There are game cakes, and then there are Game Cakes, the ones that require capital letters, applause, and perhaps a brief moment of teary silence. This Super Mario Galaxy cake is definitely the latter.

Constructed of pure greatness, actual cake, fondant, Rice Krispy squares, fibre optic lighting, and pure love, the cake features several Super Mario Galaxy features and characters, including the under-glass pill-shaped puzzle area and Princess Peach's castle. And then just when you think it couldn't get any better, the damn thing moves. Hit the jump to see the cake in action.

Read More »

Comic-Con 08 definitely wasn't lacking in cosplaying Jokers — all of the Heath Ledger variety, naturally — or cosplaying Marios. But a Bee Suit Mario spotting was truly a rare thing. This one, seen buzzing about Microsoft's Too Human dedicated booth, wouldn't let us take a picture until he'd asked us some questions.

"Do you know who I am?" Bee Suit Mario. "Do you know what game I'm from?" Super Mario Galaxy. Duh.

Obviously someone's never matched wits with a video game journalist before!

This was a gimme for Nintendo. After all, Bee Mario was the most adorable thing that fat plumber's done in years, so capitalising on the love-in by releasing a soft, cuddly replica was a no-brainer. It'll be available in July, for around $US 25. If your collectible tastes for the game run to the more supernatural end of the spectrum, a Boo Mario will be available as well. Same time, same price.

Super Mario Galaxy Plush Doll: Bee Mario [Play-Asia, via Go Nintendo]

Chris Bateman of Only a Game has an interesting look at Super Mario Galaxy from a game design perspective — especially in terms of trying to satisfy an increasingly diverse audience with a blockbuster title. Looking at several aspects of play (verbs and emotions of play, the camera, lives, and co-star mode), Bateman reaches some conclusions about the successes and failures of Super Mario Galaxy. The question is, can those problems really be remedied when you're coming in with so many competing interests?

Read More »

Nintendo luminary Shigeru Miyamoto tops the list of Time Magazine's Most Influential People of 2008, as determined by reader vote, soundly demonstrating that he is more important to the entire universe than Al Gore, Heidi Klum, Stephen Colbert and a Korean pop star named Rain.

55 year-old Miyamoto, who's never been on a Time cover, comes out on top in his very first outing on the list with 1,949,634 votes, an achievement that foretells a future populated with towering statues in his likeness. Here's Time's stats on him:

Read More »

Take 1 part Wii, 2 parts Mario figurines, 5 parts custom circuit board, 59 parts LED, 30 parts (in feet) of wire and one big, stinky pile of fanboy...bake it for 20 minutes...and you get this Super Mario Galaxy Wii. Aside from the brilliant aesthetics (hit the jump for a night shot that's really pretty striking), the case includes a place to recharge your lithium ion batteries. Listed on eBay right now, proceeds will go to Penny Arcade's Child's Play charity.

Read More »

The financial minds at Forbes have taken off their big business hats for a moment to focus on a more pressing topic: classic video games. Which of today's titles will become immortalised in our hearts, marble statue-ised into our next Super Mario Bros 3s that we can't put down a decade later? Well, they've compiled a list of their top ten and it's...actually not that bad. And of course, Mario has made an appearance.

Portal Brain Age 2 Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass BioShock Puzzle Quest Rock Band Super Mario Galaxy Wii Sports The Witcher WoW: Burning Crusade

And now that the industry has become so successful at creating high quality, more polished sequels, will any of these titles really be in play a decade from now?

The Future Of Videogames [Forbes via WiiWii]

What's it like working for Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto? Ask Super Mario Galaxy director Yoshiaki Koizumi (pictured), who's also worked on Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Ocarina of Time, among others. Koizumi says:

Mr Miyamoto is known for taking lots of time to create the best player experience. His demands are numerous and exacting, but I actually really like that. He's effortless in explaining what he wants... We get along well together, and time files by when we're working. Before we know it, sometimes, it's 2am.

Read More »

Those of you who have been following the site regularly probably know that my wife isn't a gamer. In fact she's slightly an anti-gamer, but she puts up with me. She doesn't, however, ever have any interest in playing games, or watching myself or my son play games, or even talking about games. So we don't, at least around her. And it's really not a big deal. I have plenty of other things going on in my life, so gaming doesn't have to be a part of every bit of it.

Over the weekend Tristan and I decided to play through more of Super Mario Galaxy. About 30 minutes into our session, my wife wandered down to fix herself a drink at the bar. Then she sort of wandered over to the couch where we were sitting to play. Then she sat down!

What the hell? I thought, but tried not to show my surprise. The last thing I wanted to do was have her walk off.

Read More »

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto talked about what's next on his agenda list. Believe it or not, he's considering working on some sequels to existing Nintendo franchises, including a new Super Mario Galaxy game and another Zelda title. But what may come as bigger news is that the Wii Fit Balance Board may be getting some new games as well.

Whether or not we'll see more Balance Board titles depends on the success of Wii Fit outside of Japan. If the game succeeds, expect peripheral-compatible titles to follow. To the casual observer, there's a huge opportunity to make a Wii Balance title for those who'd like to pick up an extra board. Given that such a model succeeded in the past, don't be surprised at the reprise.

Nintendo Considering Wii Balance Board Games [IGN via Maxconsole]