Minecraft: Wii U Edition is the latest item to have been added to Nintendo’s maintenance schedule. The game’s network services will be impacted on Thursday in North America, and Friday in Europe.

Here are the breakdown of times:

– 4:50 PM PT (Thursday) – 6:30 PM PT (Thursday)
– 7:50 PM ET (Thursday) – 9:30 PM ET (Thursday)
– 12:50 AM in the UK (Friday) – 2:30 AM in the UK (Friday)
– 1:50 AM in Europe (Friday) – 3:30 AM in Europe (Friday)

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More: 4J Studios, maintenance, Minecraft: Wii U Edition, Mojang

The third entry in the Excave series is heading to Europe next week. On February 25, Excave III: Tower of Destiny will be launching. Pricing is set at €7.99.

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More: Europe, Excave III: Tower of Destiny

Pokken Tournament ended up as a 3D fighter that takes some inspiration from Tekken. That wasn’t the original plan, however.

When Bandai Namco was meeting with The Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, there was interest in creating a Pokemon-themed version of the rhythm series Taiko Drum Master. Ishihara was actually the one who suggested doing something different.

“Mr. Ishihara actually said, ‘If we’re going to work with Bandai Namco, I want to do a collaboration with Tekken,'” Pokken Tournament producer Katsuhiro Harada told The Verge.

And so that’s how we eventually ended up with Pokken Tournament. The game made its way to arcades last year, and will be reaching Wii U on March 18.

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More: Bandai Namco, interview, Katsuhiro Harada, Pokken Tournament, top

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD’s Sound Selection CD doesn’t simply take music from the original game. Instead, Nintendo has confirmed that the various tunes have been remastered.

The soundtrack team has also posted a message about the CD on the official Zelda Facebook page. It reads:

“The core concepts for Twilight Princess’ score are melancholy, pathos, a sensation of speed, and how through it all you can feel a ray of hope. We were really happy to remaster the soundtrack so that everyone can appreciate all the distinctive qualities of each track.”

And here’s the Facebook post in full:

More: Tantalus, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, top

Bart Leib has a closer look at the Fire Emblem Fates goodies that came out in North America yesterday. This includes the Special Edition, New 3DS XL, and pre-order bonus keychains from GameStop. Watch the unboxing below.

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North America is now joining in on Splatoon’s latest Splatfest. Like in Europe, the battle is between Pokemon Red and Blue. The competition will close this time tomorrow!

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With Shin Megami Tensei IV Final having wrapped up and shipped in Japan, Famitsu spoke with some developers behind the game for a post-release interview. Character designer Masayuki Doi, producer Kazuyuki Yamai, and sound composer Ryota Kozuka talked with the magazine.

Famitsu has plenty of talk about the franchise in general as well as Shin Megami Tensei IV Final itself. The team spoke about what elements define the series, characters, music and more.

Head past the break for our full translation.

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More: Atlus, Famitsu, interview, Japan, Kazuyuki Yamai, Masayuki Doi, Ryota Kozuka, Shin Megami Tensei IV Final, top

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD can now be pre-loaded on the North American Wii U eShop. By doing so, you can pay for and download most of the game now. Then at launch, you’ll only need a small update to begin playing.

On the eShop, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD costs $49.99. The retail version with the Wolf Link amiibo is priced at $59.99.

More: Tantalus, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

Akira Saito, a key member of M2, has passed away at the age of 43. Saito is sadly no longer with us due to cancer.

Saito worked on a ton of games and projects at M2, including the SEGA 3D Classics, Virtual Console emulators for the SEGA Master System and Genesis/Mega Drive on Wii, and more. He was said to be a very talented programmer.

M2 president Naoki Horii said in a post on the company’s website, “He lived his life with video games.”

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More: Akira Saito, M2

Splatoon’s newest European Splatfest is now live, and it’s a big one. Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue are facing off in a major battle.

You’ll have until this time tomorrow to participate in the Splatfest. A little while after it ends, the worldwide results will be up, and we’ll have them on the site as soon as possible.

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