The Tanooki » New Super Mario Bros.

Nintendo drops DS Lite price to $99, Mario DS games boxes go red

Holly Green — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:34:13 +0000

With the 3DS on the market and the recent price drop on the Wii, it was only a matter of time before seeing DS Lite follow suit. All the same, the news is sweet. The DS Lite’s suggested retail price is now officially $99. Additionally, the DS’ top Mario hits, New Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart DS, Super Mario 64 DS, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! and Mario Party DS, will now be packaged in a bright, easy to see crimson color, so DS fans new and old can readily identify these titles on the shelf. Sadly, this distinction does not come with a discount like the Wii’s Nintendo Selects, but let’s hope that it too is just a matter of time.

Nintendo DS Lite Suggested Retail Price Drops to $99.99 and Mario Games Go Red

Mario-Red Boxes Will Help Shoppers Identify Select Fan-Favorite Mario Games

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The portable Nintendo DS^™ Lite system is getting a new suggested retail price. Effective June 5, the system will be available at a suggested retail price of just $99.99 in the United States. The Nintendo DS family has become the best-selling video game system in history. More than 48.9 million systems in the Nintendo DS family have sold in the United States alone. Also in June, six Mario^™ games for Nintendo DS will receive new red packaging, making it easier than ever for consumers to identify these hit titles in stores.

“From the moment it launched, Nintendo DS Lite hit a sweet spot for consumers in terms of value, experience and fun,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “This new price point will introduce Nintendo DS Lite to even more consumers, and the new red packaging will make it easy for them to find their favorite Mario titles.”

The six Mario games that will begin sporting the new Mario-red packaging in June are New Super Mario Bros.^™, Mario Kart^™ DS, Super Mario 64^™ DS, Mario & Luigi^™: Bowser’s Inside Story, Mario vs. Donkey Kong^™: Mini-Land Mayhem! and Mario Party^™ DS. These games represent some of the best-selling fan-favorite Nintendo DS games of all time, and demonstrate the well-known “evergreen” sales trend of Nintendo games. Their total U.S. sales through the end of April 2011 according to the NPD Group are as follows:

New Super Mario Bros.: more than 9.25 million units

Mario Kart DS: more than 7.40 million units

Super Mario 64 DS: more than 4.34 million units

Mario Party DS: more than 3.27 million units

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story: more than 1.98 million units

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!: more than 1.01 million units

Mario is one of the most beloved video game characters and the top video game franchise of all time. Thirty-one Mario games have topped sales of more than 1 million units since 1995, more than any other franchise. Through the end of March 2011, more than 262 million games in the core Super Mario^™ series have sold worldwide.

For more information about Nintendo DS Lite, visit http://www.nintendo.com/ds.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii^™home console, Nintendo 3DS^™ and Nintendo DS^™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System^™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.7 billion video games and more than 600 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi^™ and Nintendo DSi XL^™, as well as the Game Boy^™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES^™, Nintendo 64^™ and Nintendo GameCube^™systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario^™, Donkey Kong^™, Metroid^™, Zelda^™ and Pokémon^™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.

Super Wedding Proposal: His princess was in the castle!

Christian Ponte — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 23:00:07 +0000

It’s almost the summer wedding season, a fact that I’m constantly reminded of with so many of my friends getting married soon. Coincidentally, this video showed up on my screen today… it’s a year old, but I’d actually never seen it before. YouTube user SilvasRW knew his girlfriend, April, was a huge Super Mario Bros. fan, and decided to propose to her in a way that she (and gamers everywhere) would love…

I won’t spoil the rest of the details, so you’ll have to watch the video for yourselves. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for memorable proposals, so I really enjoyed the clip and hopefully the rest of you will as well. Just one bit of advice for all the guys out there: if you’re going to propose to your girlfriend, you should know how to use a ring!

Oh, and did you notice how she obviously just came home from buying a Wii game?

