As Mashable reports, the Nintendo Network will offer the requisite connected console fare, including user accounts, online multiplayer, downloadable add-ons and eventually full game downloads.

Although Nintendo’s Wii and 3DS can already connect to the Internet for downloadable games, online play and a couple of streaming video apps, the company’s online services are limited compared to what Microsoft and Sony offer. Nintendo doesn’t currently sell add-ons for existing games, offer system-wide voice support or even allow players to choose an online nickname that other players can easily look up.

Nintendo is still being cagey about the particulars of its upcoming network, but there have been clues. Last July, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime told Forbes that Nintendo will allow other publishers’ networks–services like Valve’s Steam and EA’s Origin, I assume– to operate as part of Nintendo’s online service:

“So instead of a situation where a publisher has their own network and wants that to be the predominant platform, and having arguments with platform holders, we’re going to welcome that. We’re going to welcome that from the best and the brightest of the third party publishers,” Fils-Aime said.

How that’ll work remains unclear. Actually, see if you can make sense of the business jargon in Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s statement on the matter: “Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers.”

Verbose statements to investors aside, I’m just happy Nintendo’s working on something.

Or will it? As Hickey notes, Nintendo already offers app repositories through the Wii Shop and DSi Shop. The difference with the Wii U is that it’ll offer a wider variety of apps, beyond games and basic utilities.

But breadth of apps is not the best metric for a real app store, unless your definition is simply “a place to buy apps.” The way I see it, a true app store goes further by opening its doors to any developer. Whether there’s an approval process (a la iOS) or not (a la Android) doesn’t matter. What’s important is that anyone who knows how to code can contribute, so that the app selection grows in unexpected ways. You won’t find any great app stores that don’t allow this kind of outside development.

From Hickey’s report, I can’t tell whether Nintendo will open its app store to all developers, and I have my doubts. Game consoles are notoriously closed off to all but a select group of publishers. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is the only system that comes close to allowing outside development, through Xbox Live Indie Games, and even those apps are relegated to the darkest corners of the Xbox Marketplace.

So while I don’t doubt that the Wii U will have a wider selection of apps than Nintendo’s other systems–Hickey mentions MLB.TV and social networks as possibilities–I’m skeptical that Nintendo will let any developer run wild with the Wii U’s crazy multi-screen technology. But I hope to be proven wrong.

The Circle Pad Pro, which launched in Japan this month, is coming to the United States on February 7. The attachment snaps in around the base of the Nintendo 3DS, and includes an extra shoulder button as well. It requires a AAA battery to operate.

Here’s the issue: Existing games won’t work with the Circle Pad Pro, and developers will have to design future games to support dual sticks. So far, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D and Resident Evil: Revelations are on the roster of supported games.

In general, adding a non-essential peripheral to a gaming device is a risky move. Games designed exclusively for a peripheral have a smaller potential audience, but game developers who try to accommodate both control schemes can end up with watered-down designs. For instance, Playstation 3 games that are retrofitted to support the Playstation Move feel less accurate without a traditional controller, and gimmicky compared to games that are designed with motion controls in mind.

Fortunately for Nintendo, the 3DS is less than a year old, so its user base is still pretty small, and I have a feeling early adopters will want to pick up the extra thumbstick. Also, dual sticks will make cross-platform development easier between the Nintendo 3DS and the Playstation Vita, because both devices will have similar control schemes. As a result, we may see more 3DS games prioritizing or even requiring the stick, which in turn will increase user adoption. And there’s always a chance that Nintendo will launch a new 3DS model with the second stick built-in, cementing it as the standard.

I’ll be rooting for the Circle Pad Pro. As MSNBC’s Kyle Orland points out, buttons and sticks are the main advantage that dedicated gaming devices hold over smartphones and tablets. A second stick would serve gamers, and Nintendo, well in these trying times.

Speaking to Wired’s Chris Kohler, Miyamoto said he wants to work on smaller games and leave the major blockbusters to younger developers. He is not retiring, but sometimes says otherwise to his co-workers.

“What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself,” Miyamoto told Wired. “Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small.”

It sounds to me like Miyamoto has the indie bug–that itch some veteran game developers feel to work on smaller games, in which they can worry more about design and less about production values. This story of developers scaling back comes up time and time again in the gaming industry.

Only in this case, Miyamoto is sticking with Nintendo. The move makes me wonder if Miyamoto will work on downloadable games, which have been a weak point for Nintendo. I imagine there’d be a lot of interest in small, downloadable games with Miyamoto’s name on them. But he doesn’t seem to be thinking too small. He plans to start working on a project in 2012, and possibly show it off publically within a year.

