Return of the Golden Nunchuk!

Club Nintendo has said that the elusive Gold Nunchuk Accessory will become available once again today in all its glory for a limited time. We unfortunately missed out on the first offering of the Golden Nunchuk, and haven't quite taken the plunge to spend $60+ bucks

on eBay to purchase one, so we hope to snag one for ourselves today when they become available again. We are literally stalking the Club Nintendo page, waiting for our chance to grab the matching companion to the Golden Wii Remote that we got with our Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword bundle last Christmas. I know we're not the only ones awaiting this either -- Twitter is all abuzz about the Gold Nunchuk becoming available again, with tweets chocked full of tales from people registering every piece of Nintendo product they can find so they have the 900 coins needed to cash in for a piece of the golden prize. Good luck to everyone!

PokeDex 3D Pro Download Error Fix

PokeDex 3D Pro became available today via the Nintendo eShop on your 3DS -- yay! Did you try to download it and get an error 005-6534? Yeah, we did too -- bummer!

The 005-6534 error just states that an error has occurred and to contact Nintendo

if the error continues. After trying to download several times, we finally called Nintendo and after they checked our wireless settings, they said that numerous users in the United States were having the same problem. To fix the problem, they found that if you changed your region settings to another Country (they recommended Canada and a popular territory like Nova Scotia) then go back into the eShop and let it load up. Once the eShop has loaded, you don't want to purchase PokeDex 3D Pro, but go back to your Region settings and change it back to the United States. After that has been set back to the US, go back into the eShop, let it load up and you should be able to successfully purchase PokeDex 3D Pro -- it worked for us! Good luck!

Finding Pokemon Conquest

Pokemon Conquest for Nintendo DS

Pokemon Conquest was officially released by Nintendo of America yesterday, June 18, 2012; finding a copy of the game though, was a challenge!

Although the release date was yesterday, when I went to my local GameStop to pickup my reserved pre-order, I was told that the game wasn't actually released until today, June 19th. We were really looking forward to getting this game, and I was sure I had the release date correct, because I subscribe to the official Nintendo twitter feed, and they send out a message saying that it was out. I looked it up again via Twitter on my cell phone just to make sure, and there the confirmation was in plain sight -- it was released on the 18th.

With this information, I went back into GameStop and appealed to the clerk, showing him the official release info from Nintendo, but he said his hands were tied because their system said the 19th, and they would get fined if they released the game earlier. I completely understood and figured as much, but told the clerk I regrettably had to ask for a refund so I could get the game elsewhere. Really a bummer because we looked forward to the bonus Pokemon that you were supposed to get as a Power Up Rewards member for pre-ordering the game, but again, we just had to have it yesterday!

Well, I took myself on over to Walmart to get the game, but they too said that although the release date said the 18th, they didn't have the items in stock, and that it was probably on the truck on their way to them. How Disappointing! I didn't have the time to another store to try and locate the game, so after all of that, we still didn't get the game on the 18th.

This morning I woke up determined to get the game. I called around to Walmart, Best Buy, ToysRUs, Target, GameStop etc. and FINALLY found the game at one particular Target about 45 minutes away from my home. I went there, got them game (which they said they had JUST received about 10 am) and was a happy camper.

I'm happy to have finally found the game, but it's got me wondering, why was it so hard to get on it's release date? If the official release date was yesterday, why did GameStop have the release date as today, and some other websites have the release date as late as the 28th? Did you have a problem locating Pokemon Conquest as well?

Animal Crossing School Subject Bookmarks

We are huge Animal Crossing fans in our household, so when school started, I thought it would be fun to make some bookmarks featuring Animal Crossing City Folk characters for my son to use with his subjects.  Just a little something to brighten an otherwise boring school day!

Animal Crossing School Subject Bookmarks

Princess Peach Reacts to Nintendo E3 Showing

Looks like Princess Peach had the same reactions to E3 that we did!

Animal Crossing 3DS Still a Work in Progress

It appears that the president of Nintendo America, Reggie Fils-Aime, has said that Animal Crossing 3DS is still very much in development. It's great to know that the game is still on the radar after it didn't make a showing at the Nintendo E3 conference this year, but to hear that it is still in development is a little perplexing, especially given that it is supposed to have a release date of the Fall in Japan. At this rate, it doesn't look like we will see a North American release of Animal Crossing 3DS this year, but we can still hope for a miracle!

The Original Scribblenaut - Jigglypuff

One of the original Scribblenauts -- Jigglypuff!

Animal Crossing Kart Racing

If you combined two of my favorite games -- Mario Kart and Animal Crossing -- you would have a game I would love to play -- Animal Crossing Kart Racing!

Animal Crossing Kart Racing

Tom Nook Means Business

I think this graphic by Animal Crossing fan "Killa Charlie" illustrates the importance of paying off your mortgage with Tom Nook as quickly as possible.

Source: weeklygeekshow.com via NintendoFanatic.com on Pinterest

Reactions to Nintendo's E3 2012 Showing

Nintendo's E3 2012 was held last week, and it was neat to see all of the games that are coming up for the Wii U, not to mention that the console itself looks pretty awesome. I loved the way that Miyamoto came up on the stage and introduced the new Pikmin 3 game, and look forward to playing it; with its rich graphics, it's sure to be a joyful gameplaying experience.

