It’s no surprise really. Adding all of that extra power under the hood, providing a glasses-free 3D display on top, a wireless “tag mode,” and automatic wireless updates to the 3DS all add up to less battery life. Satoru Iwata himself says “it is inevitable that Nintendo 3DS will be a device which requires more frequent recharging than Nintendo DS” and that is the main reason that a charging cradle will be bundled into the new console’s retail package.

Iwata suggests that users deposit the 3DS into its cradle as soon as they get home. You will be charging this device a lot.

We’ve been waiting for more color options on the Wii, but so far we just have black and white. But now the Wii is suddenly available in glorious red. This Japan-only console celebrations Mario’s 25th birthday. This repainted Wii includes a Wii Remote Plus controller along with matching nunchuck, and a preinstalled copy of Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary Edition.

Japanese fans can expect the bundle to drop on November 11 for ¥20,000 (or $241). The rest of us will have to import this baby somehow.

Better move that coffee table out of the way. If you have a super small living room, you better re-arrange it. If you plan on using the Kinect that is. Some pages from the upcoming Kinect’s user manual have surfaced, and it confirms what some folks have been worrying about. That you will need some spare space.

The manual suggests that players stand about six feet away from the sensor to be visible. If there are two people playing, they should stand eight feet away. It won’t be an issue for many of us, but if you have a small room it could be a problem.

Do you love Doctor Who, but lack a sonic screwdriver? Well if you have a Nintendo DS, you can now use a Sonic Screwdriver as a stylus. It compliments the Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver Wiimote quite nicely.

This one is for your DS. It will make you look like the Doctor trying to pry open the Pandoricon with two thousand Daleks on your tail as you tap tap away. These are only available in the UK right now, but maybe they will hit the US soon.

How does Nintendo intend to protect itself from piracy with the 3DS? Well, according to Nintendo, the 3DS will auto-update itself to block and prevent pirated games and content from loading onto the device.

The company intends to use its sleep-WiFi capability and SpotPass to deliver automatic updates and fight piracy on the platform. It remains to be seen how well this will work, but it’s a good plan.

If the NES were released today, this is what it would look like as you load up your Lost DVD. Once the tray goes in, you’ll need eject it again and blow on the DVD. It’s a beautiful creation.

The controller has been hollowed out and once you flip it over a DVD remote has been placed inside which controls it. Great mod. I may have to build this one myself.

Dual displays have worked for portable consoles like the Nintendo DS and ebook readers, but what about cellphones? Normally that means a clamshell design, but the Samsung SCH-i400 Continuum features a secondary OLED display located right below the main one.

It’s called the “Ticker,” and it will show off any notifications and RSS updates, as well as weather updates and other info. The Ticker will automatically turn on when you grasp the bottom of the phone. There’s also a microSD memory card slot on the side which you can access without pulling out your battery.

September 13th marked the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. so Nintendo is introducing special editions of the DSi and DSi XL to celebrate. Sadly these consoles are for Japan only. The big N will also be launching a Super Mario Collection Special Pack alongside.

The pack includes a version of Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii, a soundtrack CD, and a “Super Mario History, 1985 to 2010″ booklet with some extra materials like initial development planning sheets handwritten by Shigeru Miyamoto. Also for Japan only.

Nintendo has been pretty slow out of the gate since the Wii debuted in one way or another. Now Nintendo is releasing something that should have been released at least a year ago. The Wii Remote Plus.

Nintendo today revealed the new controller which combines the original Wii Remote and its add-on, Wii MotionPlus, in the same controller.

This puts an end to the rumored prices and launch dates for the 3DS and makes things official. Nintendo just announced a February 26 ship date in Japan for ¥25,000 (about $298). It will hit the US and Europe in March for an unknown amount.

Launch colors are two flavors. Aqua blue or cosmo black. At a press event in Japan, Nintendo demonstrated the ability to take your picture using the 3DS’ front-facing camera and then automatically converting the image into a Mii. If you like, you can then edit it using Mii Studio on the 3DS. Images can then be exported as QR codes in wireless “tag mode” or as a file to the bundled 2GB SD card.

We’ve all been waiting for some more details on Nintendo’s 3DS and now a German tabloid has leaked the launch date of the portable 3D gaming system. We aren’t sure how reliable these leaks are, but word is that Japan will get the 3DS on November 11.

This will be followed by a European launch in the Spring for about 200 EUR, or U.S. $270. An official announcement should come from a Tokyo press event by Nintendo on September 29th.

A German newspaper has published a rumor that it dug up claiming that the Nintendo 3DS will launch in Japan on November 11. The 3DS is the latest portable gaming console from Nintendo and will support 3D gaming with no glasses required.

The German paper, Blid, also claims that the 3DS will hit Europe in the spring of 2011. The story offered no insights into a launch date for the US. The publication also listed several video games that it claims are launch titles for the portable console.

We’ve been waiting for a Wiimote with built-in MotionPlus for a while. Nyko already offers the Wand+ with the MotionPlus gyros built-in. But Nintendo has been taking the slow approach. Now we have spotted this upcoming first party, MotionPlus-required FlingSmash title on a GameStop order page with “Wii Remote Plus inside!”.

However, the product description still mentions attaching the MotionPlus “accessory” to your Wii Remote, but the Wiimote in the picture looks a bit different, with some curved text below the Wii logo. A spokesperson said the Wii Remote Plus “is real” but “We have nothing to announce on this at the moment.”.

Nintendo’s next handheld, the Nintendo 3DS, will be much more powerful, as it’s hardware specs are a vast improvement over the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo DSi. IGN is reporting on these new specs, citing “persons familiar with the hardware who spoke to us under the condition of anonymity,”.

Here are the specs: CPU: 2 x 266MHz ARM11, GPU: PICA200 133MHz GPU by DMP, RAM: 64MB, Video RAM: 4MB, Storage: 1.5GB Flash-based.

Everyone’s favorite Princess rescuing plumber is 25 years old today. That’s right, Super Mario has been around since 1985 and is probably one of the most recognized game characters in the world. This news makes me feel old.

Nintendo is celebrating Mario’s birthday with a contest where you can win a bunch of Mario themed prizes. They are giving away a range of Nintendo DSI XL consoles as well as a copy of the new Super Mario Bros. You can also check out a cool video which shows Super Mario Bros history over the last 25 years here.