Nintendo has announced the Nintendo Network, the company's antidote to the long-held gripes of users who have wanted Nintendo to offer a comprehensive online service like Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for their many platforms. Nintendo Network, which will work with 3DS and Wii U, will offer downloadable content, the possibility of full first and third-party digital game downloads, social and multiplayer features, and a personal account system.

Nintendo reported a net loss of ¥48.3 billion ($623.4 million) for the nine month period that ended December 2011, with a full-year loss of ¥65 billion ($840 million) expected. This compares to a profit of ¥49.5 billion ($638.8 million) for the same period during the 2011 fiscal year. Part of that loss is being attributed to the strength of the Yen against other currency. Manufacturing costs and other expenses related to the Wii U also cut into profits.

Nintendo announced in a press release this morning that it managed to sell more than 12 million hardware units in the United States during 2011. That figure is comprised of DS, Wii and 3DS hardware. The Wii sold 4.5 million units in 2011, the DS sold 3.4 million, and the 3DS sold 4 million, according to Nintendo.

The 3DS managed to sell more units than the Wii did in its first nine months of availability, according to the company. Of course the 3DS enjoyed something that the Wii didn't need in its first year of release - a major price cut.

It looks like Nintendo, Sony, and Electronic Arts have withdrawn their support for the much maligned SOPA bill.  An update to the government’s list of SOPA supporters (PDF) no longer sports the companies’ names (although Sony’s music divisions are still on there).

Why the change of heart?  We’re not sure.

Responding to a Formspring question about a potential port to Nintendo's 3DS hand-held, The Binding of Isaac, co-creator Edmund McMillen revealed that discussions are already underway. In responding to the question, McMillen revealed that "a publisher I know is currently asking Nintendo if they would be OK with Isaac on the 3DS." If Nintendo approves of the game being on the platform, he said that he is willing to "let them port it."

Nintendo announced that it will host what it calls a "telethon" to promote its Nintendo video services on the 3DS. When you think of telethons, you might imagine Jerry Lewis helping to raise money for muscular dystrophy, or St. Jude's raising money for kids with cancer, so perhaps using the term "telethon" is a bit presumptuous on Nintendo's part.

Nintendo  has revealed that it has sold over four million 3DS systems in Japan, with half a million units being sold in Japan alone last week - according to Enterbrain. Two of its 3DS games became million-sellers in the region last week as well. So why is the 3DS doing so well now? According to analysts a combination of a price cut earlier this year coupled with new and popular software has caught the attention of consumers.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is reporting that, beginning in March of 2012, the Louvre in Paris, France will use 5,000 3DS hand-helds to guide its 8.5 million annual visitors through the 35,000 art objects on display. The hand-helds are being supplied by Nintendo as part of a new partnership between the company and the iconic museum.

The 3DS systems the museum will use let visitors locate themselves on the museum's grounds, select from themed tours tailored to both adults and children, and listen to commentary about exhibits in seven different languages.

Nintendo has issued a statement clarifying what Shigeru Miyamoto said in an article on Wired yesterday. In that interview the Mario and Zelda creator said that he was retiring from his current position to focus on developing games for the company. But the headline coming out of that interview across the internet was that "Miyamoto is retiring."

Nintendo issued an official follow-up statement saying that it wasn't true and that Miyamoto's comments might have been misunderstood:

There's a nasty bug in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii that can utterly break the game for owners if they are not careful. Nintendo has acknowledged the bug and has released some methods for avoiding it altogether. The glitch occurs when players complete a very specific sequence of events late in the game. The solution of course contains spoilers about the game, so if you are sensitive about that then you should probably stop reading now.

***Spoiler Alert***


 

SUPABOY might just be the greatest gaming device ever made - because it allows you to play Super NES games on the go - but there's no doubt that it will run afoul of Nintendo's legal department at some point. The device, made by a company called Hyperkind, allows consumers to play old Super NES cartridges on the go. It has a 3.5 inch screen, but if you would rather play these games on the television, the device also allows you to do so through an AV plug. You can also plug two Super NES controllers into it if you want to (we assume you might if you were playing it on the TV).

Richard Flamm, Nintendo of America's general counsel of note for 12 years, will retire in the spring. While Flamm has served as GC for 12 years he has actually been a Nintendo of America employee for 19 years; prior to being named GC, he managed the company's anti-piracy team. In that role he fought against counterfeit Pokémon products, adult websites trying to use Nintendo characters in naughty ways, devices used to copy software on various platforms, and cyber squatters.

According to Nintendo, its 3DS hand-held has managed to beat the first year sales of its predecessor, the Nintendo DS - and it managed to do this in the first eight-months of release. Of course, the top executives at Nintendo forget to mention that the Nintendo DS did not have a price cut in that first year of sales, nor did it cause investors in Nintendo to demand that the company do a course correction and consider releasing software on other competing platforms like iOS.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said in a recent interview with AOL Games that Nintendo is giving 3DS developers the ability to charge for downloadable content, even though they aren't that excited by the idea of charging consumers.

"We're interested in it to the extent that it makes sense to the consumer," Fils-Aime said. That new feature is part of a 3DS software update coming next month and will allow developers who want to sell DLC to do so if they want to.