Nintendo’s PR team, meanwhile, has been trying to spin Miyamoto’s words into something less significant. Here’s the full statement, given to Kotaku:

“Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto’s role at Nintendo is not changing. He will continue to be a driving force in Nintendo’s development efforts. In discussing his priorities at Nintendo in a media interview, Mr. Miyamoto explained how he is encouraging the younger developers at the company to take more initiative and responsibility for developing software. He attempted to convey his priorities moving forward, inclusive of overseeing all video game development and ensuring the quality of all products. Mr. Miyamoto also discussed his desire to pursue fresh ideas and experiences of the kind that sparked his initial interest in video games.”

Seems to me that Miyamoto’s role is changing, just as he told Wired, despite the first sentence in Nintendo’s statement. He’ll oversee development efforts, but wants younger developers to take on a bigger responsibility in creating the company’s megafranchises. That’ll give Miyamoto some freedom to work on newer ideas on a smaller scale.

I can understand why Nintendo wants to re-frame the story; it doesn’t sound good to investors if the company’s creative genius wants to step back from guaranteed moneymakers. But I relish the possibility of Miyamoto working on new ideas instead of figuring out how to rehash Mario one more time.

Nintendo’s newest handheld device had a troubled launch, with slower sales than expected. That prompted Nintendo to drop the 3DS price from $250 to $170 earlier this month. In a letter to early adopters, Nintendo said it had to cut the price to boost sales, ensuring that publishers would support the new hardware.

Now, Nintendo is rumored to be planning even bigger changes. French site 01net reports that Nintendo may redesign the 3DS with a second analog stick and a reduced emphasis on glasses-free 3D. This model would launch under a new name in 2012, the site’s unnamed sources said.

It sounds like a far-fetched rumor to me, because those changes would alienate early adopters of the Nintendo 3DS.  But as Joystiq points out, 01net has proven accurate with a couple of scoops on the PS Vita and Nintendo Wii U, so I wouldn’t dismiss the report outright. And I can see why publishers might want Nintendo to redesign the 3DS: A second analog stick would make multi-platform development on Nintendo’s handheld and Sony’s PS Vita a lot easier.

Whether that rumor pans out or not, I doubt we’ll see such drastic measures at Nintendo’s conference in September. As M2 Research analyst Billy Pidgeon told VentureBeat, it’s more likely that Nintendo will focus on software, both packaged and online. Right now, new content is exactly what the Nintendo 3DS needs to compete with the vast app selections of smartphones and tablets. Nintendo has already announced big titles like Star Fox 64 3D and a new Mario Kart, so hopefully the conference will bring more than just a rehash of old news.

The Wii redesign will arrive this holiday season, bundled with Wii Sports, Wii Party, a Wii Remote Plus controller and a Nunchuk attachment. The console is designed to sit horizontally, and trims away the controller ports and memory card slots that supported Nintendo’s old Gamecube console. Nintendo will discontinue the old console design in Europe.

In the United States, Nintendo sellsl the existing Wii design in a $150 console bundle with Mario Kart Wii and a plastic steering wheel peripheral. The company confirmed to CNet that it has “does not currently have any plans” to bring the slimmer console stateside. (But don’t rule it out. In video game PR speak, “we have no plans” usually means “we have plans that we’re not telling you.”)

At the moment, I’m happy to see the old Wii live on in the United States, if only because Gamecube controllers come in handy for the classic SNES and Nintendo 64 games you can download from the Wii Shop. (Otherwise, those games require a $20 Classic Controller peripheral.) The Gamecube also had some great games of its own, such as Metroid Prime, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Super Smash Bros. Melee. It’d be sad to see support for those games go away, although I do wonder how many people own a library of GameCube titles but still haven’t pulled the trigger on a Wii.

Nintendo may still shake up its Wii offerings in the United States somehow, perhaps with a bigger or fresher bundle of software and accessories, if not another price cut. But I won’t shed a tear if the hardware looks the same. Besides, the Wii is still pretty svelte compared to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Turns out it was. The report took a few Mario-esque giant leaps of logic; most egregiously, the one making it seem like any investors said anything resembling the idea that Nintendo should make games for the iPhone.

But still, there’s a reason that the idea of a Nintendo-Apple team up is so appealing. Frankly, Nintendo’s magic hold on gamers’ imaginations seem to be slipping. The most significant sign is the under-performance of the 3DS, which necessitated a massive price drop for the handheld. Some of the company’s most anticipated recent titles–last year’s Metroid: Other M and this year’s 3DS re-issue of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time–got mixed receptions when they finally came out. And if Nintendo can’t bank on its key franchises for guaranteed hits, where else can they go? Well, they could always go to platforms where those franchises don’t yet have presences, right? It’d be great if Apple’s expertise at user experience design could mate with Nintendo’s whimsical style of game creation in some meaningful way.

