Pikachu to be Santa and visit malls across America

So, finally a marketing scheme with good intentions. Nintendo will be bringing smiles and fun to malls across the country this holiday season by sending Mario and Luigi and even Pikachu to malls from November 21st through December 21st. Kids everywhere rejoice (and more adults than I’d care to admit) and get to one of the locations listed below. Nintendo is promoting what it calls “Toys-to-life” and the promotion includes Amiibos and many games from Wii U, 2ds and 3ds. The games include a LOT of Pokemon favorites, so let the crazy cheers and screams begin.

I have to give it to Nintendo-they’re reaching out to the right people, and doing it at the right time and it seems like genuine fan outreach; not a marketing ploy. Sony was said to be the fan-centric company of all of the consoles when this generations console war started. Nintendo has honorably kept above the fray and has quietly moved into a great position. Enough of my blabbing! Find the full list of details and malls below.

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Nintendo Happy Holidays Holiday Mall Experience

“Friendly faces from the Nintendo family, including Mario, Luigi and Pikachu, will deliver an unexpected shot of joy to the holiday shopping season. From Nov. 24 through Dec. 21, Nintendo will visit 16 malls across the country to offer holiday shoppers a great escape featuring hands-on play time with the season’s must-have games for Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 2DS. Visitors can even check out amiibo, Nintendo’s new foray in the toys-to-life category, which are based on some of its most recognizable video game characters.

“A fun, interactive space tailored to kids – and kids-at-heart – will feature many Nintendo games, including a Mario Kart 8 tournament played on a large, high-definition display. Visitors can also battle it out in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Additionally, free giveaways, including the Nintendo Holiday Gift Guides, will be available to consumers, while supplies last.”

The scheduled lineup of Wii U games includes Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Super Mario 3D World, Skylanders: Trap Team and Nintendo Land.

For Nintendo 3DS, fans can expect to see Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Mario Kart 7, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Tomodachi Life, Yoshi’s New Island and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal.

 

Join the fun of Nintendo’s holiday shopping experience at the following locations: 

• Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kansas
• Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale, Arizona
• Queens Center in Elmhurst, New York
• Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Virginia
• Washington Square in Portland, Oregon
• Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota
• Memorial City Mall at Memorial City in Houston
• The Florida Mall in Orlando, Florida
• Grapevine Mills in Grapevine, Texas
• King of Prussia in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
• South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts
• Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg, Illinois
• Westfield North County in Escondido, California
• Westfield Southcenter in Seattle
• Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, California
• Westfield Culver City in Culver City, California

The Holiday Gift Guide can also be found online at http://happyholidays.nintendo.com.

“Nindies” showcased by Nintendo at IndieCade

 

 

 

Fans gather around one of the newest “Nindie” Games “Sportsball”

 

It seems Nintendo is paying more attention to indie games than ever before. Nintendo has promised to be more competitive when it comes to its online store, and the games featured at the Culver City, California event Oct. 10-12th are a prime example of them following through on that promise. Nintendo brought 15 games to the event. Steve Singer, Nintendo of America’s vice president of Licensing, had this to say about Nintendo’s approach to independent games.

“These Nindie developers are currently making some of the most exciting and imaginative games out there, and Nintendo is pleased to offer them multiple platforms to bring their creative ideas to life.”

Nintendo is definitely taking indie game makers more seriously than Microsoft has, and is working to make it easier to get good games into the hands of its customers. Making these games available to their fanbase not only enhances the number of 3rd party games, which Nintendo has been seriously lacking for years, but it also gives creative game makers a new market their games. Many of these game have been forced to compete with the vast sea of games available on Steam. It also enhances the types of games Nintendo is known for. Wii and Wii U owners are typically thought of as casual gamers, and most of Nintendo’s offerings as a game maker have been cartoony and family oriented. With darker and quirkier games sometimes aimed at gamers with different tastes, Nintendo can possibly add more games that appeal to hardcore gamers. This is essential to future success for the Wii U, which is actually a fantastic and under-appreciated console.