According to new data from Nielsen, iPad and iPhone are the most wanted devices for gaming and entertainment. The iPad is the most wanted consumer electronic among children ages 6-12 for this holiday season, according to Nielsen. Interest has increased in Apple's iPad over the last year too; close to half (44 percent) of children have expressed interest in the product, which is up from 31 percent in 2010. Other popular Apple devices are also wanted by kids including the iPod Touch (30 percent) and iPhone (27 percent).

Yesterday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) launched its Mario Kills Tanooki campaign, a stunt meant to draw attention to the plight of the real-life tanooki that is apparently killed for its fur in some parts of the world.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, Super Mario 3D Land released the day before and one of Mario’s power-ups is the Tanooki suit (pictured).  Yeah, I’m sure you can see where this is going.

According to a report on UGO's Wii channel, Nintendo may use EA's Origin service with its upcoming Wii U console. According to an anonymous tip from within EA, the company is supposedly working with Nintendo on a deal related to the Origin digital distribution platform. The source claims that EA and Nintendo are in talks to use Origin as Nintendo’s primary hosting platform for game distribution online.

The source also claims that Valve has been talking with Nintendo, but the impression they give is that EA is being extra aggressive in sealing the deal.

A new game from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) pokes fun at Super Mario Bros. Trying to draw some attention to its cause, PETA says that its new game, Super Tanooki Skin 2D, will hopefully make Mario think twice about wearing fur in his games. In the game, which is part of its new "Mario Kills Tanooki" campaign, players "direct a bloody, skinned raccoon dog as he chases a tanuki fur–suited Mario through a surreal fur farm where raccoon dogs are routinely skinned alive for their fur."

Wait what? The new Professor Layton game from Nintendo does not include the bonus game London Life if you live in Europe. Wait, what? Yes apparently European gamers don't get the bonus content. Our own Andrew Eisen gives us an impression of a European gamer buying the new Layton game to show you the irony of the situation...

Ohio-based company Motiva has lost its patent infringement case against Nintendo. The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in favor of Nintendo at a recent preliminary hearing related to a claim by Motiva that the Wii infringed on its patents, including one for a "human movement measurement system" that uses wireless controllers to track a user's position in a three-dimensional space.

The 2012 Harris Poll Youth EquiTrend study by Harris interactive is making Nintendo very happy today. While game systems in general receive higher scores than other technologies surveyed in Harris Interactive's annual survey, Nintendo Wii earns the overall highest score among all technology brands included in the study.

Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn, Hastings Entertainment president and CEO John Marmaduke, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) president and CEO Gary Shapiro, Nintendo of America and the 'Harry Potter' franchise will be inducted into the Variety Home Entertainment Hall of Fame on Dec. 5, 2011 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. As an added bonus, the 31st annual Variety Home Entertainment Hall of Fame gala dinner and awards show will also benefit charities chosen by the inductees.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told investors and the media at a recent investor briefing that the company had no plans to further cut the sticker price of its struggling 3DS hand-held. You may recall that last week Iwata apologized to investors after the company revealed a massive loss last week. Iwata said that the decision to cut the price of the 3DS was to garner interest in the system and bring it back to profitability.

Nintendo has released its financial results for the first half of the fiscal year ending September 30, reporting a massive loss. The company posted a loss of 70.29 billion yen ($927 million USD) for the first six months of the fiscal year. As a result, the company has dramatically revised its projected revenue for the full year. The company now says that it will generate 790 billion yen ($10.4 billion USD) in net sales, a change from the 900 billion yen ($11.9 billion) it expected in an earlier forecast.

According to a Gamsasutra based on a translation of a Nikkei from Andriasang, Nintendo is expected to announce a ¥100 billion ($1.32 billion) pre-tax loss as part of its six months financial results. Nintendo's loss is larger than expected, according to the Japanese newspaper, because of the strength of the Yen compared to the Euro. The exchange rate equates to ¥40 billion ($526.16 million) of the total loss.

Nintendo announced this morning that Hulu Plus will soon be available on both the Wii and the 3DS. The popular streaming media service for TV shows and movies will be added to both systems by the end of the year. Nintendo also announced new features being added to the Nintendo 3DS system, including the ability to record 3D videos, new musical artists coming to Nintendo Video and a new animated 3D video from DreamWorks Animation. Additionally, Nintendo 3DS owners will soon see four new downloadable games and applications published by Nintendo in the Nintendo eShop.

A Zelda iOS game has made it on to iTunes. No, Nintendo has not succumbed to the madness of investors and analysts who think the company should put its marquee titles on Apple platforms. Nintendo has no idea (chances are they do as of now) that a game called Ultimate iZelda Climb even exists. But it does. Ultimate iZelda Climb, available now on iTunes for $.99, "borrows" the likeness of Windwaker's Link, who hops from one random floating island to another. Oh joy, oh rapture.

To the left you see the banner Nintendo is using on its Anti-Piracy website’s welcome page.

Not very welcoming, is it?

Nintendo may not be excited about its declining stock prices, eroding investor confidence or the fact that a majority of their investors want them to make games for the iPad, but they sure are delighted by a recent French piracy ruling. It’s all about having your priorities straight. Recently six companies were found guilty of importing and selling those nefarious R4 cartridges that allow users to play copied games on DS systems.

Nintendo Power has compiled a list of the top selling Wii games to-date in the United States. All of the games in the list have sold at least a million copies and not all of them were made by Nintendo - though all of the usual Nintendo are mostly at the top of the heap.