YouTube

New Super Mario Bros. stomps across the 6-mil threshold in Japan

Christian Ponte — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:00:20 +0000

As of this Sunday, December 26th, New Super Mario Bros. has sold 6,015,255 units in Japan according to Enterbrain’s figures. This makes the Mario platformer the first DS game to surpass 6 million units in sales in the country of Japan, doing so in only four years, seven months, and three days from its May 25, 2006 launch.

The game continues to have strong legs, even as the Nintendo DS is entering its twilight weeks. Given the hype surrounding the Nintendo 3DS, it will be interesting to see if a Mario game — or any game, for that matter — can experience the long-term succes that New Super Mario Bros. has seen!

Famitsu

The 99 lives trick! It still works!

Holly Green — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:17:31 +0000

OK so I was never talented enough to do this in Super Mario Bros. 3. I always exploited poor Lakitu for 99 lives in level 3-4. And on the DS version of New Super Mario Bros.? Nu-uh not happening.

Regardless, I’m excited that it still works. This will be the game I finally conquer the trick once and for all!

GoNintendo

NSMBW + NASCAR = AWSM

Holly Green — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:20:29 +0000

The #20 car, sponsored by Gamespot, was driven by Denny Hamlin at the Able Body Labor 200 at the Phoenix International Raceway this past Saturday.

Sadly, they finished 12th out of 43. I’m blaming blue shells.

GamePro
via GoNintendo

Special thanks to Tanooki writer Brian, without whom I would have never remembered to abbreviate AWESOME.

Fan recreates SMB world 1-1 in NSMBW

Holly Green — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:46:04 +0000

I’m with GoNintendo on this one–those homebrewers work ridiculously fast! Save for an error here and there, this World 1-1 recreation from the original Super Mario Brothers is as accurate as it is entertaining. If you’re like me, and didn’t watch any gameplay videos, you may enjoy seeing how certain features from the original New Super Mario Brothers translated on the Wii big screen.

Sadly, comments are disabled on this video so there’s no chance to compliment the hacker, piss and moan about the emulator/slow frame rate, or mention that having listened to the inserted music, I now want to go clubbing. All the same, I can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with next.

GoNintendo

Its the remix: New Super Mario Brothers Hammer Brothers theme

Holly Green — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:38:18 +0000

If you don’t mind spoiling a New Super Mario Brothers surprise or two before its release on the Wii in two weeks, then hit play and enjoy the new school take on the classic Hammer Brothers theme from Super Mario Brothers 3.

YouTube
via GoNintendo

Wii Sports Resort sells 7 million since June

Jason Leavey — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:32:41 +0000

With Wii hardware and software sales being down significantly since last year, Nintendo still managed to hit a few home runs. As presumed, Wii Sports Resort sold extremely well. The title, exclusively bundled with MotionPlus, sold 6.97 million units since its June release date.

The title is one of several million sellers that popped up in recent sales figures from Nintendo, with Wii Sports (not sold as a pack-in title in Japan) selling nearly 4.83 million between April and September. Thankfully, the second in the series of puzzle titles, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box sold 1.26 million units during the same time frame.

Despite being released three years ago, New Super Mario Bros. for the DS sold 1.49 million units. Looks like making a Wii sequel was probably the first of several smart moves in Nintendo’s plan for continued world domination.

GameSpot

New World Of Nintendo Tour dates and events

Holly Green — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:54:08 +0000

This past weekend, the World Of Nintendo Tour kicked off at Long Beach’s annual Comic Con, marking the start of another hands-on promotional tour aimed at showcasing new and forthcoming titles for the Wii, DS, and DSi. This is your chance to get a preview on The New Super Mario Brothers for Wii, or give Wii Fit Plus a test spin before you purchase. Wii Sports Resort, Punch-Out!!, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, and Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will also be on hand, and visitors can take a peep at WiiWare and DSiWare while they’re at it.

East coasters will get their chance at two upcoming events, America’s Video Game Expo in Philadelphia (Oct. 9-11) and the Big Apple Comic Con in New York City (Oct. 16-18). The rest of us will just have to twiddle our gaming thumbs and hope they announce more dates.

