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At a Nintendo briefing in Japan, much of the topic of discussion was on the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and many of the upcoming games to be released. However, there was still a slight mention of the Legend of Zelda for the Wii U. Shigeru Miyamoto was in attendance and while we don’t know exactly [...]

The Symphony of the Goddess Tour is now underway. After three events last year in Tokyo, Los Angeles, and London, the Zelda Symphony is now set on a year long tour across North America. The first event already took place on January 10th in Dallas, Texas, with future events scheduled throughout the year. Mike Damiani [...]

Tonight's investor's conference, hosted by Nintendo, has brought an avalanche of news concerning both the 3DS and the Wii U. Iwata had a lot to say regarding both pieces of hardware, but for now let's focus on the handheld. In addition to the expected discussion of sales, Iwata talked about the shift in focus from 3D to digital content, upcoming software, and expected release frequency. ...

Over at Gamer Print, there are some unique Zelda goodies for sale. These come in the form of print and canvas posters of some of the locations found in Ocarina of Time. Think of them as tourist attraction type posters, where purchasing one and hanging it on your wall shows that you’ve been to that [...]

Let's play the "tell me something I don't know about Wii U" game! Iwata was more than ready to rise to that challenge with the announcement of a new feature of the Wii U's tablet controller that I don't think any of us saw coming. The controller will make use of "Near Field Communication" (NFC), which is a type of short-range radio communication that Nintendo plans to use so that the Wii U controller can interact with accessories like figurines, cards, and other devices. This could allow for AR-like functionality, where players load data from a special card onto their controller for use in gameplay, as well as the transmission of things like character or account data. Another example the Nintendo president mentioned was the ability to conduct micro-transactions via NFC. Imagine a world where you don't need to input card numbers to load download store credit onto your system. Just scan the pre-paid card and go! Iwata also talked about why Nintendo's waiting until the holiday season to pop out the Wii U. Hop inside for his reasoning....

One of the Wii U's first major missteps came within hours of its announcement at E3 2010, when a number of reporters talked about it as a new controller for the Wii, not a completely new console altogether. Nintendo was quick to chalk this up to their press conference's primary emphasis on the new tablet controller, with little to no mention of the hardware box behind it. Now we're getting reports that industry insiders believe that the confusion might also come from the new system's branding - from the re-use of the Wii name - and that Nintendo is considering a rename of the console. While it's hard to say for sure how much of an impact brand-name confusion had on the 3DS's slow start among other factors such as a lack of compelling software or the high price point, if Nintendo does rename the Wii U at this year's E3, I couldn't blame them for making sure their bases are covered. Still, there's some merit behind the idea of pushing the Wii brand forward with a new system - after all, it's the same approach Nintendo took with the Famicom (NES in the West) and the Game Boy. We'll...

The first new Super Mario game to hit the 3DS was, as one might have expected, a 3D platformer. We all know the story: Super Mario 3D Land met unprecedented success among its fellow handheld Mario games. But despite what many may think about the superiority (or inferiority) of 3D Mario versus classic side-scrolling Mario, 3D Land couldn't quite meet the precedent of popularity set by good ol' New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the game that proved that 2D Mario is still king. While we've known that 2D Mario would eventually grace the 3DS for a long time now, Mr. Iwata made sure to remind us that a new Mario is coming...within the upcoming fiscal year. Although there is no logo here, we are planning to release a totally new side-scrolling action Super Mario in 2D as a key title for the Nintendo 3DS in the next fiscal year. And there was much rejoicing....

Iwata couldn't hype up investors for Nintendo's future without talking about the until-now nebulous "Nintendo Network" we keep hearing about. Yes, this is indeed Nintendo's new online system, and yes, it will encompass online functionality for both 3DS and Wii U. The Nintendo Network system is going to be a unified system that covers everything from downloadable add-on content - which THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY is, as previously confirmed, going to be the first game to make use of. How will Nintendo make use of these features for its own games and services? You'll have to hop inside to find out. (Full quote from Mr. Iwata after the jump.) ...

Nintendo likes to tease upcoming software releases along with their quarterly investors' conferences, and this occasion was no different. This time, though, there aren't any major surprises - just a recap of stuff we already know is coming. Wii's lineup is looking pretty flimsy in basically all regions, with Europe receiving the most new first party releases (five games total) while the U.S. scoops up only four, plus a handful of moderately-high-profile third party games. 3DS, on the other hand, has a bright future ahead of it. With games like Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Tennis, Fire Emblem, and Luigi's Mansion on the schedule, and more unscheduled upcoming games like Paper Mario and Animal Crossing, there's a lot to look forward to. Unfortunately we've known about most of these titles since the 3DS was first announced, and without seeing a committed month and date for their release a promise that they'll come eventually isn't as exciting as it could have been. Hop inside if you're curious enough for a refresher on the third-party side....

Do you have what it takes to be the next champion? As a representative of the ZI BW League, I cordially invite you to join the ZeldaInformer Pokemon Black and White League! ZeldaInformer has quite a forum community. I was rather amazed to find this particular group of fans having fun on the forums, but upon further exploration it's easy to see it's a worthwhile activity if you love Pokemon. The ZI Black/White League originally started as a joint project by Zelda and Pokémon fans that were looking for a competitive battling experience. Now, it has enlarged the Pokemon part of the site to rival (but certainly not surpass) the Zelda forums. For more information, clickity click the jump or hop into our forums to see for yourself!...