Shigeru Miyamoto teams up with a trio of video game characters he created in an impressive short illustrated and animated by Newgrounds user, Awkward-Squid.

The concept behind the flash animation, titled “Legend of Miyamoto”, involves Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong helping their video game father make his way through their world. Squid says that the work was rushed a bit due to the fact it was being done as a university assignment, but I think it turned out great.

Check it out after the jump. Read more…

In a recent interview with the UK based Telegraph, Miyamoto stated that there are teams working on new Mario, Zelda, and Pikmin projects.

“They are all working on more Mario, Zelda and Pikmin projects … And they all work in close proximity to me, so I can keep a good eye on them.”

Not exactly sure who “all” is, because surely the entire company is not working on a new Mario title — who would be left to fine tune Wii Music? Ok, ok, I will let it go.

Miyamoto adds that traditional games are his area of expertise and offers insight as to how the company rotates staff internally to ensure that the “traditional” titles always have people working on them.

“Making these ‘traditional’ games is what I am best at. Because games of that nature take upwards of two or three years to make, we always have to keep the teams working on those projects going. At any given time, the team could be five to ten people, or it could be 50-plus. People are always switching in and out of those teams.”

I can’t help but feel like this is all damage control 101, but even if it is, it shows that the company does care to some extent about its hardcore gamer base. It would seem that they realize their E3 presentation didn’t have the impact they had hoped for.

All we can ask now is that they learn from their mistake, and keep the traditional teams closer to 50-plus, with five people working on the next Wii Music.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

I’m always envious of people who can play the guitar, specifically themes to my favorite video games. So imagine how I feel when this guy played the Mario theme on guitar without even strumming. Hit the jump to check it out. Read more…

With the new MLB season now fully up and running, Nintendo announced yesterday a new sports game for their upcoming Wii line-up. Mario Super Sluggers is a baseball game featuring the weird and wonderful characters of the Nintendo universe, due for release sometime later this year in the US, and this is another title sure to get Wii owners excited. Read more…

This is what we have all been waiting for … a battle for the ages, and the time is now. We have assembled 32 of the finest video game characters that have ever called a console home, and a five round single elimination tournament of speed, skill, strength, and determination stands between them and being named pixel for pixel the baddest that ever was, the “King of the Game”.

Can Marcus Fenix roadie run his way through a bullet blazing, one liner laden, no holds barred battle with the one and only Duke Nukem? Will Metal Gear’s main man Snake slither his way to victory against the Splinter Cells triclops, Sam Fisher? Metriod’s Samus Aran, or the combat evolved Master Chief? The king of cold: Sub Zero or the queen of hot: Lara Croft?

We here at ripten have been working for over two months, researching, arguing, and eating lots of junk food, all in the name of bringing you an accurate account of each characters quest for video game immortality. Read more…