Nintendo Everything

Mario Kart 8 is off to a solid start in Japan. Nintendo’s racer sold 326,000 copies in its first week, with a 80.9 percent sell-through rate. While this is a bit less than Mario Kart 7 (420,000 units), sales tracker Media Create mentions that this could be due to the timing of release and the number of hardware units sold prior.

Mario Kart 8 experienced the best opening week of any Wii U game in Japan thus far by a significant margin. It surpassed New Super Mario Bros. U, which sold 164,000 units in its first week.

With Mario Kart 8’s launch, the Wii U sold about 20,000 units. That’s quite a bit more than the 9,000 units it sold the week prior, though it’s not the massive boost that some may have hoped for. Still, Mario Kart 8’s launch week was the first time Wii U was in the top spot since the console released with major titles. Media Create mentions that although Nintendo tends to release good titles throughout the year, new users might not be drawn to the Wii U until after summer vacation.

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Via

The 3DS version of SteamWorld Dig does not include achievements. But for the PlayStation and Steam release, developer Image & Form added them in.

One fan asked the studio if achievements is something that would be possible for the upcoming Wii U version. Image & Form’s Julius Guldbog responded by stating that he can’t promise anything but added, “I’ll see what we can do”.

Thanks to Adrian B for the tip.

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Update: Back up and running!

The Wii U and 3DS have both been hit with technical issues. Nintendo says that the two digital stores began encountering issues at around 12:46 PM PT, and have been ongoing since.

A message posted on Nintendo’s network maintenance/network status page reads:

Due to technical difficulties, some online service features may be unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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Below are the latest titles that can be currently pre-ordered at retailers:

Wii U

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Falling Skies: The Game – GameStop
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Skylanders Trap Team – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop,
How to Train Your Dragon 2: The Video Game – Amazon, GameStop
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Watch Dogs – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Bayonetta 2 – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Super Smash Bros. – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Yarn Yoshi – Best Buy

3DS

Story of Seasons – Amazon, GameStop
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Pokemon Omega Ruby – Amazon, Best Buy
Pokemon Alpha Sapphire – Amazon, Best Buy
Scooby Doo & Looney Tunes Cartoon Universe: Adventure – Best Buy, GameStop
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Skylanders Trap Team – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Cooking Mama 5: Bon Appetit! – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Tomodachi Life – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
One Piece: Unlimited World Red – Amazon, GameStop
How to Train Your Dragon 2: The Video Game – Amazon, GameStop
LEGO Ninjago Nindroids – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Farming Simulator ’14 – Amazon
Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Super Smash Bros. – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Putty Squad – Amazon, Best Buy

Thanks to Jake for the tip.

Austin and I continue our E3 2014 chat by discussing announced games Nintendo should be featuring (Hyrule Warriors, X, Smash Bros., etc.), Nintendo’s mystery 3DS session on Wednesday, and more.

You can find the fact sheet after the break.

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Update: Thinking about it, this may just be related to the tethering app Nintendo released in Japan last month. We’ll see.

In Japan, Nintendo has trademarked something involving connectivity between a smartphone and a 3DS.

A translation of the filing reads:

Here’s a translation of the trademark:
[Trademark ID 2014-36705]
Trademark: [image]
Applicant: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Filing Date: May 9, 2014
Publishing Date: June 5th, 2014
Class: 9 (home video game machine program, etc.), 38 (providing information and communication by electronic bulletin board), 41 (mobile games)

It’s unclear how Nintendo will use this trademark, if at all. Remember, just because something is filed, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be put to use.

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