#todayingaming

On this day in 2003, Mario Kart Double Dash!! was released for the Nintendo GameCube in North America. Double Dash was the first and last in the console series to have two characters on the one kart. This added two new gameplay mechanics that provided more diversity in the racers handling. Firstly, players could hold two items at one time. Each character on the kart was able to hold one item. Switching the characters between the passenger and driver position allows the player to utilize the different items. Secondly, the physical characteristics of the characters, primarily weight, affect the handling, speed, acceleration, and weight of the vehicle. Heavier characters, although slower had the ability to push karts with smaller characters around and potentially wipe out the smaller kart. Smaller characters have better handling and acceleration. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is not the best game in the Mario Kart series, however, it is a worthy entry for the new mechanics it introduced. Currently, the only way to play Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is on the Nintendo GameCube as there has been no virtual console or rerelease of the game. #thisdayingaming #onthisdaygaming #todayingaming #videogamehistory #videogames #Nintendo #NintendoGameCube #GameCube #MarioKartDoubleDash!! #MarioKart #MarioKartDoubleDash #MarioKartSeries

On this day in 2013, Pikmin 3 was released for the very underrated console Nintendo Wii U in North America. The game follows a different protagonist to the first two games; in fact, there are there are three main characters Alph, Brittany and Charlie. Pikmin 3 is a puzzle strategy game. The main characters use Pikmin, small plant-like creatures to achieve their goals. There are five-coloured Pikmin red, yellow, blue, grey and pink. Each colour type has a unique ability that is beneficial in different situations. For example, the Red Pikmin are strong in combat and the Blue Pikmin are the only Pikmin that are able to move through deep water without dying. Your ultimate goal is to retrieve food resources for your home planet that is suffering from a planet-wide famine. The Pikmin allow you to navigate the alien Planet, PNF-404 and retrieve the food resources. Pikmin 3 was received well by critics gaining an 87% on Metacritic. The game cannot be considered a commercial success, as the system that the game was released on, Nintendo Wii U, was a commercial failure. This affected the sales of Pikmin 3 in turn. I really hope they port Pikmin 3 to the Nintendo Switch as it was a great game that deserves the exposure on a new successful system . #thisdayingaming #onthisdaygaming #todayingaming #videogamehistory #videogames #ConsoleExclusive #Nintendo #NintendoWiiU #NintendoSwitch #Pikmin #Pikmin3 #PleasePortToNintendoSwitch #PuzzleStrategyVideoGame

On this day in 2013, Mario Kart GP DX made it is debut in Japanese arcades. Nintendo has a long history of creating arcade games. Their first arcade release was Computer Othello released, in 1978. Mario Kart GP DX was the third arcade release in the Mario Kart series and is currently the most recent commercial release. Two modes from the previous iterations carried over, Grand Prix and Battle mode. Two new modes were added Alter-Ego and Team. Alter-Ego using online infrastructure to allow players to race ghosts set by other players. Team mode has two players team up to compete against two computer-controlled players. Players race together on a single kart, one controlling the kart, the other acts as the gunner. Mario Kart GP DX was the first in the series to introduce the gliding and underwater mechanics that were seen previously in Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo arcade cabinets are very popular in Japan, including Mario Kart GP DX and Luigi's Mansion. There is currently one arcade in Japan where you can play Mario Kart Arcade in first-person VR. Check out IGN's coverage of the cabinet for more details. http://au.ign.com/articles/2017/07/13/mario-kart-arcade-gp-vr-hands-on-omg-its-awesome #thisdayingaming #onthisdaygaming #todayingaming #videogamehistory #videogames #Nintendo #NintendoArcade #NintendoArcadeMachine #NamcoBandai #BandiNamco #Namco #MarioKart #MarioKartGP #MarioKartGPDX #IGN #IGNDOTCOM #IGNAU #IGNAUSTRALIA

