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If you've been playing Mario Kart games since the beginning, you're probably going to have a bit of déjà vu on the Donut Plain track. Read more...

It's not just the handhelds that are going peach and pink: A new Princess Peach Wii Remote Plus is floating onto retail shelves in North America next week. You can acquire the peachy Motion Plus controller starting April 24, at the suggested retail price of $40. To bask in its full regal splendor, take a peek below the break.

It's a shame the Peach controller didn't make it out in time for Super Mario 3D World, or with a Toad one that Nintendo's not yet dreamed up. Playing that game with Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad controllers is bordering on the problematically geeky, but we'd so do it. [Images: Nintendo]

I've managed to resist picking up the Mario and Luigi themed Wii remotes thus far, but the addition of a Princess Peach motion controller at the end of the month has the game paraphernalia collector in me twitching. Dammit, Nintendo. Read more...

Based on what we've seen of Smash Run, the recently-revealed multiplayer mode in Super Smash Bros. where players traverse dungeon-like levels and collect power-ups, it looks like the 3DS-specific mode could be a blast. Read more...

Unannounced characters. New, unexplained items. Possible cameos. Small details you might've missed. The Smash Bros. themed direct we watched earlier this week had a ton of stuff jam-packed into it, much of which you can't catch unless you pick apart some of what we were shown.Read more...

Have you played Road Rash? You'll enjoy the next 45 seconds. Above is footage from the alpha of Road Redemption, an open-world motorcycle combat racer and spiritual successor to the Road Rash series, which had its last entry in '99. The game lands on PC in August, with Wii U and Xbox 360 versions to follow later.Read more...

Atlus announced plans to publish Citizens of Earth, a quirky RPG that follows the Vice President of the World on his quest to investigate the bizarre happenings in the town. Developed by Eden Industries, Citizens of Earth fell short of its $100,000 CAD ($91,600 USD) goal on Kickstarter in October 2013, raising just $36,875 CAD ($33,778 USD).

The modern RPG takes after popular SNES classic Earthbound, with its humorous approach to world-saving adventures and includes recruiting mechanics in line with the Pokemon and Suikoden series. The Vice President brings "regular characters into the spotlight as heroes" for them to do his dirty work in battle, continuing their day jobs when not engaged in combat. The game includes 40 citizens, though ambitious fans are encouraged to enter a contest by Friday, April 18 on Atlus' site to create the 41st one for the game.

Citizens of Earth is in development for PS4, Vita, 3DS, Wii U and PC and is expected to arrive on each platform's digital channels in North America and Europe in September 2014. [Image: Atlus]

Video game screenshots, as a general rule, are not very interesting. They're dull, full of guns, and usually so dolled up in photoshop that they're more works of fiction than genuine marketing tools.Read more...

2010's The Flying Hamster is an adorable bite-sized shooter mainly aimed at mobile and portable platforms. Flying Hamster II: Knight of the Golden Seed is a gorplatforming adventure that aims to resurrect the spirit of the classic Wonder Boy/Monster World franchise. Read more...

Thanks to a special Smash Bros. focused Nintendo Direct today, there is a ton of new information on both the 3DS and Wii U versions of Smash Bros. Let's take a moment to recap both the major news, and some of the smaller things you might've missed, shall we?Read more...

During today's Nintendo Direct covering all things Smash Bros, the director of the game—Masahiro Sakurai—outlined the kinds of player behavior that will get you banned (or at least temporarily so) from the game.Read more...

After years of superhero films from Marvel Studios igniting the box office, it was inevitable that Disney would add Marvel's characters to open-world license mashup Disney Infinity.

The game, which drops players into a sandbox-style environment populated with famous faces from throughout Disney's vast catalogue of lucrative characters, has long been a suspected destination for Marvel's heroes. In February, we reported on layoffs at Disney Infinity developer Disney Interactive, at which time the Wall Street Journal claimed that Marvel characters would join Disney Infinity in a "new version" of the game. Presumably that explains the "2.0" designation at the end of the above trailer, though so far we've found no further information on what might also be included in this new incarnation of Disney Infinity.

There's no word on when Marvel's heroes might join Disney Infinity, nor word on which heroes will make the cut. Given the title of the video, "Get Ready To Assemble," we think the Avengers will be a safe bet, but otherwise we're in the dark. When contacted, neither Disney nor Marvel had anything further to add. [Image: Disney]

"Nintendo, man," my friend Jeremy said to me. "You'll fall in love with them. But then they'll break your heart."Read more...

Now that the PS4, Xbox One and Wii U are all out, you'd think it's the perfect time to dive into games on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. Games on those systems are typically cheaper and there are a ton of worthwhile titles released for them already, many of which are already in our backlogs, just waiting for us to tackle them. It's the sort of situation that should make waiting for the PS4 and Xbox One to fill up with must-buy titles less painful for all of us early adopters......except that's not actually what is happening.Read more...

Most of Nintendo's platforms are getting new games on the eShop this week, even the lonely DSi. Let's face it though, the only games that matter are Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. We declared the games "hands-down the best in the series," so Pokéfans will definitely want to pick those up.

What else are you going to play, Tennis? Golf? No, really, the NES versions of Tennis and Golf are out on Wii U Virtual Console too.