Also introduced was NintendoLand, a game with a theme-park feel that featured various attractions based on famous Nintendo franchises such as Donkey Kong, Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda, Luigi's Mansion, etc. In addition to the mini-game attractions that were demoed at E3, there are said to be another 10 Nintendo franchise themed attractions that you will be able to experience within NintendoLand. NintendoLand showcases the many ways that the new Wii U Gamepad controller can be utilized in gameplay, and as such, it would make a great game to include as a pack-in title with the new Wii U console at the system's launch.

In an effort not to leave Mario fans out in the cold at the Wii U system release and this holiday season, Nintendo also showcased three new Mario games and one Luigi game that will be available by year's end: the Midas-touched Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS, Super Mario Bros U for the new Wii U console, Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS, and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS. I'm personally excited about all of these games, and have all but the Super Mario Bros U already pre-ordered (that one wasn't available when I pre-ordered the other games, but is definitely going on my pre-order list soon).

One title I (and many others apparently!) was looking forward to hearing about at E3 was the Animal Crossing: Jump Out game for the Nintendo 3DS. This game was first announced at E3 2010 and since then, Nintendo has teased us with videos showcasing the many new features, opportunities and gameplay that are available with this newly minted version of a Nintendo beloved franchise. Although we did say Animal Crossing gameplay demoed in the form of a mini-game in the Animal Crossing Sweet Day portion of NintendoLand for the Wii U, there was not one demo, screenshot, updated trailer, or release date for the Animal Crossing 3DS game. This was highly disappointing, as we have heard that our Japanese friends will be getting the game released to them in the Fall of this year. Us Animal Crossing fans assumed that we were going to at least get a few more gameplay videos and a release date window for the game at E3, but to not get an ounce of information is quite unfathomable. Hopefully Nintendo has heard our collective cries for more info on this game, and will be forthcoming with additional gameplay footage and release date info soon. We're counting on you, Nintendo!

In addition to the games mentioned above, there were actually quite a few games mentioned at E3 2012 that will be released at the time of the launch of the Wii U; here's a listing of the launch title lineup:

Pikmin 3
New Super Mario Bros. U
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Darksiders 2
Mass Effect 3
TANK! TANK! TANK!
Tekken Tag Tournment 2
Trine 2: Director’s Cut
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
Aliens Colonial Marines
Wii Fit U
Sing!
LEGO City: Undercover
Just Dance 4
ZombiU
The Avengers: Battle for Earth
Assassin’s Creed III
Rayman Legends
Rabbids Land
YourShape: Fitness Evolved 2013

Looks like there's something for everyone!

All in all, the E3 conference was a success, and Nintendo definitely had the best showing of any of the gaming giants that showcased their wares at E3. We're sure to hear more about the Wii U, 3DS and their associated games in the next few months leading up to their holiday release -- looking forward to hearing every bit of it!

Kid Icarus Uprising AR Card Scans - 61 Cards!

If you didn't have a chance to make it to any of the Kid Icarus Uprising events to collect the special AR cards, never fear! I have created a video of the AR cards we were able to get from attending the Kid Icarus Best Buy and GameStop events, as well as ones we got from Club Nintendo and the Kid Icarus Uprising Prima Guide. We have 61 in all!

I created this video so that you guys could get good scans of the cards, so there's no fluff like music or commentary, but I hope you guys still enjoy it and find the video useful. Happy viewing and scanning!

Oh, and by the way, if you find the video useful, please like and subscribe to my videos on YouTube -- I'd appreciate it!  :)

Animal Crossing June DLC - Creepy Coffin

On June 1st, our peeps in Animal Crossing City Folk received a Creepy Coffin gift from Nintendo via Pete the mailman. I suppose you could put this with the Spooky Decor, but really, where is it really appropriate to store a coffin (with a skeleton in it mind you!) other than a funeral home, morgue or cemetery! I might've expected this for October, but seems a little strange to get it in June. Not complaining though, we didn't have it yet! :-)

At any rate, Lou, one of the characters in one of our Animal Crossing towns tries to figure out why he got this peculiar gift. Watch the video below to see if he finds out.

Club Nintendo Mario Kart 7 Tournament

This one's for all you racing fans!

In the Nintendo Update for May 31, 2012, Nintendo announced that there will be a Club Nintendo Mario Kart 7 Tournament competition starting on June 11th. The top 3 scoring players in the tournament will have their screen names featured on the Nintendo Facebook page, as well as the Club Nintendo page at club.nintendo.com.

To enter the tournament, visit http://club.nintendo.com on June 11th to get the Mario Kart 7 Community code.   The contest runs until June 29th at 5 pm EST.  Good luck and happy racing!

Order Up!! Demo for 3DS in eShop Today

Today's Nintendo eShop update provided a download for a game that I've been looking forward to trying since I found out it was coming out -- Order Up!! for the Nintendo 3DS. The gameplay of this version of Order Up!! contains challenging tasks that are just as much fun as its predecessor on the Nintendo Wii.

Here's the description from the Nintendo eShop:

Experience the dizzying life of a a top-notch chef and restaurateur as you prepare all manner of exotic food on your way to building your own restaurant empire from the ground up!

Explore an island paradise to discover and play in fun and unique locations. Along the way you will face picky patrons, snobby food critics, one grouchy health inspector and more.

FEATURES
- New restaurants, characters, and music to go along with re-sampled audio, visuals and full support of the 3D slider feature.
- Newly revamped controls to take advantage of the Touch Screen.
- Whimsical humor offers a balance to the manic table-juggling game play.

I have downloaded the demo version and it was lots of fun to play -- if you enjoyed the Wii version of Order Up!! be sure to check out the 3DS version. You won't be disappointed!

