A US-focused survey conducted by Nielson provides some insight into why people buy certain consoles.
In general terms, 91 percent of Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 owners crossed over to the Wii U, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One generation. And specifically regarding Wii U, 86 percent previously bought the Wii.
Why did people purchase a Wii U? The system’s fun-factor was the most-desirable element, followed by its family-friendly nature, price/value, backwards compatibility, and exclusive games/content.
Update: Sold out! The lasted about 20 minutes.
Walmart has started taking pre-orders for the gold Mario amiibo. Get yours in here.
Keep in mind that the gold Mario amiibo is Walmart-exclusive and stock is probably limited, so you may want to reserve it as soon as possible. Oh, and I suppose we can’t entirely trust tweets from Walmart Canada!
Four years ago today the 3DS launched in Japan! It is interesting when you look back on the lifespan of the 3DS that we have seen so much in just a few years.
The 3DS has had its shares of ups and downs as well as countless “Limited Editions”, XL versions, and the latest in the family, the New Nintendo 3DS in regular and XL versions too. During this time we have seen quite a few titles that have been long awaited and some new ones that I am sure many of you have enjoyed. I myself have loved every minute with all of my 3DS’s and am looking forward to many more!
Happy birthday, 3DS!
Last year, we heard that Tantalus Media – the developer behind Mass Effect 3 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s Wii U versions – started work on a “AAA next-gen title” for Nintendo’s console. It was confirmed soon after that the project in question was a port/rework of a game “for an absolute top notch publisher.”
Although we haven’t heard anything about it for about a year, the title is fortunately still in the works. Tantalus’ Tom Crago said during the Fragments of Silicon podcast that it will be revealed “soon”, is launching this year, and is “the biggest thing we’ve ever done”.
Crago’s full comments are as follows:
We’re doing that. It hasn’t been announced, but it will be soon. And can I just further add to the mystique and say that it’s big. It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever done. And it’ll come out this year, and I hope it won’t disappoint.
While not related, Crago also confirmed that Tantalus is taking a Wii U title and porting it to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Famitsu has shared a listing of the top 30 best-selling games in Japan for the month of January 2015. You can check out the full results below.
01. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch 2: Shinuchi (Level-5) – 642.516 (634.709 / 7807)
02. [3DS] Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire (Pokemon Company) – 366.131 (361.437 / 4694)
03. [PS3] Tales of Zestiria (Bandai Namco) – 316.824 ( 316.824 / – )
04. [3DS] Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo) – 259.750 (252.313 / 7437)
05. [WIU] Super Smash Bros for Wii U (Nintendo) – 206.634 (198.582 / 8052)
06. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (Capcom) – 141.602 (138.266 / 3336)
07. [WIU] Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo) – 111.380 (104.549 / 6831)
08. [3DS] Final Fantasy Explorers (Square Enix) – 95.512 (89.484 / 6028)
09. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch 2: Ganso / Honke (Level-5) – 90.806 (88.928 / 1878)
10. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition (Mojang) – 83.054 ( – / 83.054)
11. [PSP] Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Tag Force Special (Konami) – 79.958 ( – / 79.958)
12. [PSV] Gundam Breaker 2 (Bandai Namco) – 66.204 (55.538 / 10.666)
13. [3DS] Legend of Legacy (Furyu) – 61.559 (56.594 / 4965)
14. [PS3] Gundam Breaker 2 (Bandai Namco) – 54.212 (49.398 / 4814)
15. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo) – 53.981 (51.325 / 2656)
16. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar) – 51.789 (47.238 / 4551)
17. [PS4] Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition (Mojang) – 49.479 ( – / 49.479)
18. [WIU] Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo) – 39.418 (38.613 / 805)
19. [3DS] Sumikko Gurashi: Koko ga Ochitsukundesu (Nippon Columbia) – 38.599 (37.666 / 933)
20. [3DS] Aikatsu! 365-Hi no Idol Days (Bandai Namco) – 37.679 (37.092 / 587)
21. [3DS] One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X (Bandai Namco) – 36.839 (36.247 / 592)
22. [PSV] Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Out of Order (Bandai Namco) – 36.833 (35.182 / 1651)
23. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo) – 35.619 (35.375 / 244)
24. [WIU] Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Nintendo) – 35.172 (33.334 / 1838)
25. [3DS] Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind – Chain (Spike Chunsoft) – 33.443 (32.158 / 1285)
26. [PS3] Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition (Mojang) – 32.397 ( – / 32.397)
27. [3DS] Kenka Bancho 6: Blood and Soul (Spike Chunsoft) – 32.033 (30.794 / 1239)
28. [3DS] Gotouchi Tetsudou: Gotouchi Chara to Nihon Zenkoku no Tabi (Bandai Namco) – 31.431 (30.662 / 769)
29. [PS3] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2015 (Konami) – 27.573 (24.884 / 2689)
30. [WIU] Taiko no Tatsujin: Tokumori! (Bandai Namco) – 27.251 (26.758 / 493)
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Download
GravBlocks+
Wii U Virtual Console
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble
3DS Download
IronFall Invasion
Titan Attacks!
Luv Me Buddies Wonderland
3DS Virtual Console
Donkey Kong Land
Donkey Kong Land 2
Donkey Kong Land III
3DS Themes
NES: Donkey Kong
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: Hunter’s Seal – Available Feb. 28
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: Palicoes 4 Ever – Available Feb. 28
DSiWare
Around the World in 80 Days
eShop Sales
Nintendo eShop on Wii U
Buy one or more participating Donkey Kong games for the Virtual Console service on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and get 30 percent off your Nintendo eShop purchase of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U) and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (Nintendo 3DS). This offer lasts until March 3 at 8:59 a.m. PT. The same Nintendo Network ID must be linked to your Wii U and Nintendo 3DS systems, as well as your Nintendo eShop account prior to purchase in order to be eligible for the discount. Visit http://www.nintendo.com/eshop/offers for more information.
Angry Bunnies: Colossal Carrot Crusade, Cake Ninja 3: The Legend Continues and more games from Cypronia are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 31.
TNT Racers is 37 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $4.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 5.
Toon Tanks is 25 percent off (reduced from $1.99 to $1.49) until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 12.
Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS
3D MahJongg and more games from JoinDot are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 13.
Aqua Moto Racing 3D is 50 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $3.99) from Feb. 26 until 8:59 a.m. PT on March 5.
Price Reduction
Beginning at 9 a.m. PT on March 1, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom and more games from Little Orbit will receive permanent price reductions.
Van Helsing Sniper Zx100 will be reduced to $2.99 (from $6.66) beginning at 9 a.m. PT on Feb. 26.
Source: Nintendo PR
Nintendo has officially confirmed the gold Mario amiibo, which leaked out earlier this month. As was previously thought, the figure will be exclusive to Walmart.
Nintendo says that the amiibo will be sold at 3,000 Walmart stores in the U.S. for $12.96. It will be available on March 20.
You can find today’s full announcement below.