On this day in 2002, Haunted House II 3D was released for the Atari 5200. Atari 5200 was discontinued in 1982 but this game was developed and released 20 years after the console had its final day. Haunted House II 3D was a homebrew game made by Mean Hamster Software. It is a sequel to an actual Atari 2600 game that was developed by Midway, Haunted House. I love the passion and dedication of the retro video game community. The fact that games can be released long after a consoles’ demise is a testament to the love and passion of fans. There are many homebrews that get released as roms. The real joy for me is to see a physical release of a game for an old console. One of my favorite pieces in my collection is Halo 2600 for the Atari 2600 that was released by Atari Age in July 2010. Lets hope we continue to see these projects long into the future. #thisdayingaming #onthisdaygaming #todayingaming #videogamehistory #videogames #IndiesGame #IndiesGame #MeanHamsterSoftware #Atari #Atari5200 #Atari2600 #HomeBrew #NewGameForOldConsole #HauntedHouseAtari2600 #HauntedHouse2600 #HauntedHouseII3D #HauntedHouse23D

On this day the Super Nintendo Classic Edition was announced. The last classic system that was released by Nintendo, the NES Classic was a global success and sold out before launch. The new console, SNES Classic, will come packed with 21 games pre-installed. Some of the highlight games are Contra III, Donkey Kong Country, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Secret of Mana, Super Castlevania IV, Super Metroid, Earthbound, Super Mario World and Final Fantasy III. The console will be released globally on the 29th of September. Make sure you pre-order before they sell out. . #thisdayingaming #onthisdaygaming #todayingaming#videogamehistory #videogames #Nintendo #NintendoSuperNintendo #SuperNintendo #SuperNintendoClassicEdition #NintendoSuperNintendoClassicEdition #SNESClassicEdition #SNESClassic #SuperNintendoClassic

On this day in 1993, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was released in Japan (N.A: August 1993 Europe: 1st December 1993). The game was the first Zelda released on a Nintendo Handheld and the only Zelda game released for the original GameBoy. The game was intended to be a port of SNES title The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past but after only a couple of hours the game developed into an original idea. It is one of only a few Zelda titles not take place in Hyrule and there is only a brief mention of Zelda. The game begins with Link waking up a beach on Koholint Island. Links mission is to acquire eight musical instruments in order to awaken the Wind Fish and escape the island. In order to do this he must explore, navigate through dangerous dungeons and fight a variety of veracious enemies. The game was both critically and commercially success global. In order to give the game longevity within a sales context an updated re-release was made for the GameBoy Color in 1998 which featured colour graphics and an exclusive dungeon. Collectively both games sold approximately 6 million copies. #OnThisDayGaming #ThisDayInGaming #VideoGameHistory #TodayInVideoGames #VideoGamesToday #GamingHistory #Developer #Publisher #Nintendo #Nintendo #Gameboy Color #Gameboy Colour #Gameboy#LegendOfZelda #Zelda #LegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening #LinksAwakening #Link#FlagshipGaming #Flagship #IGN #MasterPiece #onthisdaygaming #todayingaming#videogamehistory #videogames #retroconsole #videogames #gaminghistory#consolewars

On this day the most iconic video game character of all time was released to the public in the country of his inception, Japan. No, I am not talking about Nintendo's Mario, on May 22nd 1980 Pac-Man (Japanese: Pakkuman) was released in Japanese Arcades by Namco (Now known as Bandai Namco). At first Pac-Man received a lukewarm reception as Space Invaders, Asteroids and other similar machines dominated the arcades at the time. Pac-Man was something very different to else arcade. The lead developer (Toru Iwatani) was attempting to break away from the stereotypical audience of teen boys and trying to expand the audience to the female market. For this reason the maze and 'pretty ghosts' were added into the game design. It was not until Pac-Man was introduced to North America that the franchise really took off. Since 1980 there have been many Pac-Man releases and derivatives, in fact Pac-Man has been on more consoles than any other video game character in history and is not only iconic with the video game community but also the general audience indicated by his breakaway into pop-culture, homewares, clothing and TV. Pac-Man had been awarded eight records by 2008 in the Guinness World Records: Gamers Edition and was inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame in 2015. There have been many incarnations of Pac-Man throughout the years and you can play one of his games on most consoles, PC, Mac or even on the web. #thisdayingaming #onthisdaygaming #todayingaming #videogamehistory #videogames #Pacman #PakkuMan #PacManFever #CultClassic #1980 #1980Arcade #JapaneseRelease #ChangingDemographic #Namco #NamcoBandai #BandaiNamco #NamcoEnterprisesAsia #NamcoAmerica #NamcoOperationsEurope #BandaiNamcoHoldings #JapaneseDeveloper #ToruIwatani #VideoGameHallOfFame #GuinnessWorldRecord #Midway