Order Up!! for the 3DS is due to be released on June 21, 2012 at for a bargain price of $9.99.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States, and our Animal Crossing characters have gathered together to pay tribute to our military and enjoy a cook-out.

Thank you to all of the men and women and their families that are currently serving and have served in our military -- without them, having the freedom to enjoy BBQs, play video games and other things we have fun doing on a regular basis would not be possible. Happy Memorial Day -- we salute you!

GameStop Pre-Orders = Good Deal!

Nintendo has a TON of great games coming up -- probably before the end of the year -- and you know you will want to get your hands on all of the latest games, ideally right on their release dates. The thing is, some of these games are going to be released around the same time, and at about $40-$50 a pop, this can get kind of pricey real quickly.

Everyone knows that you can pre-order games to ensure you have them on their release date from various retailers, but what you may not know is that GameStop has a great pre-order program that might just make it possible for you to get all of the games you want to get right on their release date. Unlike other retailers that offer pre-orders, GameStop's pre-order program only requires that you put down $5 to reserve a copy of the game, not the entire amount upfront; you just have to have the remainder of the full price of the game paid by the time you come to pick it up. You can choose whether you want to pay a little bit here and there to whittle down the amount due at the time of pick up, or you can just wait and pay the whole kit and kaboodle at one time. If you're strapped on cash, being able to pay in increments is a definite plus!

Not only does GameStop's pre-order program give you the opportunity to make incremental payments toward a game, it also lets you take advantage of special promotions that GameStop may be offering to only those persons that pre-order or purchase a game by a certain date. Yet another perk!

I personally can say that I am taking advantage of this pre-order program -- I pre-ordered 8 DS/3DS games today, all for only $40 bucks total, and the best part is, I can take a while to pay for them, as most games are not due to be released until later this year.

If you've never done a pre-order at GameStop, this program is perfect incentive to try it -- go for it!

Midnight Purple Nintendo 3DS Unboxed

The Midnight Purple Nintendo 3DS was released on Sunday, and it is quite stunning, as you probably imagined. The photos below show what the box and insides of the Midnight Purple 3DS look like -- enjoy!

Midnight Purple Nintendo 3DS Box

Paperwork inside of Midnight Purple 3DS Box

Layer under paperwork in Midnight Purple 3DS Box

Midnight Purple Nintendo 3DS Body - Closed (inside of charging dock)

Midnight Purple Nintendo 3DS - Opened and Launched

Club Nintendo Red Mario 3DS Pouch

Club Nintendo announced a new reward today, and for Mario fans, it's a definite GET. The new reward is a special edition red pouch in the shape of Mario's cap, measures 5 x 7 inches, and is made of durable nylon. It fits Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DSi, and Nintendo DS Lite systems, and also has a built-in storage case for your favorite DS or 3DS game. You can get the Mario 3DS case by cashing in 450 coins on the Club Nintendo site.

Kid Icarus Uprising Weapons Infographic

Have you gotten your hands a copy of Kid Icarus Uprising yet? If so, you probably know how integral an excellent weapon is to coming out victorious in battles.

If you haven't quite figured out what weapons are good for what uses, Nintendo UK has come up with a wonderful infographic that goes into detail regarding the weapons in the game. This colorful and informative graphic will help you decide which weapon is best to use, and in the process, probably give you insight on which weapons would be best to fuse together to come up with the best boss-beating weapon you can construct.

Click the image below to view it full size.

Courtesy of Nintendo. Kid Icarus: Uprising is available on the Nintendo 3DS

Awesome Pokemon Trainer Creator Tool

Have you ever wanted to create a your own customized Pokemon trainer, but just don't have the drawing chops to do so? Well, there is a Pokemon fan out there that goes by the username hapuriainen that has developed a totally awesome tool on deviantart to let you create and customize your own Pokemon trainer, complete with accessories like backpacks and Pokeballs to name a few.

This Pokemon Trainer Creator tool is something like the Mii Maker on the 3DS, but in addition to being able to customize your hair, eyes, skin and eye color, you can also customize what accessories go on your arms and legs, and also choose from several outfits and shoe styles. You can create either a boy or girl Pokemon Trainer, and can also have your choice of any one of 649 Pokemon to accompany you in your creation!

You can see an example of the Pokemon Trainer I created below (with one of my favorite Pokemon, Oshawatt) using the tool -- visit http://hapuriainen.deviantart.com/ to create and customize your own!

It's Kid Icarus Uprising Battle Day!

Nintendo of America has deemed today Kid Icarus Uprising MultiPlayer Battle Day. You can go online and do a Light vs. Dark or Free-for-All battle with other players via the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. There are also various Meetups planned across the country, so you may be able to find someone locally you can battle it out with face to face. There's 24 hours of battling goodness to be had, so if nothing else, at least go online and play! In the battle-cry words of Pit -- "The fight is on!"

Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad Pro In Stock

The seemingly elusive Circle Pad Pro for the Nintendo 3DS is finally back in stock and available to purchase online directly from Nintendo and GameStop. The Circle Pad Pro is great for games like Kid Icarus Uprising and Resident Evil Revelations; hopefully Nintendo will have more games in the future that will use this accessory. The retail price for the Circle Pad Pro is $19.99 -- get it while it's in stock!

Princess Peach Goes Glam for Twitter

Looks like Princess Peach has discovered social media and decided to take a glamour shot of herself -- bet she'll be tweeting this in no time! This image was created and displayed by Nintendo fan Andrew Golden on his Facebook page.

