Video Games, Video Game Console | featured news

The Wii U’s main selling point is a new touch-screen controller that is a cross between the iPad Mini and a traditional video game controller.

Nintendo announced Monday that it is dropping the price of its Wii console to $130 in the United States as it prepares to sell the next-generation Wii U in a little over a month.

Nintendo's upcoming Wii U gaming console will start at $300 and go on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 18, in time for the holidays, the company said Thursday. A "deluxe" version will sell for $350. It will be black instead of white and include extra features such as more memory, a charging stand and the game "Nintendo Land."

For Apple and Zynga, this E3 was a magical event. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all retreated within the crumbling walls of aging franchises and spin-off sequels. Under attack from mobile and social games, the Big Three console vendors are stumbling through the year 2012. Nintendo had a notably disappointing Wii U showcase and Sony’s Vita lacks the powerful slate of new titles it needs. We may be drifting towards a scenario where Nintendo shrinks to a rump company focusing only on portable gaming – and knocks out Sony’s PS Vita in the process.

Nintendo has sold 4.5 million 3DS units, its latest hand-held device, in the U.S., setting what the company said was potential momentum for its next big product, the Wii U console.

It’s astounding to think that just a few years ago, the Nintendo DS and the PSP were the lone mobile devices that gamers had to choose from. It must have been nice for Sony and Nintendo, to only have each other to compete with.

With the upcoming launch of Sony's PS Vita in the UK, Europe, and North American markets, Ewan Spence reckons that far from being the last gasp of a traditional model, the Vita is going to be welcomed by gamers with open arms.

It's rumoured that Nintendo's next console, Wii U, will have a full-blown App Store, with content far beyond Nintendo's current offerings.

Some assembly required, at this point, but exciting news, especially if you’re a tinkerer. Microsoft will build a special version of the Kinect motion controller for the Windows, Craig Eisler, general manager of Kinect for Windows wrote in a blog post Tuesday. The Kinect has been a hit on Microsoft’s XBox360 gaming console, but the motion-sensor has also sparked widespread interest from tinkerers, hackers, scientists and startups.

In the wake of another investor backlash, the company president remains adamant in his stance against mobile gaming.