More: DLC, Mario Golf: World Tour

Photo 1:

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth prepares to hit the Charlotte Motor Speedway racetrack in his GameStop car branded with Mario Kart 8 graphics for the History 300 in Charlotte, NC on May 24, 2014. Mario Kart 8, the newest installment in the fan-favorite video game series from Nintendo, launches exclusively for Wii U on May 30, 2014. (Photo by Nigel Kinrade)

Photo 2:

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Mario and Luigi conduct one last inspection of the GameStop-sponsored Mario Kart 8 racing car driven by NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth at the History 300 race in Charlotte, NC on May 24, 2014. Launching exclusively for Wii U on May 30, 2014, Mario Kart 8 introduces anti-gravity driving and new power-ups like the Super Horn and Boomerang Flower. (Photo by Nigel Kinrade)

Photo 3:

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, fans gets hands-on time with Mario Kart 8 during an event during the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC on May 24, 2014. Mario Kart 8, the newest installment in the fan-favorite video game series from Nintendo, launches exclusively for Wii U on May 30, 2014. (Photo by Nigel Kinrade)

Photo 4:

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, fans wait in line to play Mario Kart 8 at a Nintendo and GameStop event at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC on May 24, 2014. Mario Kart 8, the newest installment in the fan-favorite video game series from Nintendo, launches exclusively for Wii U on May 30, 2014. (Photo by Nigel Kinrade)

More: Mario Kart 8, NASCAR

System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: May 22nd, 2014 (NA/EU)
Developer: The Game Bakers

Author: Austin

Almost three thousand years ago, a shy fellow (I don’t know if he was shy) named Homer lived in Greece, and he wrote two really famous epic poems: The first– The Illiad— is thought to be the oldest surviving piece of western literature ever. The second– The Odyssey— is just as famous, and this week, nearly three millennia after its initial writing, The Game Bakers have created a work directly inspired by the work of Homer for the Wii U eShop. It’s called Squids Odyssey.

Most of what is written in the paragraph above isn’t true. Squids Odyssey does exist, but it’s not a game based around Homer’s Odyssey— no, it’s a creative and unique turn-based strategy game set far beneath the surface of the ocean that’s unfortunately marred by a lack of technical polish and attention. Still, it may be worth your time; read on for details.

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More: 3DS, eshop, highlight, review, Squids Odyssey

On May 20^th, GameSpy ceased all maintenance for multiplayer services that they previously hosted, marking the end of online support for Wii and DS titles and the end of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (WFC) era. Since its launch in November 2005, the little blue circle on the boxes of our beloved franchises have signified the ability to participate in matchmaking online and experience Nintendo’s first real take at online gaming. From Friend Codes to Nintendo branded Wi-Fi dongles, let’s take a look back at some of the best WFC had to offer in all its WEP encrypted, Wii Speak glory.

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More: highlight, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, top

Fit Music for Wii U arrived on the North American Wii U eShop this Thursday. Unfortunately, it’s not very good.

Oxygen Media might be making things worse for themselves by astroturfing on Miiverse. At this point, many believe that the company is promoting Fit Music for Wii U in a secretive way and trying to marketing the game virally.

Check out the above comment for example. That comes from Mario Spiniello… who just so happens to be “a multimedia specialist” for Oxygen Media. There are sadly plenty of similar comments like this, most of which come from Italy – where the company is based.

I can’t see this ending well!

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More: Fit Music for Wii U, Oxygen Media, top

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More: Forbidden Magna, Japan, marvelous

The videos above come from Digital Foundry’s latest report, which delves into the technical elements of Mario Kart 8.

Perhaps most importantly, we finally have confirmation that the game runs at a native 720p resolution – not 1080p as some originally speculated. Digital Foundry also reveals that Mario Kart 8 typically dips to 59 frames per second.

You can find more information about the technical-side of things here.

More: Mario Kart 8

Looking at the images above, I’d definitely say that Hyrule Warriors has seen a visual improvement since we first saw the game. What about you guys?

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More: comparison, Hyrule Warriors, Team Ninja, Tecmo Koei

More: Color Zen, Cypronia

Even more Hyrule Warriors details and developer comments have come out of this week’s Famitsu. Once again, the information comes from producers Hisashi Koinuma and Yosuke Hayashi as well as Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma.

Here’s the latest information from the magazine:

Koinuma on whether we’ll see a similar selection of wide-ranging characters…

“Out of all the playable characters [in Hyrule Warriors], there are some surprising characters that made us say ‘why did you pick this one?!’” added Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma.

– Koinuma said Aonuma didn’t have any requests for certain characters to be included
– Tecmo Koei took care of most of this
– He also joked that Hyrule Warriors has so many characters, that his own staff would get mad at him if he were to ask them to do something similar
– Hayashia said characters can change their weapons and have a completely different fighting style
– Weapon enhancements and character growth systems included
– The Fire Rod-type item seen in the trailer isn’t from the Zelda series
– If a rod like that existed in The Legend of Zelda, we wouldn’t be able to use it in the same way
– Weapons and other important in Hyrule Warriors are acquired through treasure chests
– Hayashi also said that the iconic treasure chest opening animation has been prepared for all of the playable characters

“This is actually a very valuable scene [in The Legend of Zelda]. And this also applies to Hyrule Warriors.” – Aonuma

– According to Hayashi, The Legend of Zelda games have very high-quality boss fights, and if Tecmo Koei were to try emulating something similar, they wouldn’t stand a chance
– Bosses will instead have a Warriors touch by having instances where you’ll face a bunch of smaller enemies to charge up your meter, then unleash a special attack on the boss
– There will also be more Zelda-like features, such as strategically using items that can be found around stages to take on the boss

Message for the fans…

Koinuma: “We plan on having Hyrule Warriors’ first playable demo at E3 this year. With E3 being the opener, we’ll be releasing more and more new information afterwards, so please look forward to it!”

Hayashi: “After watching the trailer that will be shown at E3, it would make us happy to know that you guys will get a better idea of what we’re trying to do. We’ll sequentially reveal the other playable characters, so don’t miss it!”

Aonuma: “I believe it’s safe to say that this title was born as one of the answers from thinking of a new The Legend of Zelda game. By all means, we’d love to have as many people possible enjoy this game.”

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More: details roundup, Eiji Aonuma, Famitsu, Hisashi Koinuma, Hyrule Warriors, interview, Team Ninja, Tecmo Koei, top, Yosuke Hayashi