Link: The Legend of Pac-Man Video

Another Nintendo fan video creation from YouTube, courtesy of YouTube user NicksplosionFX. This video creates a mashable of two classic games that everyone knows and loves, The Legend of Zelda and Pac-Man. If someone would actually develop this game, I'm sure it would be downloaded and enjoyed by many; I bet people are already working on it, lol! Enjoy!

The Legend of Zelda Rocks!

The Legend of Zelda is known for having some of the most moving and epic music you will ever find in a video game series. When the Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary soundtrack came out bundled with the Skyward Sword release, we were ecstatic, and with news of a Legend of Zelda Symphony concert touring the country, we jumped on buying tickets months in advance of the event so we could be sure experience the music that we loved so much up close and live.

Well, there's another Zelda fan out there just as hyped as we are about this excellent music, and so much so, that he created his own Zelda-inspired rock music album.

The artist's name is Cory Johnson, and he described the tribute album, titled simply "The Legend of Zelda", as "a post-rock inspired rearrangement of Koji Kondo's music from the Legend of Zelda series". You can listen to all 23 tracks of the album below, and if you decide you want to download the album, visit the the Cory Johnson Legend of Zelda BandCamp page.

There is no set purchase price for the album, so you can download it for free if you want, however for all of the work that was put into this album, see if you can drop him a few bucks. Enjoy! :)

Happy Mother's Day 2012!

Today is Mother's Day, so I hope all of the Mothers out there are having a great day! If you're not a mother, you definitely have one (as everybody does, Bowser Koopa), so be sure to let your Mom know how much you appreciate her, and make her day special!

Free Darkrai Pokemon Event Going On Now

Pokemon.com, the official site of Pokemon, is currently holding a special distribution event where you can get a free Mythical Darkrai for your Pokemon Black and White versions. To get this special Pokemon, you will need to connect via the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection using your Nintendo DS, DSi or 3DS, and have no more than 11 Wonder Cards in your possession. Here is a description of Darkrai from the Pokemon.com website:

Mythical Darkrai Stats via Pokemon Distribution Event

When you get this incredible Pokémon, it will be Level 50, and will already have its signature Dark Void attack,

which puts its target (or targets in Double Battles) to sleep. Dark Void is so powerful, it's one of only a few moves not allowed in competitive play! Darkrai also arrives holding a valuable Enigma Berry, which restores 1/4 of the holder's HP when that Pokémon is hit by a supereffective move.

For more info, visit the following link: http://www.pokemon.com/us/ex/darkrai/get-darkrai/

Club Nintendo Surprise Box Contents Revealed

Late last month, Club Nintendo offered six different limited quantity Surprise Box boxes that you could purchase for 300 coins. Each of the boxes were said to have at least two different prizes and be worth at least 500 coins. The Surprise Boxes featured Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Peach, Yoshi and a Goomba.

On the Club Nintendo Facebook page, they revealed what the Surprise Boxes contained, and ran a poll asking which items we would want if we were to get one; take a look below:

Club Nintendo Surprise Box Contents

I didn't get a chance to get one of the Surprise Boxes, so the best I could do is make my own Surprise Box from Nintendo items I already had -- a Link plush that I purchased from Gamestop, and a Super Mario Snerdles candy question coin block I purchased from eStarland.  My Surprise Box contained Toon Link from The Legend of Zelda, lol!

Shakeup to Nintendo DS Offerings

Earlier this week, Nintendo Japan announced that it will no longer manufacture the Aqua Blue 3DS. Why? No official word, but my guess is with the 3DS color palette expanding, they are looking to discontinue colors that aren't selling as well as others. There have been grumblings on the net that suggest a green 3DS would make a lot of people happy -- maybe they will replace the Aqua one with a green one! One thing for sure, it's possible that like with all discontinued Nintendo systems, the Aqua Blue 3DS

may become a sought after collector's edition over the next few years, which could possibly fetch you a tidy profit on eBay, if you're looking for an Nintendo investment item. Wonder if any other colors are on the chopping block?

In addition to the Aqua Blue 3DS news, Nintendo also announced that on May 20th, the price of the Nintendo DSi will drop to $99.99, and the price of the DSi XL will drop to $129.99. This is also the day that the new Midnight Purple 3DS will be released. Oh the choices! We already have a Burgundy DSi XL, and Flame Red 3DS, but we will definitely be getting the Midnight Purple 3DS. Still pondering if we're gonna get an additional newly price-dropped DSi XL for our collection. Now if they would only drop the price of the special Nintendo Wii Blue Console....

Will you be picking up one of these systems?

Kid Icarus No More-icus?

In a recent interview, Kid Icarus Uprising creator Masahiro Sakurai mentioned that he has no plans on creating a sequel to the newly-released Kid Icarus game, because he felt that he was able to include everything he wanted to in the game, and because he thinks that people would get bored with the novelty of the game.

This was sad and equally surprising news to me; I figured that this title would maybe be on on its way to becoming one of the next big series' for Nintendo, something with the potential along the lines of The Legend of Zelda franchise. Nintendo seemed to

have heavily promoted this game, with launch events and multiple Gameplay events across the country at Best Buys and Gamestops, where players could engage in head-to-head Icarus battles with one another, and pick up at least one set of the new nifty AR trading cards.

Sakurai somewhat left the door open at least, stating that although he has no plans to develop another Kid Icarus game, maybe someone else will within the next 25 years. When I played Kid Icarus for the first time, I was just about 3 years older than my son is now -- in another 25 years, my son will just about be my age; I guess at least he'll be able to look forward to playing the next iteration of Kid Icarus with his son/daughter and I with my grandchildren! In the meantime, I guess we'll just have to get our Pit fix from Kid Icarus: Uprising, 3D Classics Kid Icarus and vintage Captain N cartoons! :-)

Animal Crossing 24 Hour Music Soundtrack!

