News Articles

Thursday16th Feb 2012

Monday13th Feb 2012

Tuesday7th Feb 2012

  • News Can You Complete Super Mario Bros. In Under Five Minutes?

    Mamma mia

    Over 25 years on from release, people are still playing Super Mario Bros. on NES. Andrew Gardikis has probably played it more than most, as he's just set a new world record for fastest completion of the NES classic. Clocking in at 4:58.72, the time beats the previous record by ten seconds. Last year, Gardikis attempted to break the five...

Monday21st Feb 2011

  • News Watch an NES Complete Super Mario Bros. All By Itself

    Like a robot

    Over the years we've seen people play Super Mario Bros. in some crazy ways: you can play Mario with Kinect, play Mario with your eyes and even, believe it or not, play Mario with your hands, like a baby's toy. They've all required some sort of human interaction, but not this latest Mario-related chicanery, which uses a robot to replace...

Friday19th Nov 2010

Monday8th Nov 2010

Monday25th Oct 2010

Wednesday20th Oct 2010

  • News Super Mario Bros. Nearly Had a Shoot 'em Up Stage

    Before fireballs came bullets

    You might know enough about Super Mario Bros. to win our 25th anniversary competition, but did you know a shooting stage was planned for the game? A Famitsu interview with Shigeru Miyamoto reveals that using Mario's original controls, pressing Up would jump, with B to dash and A to fire bullets, before the team settled...

Monday18th Oct 2010

  • News We Celebrate 25 Years of NES

    We're throwing a hootenanny, and you're invited

    Today is the 25th anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System's North American debut, and we're celebrating in style. This week, you can look forward to a menagerie of features that hearken back to the olden days of 8-bit glory. Twenty-five years ago today, every New Yorker sensed something magic...

Thursday14th Oct 2010

  • News Brush Up on Your Super Mario Bros. Glitches, Tips and Tricks

    Nintendo gives a round-up of classic moments

    Some of these Super Mario Bros. glitches will be familiar to experienced gamers, but some might reveal hitherto unknown secrets about the little plumber's big adventure. Witness a tiny Mario using the Fire Flower, Koopa Troopas walking in mid-air and plenty of other little oddities that may shed new light...

Thursday7th Oct 2010

  • News Japan Receives Red Wii in Honour of Mario's 25th

    Super special limited edition on the way

    Nintendo already announced a limited edition red DSi XL to celebrate Mario's anniversary, but it's also put together a very special edition Wii console for Japan only. Not only is the Wii itself in the plumber's favourite hue of red, the Wii Remote is one of the new Wii Remote Plus designs containing...

Wednesday6th Oct 2010

Sunday26th Sep 2010

Thursday23rd Sep 2010

  • News Super Mario Bros. was Gaming's Big Bang, says Kojima

    "One of mankind's greatest creations," says great man

    It's been 25 years since Super Mario Bros. hit the world of gaming, and its influence is still felt widely around the world. Konami legend and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima is just one individual whose life was altered by the plumbing adventure. Kojima has said: With the creation of...

Tuesday21st Sep 2010

  • News Catch a Live Stream of Symphonic Legends This Thursday Evening

    Orchestral arrangements of classic Nintendo games

    If you've not got any plans this Thursday night, then be sure to tune into a live stream of Symphonic Legends' orchestral renditions of classic video games. Produced by Thomas Boecker with Jonne Valtonen taking lead composer duties, the WDR Radio Orchestra will be performing at the Cologne...

Saturday18th Sep 2010

  • News Nintendo Declares Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary Website Open

    Due to be updated in coming weeks

    First a logo, then a collector's edition pack; now the Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary celebrations get even wilder, with Nintendo of America rolling out website for the portly plumber's quarter-century. At the moment there's not really a lot to see other than a trailer and some pixel art, but Nintendo promises...

