Microsoft's Xbox holding onto the top spot for console sales.

This is Xbox's 18th consecutive month at No. 1, with its sales making up 47 percent of current-generation console sales, Jeff Meisner, editor of the Official Microsoft Blog posted today.

The sales equal 257,000 units sold in June with total retail spent on … 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

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

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