As an Animal Crossing fan, one of things that I enjoy most about the game is the soothing and relaxing music that plays in the background while you're doing your daily business such as visiting the animals, fishing, catching bugs, etc. The serenity of the game is what makes it have such a wide appeal, and the music is a huge part of that.

Have you ever thought that if you could listen to this background music while doing your daily mundane tasks that your life would be so much better? Well, if so, you are SO in luck! Brian Lee, a computer programmer (and obviously huge Animal Crossing fan!) from Redmond, Washington used his awesome skills to scour YouTube for Animal Crossing background music that matched every hour of the day. He then took this music and magically looped it into a YouTube video that can be kept open on a tab in your web browser and will automatically play the Animal Crossing background music that corresponds to that hour in the game, based on the current time on your computer's internal clock! It's so neat to see the time on your computer and the music in the video change at the same time!

To add to the awesomeness, you can switch between the background music of the original GameCube version of Animal Crossing, the newer updated music of the Animal Crossing Wild World or City Folk, and the newest version of Animal Crossing New Leaf games. To choose which music you want to hear, click on the second oval that appears at the bottom left-hand corner of the window. When the GameCube version is chosen, clicking the text "wwcf" appearing in the oval will switch to the City Folk/Wild World music; once listening to the WW/CF music, clicking on the text "orig" in the oval will take you back to the GameCube music. To listen to the Animal Crossing New Leaf music, click on the "nl" oval.

One more neat feature that Brian has included is that the background of the page that the videos are displayed on contains the Animal Crossing grass pattern. As the time gets earlier or later in the day, the grass appears either lighter or darker to correspond with the change in time as it would in the real world! Excellent!

To access this wonderful music, visit the following pages:

For the Animal Crossing GameCube music, visit http://tane.us/ac/

For the Animal Crossing Wild World/City Folk music, visit http://tane.us/ac/wwcf.html

For the Animal Crossing New Leaf music, visit http://tane.us/ac/nl.html

Enjoy!

Animal Crossing Riverdance?

I got a glitch today while playing my GameCube Animal Crossing that has it looking like Wart Jr. is Riverdancing, LOL! What makes this extra funny to me is that Wart Jr. is usually a rude, uptight character with a bad attitude. Maybe doing this little dance will lighten him up a little!

The music in the video is "Cry of the Celts" by Ronan Hardiman from "Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance" CD. - Enjoy!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Animal Crossing City Folk today, (and in the real world too!)  Click the picture to view a larger image.  Hope you have a great day!  

Cinco de Mayo in Animal Crossing City Folk

Animal Crossing Gracie Dresser

Well, today is May 1st, and that means another special delivery from Nintendo via Pete the Pelican. In this month's delivery,

Animal Crossing City Folk players will each receive a Gracie Dresser! This unique piece of furniture looks more like a vanity because when opened, a mirror pops up and reveals what looks like a couple of perfume bottles and possibly a jewelry box or glasses case (not quite sure what the mysterious case is inside of the dresser!). This piece of furniture looks great with the rest of the Gracie Grace decor, and best of all, you don't have to spend the tons of bells that you usually have to pay for Gracie furniture to get it!

Of course to receive these special deliveries, your Wii must be connected to WiiConnect24 via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, so if you haven't done so yet, go ahead and do it so you can get these special Nintendo deliveries as well!

Animal Crossing City Folk Gracie Dresser (click to enlarge)

Confirmed: Purple 3DS Coming May 20

Nintendo finally confirmed today that the beautiful Midnight Purple 3DS will be launched on May 20, 2012 to coincide with the Mario Tennis Open 3DS title. So excited, and am definitely getting one!  I was going to return the Cosmo Black one I purchased on Saturday to get this one, but since Mother's Day is coming up and my mother is an Animal Crossing fanatic, I might just keep the Cosmo Black one and give it to her and then get the Midnight Purple one for me on 5/20.  Our little collection will then be complete! 

View more details about the Midnight Purple 3DS on the Nintendo 3DS - Official Website at Nintendo.

Official Midnight Purple 3DS

Purple 3DS Coming in May?

Midnight Purple Nintendo 3DS Box

It has been rumored that a Midnight Purple 3DS will be released in May (May 20th to be exact) to coincide with the North American release of Mario Tennis Open 3DS. I love this color! I actually went to another Kid Icarus event (at Gamestop this time) this weekend and asked the Nintendo rep if they were going to be releasing a purple 3DS. She said that maybe overseas, but she didn't really know about here in the USA. Since the news hasn't been officially released by Nintendo, if she did know, I understand why she would have to keep the news hush hush. At any rate, I went ahead and bought a Cosmo Black 3DS that day so I could battle things out with my son on the games he likes to play on his Flame Red 3DS.

Before I opened the black system though, I thought I would hold off until I could research some more to see if my spidey senses were correct that the elusive purple 3DS would become available. Low and behold, it's all over the net that Sam's Club had a listing for a Midnight Purple 3DS appear on their website. Of course when I went to look for myself, the listing had been removed, but still, the news is enough for me to go ahead and return the Cosmo Black one and hold out for the purple one that hopefully will be coming in the next few weeks. Now if we can only get an updated release date for Animal Crossing 3DS and Paper Mario 3DS....

Super Mario Smartphone on the Way?

