Could Nintendo’s Mario and Luigi be headed for blackboards and pop-top desks after decades battling bob-ombs, chain chomps, hammer bros, and koopa troopas? Mario creator and Nintendo R&D guru Shigeru Miyamoto certainly hopes so.

Speaking to The Associate Press ahead of today’s London-based British Academy Video Games Awards, where he’ll receive a special award, Miyamoto admitted turning consoles into teaching tools is “maybe the area where I am devoting myself (the) most.” …

No Comments | In: Scariest Video Games | tags: Luigi, Mario, mario kart wii, Nintendo, ombs, pc world. | #

PC World – We have 2010 release dates for Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M, but could the next Zelda be on its way this year, too? A new Mario, Metroid, and Zelda, all in the same 365-day timespan? Xbox and PS3s sacrificed, Italian plumbers and koopa troopas living together…mass euphoria? …

No Comments | In: Scariest Video Games | tags: America, Cammie Dunaway, galaxy 2, Mario, Mario Galaxy, Mario-Metroid-, Matt, Metroid, Mr. Iwata, Nintendo, nintendo america, pc world, Zelda. | #

PC World -

Dear Nintendo, while I respect your president Reggie Fils-Aime’s decision to shrug off the Wii’s inability to do high-definition video as “no loss” in an interview with CNBC, I’m not sure you’re taking the long view.

And if recent HD usage survey results are accurate, you probably should be.

According to a November 2009 Knowledge Networks survey, 43 percent of people “watch HD programs every day,” up from just 26 percent in 2007. That’s a 65 percent increase in two years, significant enough to lead Knowledge Networks’ president to note “This sends a message to advertisers that HD is becoming the new norm for those with HD access across all program types.”

People apparently–and increasingly–want high-definition content. And you know what? Yes, only part of Netflix’s total catalog may be HD-ready today, but what…you think Netflix plans to wait for the Wii to catch up with an HD part? Care to wager how much Netflix’s HD library is going to grow in 2010 alone? …

No Comments | In: Scariest Video Games | tags: Mario, Netflix, Nintendo, pc world, reggie fils aime, Reggie Fils-, requiescat in pace. | #

PC World – Of all the Mario Kart games, the best was probably the first, and now you can see why for 800 Wii Points, or about eight US dollars. We’re talking the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) original here, born 17 years ago in 1992. It supported 1 to 2 players, packed eight playable Mario-verse characters, and offered three championship cups divvied into three distinct ‘kart’ classes.

No Comments | In: Scariest Video Games | tags: Mario, Mario Kart, nintendo entertainment system, pc world, Super, Wii. | #