The Tendo Project – Daily Nintendo News

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Aurich Lawson

In the United States, Thanksgiving Day derails the regular workweek with food and family, but Ars still had a full week of reporting. If you were travelling or entertaining house guests, and didn't have time to follow all of our best reports, here's a handy list of some of the most important things that happened this week:

• How Team Obama's tech efficiency left Romney IT in dust
  Obama campaign's tech team beat Romney by using opposite strategy—"insourcing."
• World Bank envisions a 4°C future
  Its conclusion? Please, let's not do this.
• Review: Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal a mix of promise, pain
  Installation bugs, kinks in new features like Web apps hamper promising release.
• What's HTC paying Apple for patents? Not an “outrageous” $8 per phone
  It's a "very, very happy settlement," says HTC CEO Peter Chou.
• “Your criticisms are completely wrong”: Stallman on software patents, 20 years in
  Free software guru makes a still-unpopular plea with new urgency—just ban them.
• Are third-party security apps still necessary with Android 4.2?
  Latest version of Android offers several built-in security features.
• US patent chief to software patent critics: "Give it a rest already"
  Says explosion of smartphone patent litigation is "natural and reasonable."
• In living color: Ars reviews the hacker-approved Philips Hue LEDs
  Pricey but lovable bulbs leave us incapable of going back to normal lighting.
• Influential GOP group releases, pulls shockingly sensible copyright memo
  Reversal suggests a generation gap within the GOP.
• A good Ultrabook, a bad tablet: the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 review
  Perhaps the biggest surprise? It makes a useful, miniature all-in-one.
• How Nintendo DRM trapped $400 of downloaded games on my failing Wii (updated)
  And why the console maker wants $60 to help me free my purchases.
• Wii U hardware review: Double the screens, double the fun?
  Nintendo ushers in the next generation of console gaming.

Read on Ars Technica | Comments

Enlarge

Aurich Lawson

In the United States, Thanksgiving Day derails the regular workweek with food and family, but Ars still had a full week of reporting. If you were travelling or entertaining house guests, and didn't have time to follow all of our best reports, here's a handy list of some of the most important things that happened this week:

• How Team Obama's tech efficiency left Romney IT in dust
  Obama campaign's tech team beat Romney by using opposite strategy—"insourcing."
• World Bank envisions a 4°C future
  Its conclusion? Please, let's not do this.
• Review: Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal a mix of promise, pain
  Installation bugs, kinks in new features like Web apps hamper promising release.
• What's HTC paying Apple for patents? Not an “outrageous” $8 per phone
  It's a "very, very happy settlement," says HTC CEO Peter Chou.
• “Your criticisms are completely wrong”: Stallman on software patents, 20 years in
  Free software guru makes a still-unpopular plea with new urgency—just ban them.
• Are third-party security apps still necessary with Android 4.2?
  Latest version of Android offers several built-in security features.
• US patent chief to software patent critics: "Give it a rest already"
  Says explosion of smartphone patent litigation is "natural and reasonable."
• In living color: Ars reviews the hacker-approved Philips Hue LEDs
  Pricey but lovable bulbs leave us incapable of going back to normal lighting.
• Influential GOP group releases, pulls shockingly sensible copyright memo
  Reversal suggests a generation gap within the GOP.
• A good Ultrabook, a bad tablet: the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 review
  Perhaps the biggest surprise? It makes a useful, miniature all-in-one.
• How Nintendo DRM trapped $400 of downloaded games on my failing Wii (updated)
  And why the console maker wants $60 to help me free my purchases.
• Wii U hardware review: Double the screens, double the fun?
  Nintendo ushers in the next generation of console gaming.

Read on Ars Technica | Comments

E3 came and went this week, and the big three console makers displayed their wares. Nintendo was the only one to show off a next-generation console, and it's counting on classic characters to sell the system.

• The beauty of SimCity is in the details:
  Zooming from micro to macro and back again.
• Green Lantern is gay: so what?:
  Marvel and DC play catch up with the real world.
• Nintendo reveals new Wii U details ahead of E3:
  Company shows final controller design, social features.
• How I died in Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition:
  The title alone should have prepared me, but still...
• Nintendo busts out Mario and other classic franchises to sell Wii U:
  NintendoLand offers theme park filled with classic Nintendo characters.
• Gorgeous Unreal Engine 4 brings direct programming, indirect lighting:
  The future of game development looks very fine—and GPU intensive—indeed.
• Lara Croft shows her vulnerability in new Tomb Raider:
  Origin story shows how the femme fatale was forged.
• Why NintendoLand isn't the next Wii Sports:
  The mini-game collection is fun, but not instantly accessible.
• Xbox 360 "SmartGlass" turns phone or tablet into second controller:
  Internet Explorer coming to Xbox, even more Kinect integration on the way.
• Best Buy and GameStop can now sell Microsoft’s Xbox 360 for $99 too:
  MS gives you a deal on hardware if you pay for monthly Xbox Live Gold service.