In a recent LA Times article, it was reported that Nintendo has posted its first loss in over 30 years (about half a billion dollars). This has been mainly due to competition from the rise of purchases in smartphones, tablets, XBoxes and Playstations, coupled with the fact that sales of the Wii and DS consoles have been on the decline. Because of this loss, there have been reports that analysts are calling for Nintendo to take their popular game franchises such as Mario, et al, to other platforms such as smartphones and tablets. I STRONGLY disagree with this assessment!

If Nintendo were to take their most prized franchises and make them accessible to other platforms, what would be the incentive to buy Nintendo systems and hardware? Sure, there are Nintendo loyalists (like myself of course) that would buy the Nintendo systems and play the games on that hardware, but for fans of the Xbox, Playstation, smartphones and tablets, what would be the "push" to buy a Nintendo system? I think Nintendo would take even greater losses in the future if they made this move.

Sure, the 3DS had a slow start and less than projected sales, but I honestly think that had more to do with the

fact that they did not release enough "popular" titled games with the system release. I have no doubt in my mind that if the 3DS was launched with Kid Icarus Uprising, Luigi's Mansion 2, Paper Mario 3DS, Mario Kart 7 and Animal Crossing 3DS readily available for purchase, the systems would have flown off the shelves, and there would probably have been more demand than supply. Hey, they are allowed some missteps, right? I mean come on -- this was their FIRST loss in over 30 YEARS -- they must be doing SOMETHING right!!!!

I also just CAN'T imagine Mario, Zelda, Kirby, or Pokemon games, etc., on any other system than a genuine Nintendo system. Remember playing Mario games on the PC or CD-i system? Did you get the same "warm and fuzzy" feelings you got when playing on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo or Gameboy Advance? I didn't think so. The Nintendo systems are user-friendly, beautifully crafted, and hey, I GREW UP with them. You will NEVER erase the sentimentalism attached to my beloved Nintendo systems -- don't underestimate it!

Nintendo is great at making mini-games (love the Mario Party series!), so if they just want to expand on that and make "lite" versions of those type of games to play on smartphones and tablets, that may not be such a bad idea; they just have to be sure to keep the fully-featured, mouth-watering, eye-popping games exclusively for Nintendo systems -- there, problem solved.

Additionally, if Nintendo wants to EXPAND their existing system line-up to include a Nintendo-created smartphone or tablet, I'm in -- just tell me when and where to purchase it and I'm there with money in hand!

Stay strong Nintendo!

Fun Day at Kid Icarus Best Buy Event

We attended a Kid Icarus Uprising Gameplay session at Best Buy yesterday and had a great time! We kinda found out about the event at the last minute, and the closest one to us was about a 2 hour drive away, but we hopped in the car and made it for the last hour of the event. Although there were not that many people at the event by the time we got there, we were happy to get the Streetpass notifications that we did receive (and believe me, since we've had a hard time running across people through Streetpass, that WAS a big deal to us), and of course a couple of sets of the Kid Icarus Uprising AR cards for our expanding collection.

Another unexpected highlight for us was getting to meet the Nintendo Rep and talk about other aspects of Nintendo. Since there were not that many people there, we asked the rep all kinds of questions about upcoming game releases, the end of Nintendo Week, Nintendo Direct, why the Wii no longer has Gamecube controller ports, the upcoming release of the Wii U, the new Spirit Camera game (which he was playing and we ended up buying a copy of) and pretty much anything else we could think of.

By the time we were done, he probably felt like he was being interviewed, LOL!!! The rep was also nice enough to give us a couple of extra items he had left over from other Nintendo events we had missed, since he was impressed that we drove a distance to attend (and that we had so many Nintendo systems and products). We're going out of town soon and there just happens to be another event near where we're going, so we plan on attending that one as well (hopefully we'll be able to get there near the beginning of the event this time and get more Streetpasses!).

I asked the rep if there were any other Kid Icarus or other Nintendo events coming up soon, and he said although the calendar on the Kid Icarus Uprising site only displayed dates up through the beginning of May, there will be other events planned in the future. Nintendo is holding these events at Best Buys and Gamestops across the country, so if you didn't get a chance to attend one yet, you may not be out of luck. All of the events are held from 1 - 4 PM on Saturdays; to see the next upcoming events for your area, view the Kid Icarus Uprising Gameplay Events Calendar.

Animal Crossing 3DS Release Date?

Are you as big of an Animal Crossing fan as we are? If so, I'm sure you are wondering when the Animal Crossing 3DS game is going to be released. I mean, it was mentioned at the 2011 E3 conference as an upcoming title for the 3DS, but STILL there is no official release date! I'm not quite sure what the hold up is, but from my experiences working in a software development environment, I believe the game may have been caught in a bad scope creep where they possibly keep adding more and more stuff, which in turn would need to be tested, which eventually pushes out the release date.  I can certainly understand how this can happen with a game like Animal Crossing, because there are so many facets of life to cover with so much detail, and they want to provide a great gaming experience (and we DO appreciate that!).

Sure, from the highlights shown in the Animal Crossing 3DS trailer (video below),

they are adding cool new features we will love such as the ability to swim, change your shoes (more than just color), add decor to your walls, and customize your furniture, and that will definitely require an overhaul of the original programming, but come on, we're dying here!  I remember seeing an initial release date of May 2012 for this masterpiece, but in the latest issue of Nintendo Power in their upcoming releases section, Animal Crossing had the depressing and dreaded "TBA" listed.  Truly disappointing!

