All Articles: Wii U

Nintendo Switch has officially outsold the Wii U after ten months on the market

Posted on January 31, 2018 by John Scalzo

It’s official. After launching in March and being available to consumers for just under ten months, the Nintendo Switch has officially surpassed the Wii U in total sales. According to Nintendo’s internal tracking, they’ve sold 14.86 million Switch consoles as of December 31. This milestone easily leapfrogs the Wii U, which sold just 13.56 million consoles before it was discontinued in January 2017.

Nintendo also shared some software sales figures for the Switch’s first year, and leading the way is Super Mario Odyssey with 9.07 million copies sold. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is second place with 7.33 million copies sold, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was close behind with 6.7 million copies sold on the Switch.

Other million-sellers for the Switch include Splatoon 2 (4.91 million), 1-2-Switch (1.88 million), Arms (1.61 million), and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (1.06 million).

Nintendo will announce full-year sales figures for the Switch in April, and it’ll be interesting to see what these numbers look like then.

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The Video Game Canon: 2018’s “Version 2.0” Update

Posted on January 31, 2018 by John Scalzo

The Video Game Canon is a statistical meta-ranking of dozens of “Best Video Games of All Time” lists that began in 2017 with Version 1.0, and the ranking has been updated several times since then. Which game is #1? There’s only one way to find out…

The Video Game Canon has been upgraded to “Version 2.0” thanks to the addition of four new lists that were published throughout the last year. Edge Magazine’s “100 Greatest Videogames” issue, Jeux Video’s “Top 100 Best Games of All Time,” Polygon’s massive “500 Best Games of All Time,” and Stuff UK’s “50 Greatest Games of All Time” have reshuffled the ranking in a big way.

Let’s take a look…

Visit VideoGameCanon.com for all future updates to this project and to explore the complete Top 1000.

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Link rides a motorcycle in Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Champions Ballad DLC… which is now available to download

Posted on December 8, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Champions Ballad, the second expansion from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s Expansion Pass, is now available to download from the Nintendo eShop on the Switch and Wii U. Nintendo surprise-launched the DLC during last night’s Game Awards, while also introducing Link’s motorcycle in a new trailer:

In this second of two DLC packs that are part of the game’s Expansion Pass, players are granted access to a large new adventure featuring a never-before-seen dungeon, new insights into the background of the game’s four Champions, as well as a new high-mobility means of transportation. Once players complete the adventure, they will have the opportunity to traverse the enormous world of Hyrule on top of a motorcycle called Master Cycle Zero. The DLC will also grant access to nine new armor items for players to find, as well as the Ancient Saddle and Bridle items.

The Expansion Pass, which includes The Champion Ballad, as well as The Trial of the Sword, is now available to purchase for $19.99.

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Staff of Polygon name their “500 Best Games of All Time”

Posted on December 2, 2017 by John Scalzo

Polygon recently celebrated its fifth birthday with a weeklong countdown of their choices for the “500 Best Games of All Time.”

Along with a high-profile roster of special guests (including Jeremy Parish, Susan Arendt, Jon-Paul Dyson, and Benj Edwards), the site’s staff put together this massive ranking of games that includes titles from nearly every platform and stretching back to the very beginning of the medium. They even set some ground rules:

We asked everyone to vote based on innovation, polish and durability, rather than simply personal taste. We cut games released in 2017 to eliminate recency bias. And we left out sequels that we deemed too similar to the games that came before them.

Collecting all those votes together, we then combed through the data for anomalies and came up with the final order you see here.

Polygon’s final tally looks very similar to our own “Scientifically Proven Best Video Games of All Time,” and this includes their selection of Tetris as the #1 game of all time.

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Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Serial Cleaner, Syberia 2, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on November 30, 2017 by John Scalzo

There’s one more big game coming to the Switch this year… and Nintendo’s Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will be available to download beginning tomorrow. The epic RPG closes out a huge first year for Nintendo’s newest console, and fans of the franchise can’t wait to explore the strange land of Alrest.

Other Switch games available to download this week include Serial Cleaner, a 70s-set crime scene cleanup simulator; Syberia 2, a Switch re-release of the classic adventure game; and Nine Parchments, a spellcasting action game from Frozenbyte.

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including a few Wii U games) after the break. (more…)

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Skyrim, Pokemon UltraSun/UltraMoon, Rive, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on November 16, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo Switch owners will be able to hit the road with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim beginning this week. Even though Bethesda’s massive RPG adventure is more than five years old, the fact that it’s now available to download from the Nintendo eShop is still exciting news.

Another diverse batch of games for the Switch will also available to download this week, including a food-based monster battler (Battle Chef Brigade… out November 20), a racing simulation (Gear Club Unlimited… out November 21), and a side-scrolling shooter from Two Tribes (Rive: Ultimate Edition… out now).

3DS owners will also have something new to play this week with the launch of Pokemon UltraSun Pokemon UltraMoon on November 17. Based on last year’s Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, they’ll be the last mainline Pokemon games to appear on the 3DS. Finally this week, the River City Ransom franchise returns on November 21 with the release of River City: Rival Showdown.

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including a few Wii U games) after the break. (more…)

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Doom, Rocket League, L.A. Noire, a lot more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on November 9, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has delivered yet another Nintendo eShop update overflowing with impressive games.

Starting things off, the Snipperclips Plus expansion will be available to download for the Switch beginning tomorrow, as will Bethesda’s excellent Doom reboot. 3DS owners will also get the chance to download Mario Party: The Top 100, a sprawling compilation that includes some of the best minigames from the series.

But things get even crazier for Switch owners on Tuesday, November 14. Psyonix will launch Rocket League, their massively popular automotive soccer game. Rockstar returns to the 1940s with L.A. Noire. Telltale will light up the Bat Signal for Batman: The Telltale Series. Tequila Works will venture forth on a deserted island with Rime. And WB Games will put all the pieces together in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. Whew!

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including a few 3DS and Wii U games) after the break. (more…)

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Sonic Forces, Super Beat Sports, Perception, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on November 2, 2017 by John Scalzo

Switch owners GOTTA GO FAST next week, and that’s because Sega will bring Sonic Forces to the console on Tuesday, November 7. Joining it on the Nintendo eShop the same day will be the slightly slower-paced (but no less exciting) Farming Simulator: Nintendo Switch Edition.

If you’re looking to download something today, Harmonix has launched their sports-themed rhythm game, today Super Beat Sports, and Deep End Games has brought their ghostly adventure game, Perception, to the Switch.

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including a few 3DS and Wii U games) after the break. (more…)

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