Super Mario Bros. Wonder Takes Top Spot in Japan’s Final Software Sales Charts of 2023

A group of Super Mario Maker players are attempting to beat every level ever created by other users before the Wii U's online services shut down for good. With the Nintendo Switch currently being the Japanese game giant's focus, Nintendo has been phasing out the services of its previous consoles, the Wii U and 3DS. While fans knew that these were being shut down, Nintendo finally confirmed the exact date the Wii U and 3DS servers will go offline. This closure will affect all games released on these systems that have online play and communication, such as the first Splatoon, Mario Kart 8, and Super Mario Maker.

Famitsu has published Japan’s weekly game software and hardware sales data for the week ended January 21, 2024.

A now-deleted social media post has fans guessing that The Legend of Zelda could be finally getting its own theme park attraction after years of speculation. When the first Super Nintendo World location opened at Universal Studios Japan back in 2021, it was primarily focused on the Big N’s flagship Super Mario Bros. franchise, but it would soon start introducing interactive rides and attractions based on its other properties. A few months after the Japanese park went live, Nintendo announced that there would be a Donkey Kong-themed expansion coming in spring 2024, with an American version being added to the upcoming Universal Studios Orlando exhibit in 2025.

As Nintendo has proven over the last several years, they’re dedicated to not just making the best video games possible featuring their IPs but trying to take those IPs and bring them to new places so that they can “lure in” new people to check them out. Last year, they released the first of what might be a grand movie slate, with Mario’s first animated feature not only getting nominated for awards but also bringing in over 1.3 billion dollars! Then, there’s Super Nintendo World, the amusement that Nintendo has built with Universal Studios. The park already has locations in Japan and California, and Orlando is set to drop soon.

Koji Kondo, longtime composer for The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. franchises, will be inducted into the Academy of Interactvie Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame at this year's D.I.C.E. Awards. The presentation will take place at the 27th annual D.I.C.E. Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the ceremony on Thursday, February 15, at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET. 

After putting 2,460 hours into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, series superfan Bobby Blue Holliday has turned to Tears of the Kingdom and now spent over 1,500 hours on a self-imposed quest to become "the first player on the planet to manually cap all materials in-game." 

The Nintendo Wii U and 3DS online services will be terminated this April, but users will still be able to download purchased software and updates for their games.

A new PlayStation 5 system software update is now live, introducing improvements for the PULSE Elite wireless headset and Explore wireless earbuds, and more.

Few phrases in video games send chills down one’s spine like, “It gets good after eight hours.” With that much time, you could beat Bowser in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, watch most of The Bear, or read The Great Gatsby — twice. It should be no surprise, then, that those six cruel words hang like an albatross around the necks of countless role-playing games collecting dust in my backlog.

As the countdown continues toward a certain sequel with everyone on the edge of their seats, given what might happen within it, let’s not forget what started this whole thing. Specifically, let’s not forget how great Final Fantasy VII Remake was, as it was a title that many wondered about regarding quality for some time. After all, the game had a VERY bumpy development cycle, to the extent that it was released many years after it was first announced, and there were all sorts of rumors about what the heck was going on during that point. But when it was released, it was everything fans could’ve hoped for, and more.

Data revealed by Famitsu recently revealed that the Nintendo Switch was the highest selling console of 2023 in Japan, but though the PS5 sold just a little more than half of Nintendo’s machine, it still performed better than what Sony platforms have enjoyed in the region in quite a long time.

What does it mean to be “dominant?” Well, there are levels to it, as many will agree. There is short-term dominance, and there is long-term dominance. In sports, you can be dominant for a season and then earn the title that “you deserve” because you blasted everything in your path on the way to that title. But if you have long-term dominance, you’re a dynasty. A legacy that can’t be overcome unless someone tops you. Given the nature of the gaming industry, you might think there are no such “dynasties” to be had. But with Nintendo, they have a streak going in Japan that will likely be hard to top.