Why is this such a big deal to us? Well, to truly understand, you have to know how obsessed we are with Animal Crossing in general.   For starters, we have 6 Wiis, each with their own copy of Animal Crossing City Folk and all containing towns with four characters each. We also have two DS Lites and one DSi XL that each have their own copy of Wild World, and even one Gamecube where we use 10(!) different memory cards to play the original Animal Crossing.  Yes, we enjoy Animal Crossing so much in our household, that even with all of the towns we already have, we are so excited to add another one to our collection for our 3DS system.

Even if Animal Crossing 3DS isn't going to be released in the next month or two (sniff, sniff), some sort of update from Nintendo would be nice -- maybe at this year's E3 event we'll get news that will give us some hope.  Until then though, I guess we'll keep plugging away at our current towns!

Happy Nintendo Land Tax Day!

It's that time of year again -- time to file your taxes! To lighten up what might be a somber mood and add a little funny to your day, I thought I'd come up with a couple of (hopefully) humorous Nintendo-themed, tax-related images.  So.... are you having a Luigi IRS nightmare type of day, or a Cha-Ching! tax refund day like one of our Animal Crossing characters?

Animal Crossing Tax Refund Day

Shigeru Miyamoto to Retire -- Someday

Nintendo icon Shigeru Miyamoto will need to retire someday, a realization that he and the rest of us will have to cope with.

In a recent interview with Spanish language newspaper El Mundo, Shigeru Miyamoto says that he has been telling Nintendo insiders that he will need to retire at some point since he is almost 60, and that they should prepare for this eventual occurrence. Miyamoto says that he is still active, but has already started to give more and more responsibility to younger staff members and that their visions are increasingly like his for such iconic Nintendo characters such as Mario and Zelda.

Miyamoto says in a way it is sad, because it is almost like he isn't needed any longer, but he is thankful that the characters will continue on after his departure.

The thought of a Miyamoto-less Nintendo is a sad one for gamers around the world, and I'm sure a daunting one for Nintendo execs. Clearly, Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the most -- if not THE most -- influential, ground-breaking person in the video game industry. His never-ending imagination and tireless energy have brought millions of people throughout the world, in all age ranges, extreme happiness on a constant basis. Even though he may eventually retire, he will never be forgotten or irrelevant. Mr. Miyamoto, we are truly thankful for your contributions to our lives and when you do retire, we hope you are able to relax and truly enjoy it -- you certainly deserve it!

Super Mario 4 E3 Demo on the Way!

A few days ago, Nintendo registered the domain name SuperMario4.com (visiting the domain takes you to the Nintendo USA website), and now Shigeru Miyamoto himself has also confirmed to Spanish newspaper El Mundo that there will be a Super Mario title for the Nintendo Wii U demoed at the E3 conference this year that will make use of the TV screen and tablet remote.

This of course is SUPER news, and I think is just want Nintendo needs to do to jumpstart the interest in the Wii U again.  If they manage to make this a launch title or even bundle this with the Wii U and at it's release, this is sure to make picking up one of these systems right at the time of launch a lot more enticing.

We can't wait to see what else the Nintendo Wii U and Mr. Miyamoto holds for us!

Dirty Harry Bowser

As if being in Luigi's Mansion isn't scary enough, imagine if when Bowser finally came out of the picture, he was packing heat (and not from his breath)! Here's Bowser doing his best Dirty Harry impression -- how'd he do? (Click image for larger view)

Dirty Harry Bowser on Luigi's Mansion Stage

Tickle Me Bowser

Tickle Me Bowser via Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Isn't it funny how a facial expression taken out of context can look one thing is happening, but in reality something else is? If you know Super Smash Brothers Brawl, this look on Bowser's face says he's being dealt a bad blow, but if you just saw the image somewhere else, wouldn't you think he is laughing hysterically from someone tickling his Koopa feet?

Nintendo's 3DS Viral Video Tweet

At this point, you've probably seen it -- the video that Nintendo tweeted about yesterday with Joel McHale trying to not sell us a Nintendo 3DS. The video had all kinds of blatant marketing tactics and innuendo in it, and really was pushing hard for us to go out and get a 3DS if we don't already have one. Of course, being the fanatics we are, there was no need to do this for us (they had us at "Nintendo"), but I wonder how effective this will be in garnering more sales. In case you haven't seen it, here's the video:

For Nintendo's sake, I hope it skyrockets sales so that they feel that this was worth it. I actually feel really bad for them, because I think the 3DS is a wonderful feature-rich system, and actually don't think that the original $250 price point was too bad, even though I was happy to get it cheaper. It is my firm belief that the system would have sold a lot more units at its launch if they had more popular titles released with it or at least around the same time.

I know that the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Super Street Fighter IV were out around the time of launch (and that was great), but those were games that people had already played in one form or another (albeit in non-3D glory) and I'm not sure that it was a big enough incentive to make buyers run out and purchase the system. I have to admit, even though we are Nintendo fanatics and the 3D features and tools of the 3DS boasts are impressive, I didn't feel the need to run out and get the 3DS right at launch, as I didn't feel there were enough new popular games to warrant an immediate, must-have purchase. If Super Mario Land 3D, Mario Kart 7, and Kid Icarus Uprising had been released around the 3DS launch, we would have immediately been all over it, and others probably would have as well. We're still salivating for Animal Crossing 3DS, Paper Mario 3DS and Luigi's Mansion 2 to be released, and hope a Kirby title for the 3DS is on its way.