Mario Kart 8 is sleek as heck. Here's some new footage from the upcoming Wii U game, which is out on May 30. Also you can listen to us talk (always a blast).Read more...

Behold new screenshots of Mario Kart 8, the best-looking screenshots I've seen from Nintendo in a long time. They're an 11-image argument that, okay, maybe seeing classic Nintendo franchises with HD graphics is worth the price of admission for Nintendo's newish Wii U console. UPDATE: Trailer added.Read more...

Here's Pikachu conjuring a legit thunderstorm in the Wii U version of the next Super Smash Bros. As director Masahiro Sakurai put it, "Foes can dodge, of course, so the attack won't hit consistently, but when it does, it sure feels good!" Looking at the badass visuals, I can certainly believe that.Read more...

Behold new screenshots of Mario Kart 8, the best-looking screenshots I've seen from Nintendo in a long time. They're an 11-image argument that, okay, maybe seeing classic Nintendo franchises with HD graphics is worth the price of admission for Nintendo's newish Wii U console.Read more...

Minicore Studios is roughly 30 percent of the way through The Sky Below, a sequel to The Sun at Night and the second installment in The Stray series. The Sky Below again stars Laika, the robot space dog with a big (and probably mechanical) heart, and it takes place directly after the ending of The Sun at Night. Minicore is taking into account feedback from players of The Sun at Night.

Tweaks to The Sky Below include the addition of three Laika Support Suits, one defensive, offensive and utility. Each suit has a specific weapon and passive ability boots, and they all build upon existing skill trees. The map will be streamlined into a 2D design, and the art will be ramped up in a way that makes it clear which areas are platforms and which aren't.

The Sky Below is due out in October 2014 for PC, Mac and Linux, and the team is looking at PS4, Vita and Wii U. [Image: Minicore Studios]

There are a lot of awful pranks and unfunny jokes out there today, but this one might be the weirdest: the official Twitter account for Frostbite—EA's proprietary video game engine—is acting like a big ol' bully.Read more...

European Wii U owners aren't getting the Deluxe Edition of Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate until later in April, Warner Bros. revealed today. A press release confirmed the enhanced re-release of last year's 2.5D bat-former is still coming to Wii U today in North America as well as PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, but the European Wii U version won't hit until later in the month. That delayed date may well be April 17, if the launch trailer's YouTube description is anything to go by.

The Wii U version was previously slated to release alongside the other platforms, and Warner Bros. didn't note a reason for the delay. We approached Warner Bros. about the date listed on YouTube, and a representative directed us to the press release. Today's news isn't the first time Warner Bros has had Wii U-related issues, especially in Europe.

Blackgate Deluxe Edition is an enhanced version of the Vita and 3DS take on Origins, as developed by the Metroid Prime ex-pats at Armature Studios. In addition to polished up visuals, the $20 Deluxe Edition features a brand new map system, and that's definitely a good thing given our review said the previous system's "2D representation of a 2D view of a 3D world" was as it sounds: not great.

Despite that awkwardness, we gave last year's version of Blackgate a plenty respectable three and a half stars out of five - the same score we gave its big brother, by the by. [Image: Warner Bros.]

There is free Zelda-themed DLC coming out for Sonic: Lost World. It's out tomorrow on the Wii U eShop, and IGN's got one of their exclusive preview things right here. (The gist: Sonic gets to run around a zone filled with Zelda references.)Read more...

It may not have the sex appeal of space shooters or Sony's industrial design , but this Nintendo VR solution is quick, easy and available right now to Wii U owners worldwide.Read more...

Darksiders II – $19.99 (was $59.99)
Wheel of Fortune – $19.99 (was $49.99)
Jeopardy – $19.99 (was $49.99)

All three titles will be available at their sale prices until April 1st.

Just Add Water's upcoming remake of the PSone-era adventure game Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee needs to sell half a million units in order to fund the creation of a new Oddworld game, series creator Lorne Lanning told Eurogamer today.

"If I'm doing a new Oddworld game, I'm not going to do it for $2 million. I might do it for five or six," Lanning explained. "People keep asking me, 'Why don't you Kickstart Oddworld? You could get at least $1 or $2 million.' And I'm like 'What would I do with a couple million on Kickstarter? On a new Oddworld title?' Not much. I could redo Exoddus for a couple million. I could do that. But a new title, which means new characters doing new things and controls that are great - that's where the real time and expenses come from."

Lanning additionally revealed that Oddworld: Abe's Oddyssey - New 'n' Tasty will be priced at $30 when it hits digital platforms this spring. He notes that sales in excess of 250,000 will fund the creation of Just Add Water's next planned remake, Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus HD. 500,000 copies sold would earn enough revenue to revive the stalled Oddworld series project The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot, which Lanning estimates is "a $5 million title" at minimum.

Lanning is optimistic about hitting the target, given that the self-published Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD has sold around 600,000 units across the PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and PC platforms. Sales for the remake eclipsed the original EA-published Xbox version of Stranger's Wrath, which only "sold about half a million units," according to Lanning.

[Image: Just Add Water]

Watch Dogs' delay hasn't just meant months of bug squashing and fixes. The team also found the time to add some new content to the game, some of which has seen its rating bumped to adults-only in Australia.Read more...

At one point, the current iteration of Sonic and his friends looked even more different compared to their original selves. So much so that it caused quite a few headaches to the series' original creators.Read more...