All Articles: New Super Mario Bros. U

New Super Mario Bros. U trailer features colorful Yoshis and GIANT LAND

Some kind of squirrel acorn (which turns Mario into a flying squirrel) and multiple multi-colored Yoshis highlight the New Super Mario Bros. U E3 trailer. If a pink Yoshi eats a Koopa Troopa, it can turn into a balloon while a blue Yoshi gives Mario and pals the ability to shoot bubbles. Yellow Yoshis shine brightly like a flashlight.

But the highlight of the trailer isn’t the wingsuit or the Yoshis, it’s the return of Giant Land from Super Mario Bros. 3. Welcome back old friend, I’ve missed you.

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Nintendo @ E3 12: New Super Mario Bros. U announced

We already got a small taste of it during Sunday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, but Reggie Fils-Aime just officially announced New Super Mario Bros. U.

The side-scrolling platformer will be heavily integrated with the Miiverse social network and include four-player play.

The graphics are gorgeous and show Mario running and jumping through a vibrant Mushroom Kingdom full of baby Yoshis, Koopa Troopas, Goombas, and underwater swimming. The video also showed Mario’s new wingsuit.

Reggie also confirmed that the player with the Wii U GamePad will be able to drop blocks along the map to help the other players advance.

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Wii U gets its own social network, Miiverse

I know that everybody loved Friend Codes, but Nintendo plans to do away with the matchmaking service when the Wii U launches later this year. Instead, the console will come pre-bundled with the Nintendo Network, which will be home to a Wii U-centric social network known as Miiverse (or “Mii Universe,” if you prefer).

When players enter the Miiverse, they’ll be transported to a bustling city of Miis that are congregating around the most popular apps and games the Wii U has to offer (even games you don’t own). In addition to learning that Super Mario Bros. Wii U is very popular, the Miiverse will also blast the player with status updates from “friends, people playing the same games as you, and people who speak the same language as you.”

For a more personal connection, the Miiverse also offers video chat (courtesy of the Wii U GamePad’s front-facing camera), messaging (including handwritten messages scrawled on the GamePad’s touchscreen), and game-specific message boards.

These in-game messages will also bleed over into the games themselves, as all Wii U games will have the ability to connect to the Miiverse. During the Pre-E3 Nintendo Direct presentation, company President Satoru Iwata showed how gamers can converse and commiserate within Super Mario Bros. Wii U.

The Miiverse will also be accesible from other devices including the 3DS, the PC, and mobile devices. However, this feature of the social network won’t be available when the Wii U launches this Fall.

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These are the first screenshots of Super Mario Bros. Wii U

Tonight’s Pre-E3 edition of Nintendo Direct revealed some interesting new details about the Wii U GamePad and Pro Controller, but the most interesting thing that company President Satoru Iwata showed off was unveiled with no fanfare at all.

During the latter portion of the presentation, Iwata unveiled the Miiverse social networking component that is included with every Wii U console. He also said that the service can connect gamers as they’re playing Wii U games and demonstrated this connection with 16 seconds of footage from Super Mario Bros. Wii U.

The game is officially untitled and Iwata never confirmed the video came from the next Mario game. But we know the game in development, we know it’ll make its debut at E3 2012, and we know that this new footage is different from last year’s New Super Mario Bros. Mii tech demo.

You can see a few screenshots we pulled from the video, or watch the entire presentation yourself, after the break. (more…)

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More on Mario for Wii U; Pikmin 3 to debut at E3 too

After confirming that Mario would make his Wii U debut at this year’s E3 Expo, Eurogamer has dug a bit deeper, revealing a not-too-surprising detail about the game.

According to a Nintendo representative, the Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii U that the publisher plans to bring to E3 2012 will be heavily based on the New Super Mario Bros. Mii tech demo they displayed at E3 2011. If you recall, New Super Mario Bros. Mii was very similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but it added Miis as playable characters and bumped the graphics up to HD quality. Not exactly groundbreaking, but if it’s half as fun as New Super Mario Bros. Wii, I’ll take it.

Pikmin 3 will also appearing at this year’s E3 Expo for the first time. Originally announced by Shigeru Miyamoto as a Wii title back in 2008, the game has been kept hidden by Nintendo ever since. With the jump to the Wii U, it looks like they’re finally ready to show if off.

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Super Mario Bros. Wii U to debut at E3 2012

This is both the biggest surprise in the history of surprises and a news story so yawn-inducing in its obviousness that it almost doesn’t need to be said. But here goes.

An interview with Shigeru Miyamoto was published in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo this morning. During the interview, Miyamoto confirmed that a new Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii U will make its debut at this year’s E3 Expo. But since it’s not official until it’s in English, Eurogamer asked Nintendo to reconfirm the news… and they did!

“In a recent interview, Mr. Miyamoto confirmed that a new Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii U system will be shown at this year’s E3 Expo,” a Nintendo spokesperson said. “We’ll have more to announce about our plans for the E3 Expo at a later date.”

In addition to the unnamed Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii U, Nintendo has another Mario game, a 2D sidescroller for the 3DS, in the works as well.

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