When it comes to taking rumors with a grain of salt we are masters of our own domain. We post a lot of rumors at ZI mostly because they are fun to talk about, and because who knows, sometimes they end up being true. Take, for instance, the latest rumor about the Wii U possibly being rebranded. Who really knows what is going on until E3?

Of course, this rumor comes from a tipster who goes by the name of Stefan, and when your done reading it I'll be sure to leave his email at the end for you to further question him. I say this because, in truth, these rumors are almost 100% falsified and really, he was just looking to gain some recognition. A private showing to "select press" of a single "Zelda 3DS" trailer, supposedly for GDC, so soon after Skyward Sword came out? Yeah sure, I totally believe that. Maybe if it was for E3... I could see it being possible depending on the resources allocated. That being said, Zelda 3DS at any point this year is extremely unlikely.

Of course, who really cares? People make up crap all the time and while I didn't want to share this, I figure as a Zelda focused Nintendo site it was at least worth a good chuckle. Who knows, if it ends up being true I'll buy Stefan a very expensive bottle of Alcohol. So, hop inside to see these likely faketastic "rumors".

Aliens: Colonial Marines is one of the few games that has been confirmed for the Wii U, and, with an expected release date of sometime this year, it is one of the few known launch titles.

A new cinematic trailer for the upcoming title was released today. The trailer doesn't show much in terms of gameplay (check out the E3 demo if you're looking for some of that footage), but, instead, focuses on how the game is emulating the cinematic style of the films that it is based on, while still taking their own approach on the classic look.

Yesterday was mostly about Iwata, Wii U, 3DS, and investors, but that doesn't leave Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto and the Zelda series out of the picture. Miyamoto decided to make it clear to investors that, no, he is not retiring as previous rumors suggested - he's just stepping out of his current role and into a new one. He also talked about Wii U, graphics, and the future of the Zelda franchise.

There's no official transcript, but David Gibson, who attended the event, managed to Tweet out a rough translation of a few of the details. Miyamoto says that while Wii U's graphical power might not be fully tapped for some games - rather similar to what we saw with Wii's expanded audience titles - for certain franchises, The Legend of Zelda among them, it will be important to make good use of its visual capabilities.

Whether this means we'll see them take on the style we already got a peek at in the Zelda HD Experience or a new, unprecedented style that really draws on graphical muscle remains to be seen. But I do know that, if they're really going to take visuals in Zelda as seriously as that demo suggests, this series might be able to break out into the larger "hardcore" market like it did with Twilight Princess.

Tonight's investor's conference, hosted by Nintendo, has brought an avalanche of news concerning both the 3DS and the Wii U. Iwata had a lot to say regarding both pieces of hardware, but for now let's focus on the handheld.

In addition to the expected discussion of sales, Iwata talked about the shift in focus from 3D to digital content, upcoming software, and expected release frequency.

Let's play the "tell me something I don't know about Wii U" game! Iwata was more than ready to rise to that challenge with the announcement of a new feature of the Wii U's tablet controller that I don't think any of us saw coming. The controller will make use of "Near Field Communication" (NFC), which is a type of short-range radio communication that Nintendo plans to use so that the Wii U controller can interact with accessories like figurines, cards, and other devices. This could allow for AR-like functionality, where players load data from a special card onto their controller for use in gameplay, as well as the transmission of things like character or account data.

Another example the Nintendo president mentioned was the ability to conduct micro-transactions via NFC. Imagine a world where you don't need to input card numbers to load download store credit onto your system. Just scan the pre-paid card and go!

Iwata also talked about why Nintendo's waiting until the holiday season to pop out the Wii U. Hop inside for his reasoning.

One of the Wii U's first major missteps came within hours of its announcement at E3 2011, when a number of reporters talked about it as a new controller for the Wii, not a completely new console altogether. Nintendo was quick to chalk this up to their press conference's primary emphasis on the new tablet controller, with little to no mention of the hardware box behind it. Now we're getting reports that industry insiders believe that the confusion might also come from the new system's branding - from the re-use of the Wii name - and that Nintendo is considering a rename of the console.

While it's hard to say for sure how much of an impact brand-name confusion had on the 3DS's slow start among other factors such as a lack of compelling software or the high price point, if Nintendo does rename the Wii U at this year's E3, I couldn't blame them for making sure their bases are covered. Still, there's some merit behind the idea of pushing the Wii brand forward with a new system - after all, it's the same approach Nintendo took with the Famicom (NES in the West) and the Game Boy. We'll see how this one pans out come E3.

The first new Super Mario game to hit the 3DS was, as one might have expected, a 3D platformer. We all know the story: Super Mario 3D Land met unprecedented success among its fellow handheld Mario games. But despite what many may think about the superiority (or inferiority) of 3D Mario versus classic side-scrolling Mario, 3D Land couldn't quite meet the precedent of popularity set by good ol' New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the game that proved that 2D Mario is still king.

While we've known that 2D Mario would eventually grace the 3DS for a long time now, Mr. Iwata made sure to remind us that a new Mario is coming...within the upcoming fiscal year.

Although there is no logo here, we are planning to release a totally new side-scrolling action Super Mario in 2D as a key title for the Nintendo 3DS in the next fiscal year.