I hope that when the Wii U is released (rumored to be in mid-November), there are a great array of (popular) titles to choose from (at least one spectacular Mario title, please!) that will entice buyers to buy! buy! buy! immediately at whatever price point they set so they don't have to take a loss on all of their hard work, and come up with what seems like desperate marketing tactics.

Good luck, Nintendo!

A Year in the Life of the 3DS

Found this timeline infographic detailing the past year in the life of the Nintendo 3DS on Pinterest -- pretty cool!

Source: wp.me via Alfredo on Pinterest

Smash Brothers Brawl - Caption This! - Week 2

Our Super Smash Brothers Brawl Caption This! photo from week 1 brought you a picture of Princess Peach and Pikachu battling it out on the Pokemon Stadium stage; this week's photo features Donkey Kong and Wario on The Bridge of Eldin stage from The Legend of Zelda.  What's your caption?

Wario and Donkey Kong on The Bridge of Eldin Stage

Happy Easter Nintendo Fans!

Here are some cool Nintendo-themed Easter eggs I found while scouring the 'net. I was thinking about creating some eggs featuring Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach, maybe a couple of bullet bills and mushrooms, but nothing as creative as these! These are awesome!

Nintendo Eggs by ~Red-Flare on deviantART

Pokemon Eggs by ~Red-Flare on deviantART

Source: google.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Smash Brothers Brawl Pix - Caption This! - Week 1

I realize that Super Smash Brothers Brawl (often referred to as SSBB) is a somewhat older game for the Wii at this point, but we still play it on an almost daily basis,

and it just NEVER gets old!  Of course if you play the game this often, you are bound to see all kinds of hilarious shots, and the (awesome!) developers of the game made it possible to capture these outrageous scenes to enjoy over and over again.

To that end, I thought it would be cool to post a funny photo weekly and see how many different captions one photo would elicit.  Below is this week's comment-worthy photo featuring Princess Peach and Pikachu on the Pokemon Stadium Stage (click photo to view larger image).

Princess Peach and Pikachu on Pokemon Stadium Stage

What would your caption be?

Animal Crossing - April Fools Day 2012

Well it's April 1st (no foolin'!) and there are several exciting things going on in Animal Crossing today.

In the original Animal Crossing for the GameCube, it's April Fool's Day, and if your characters visit Tortimer the Mayor, they will get a special Super Tortimer game from him which looks like an original NES game system commemorating the day.

On Animal Crossing City Folk, Tortimer plays a quick trick on you and gives you nothing at first, then gives you a leaf to store in your home.

Animal Crossing City Folk Sweets Player

Normally, if you find a leaf on the ground, it represents some sort of furniture or home furnishing item, but this leaf from Tortimer is just that -- a leaf that looks like a leaf.

If your Animal Crossing City Folk is connected to Wi-Fi, since it's the first of the month you also received your monthly special delivery from Nintendo via Pete the (pelican) mailman -- a Sweets Player for your decor. This is a rare item that is not a normal part of the Sweets Decor, so hopefully you were able to get it.



If you're an Animal Crossing Wild World DS player, unfortunately there weren't any special events in your town today, but don't despair -- there's bound to be an event around the corner!

3D Classics Kid Icarus at Gamestop

So you didn't pre-order Kid Icarus: Uprising from Best Buy, Amazon or Gamestop and get the free download code for the 3D Classics: Kid Icarus game, but you really want it? Well, you're in luck -- Gamestop is now offering download codes for the game in their stores and via the GameStop.com Download Center (DLC) for only $5.99.

This is just one of several Nintendo eShop games that Gamestop is going to be offering for download; nice to know that you don't always HAVE to pre-order to get the goods!

Zelda GameCube Controller Prototype Sold on eBay

A few years back when The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Nintendo GameCube was being introduced, Nintendo had initially planned on also releasing a custom-made, limited edition controller to go along with the game. Nintendo eventually decided not to release the controller, but a prototype or two still existed, and one of them was recently sold on eBay.

Legend of Zelda GameCube Controller Prototype

Storage Case Prototype for Zelda GameCube Controller

The controller was initially going to be released in what looks like an antique book-styled packaging, and you have to love the removable leather sheath that

fits over the bottom-right section of the controller. The eBay Completed Listings showed the controller sold for $6,000, but when you clicked on the actual product page for the listing, it showed it sold for $2,500. Since the item was being sold worldwide, I guess it's possible the difference in the pricing was due to regional monetary conversions, and the two amounts are equivalent.

The pix shown are screenshots from the original listing by eBay seller GameTimeVault. Even though the controller is non-functional, it's rarity would still make it one heck of a enviable Zelda collector's item, don't you think?

Nintendo Week Update - March 29, 2012 - Farewell

Sadly, this week's Nintendo Week episode ended with a screen saying pretty much "Thanks for watching, hope you keep playing our games".

I guess we should have seen the writing on the wall -- first, episodes starting getting shorter and shorter, then co-host Alison Whitney left. 

Although sometimes the commentary was goofy, we still enjoyed watching it.

In this final episode, Gary and Dark Gary discuss how to perfect techniques in Kid Icarus 3D, the role and importance of Palutena, and strategies on beating certain enemies.  The StreetPass and SpotPass features of Kid Icarus 3D are also discussed.  Dark Gary gives an overview of Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii, and Gary overviews CRUSH 3D for the Nintendo 3DS.  Then, the crushing news of the end of Nintendo Week.

The final episode aired March 29, 2012 can be watched below:

I guess our feelings about this can be summed up by this emotion-filled character picture from one of our Animal Crossing towns -- we're so sad!