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Nintendo is synonymous with Mario, and Mario synonymous with Nintendo. When one thinks of Nintendo they probably don't think about the logo. Instead, they think about a plumber in a red outfit. In Part 2 of this series of articles I will examine which Mario titles I believe should get an HD treatment and why.

This past week, the Toronto Sun newspaper was able to sit down for a 45 minute with Nintnedo's own Miyamoto and Bill Trinen. Although I wasn't expecting much from the interview - since E3 had just wrapped up, and everything should have been talked about there - I was surprised by the information that Miyamoto did share. He spoke out about the new Zelda title, poor Wii U sales, and Star Fox.

The 3DS has been a great device for playing puzzle games, from the very popular Professor Layton franchise to the Pushmo series. The Wii U also has a fair share of stylus specific games, but it wasn't until Pushmo World was released that I finally took the plunge with one of them. It has been well worth it!

Nintendo Japan look set to show off another playable Hyrule Warriors character this week. Although they haven't given us anything to go on in regards to what it might be, there's even the possibility of finding out two new characters (considering that's been the pattern so far).

At its heart, Shovel Knight is a platformer that echoes the NES classics of Mega Man, Duck Tales, Zelda 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3, then takes everything that works well within those games and throws away the tedium that can become infuriating.

Giving games the HD treatment is not a new concept. In fact, companies have been doing it for years, and will likely continue for the foreseeable future. Not only is it an importunity for developers to make more money, but it is also an oppertunity for fans to relive some of the best games that are, more than likely, unavailable for them presently. For myself, I have pushed through remakes of Banjo-Kazooie (N64) on the Xbox 360, Monkey Island (PC) on my iPad, and most recently, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (Gamecube) on my Wii U. All these titles have been ...

Mario Kart 8 has now pushed passed the 2 million units sold mark. The first weekend sales topped 1.2 million, which means the title has sold more then 800,000 units in June; for Nintendo and their small Wii U install base, this is good news. Mario Kart is a pinnacle franchise for the company, and like Super Smash Bros later this year, it needed to be a huge success.

Fancy picking up a Wii U but aren't sure enough to walk into a brick and mortar store and shell out over $350 on one? Nintendo are offering customers the chance to directly buy a refurbished console with a 12 month warranty at only $200. If you don't mind a refurbished device, it's an absolute bargain.

Super Smash Brothers is one of the biggest games of the year, and Nintendo knew that a lot of people wanted to play it. For that reason, they decided not to limit the brand new demo just to E3 attendees, but struck a deal with Best Buy so that people could play their latest brawler across the United States and beyond. The good news? Tens of thousands of people took up the chance to check it out. It was so successful that they'll be considering doing the same with future titles.

I've always had a problem with E3. I love the event, the press conferences, and the announcements. I resent the financial commitment necessary to actually go to E3 and get the opportunity to play some of these games. Luckily, Nintendo has kept fans around North America in mind. They offered up the same E3 Super Smash demo to fans at select Best Buy locations across Canada and the United States. I headed out to the closest Best Buy near me, and thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game.