He doesn’t wear white after Labor day. Or any other day. Meet the Black Knight from “Shovel Knight.”

 

Here are some of the “Nindie” games that were featured by Nintendo at IndieCade 2014. You’ll notice on the list one of my personal favorite games of the year, “The Fall.” you can read my review and impressions here The Fall Review by . I’m interested to see if ‘Over thY Moon’ games was able to utilize any of the Wii U’s second screen features. Let’s hope so, because More of “The Fall” is certainly a good thing.

Fall into the dark and thought provoking world of “The Fall.”

There are also a couple of other games of note that I’m interested. “Sportsball” looks really quirky and charming, while I’ve been wanting to get my hands on “Shovel Knight” too. Affordable Space Adventures looks like it could be fun also.

I’ve added also added random pictures for Shovel Knight and other games through the post for your viewing enjoyment.

This is the strange looking Treasure Knight featured in “Shovel Knight” for Nintendo Wii U

 

Wii U

• Affordable Space Adventures from KnapNok Games: A 2D side-scrolling spaceship simulator. Players use the Wii U GamePad controller as a “Heads-Down Display” in the spaceship cockpit. Play it alone, or fly as a crew of two or three players. Exclusively on Wii U.
• The Fall from Over the Moon Games: The Fall is a unique blend of adventure-game puzzle solving and side-scrolling action. Players take on the role of ARID, the artificial intelligence onboard a high-tech combat suit.
• Costume Quest 2 from Midnight City: Pick a fight with demented dental soldiers in Costume Quest 2, the sequel to the hit original RPG, Costume Quest. Includes a range of new features and game-play improvements.
• Stealth Inc. 2 from Curve Digital: Players step into the role of a clone escaping a sinister and high-tech testing facility in this puzzle-platformer. The game tests brainpower and reflexes in more than 60 levels linked together by a detailed world. Exclusively on Wii U.
• Swords & Soldiers II from Ronimo Games BV: Like its predecessor, Swords & Soldiers II is a side-scrolling strategy game that allows players to buy units, cast spells and build structures to overwhelm their enemies on a 2D battleground. Exclusively on Wii U.
• Runbow from 13AM Games: Runbow is a party action game for up to nine players. Platforms and obstacles appear and disappear as the background color changes, so players have to think fast, stay alive and make it to victory in Run, King of the Hill and Arena modes. Exclusively on Wii U.
• Sportsball from TOO DX: Up to four players take the reins of exotic birds that flap, tackle and dunk balls into the net for points and glory, leaving their opponents as feathery tarred balls of shame. Exclusively on Wii U.
• Chariot from Frima: Chariot is a physics-based co-op platformer in which a brave princess and her suitor carry a funeral wagon through ancient caves to bury the King’s remains in a gold-filled tomb.
• Beatbuddy from THREAKS: The action-adventure Beatbuddy combines puzzle solving and enemy vanquishing with exploration, set to an original soundtrack.

Nintendo 3DS

• Woah Dave! from Choice Provisions: In Woah Dave!, players gun for digital glory by slaughtering aliens, stealing their loose change and racking up the highest score possible.
• Xeodrifter from Renegade Kid LLC: A story of an interstellar drifter traveling the stars on a simple mission of exploration, Xeodrifter offers classic 2D platforming, shooting and exploration game play that will test players’ skills. Exclusively on Nintendo 3DS.

Wii U and Nintendo 3DS

• Shovel Knight from Yacht Club Games: A sweeping classic action-adventure game with intense platforming, memorable characters and an 8-bit retro aesthetic. Play as the eponymous Shovel Knight, a small knight with a huge quest!
• Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse from WayForward: Set sail for adventure with Shantae, the belly-dancing, hair-whipping half-genie. When Shantae loses her genie magic, she must team up with her arch nemesis Risky Boots and become a pirate in order to save Sequin Land from an evil curse. Exclusively on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.