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This week's big breakout gaming feature was a in-depth look at how the internet gaming community banded together to solve the most arcane puzzle in Xbox indie hit Fez, even if they weren't really sure why their solution worked the way it did. We also took a look at how Nintendo's declining sales are dragging down reported numbers for the entire industry, talked to the developer of a Baldur's Gate revamp about why he's not thrilled with console development, and looked at a potential console firmware update that could make a dent in our collective household energy use.

I'm looking forward to playing Diablo III with some friends and the wider public during the open beta this weekend. I'm KyleOrl on Battle.net if you want to try and track me down. Use the secret code "Ars Technica is the best site ever!" so I know you're not a stranger.

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Readers were asking about the existence of triggers on Razer's Project Fiona, so here is a picture of the back of the hardware. See? Triggers!

We were at CES this week, and here are some of the stories we brought back. If Nintendo is going to launch the Wii U in 2012, the company doesn't have much time to give us some actual details about the hardware and the games we can expect. On the other hand, that's probably what E3 is for. Come inside and check out the biggest gaming stories of the week, and to see what we thought of the Fiona itself.

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This week, our top Apple news discussed Apple's first update to Lion, why Nintendo won't dive into iOS devices just yet, fake Apple stores in China, and Apple's actions against Samsung in Europe. There's also some renewed buzz about Apple's still-unannounced fall Apple event, as well as new rumors about LTE iPhones. Read on for the roundup:

22 more "fake" Apple Stores found in China; how many more are there?: First, the Internet went crazy over a blogger's account of an "Apple Store" in China that happened to be entirely unauthorized. Then two were shut down. Now, 22 more have been ordered to quit using Apple's trademarks in China. But this is just the beginning.

We may want Mario on the iPhone, but Nintendo won't slit own throat: Nintendo has so far refused to release games for Apple's popular mobile devices. With slagging sales of the Wii and the lackluster launch of the 3DS causing the company a loss for the second quarter, investors are asking the company to reconsider. But it won't happen as long as president Satoru Iwata is in charge.

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So... played any good games lately? Our admittedly harsh review of Duke Nukem Forever drew strong thoughts from both sides of the debate, as did the resulting PR implosion when a company working on the game's publicity threatened to blacklist certain outlets based on poor reviews. If I thought I had it bad having to play this game and then continually talk about it, I have to admit that's nothing next to losing your job for trying to defend it.

In better news, Skyrim looks great, and we know a bit more about the power of the Wii U. It has been quite the week, so stop by and see what stories you might have missed.

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Nintendo:

• Say hello to the touchscreen console: Wii U coming in 2012: The much-rumored touch screen Wii successor has been officially announced, and it's called the Wii U. It's coming next year and will feature games like Smash Bros., Batman Arkham City, and Assassin's Creed.
• Hands-on with the Wii U: it's here, and it's amazing: After hands-on time spent with Nintendo's new Wii U console, we're hooked. This is a whole new machine that can display high definition graphics to both your television and the system's innovative new controller.
• It is a whole console! Here's the Wii U deck: Nintendo's press conference was a bit confusing: is the Wii U a controller or a new console? It's a console, and we have an image of the deck. Fair warning: there's not much to see.
• Nintendo outlines 3D Mario Kart, Luigi's Mansion 2, and Super Mario: Nintendo has announced that new entries in the Mario Kart, Super Mario, and StarFox series will be on the 3DS before the end of the year, while a sequel to Luigi's Mansion is also on its way to the handheld.
• Nintendo 3DS eShop packs solid features, skimpy lineup: The Nintendo 3DS eShop for downloadable games will launch with a free virtual Pokémon strategy guide, Nintendo said on Thursday.
• Super Mario 3DS hands-on: the Tanooki suit is back!: We played Super Mario 3DS and got exactly what we wanted: a new platforming adventure with enough new tricks and surprises to keep things fresh. This is the gaming equivalent of a master chef creating comfort food.

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