Image: Nintendo The newest incarnation of Super Smash Bros. is the fastest selling game on Nintendo’s Wii U console, the company reported Tuesday, with almost half a million copies sold in the first three days of release in the United States. Nintendo said 490,000 physical and digital copies of its mash-up character fighting game were sold between Nov. 21 and Nov. 23. Previously, Mario Kart 8 was the fastest selling Wii U game, and though Nintendo didn’t disclose how many copies it sold in the first three days, it did sell 2.28 million copies worldwide during its first two months of release. Nintendo still comes in at a solid No. 3 in the console race. Its investor relations website lists 7.12 million Wii U units sold worldwide since the console’s launch two years ago; Sony’s PlayStation 4 passed 10 million in sales after just eight months on the market, and the Xbox One was nearing that number, Microsoft recently stated. Though the previous-generation Wii console was a massive commercial success, selling more than a 100 million units, Nintendo hasn’t even matched the sales pace for its last unpopular console, the GameCube. But Super Smash Bros. Melee was the best selling game for the GameCube, so Nintendo is likely betting on the franchise fans to drive console sales. Super Smash Bros. launched in North America first. It will be released in Europe on Nov. 28, Australia on Nov. 29 and Japan on Dec. 6. It seems Nintendo prioritized the U.S. release to get in before Black Friday sales this week. BONUS: How Twitch propelled the ‘Super Smash Bros.: Melee’ community Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/11/25/super-smash-bros-fastest-selling/
Image: The Official Nintendo Magazine In what has got to be one of the strangest franchise crossovers we’ve ever seen, a forthcoming DLC (downloadable content) pack for Mario Kart 8 will allow gamers to hop behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz. Image: The Official Nintendo Magazine Nintendo’s Mario Kart 8 is released in Japan Friday—as is the new Mercedes-Benz GLA SUV convertible. To celebrate this fortuitous coincidence the two companies have teamed up to produce the in-game “GLA Kart,” which will be available to download in Japan this summer. This isn’t the first time Nintendo has utilised product placement in their games: Eurogamer.net reports that Pikmen 2 contained multiple discoverable licensed items, including Duracell batteries, whilst “Wave Race 64 featured Kawasaki jet skis.” Image: The Official Nintendo Magazine In a statement on whether the DLC would be available elsewhere, Nintendo UK said that “the announcement this time was made by Mercedes-Benz Japan regarding their collaboration in Japan with NCL.” “As for the information relating to the distribution of the GLA kart for MK8 outside Japan, we will be able to announce in the near future.” Sounds promising, then. Another new tie-in between Mercedes-Benz Japan and Nintendo comes in the form of what at first appears to be a playable version of the Mercedes-driving Mario seen in the advert embedded above. But when you click through to play, it’s actually one big advert that you click on to finish the level. Sneaky. Before you start gnashing your teeth about advertising and exorbitantly-priced add-ons: Remember, the DLC is free! Sen. John McCain thinks anti-war activists are ‘low-life scum’ Lisa Ann’s anti-prostitution rant sparks outcry from sex workers Eddie Murphy will return to ‘SNL’ for the first time in 30 years Amaz’s Team Archon drops player amid cheating accusations This article originally published at The Daily Dot here Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/05/30/mario-kart-8-mercedes-benz-suv/
Anyone who purchases a copy of Mario Kart 8 up to two months after its May 30 release will be able to download one of four Wii U games for free, Nintendo announced Wednesday. Players can choose from Pikmin 3, New Super Mario Bros. U, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and Wii U Party, which are redeemed through Nintendo’s rewards program Club Nintendo. The announcement came during a 30-minute online Mario Kart 8 presentation that surprised fans Wednesday morning. Along with the game deals, Nintendo is also releasing a Mario Kart Wii U game bundle to entice gamers to pick up the console. It includes the game, the deluxe 32 GB Wii U, a Wii U steering wheel and a Mario-themed Wii Remote Plus for $329.99. Fans were also treated to a lot of new footage of the game, which is exclusive to the Wii U, including the new three-minute trailer embedded above. BONUS: ‘Mario Kart 8’ Hands On at E3 2013 Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/04/30/mario-kart-8-free-wii-u-game/
Looks like it’s game over for Jerry Lambert, the guy who played Sony PlayStation executive Kevin Butler in that brand’s ads over the past few years. Sony is suing Lambert, Bridgestone and production company Wildcat Creek over a misappropriation of the Butler character. Though the lawsuit is vague about the reasoning, a Sony rep told Kotaku that the suit was related to an ad for Bridgestone Tires that featured Lambert playing a Wii. Lambert’s presence in the ad was edited out after Sony filed the suit on Sept. 11. In the ad, which is shown above, Lambert plays a Bridgestone scientist who is “testing” the Wii for a promotion. Lambert had played Butler since 2009. His character was an executive at Sony who wryly responded to various “Dear PlayStation” letters. In the first ad, for instance, Butler batted away a rumor about PlayStation pricing by responding, “You can’t believe everything you read on the Internet. That’s how World War I got started.” To relive the campaign’s total eight and a half minutes of ads, see the video below. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/09/sony-commercial-actor-sued-wii/
