I’m not ashamed to admit I bought my DS to play Nintendogs. When a friend showed me his polygon-pup spinning to the spoken command, “Hurricane Kick,” I realized that, yes, I did want a virtual canine after all. In fact, I bought the Lab and Friends cartridge a week before I got the system, because (remember this?) the pet-sim was selling out everywhere in its first weeks. I finally bought my fat blue DS and fell headlong into the charming, peaceful, bonkers world of never-aging puppies (sing that to the Never-Ending Story theme!)

I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that, after its first several weeks, the sim wound up on the shelf and only got revisited on rare occasions. But something great happens every time I do take it out for a spin: it reminds me why it was such a smash hit, and–to this day–remains a fantastic creation that still amazes even after countless imitators have tried and failed to recreate its magic. (more…)

Precious few details have been released regarding The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and we still don’t have a release date more specific than “some time in 2011″. However, we did get this tiny tidbit. IGN reports:

According to CEO Satoru Iwata, who briefly mentioned the game at an investors briefing today, development is in the final stages. However, the game’s release will trail that of 3DS’s Ocarina of Time.

Twilight Princess remains one of my favorite Wii titles, and the thought of playing a Zelda game designed for the Wii from day 1 is even more tantalizing. Don’t get me wrong; the Wii remote controls in Twilight Princess felt natural and well thought-out, but the game was still essentially a glorified GameCube port. Skyward Sword, on the other hand, will make heavy use of the Wii MotionPlus, which has been collecting dust at my house since Wii Sports Resort. Basically, we are overdue for a Skyward Sword media blitz. I’m so hungry for new details, I could eat an Octorok.

When I bought my DS Lite, it was a reward for reaching a weight loss goal. I figured that it worked so good that time, it would be a good plan to do it again with the 3DS. So I ordered one from Amazon today and made a deal with my wife: as long as I don’t gain any weight back and continue to lose over the next two months, the 3DS is all mine. If I fail, the 3DS is all hers and I can only listen to her brag about how awesome it is.

Anyone else have theirs pre-ordered?

- The upcoming game Dead or Alive Dimensions pays homage to Metroid: Other M with a Ridley boss fight stage and a cameo by everyone’s favorite bounty hunter (video in link). I wonder if Samus will be authorized to enter the fray herself. Or keep her clothes on. It’s a DoA game, after all. ( Joystiq )

- New details emerge regarding the 3DS’s built-in utility apps, such as Game Memo, Friend List, and Notification Applet. The in-game notepad features of Game Memo will definitely come in handy for those times you want to take notes and can’t be arsed to kill a few trees, which were probably asking for it anyway. I’m kidding. Probably. ( MTV Multiplayer )

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Unveiled today by Nintendo. According to Wired, it’ll be a throwback Kirby. You know, the kind where you inhale enemies, assume their powers, then us it against them. Nintendo did not give an exact date, but confirmed it would arrive this year, most likely this holiday.

As seen by Infendo’s Canon T1i last week. Too bad she’s not a launch game.

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In the latest 3Ds installment of Iwata Asks, it is revealed that “Touch Generations”, Nintendo’s branding of games such as Nintendogs, Brain Training, and others, will no longer be used.

Iwata: When I proposed that at an inner-company meeting where we would decide our policy the other day and asked if it was okay, everyone immediately agreed. (laughs)

What do you think? Was this a successful branding idea or did you ever even notice it?

Online drivel like this:

Was kind of cool when these pepole didn’t have a voice. You know, pre-Internet days. Game mag days. When the only ideas we were exposed to were the ones in our heads. Or by trusted gaming friends.

PS – Parody is an awesome way to prove a point.

If not Steeldiver, Pilot Wings, or Zelda 3D, what then? In terms of launch games, it kinda feels like 3DS might be on par with GameCube’s lackluster launch lineup, no?