nintendo

Welcome to today's show, where we're finally analyzing the food photography trend for what it is, with the help of this article in the New York Times that profiles restaurateur David Bouley and the creative tactics he's come up with to stop the dining room distractions.

The way we see it, the problem with food photography is that we've collectively lost our shame and sense of subtlety when it comes time to dine. Instead of snapping a quick 3-second iPhone pic, we've seen folks stand on chairs, use tripods with a giant dSLR, and even ask the restaurant to adjust the ceiling lights to suit the mood of the picture.

The fact is that there's really no better way to prove you're eating above your budget than to take a picture of it. Argue all you want, it's just a tacky move and plenty of restaurants agree. Check out today's show to hear some places are doing to avoid the awkwardness.… Read more

In one of the company's regular Nintendo Direct Webcasts, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced several new games for the Wii U console, including remakes and new entries from the Zelda and Mario franchises. The Wii U is also adding a new version of its Virtual Console classic game shop, and a smartphone app for its Miiverse social network. Perhaps more importantly, spring and summer system software updates promise improved performance, especially for the Wii U's slow menus and software launching.

New Wii U games announced Since the October 2012 debut of the Wii U, the system's launch … Read more

Nintendo, Verizon Fios, and US Cellular are ranked highest for consumer experience, according to research firm Forrester (registration required).

The three took the top slots for their respective industries in Forrester's annual ranking of consumer goods and services. Forrester looked at 150 companies and asked 7,500 U.S. consumers these questions: How well did they meet your need? How easy were they to do business with? How enjoyable were they to do business with?

Nintendo did the best in these categories among the tech-related companies. The games and console maker scored an 83 when it comes to customer … Read more

When stuck in traffic, I often feel tempted to launch a red turtle shell at a slow car in front of me so it blows up and gets out of my way. Felonious temptations aside, perhaps I'd be better off living vicariously through the gentlemen of Waterloo Labs and their ingenious real-life re-creation of Mario Kart.

The project, led by Texas-based engineers Hunter Smith and Ben James, features four technology-infused go-karts that dynamically respond to the action on the track -- meaning that if someone picks up a power-up, they actually gain an advantage (or sometimes a disadvantage) over the other racers. For added effect, each kart contains a 120 psi cannon capable of launching green turtle shells at other participants in the race, causing the target to wipe out.… Read more

Nintendo's current corporate structure separating consoles and handhelds will be replaced, according to a new report.

Japan-based news outlet Nikkei is reporting today that Nintendo plans to combine its handheld and console divisions by February 16. The combined team will have 280 employees, made up of 130 employees from the console side and 150 from handhelds.

According to IGN, Nikkei reported that the team members will be organized by their specialties, including circuits and design. Engadget reports that it contacted a Nintendo spokesperson, who apparently confirmed the news.

Nintendo has faced some trouble over the last couple of years … Read more

Those consumers who don't want to upgrade from the Nintendo Wii to Wii U just yet but still want to get video streaming for their console are in luck. Amazon announced today that its Instant Video service is now available on the Wii.

"Amazon Instant Video is now playing on your Nintendo Wii," the video service wrote on its Web page. "Start watching over 140,000 movies and TV episodes today. Prime members can also watch thousands of these videos at no additional cost."

Is the Wii U having some trouble getting off the ground?

Research firm NPD Group yesterday announced U.S. game sales for December. And although the research firm won't reveal hardware unit sales on its own, Microsoft reported that for the 24th month in a row, it has held the No. 1 spot in the U.S. in console sales, with 1.4 million units sold. Nintendo, meanwhile, announced that its Wii U mustered 460,000 unit sales.

Historically, new consoles have generated massive demand, allowing them to beat out older competitors in unit sales. However, that's not … Read more