And there was much rejoicing.

Iwata couldn't hype up investors for Nintendo's future without talking about the until-now nebulous "Nintendo Network" we keep hearing about. Yes, this is indeed Nintendo's new online system, and yes, it will encompass online functionality for both 3DS and Wii U. The Nintendo Network system is going to be a unified system that covers everything from downloadable add-on content - which THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY is, as previously confirmed, going to be the first game to make use of.

How will Nintendo make use of these features for its own games and services? You'll have to hop inside to find out. (Full quote from Mr. Iwata after the jump.)

Nintendo likes to tease upcoming software releases along with their quarterly investors' conferences, and this occasion was no different. This time, though, there aren't any major surprises - just a recap of stuff we already know is coming.

Wii's lineup is looking pretty flimsy in basically all regions, with Europe receiving the most new first party releases (five games total) while the U.S. scoops up only four, plus a handful of moderately-high-profile third party games.

3DS, on the other hand, has a bright future ahead of it. With games like Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Tennis, Fire Emblem, and Luigi's Mansion on the schedule, and more unscheduled upcoming games like Paper Mario and Animal Crossing, there's a lot to look forward to. Unfortunately we've known about most of these titles since the 3DS was first announced, and without seeing a committed month and date for their release a promise that they'll come eventually isn't as exciting as it could have been.

Hop inside if you're curious enough for a refresher on the third-party side.

Do you have what it takes to be the next champion?

As a representative of the ZI BW League, I cordially invite you to join the ZeldaInformer Pokemon Black and White League!

ZeldaInformer has quite a forum community. I was rather amazed to find this particular group of fans having fun on the forums, but upon further exploration it's easy to see it's a worthwhile activity if you love Pokemon.

The ZI Black/White League originally started as a joint project by Zelda and Pokémon fans that were looking for a competitive battling experience. Now, it has enlarged the Pokemon part of the site to rival (but certainly not surpass) the Zelda forums.

For more information, clickity click the jump or hop into our forums to see for yourself!

Heh, is this a bit of dyslexia going on over here? Whether it is or not, the typo does look pretty severe. I remember the situation happening on Okami for the Wii. According to Capcom's Christian Svensson, Senior Vice President of Capcom, the error has been acknowledged and will be further discussed closer to release stateside. What we're hoping for is that it won't cause a delay in the states.

It's pretty rare to see something like that happen, but no one is perfect. Mistakes happen. In my opinion, the damage doesn't look too severe, I almost didn't catch it at first! Whatever happens though, let's hope nothing worse happens and a delay becomes inevitable.

Source: GoNintendo via Capcom Unity

Sorry for the late update on this. I've been running into internet problems both at home and in school for irritating reasons, and with GameJam this weekend I'm going to be gone until Monday. I'm sure I will be missed. I know I will miss you guys.

I remember hearing people complain about lack of decent downloads from Nintendo. I can't help but argue, since a lot of games have been coming to the Nintendo eShop as well as other Nintendo Online Shops to show that they are really picking it up. The downloadable content isn't being ignored!

This week we are getting the very anticipated Renegade Kid game, Mutant Mudds. The hero is Max, a 2D sprite able to go into the third dimension! He has a heavy duty super soaker, erm, water cannon, that lets him take out the Mutant Mudds. He blasts and hovers across landscapes to seek out mysterious Water Sprites in hopes of getting rid of the filthy Mutant Mudds once and for all. There are forty levels to go through, with power-ups and secret levels to get as well. The 3D effect is amazing for the game, by the way.

That's not the only game available this week! Clickity click on the jump to see the full list!

We have some bad news for anyone who was hoping that the upcoming and highly anticipated Tomb Raider title would be released on the Wii U in addition to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

According to Crystal Dynamics Global Brand Director, Karl Stewart, the studio is not interested in porting the game to the Wii U.

According to Stewart, if the Tomb Raider team were to release a title for Nintendo's new system, they'd want to "would build it very differently and would built it with unique functionality."

Nintendo held one of their quarterly financial conferences in Osaka earlier today, and while these meetings usually yield boring factoids about Nintendo's fiscal performance and vague plans for the upcoming year, this one yielded what may be the biggest story since Skyward Sword: Nintendo's planning to release the Wii U worldwide this holiday season. That's right, folks - no more shots in the dark about when the system will be ready for debut: this timeline comes straight from the mouth of Mr. Iwata.

This is probably for the best. New video game products tend to do best during the holiday season due to mass movement of consumers, and any new piece of Nintendo anything moves mountains when you have such high volumes of buyers behind it. If Nintendo can bolster the Wii U with some killer software, you can bet we'll see one of the strongest launches yet. The question is: will it create a social phenomenon like its predecessor, selling out in stores across the globe?

Whatever the case, Wii U is coming this holiday season. Get ready for the avalanche of news sure to herald its coming starting at E3.

The Official Nintendo Magazine has released a short but sweet little video showcasing the Circle Pad Pro, the hardware expansion for the Nintendo 3DS, which provides a second analog stick.

The expansion will be available outside of Japan starting with the release of Resident Evil: Revelations, and the video includes some off-screen footage of what looks to be the recently released demo.

ONM has also released their review for the expansion.