Tuesday7th Sep 2010

  • News Nintendo Rolls Out Logo For Mario's 25th Anniversary

    Most likely coming soon to a retro enthusiast near you

    So Super Mario Bros. released on the NES in 1985. We ran out of fingers and toes trying to figure out how long ago that was, but our theory is 25 years. We feel pretty good about this theory in light of a recent trademark filing by Nintendo of this here image. It doesn't say "25"...

Sunday29th Aug 2010

Wednesday4th Aug 2010

  • News Science Makes Another Huge Leap Through Super Mario Bros.

    Control the plumber with only your eyes

    We've had NES consoles controlled by peculiar pads in the past, one notable example being the Castlevania fan who used a dance mat, but what if you could play a similarly legendary, groundbreaking game without any controllers at all? No, we're not talking about Kinect, we're talking about Super Mario Bros. and...

Thursday24th Jun 2010

  • News This Beatboxer Has Clearly Played A Lot of Mario Games

    Japanese musician performs some impressive beat-coin-boxing

    We've seen some interesting 8-bit musical adaptations before, but Japanese beatboxer Hikakin has done the reverse, emulating classic Mushroom Kingdom melodies with nothing more than his mouth / throat combination. It's Rahzel meets Miyamoto in this incredibly impressive display of vocal...

Friday28th May 2010

  • News Mario Jumps Over Flag, Ends Arguments Forever

    It's real: see it with your own eyes

    Yes he can; no he can't. Yes he can; no he can't. Anyone who grew up with the NES will know this as the sound of the playground's "is it possible to jump over the flag?" argument that ran all over the world. Now those who were on the "yes he can" side should pick up their phones and ring old...

Thursday29th Apr 2010

Friday16th Apr 2010

  • News Mario Leaps Across the Virtual Pages of Kindle

    Amazon presumably thrilled

    You might have an Amazon Kindle e-reader, but chances are you probably don't: all that reading is understandably off-putting. You know what might brighten it up? Some Mario, of course. That was seemingly the thought process over at Klab, a Japanese company behind a NES emulator for Kindle. Although it's perhaps best not to...

Monday22nd Feb 2010

  • News Nintendo Cereal System Sells For $200

    Indigestion medication not included

    Do you remember the Nintendo Cereal System from 1988? It let people who just couldn't get enough of Mario and Zelda to pour them into a bowl and eat them, keeping their spirits (but, sadly, not powers) with you all throughout the day by way of two different types of cereal: fruit-flavored for Mario, berry for...

Thursday26th Nov 2009

  • News Mario Was Almost Called Mr Video

    "It's-a me Mr Video" just doesn't have the same ring to it

    Legend has it that Super Mario was named after the landlord of Nintendo's North American offices back when the company first started, but in the new 'Iwata Asks' feature it was revealed that our lovable tubby plumber was also going to be called 'Mr Video' at one stage. Shigeru Miyamoto said...

Wednesday25th Nov 2009

  • News Miyamoto: I Wanted To Patent Jumping In Games

    Nintendo's latest Q&A session reveals an amusing tid-bit

    Nintendo's regular "Iwata Asks" Q&A sessions have thrown up some interesting points and the latest one - featuring Shigeru Miyamoto - is no exception. Miyamoto: After Mario Bros., there were a fair few jumping-style games released by various companies and I felt that this kind...

Sunday14th Jun 2009

  • News Play Super Mario Bros. With...A Theremin?

    Takes motion controls to a whole new level.

    Music controllers are all the rage nowadays, thanks to your Rock Bands and your DJ Heroes, even your GameCube Jungle Beats. Now, some whiz has managed to hook up an obscure instrument for some retro action. The theremin is known for its spooky sounds and for being the only instrument you can play without...

Sunday27th Apr 2008

  • News South Korea gets their own Virtual Console

    Interestingly the Wii finally went on sale in South Korea for the first time yesterday on the 26th April. This wouldn’t normally be a news item for us but with the Wii launch comes a whole new Virtual Console region with different prices!

    Let’s take a look at the launch games as listed on the Korean Nintendo site: Famicom / NES (400 Wii...