Of course, Nintendo doesn’t do such things. They have worked with more Western developers on key releases, but a partnership of this magnitude seems anathema to them. The company goes its own way, and those decisions have usually paid off. Time was, they were the unassailable powerhouse of the video game business. The House of Mario even had a double hegemony at one point, with both a home console and a handheld that everyone either wanted or already had. Ever since then, their iconic characters remain exclusively tied to the hardware that the company makes. While this has always led to great success for Nintendo, it’s also a very inflexible strategy that’s hard to grow. In terms of game development, the company’s other area of great success has been out-of-the-box titles that mimic everyday life or seek to integrate themselves into the lives of players, which Nintendogs, Brain Age and Wii Fit all managed to do.

But the current situation isn’t even the worst of it. Nintendo’s got an incredibly fallow looking year ahead of it on the home console front. Third-party support for the Wii from the marquee non-Nintendo developers and publishers has dwindled to near nothing. Yes, some major-first party titles are waiting in the wings, like The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Kirby Mass Attack, but interest in anything Wii-related is on the wane.

As for the Wii U, no exact release date is yet known, meaning that the Wii’s going to have to tread water for a while linger. What we’ve seen so far of Nintendo’s next home console seems to be indicate it’ll be a promising device with intriguing design possibilities. But there still seems to be confusion over how to sell it to those mainstream consumers who all brought Wiis five years ago.

If stock price is any indication, investor confidence in Nintendo as a corporate entity is at its lowest point in years. Of course, Nintendo’s business success came as a direct result of its innovative hardware ideas and brilliantly executed game design philosophy. But the missteps with the 3DS signal that Nintendo may have mistaken innovation for gimmickry. The former–as with the motion controls that made the Wii a runaway hit–adds value and differentiation to a gameplay experience and can be the key to unprecedented breakout success. But the latter can prove a liability when it adds nothing to gameplay, as seen in most of the stereoscopy-capable launch games for the 3DS.

Sometimes it seems like Nintendo’s prevailing mindset is stuck in the time period of their greatest success. When the Nintendo Entertainment System hit in the 1980s, it helped usher in a heady adolescence for console gaming. Game systems were being marketed to families and there was childlike wonder around simply being able to experience arcade style fun at home or in the hand. Nintendo’s great at trafficking in nostalgia and accessibility, but simple wonder may not be enough now. The competition from smartphone and social gaming platforms is only going to intensify and there’s no guarantee that the Wii’s record-setting success will carry over to its follow-up.

So while a Nintendo/Apple pairing may not be in the offing, Mario’s masters do need to find some kind of strategy to leverage their biggest strengths; namely, a great library of characters and an equally strong legacy of game design. More than potential profits, they’re risking the loss of their fan base. And if the faithful Nintendo fans head to another castle, there’s no telling if Mario or Samus will be able to bring them back.

[This post republished from Techland.]

If you haven’t snatched up a 3DS yet (if not, we wouldn’t blame you, given the dearth of interesting games) Nintendo’s sweetening its upcoming price drop with a ‘Flame Red’ version. If red’s your thing—as opposed to “Aqua Blue” and “Cosmo Black”—Nintendo says it plans to offer the alternative color from September 9th, shortly after the handheld’s price plummets from $250 to $170 this month.

Except wait a second, isn’t that supposed to happen this Friday, August 12th? That’s what Nintendo’s said, you know, all official-like.

But according to reports (and pictures of actual sales receipts), it seems some stores are selling the system at the new price already. Like Walmart, where you can reportedly get it for $169.96. (I know, does anyone seriously choose to buy, or not to buy, based on the cheap pennies discount gimmick?)

If Walmart’s not your speed (or for some inexplicable reason, nowhere near you) it sounds like some stores may be price-matching, though reports of successful purchases are mixed. If you want the $170 price early, it sounds like Walmart’s the safe bet.

The lure to buy early instead of just waiting a few more days? Getting the new system for cheap and getting access to Nintendo’s coveted “Ambassador Program.” That’s Nintendo’s mea culpa for gamers who already bought the system for $250, and it’s a pretty slick deal: 10 original Nintendo Entertainment System and 10 Game Boy Advance games, gratis, when Nintendo makes them available for download from its online store, come September 1st. The only catch: you have to register via your 3DS by the end of August 11th (tomorrow).

Those waiting for the August 12th $170 price break had theoretically been shut out, and it sounds like they just got a 24 hours-plus reprieve.

(via 1UP)

(This post republished from Techland.)

And then there are all the weird little Donkey Kong footnotes. Such as the fact it was almost about Popeye and Bluto. And the odd spinoffs (Donkey Kong hockey?). Gaming historian Benj Edwards has rounded up a bunch of them for Donkey Kong Oddities, our tribute to video gaming’s greatest ape.

Without Donkey Kong, we would have no Mario, and without Mario, it’s hard to imagine what Nintendo would look like today. That makes Donkey Kong, above all others, the most pivotally important video game Nintendo has ever released.

So it’s time to celebrate–which I did by rounding up a bunch of weird, odd, and interesting stuff about this beloved game.