Mario has saved many a princess, but now the fleet-footed Italian plumber is being tasked with saving Nintendo’s struggling Wii U video game console. On Friday, Nintendo (NTDOY) is set to release its highly anticipated family-friendly go-kart racing game “Mario Kart 8,” the latest in the Japanese company’s long-running franchise. “Mario Kart 8” is exclusive to Wii U, although eventually the game will likely be available on Nintendo’s portable
To better compete with Sony’s PlayStation 4 video game console, Microsoft on Tuesday announced a lower priced Xbox One console that comes without a Kinect motion-sensing controller. Sony and Microsoft launched their next-generation game consoles last November. But Sony (SNE) has taken the lead in the market, thanks in part to its lower-priced hardware. Microsoft ‘s (MSFT) Xbox One debuted at $499, $100 more than Sony’s PS4. But the new model Xbox One without Kinect costs $399, the same price as the PS4. Meanwhile, the third place console on the market, Nintendo ‘s (NTDOY) Wii U, is hoping to get a boost later this month from the release of “Mario Kart 8.” The kid-friendly racing game, set for release on May 30, has been a top seller for previous Nintendo consoles. The Wii U console costs $299. Microsoft’s move could inspire Nintendo to offer a cheaper version of its Wii U console without its touch-screen controller, the Wii U Game Pad. Some have speculated such an action by Nintendo because fewer games are being designed to use the Wii U Game Pad and instead are favoring traditional game controllers.
The top mobile video game among U.S. teens may surprise you. It’s “Flappy Bird,” that notoriously difficult-to-play smartphone game that its creator pulled off the market in February. Piper Jaffray surveyed 7,500 teens from Feb. 24 to April 1 on a host of topics, including video games. Asked to name their favorite mobile game, 16% said “Flappy Bird,” which was published by .GEARS (dotGears) Studios, a small, independent game developer in Vietnam. The creator of “Flappy Bird,” Dong Nguyen, removed the game from the Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) app stores on Feb. 9 after facing criticism about its level of difficulty and alleged plagiarism in graphics and game mechanics. Many have called the game addicting. Players tap the screen to keep a small bird aloft and flying through obstacles. The game, released last May, appeared to borrow from the look of old Nintendo (NTDOY) games like “Super Mario Bros.”…