October 5, 2009 – As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season draws near, Nintendo is making it easier for consumers to sample and experience some of the year’s most talked-about games and game systems. This past weekend, Oct. 2-4, the new World of Nintendo sampling tour kicked off with an appearance at the annual Long Beach Comic Con in Long Beach, Calif., treating attendees to a firsthand look at a variety of recent and forthcoming games for the Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems.

Less than a week after consumers discovered a new suggested retail price of $199.99 for Wii, World of Nintendo participants in Long Beach gathered for hands-on demonstrations of games like Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus and Punch-Out!!, as well as the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The event also highlighted new hand-held games such as Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box and the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, both playable on Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems. World of Nintendo visitors also enjoyed a glimpse into a selection of downloadable game titles on the WiiWare and Nintendo DSiWare services.

Upcoming World of Nintendo tour stops include America’s VideoGame Expo in Philadelphia (Oct. 9-11) and the Big Apple Comic Con in New York City (Oct. 16-18). Like this year’s traveling Nintendo DSi Mobile Tour and Wii Sports Resort Mobile Tour, World of Nintendo reflects Nintendo’s ongoing commitment to actively expanding the audience for video games, attracting new and veteran players with a lineup of inclusive game titles, innovative motion controls and console features that allow players to stay connected with family and friends.

IGN

It ain’t a Kuribo, but it’ll do: hand-painted Super Mario shoes

Holly Green — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 04:49:28 +0000

Nothing like a pair of Mario shoes to bring out the Sneakers O’Toole in all of us.

The left shoe has a decidedly pro-Mario slant, featuring a “P” switch, 1 Up, fire flower, and other power ups. On the back side is the word “SUPER” and portrait of Mario. The right shoe has Mario’s worst nightmares, including Goomba, Blooper, Thwomp, and the Piranha Plant. On the back side is the word “MARIO” with a portrait of Bowser. So much for putting your best foot forward. Unless you’re dominantly left footed…in which case, carry on.

The artist creates the images by priming the area with Liquitex primer, then uses high quality acrylic paints to paint the characters. A protective varnish is added for an even finish, rendering the shoes weather proof.

These beauts will set you back 180 coins, plus $25 extra if you want Converse All Stars. One more snap after the jump.

By ParadoxArtistry

via SpriteStitch

Fan Spotlight: Michael Bade & the Gingerbread DS

Christian Ponte — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:59:50 +0000

Remember that Nintendo gingerbread project I posted not too long ago? Well, one of the project’s team members, Michael Bade, shared with me some of background information on the project. Everything from the group’s thoughts and the whole gingerbread construction, to their favorite memories and future aspirations.

All of what Michael wanted to share with you is included after the break, as well as a second round of those photos for you to enjoy on this Christmas Eve. Grab some hot cocoa, a warm blanket, and cozy on up with your laptop a safe distance from the fireplace and have a read!

So what inspired you to create a gingerbread DS?

Michael: To begin, each year a group of architecture firms work with chefs from the Sheraton in Seattle to develop a series of gingerbread houses for a particular theme in order to raise money for juvenile diabetes awareness. This year the chosen theme was “A Superhero Holiday,” and each architecture firm was then asked to develop an individual theme that supported the global theme. We chose Super Mario Bros. after a series of discussions involving topics of constructability, recognition, playfulness, how the children would react to seeing these characters, and how the Mario Bros. fulfilled the superhero prerequisite. After discussing how we thought they were capable of the ‘superhero’ title (can obtain special powers – flying feathers, fireballs, etc., defeat evil villains, rescue the princess) we then proceeded with the development of the final product, in which several sketches and models were produced to aid the chefs in our collaboration. The DS itself was chosen because it is something that is very recognizable by the children today, and the characters themselves are recognizable by an extremely wide range of age groups. It also presented us with sort of a nice backdrop in which we could develop a scene in which the characters came to life out of the screen and onto the DS itself.

How many people were involved with the gingerbread DS, and how long did it take the group to complete the project?

Overall, there were between 12-15 people that helped throughout the development and construction of the project. From concept to final product it took us approximately 2 months to complete. On average, each person put in 50 hours of work, ranging from tasks involving character creation, scene creation, constructing the base form, and adding the final touches.

