I’m talking pre-Wii era. My pick would be two face buttons. What about you. Let’s hear it readers: What do you miss most about retro Nintendo consoles?

Mmm, memorabilia. More at Wired

Case in point: Tiger Woods will not be coming to Wii this year.

This isn’t the first time EA has discontinued support for Nintendo. In fact, EA has largely had an unproductive relationship with Nintendo since the 16-bit wars, opting instead to work with Sega and the more favorable margin of the Genesis.

At the same time, maybe simulation sports fans are a better fit on other platforms. What do you think? Is the so-so relationship between EA and Nintendo an issue?

This week, the smart, handsome, and “hang on every word they say” writers of Infendo had an internal discussion about better than expected 3DS reception. In an effort to defend my still estranged relationship with 3DS, I ranked all major Nintendo consoles as follows, from the most “wow” moments to the fewest (if any):

Wii > DS > GameCube > GBA > NES > SNES > N64 > Game Boy > 3DS > Virtual Boy

Overall, I suppose that’s also how I would rank my favorites, although I suspect NES might be a little higher, even though in hindsight it didn’t amaze me as much as Wii, DS, GCN, and GBA. Furthermore, I’m open to 3DS climbing that list with “never before seen” gameplay.

In any case, how would your rank Nintendo consoles relative to each other, in terms of which made you smile the most so far?

It’s official: Retro Studios in Austin, Texas is one of the coolest places to work on the planet. Right after Retro had finished Donkey Kong Country Returns, Nintendo enlisted them for the next chapter of Mario Kart. Their involvement reached much deeper than merely designing a DKCR-based track: Retro ended up designing half the tracks and handling the character animation, among other creative duties. This chance-of-a-lifetime for the Texas crew—Mario Kart fans all—marked their first direct collaboration with Nintendo’s EAD team.

According to Satoru Iwata, the unique team-up helped Mario Kart 7 aquire “…a charm that isn’t present in any of the earlier games in the series.” Wow. As if I needed another reason to pick up the game tomorrow.

For the full story, check out the hugely entertaining MK edition of Iwata Asks on Nintendo’s site. You’ll encounter a lot of fun anecdotes, production details and mind-blowing mental imagery. Here are  just a few samples: (more…)