What materials were used to create it? (both in terms of the edible goodies as well as any other items needed to make such a unique creation come to life – is that wood I see in Donkey Kong’s arms?)

All materials that can be seen are made out of some sort of candy product (with the exception of the green tube, which is made from Andes mint wrappers). Beneath the surface there is a frame made from plywood and 2×4′s, some cardboard, and some speakers and lighting. The characters themselves may have a few pieces of skewers holding some parts together. Donkey Kong’s arms have wooden skewers for support, in order to keep them raised in the air, and some characters have skewers in place to keep them stable. The characters themselves were mainly made out of a substance called fondant, which is essentially sugar and water. We used Cocoa Krispies Rice Krispies Treats for the castle, candied glass for the lava, and gum strips for the rainbow road. Gingerbread was used as the base material to cover the DS shape.

Were there any difficulties in undertaking such an ambitious project?

There were some difficulties with taking on this task. Some involved our own frustration with getting the characters to come out the way we wanted or having items not want to stay in place the way we wanted. There were other times where we would get one chance at how things turned out, without the option of redoing any part of it without redoing the entire set-up, such as pouring the candied glass into place. We were thankful that it worked out, and that it didn’t melt the wood, light strips, speaker wires, and any of the other candy! Overall the collaboration between ourselves and the chefs went smoothly, with the chefs providing great help and advice whenever we would need it.

Where and for how long will our readers be able to see this on display?

The whole display, consisting of six total creations, will be on display at the downtown Seattle Sheraton (located on the corner of 6th & Pike) until early January. I belive that the final date for the display is January 5th. The display is in the main lobby of the Sheraton.

Any memorable moments for anyone in the group during the creation process you’d like to share?

I would think that the pouring of the candied glass was one of the more memorable moments. It was very interesting to see how the chef was able to heat the sugar into the liquid form, and then combine the two different colors simulaneously to give us the yellowish-orangey swirls that we wanted to mimick lava. I think once the display opened it was really great to see our project complete, as well as the other teams’ projects. A lot of time and a lot of work was put in to making each project, not to mention an enormous amount of candy. I think each project weighed over 100 pounds on average.

So what’s next for you after this?

I guess the next step for us is to make sure that the speakers are working properly each day, and making sure that the ipod is charged that is playing the Super Mario theme music. It’s nice to wander through the lobby and see how visitors are reacting not only to our project but to the entire display. Some kids have even come dressed as their favorite superhero (I’ve seen some spiderman’s and batman’s the couple of times I have visited). Once the display is over, we will wait until the next August/October to receive the new holiday theme and then go from there with creating another great project!

You can click any of the photos above for larger versions, or check out Michael’s Flickr galleries for more. If you’re in the Seattle area, you might want to drop by the Sheraton and check this out in person while you still have time. Thanks to Michael for sharing all of this with us, and we hope you have a happy holiday!

Snowballs and scarves in the Gingerbread Kingdom

Christian Ponte — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:06:23 +0000

We’ve seen game cakes and more game cakes, and even the occasional batch of cupcakes over the years. But around this time of year, gingerbread houses are where it’s at!

I exchanged a few emails last month with Michael Bade, who worked on the team that brought the gingerbread DS you see above to life. It went on display at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel on November 24th, and you can check out some of the close-up shots of the snowball fight past the break. Enjoy!

Flickr

Sears getting sweet new special edition DS systems this black Friday

Rhody Tobin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:00:11 +0000

Like them? I think I prefer the black/red Brain Age DS to that blue one, but the Mario DS is pretty spiffy.

These babies will be available at Sears on Black Friday, and possibly only on Black Friday. The red one comes with a copy of New Super Mario Bros. and the blue one comes with a copy of Brain Age and a sexy similarly-colored carrying case.

They’re nice, alright, but I think I’ll continue to wear my white DS Lite as a badge of honor. “I bought mine years ago!”

GoNintendo

The Tanooki » New Super Mario Bros.

Nintendo drops DS Lite price to $99, Mario DS games boxes go red

Nintendo DS Lite Suggested Retail Price Drops to $99.99 and Mario Games Go Red

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