Nintendo goes Wii U trademark crazy, will U and I enjoy these games?

Now that we know a great deal about Nintendo's upcoming tablet console, Wii U, it's time for some good old speculation. That's about all we can do with the news from Siliconera that the Mario creator has registered trademarks for a number of Wii game brands given the "U" treatment like "Wii Sports U, " "WiiWare U" and 23 more potential projects. Take a look at the list in full:

    Wii U + logo
    Mii U
    Wii Fit U
    Wii Sports U
    Wii Music U
    Wii Party U
    Wii Play U
    WiiWare U
    Wii Balance Board U
    Balance Wii Board U
    Wii Wheel U
    Wii Zapper U
    Wii U Fit
    Wii U Music
    Wii U Party
    Wii U Sports
    Wii U Play
    Wii U Ware
    Wii U Balance Board
    Balance Wii U Board
    Wii U Wheel
    Wii U Zapper
    Wii Speak U
    Wii U Speak
    Shield Pose


Alright, so some of these are obvious, not to mention that it's entirely possible that Nintendo simply registered these to avoid other companies hopping on the coattails of its good name. (Though, we're surprised these didn't come about sooner.) However, don't you think Nintendo would be, well, dumb not to release "U" versions of its crazy successful Wii-branded games and controllers? And besides, we've already seen tech demos for a bunch of these trademarks in tandem with the Wii U's 6-inch tablet like the Wii Balance Board and Wii Zapper connected to a Wii U controller.

And that "Shield Pose" trademark was actually the name of one of the demo's Nintendo showed at this year's E3 event. So, there's definitely a possibility that, since Nintendo went so far as to trademark it, that it could be included as a mini game in something like "Wii Play U." But that's all these trademarks are at the moment--possibilities. We know, 2012 cannot come soon enough.

[Via Kotaku]

What do you make of this list of Nintendo trademarks? Do you think it's just Nintendo squatting to keep other companies out, or that some of these might lead to actual Wii U games?

PETA wags the finger at Nintendo for Mario's taste in furry power-ups

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has chosen a peculiar target for its next pro-animal campaign. You all likely know him quite well: Super Mario. The organization has created a highly suggestive Flash game that essentially calls developer Nintendo out for what it claims is a message that says it's OK to skin animals and wear them as suits.

You could also say this for Mario's less popular Frog Suit, but that just wouldn't have the same sting as "Mario Kills Tanooki." That's the title of the game, which throws players behind the controls of--literally--a skinned tanuki. You can probably already guess the game's objective: Capture Mario ... who happens to be flying away with your fur coat. So much for subtleties.

"Tanooki may be just a 'suit' in Mario games, but in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur," the PETA game's website reads. "By wearing Tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur."

The timing of Mario Kills Tanooki is spot on, as Nintendo just released Super Mario 3D Land in which the plumber's famous Tanooki Suit is a prominent feature. Frankly, we've never seen a more menacing Mario than within PETA's interactive call to arms in defense of the tanuki. Now, you gotta' wonder how the organization would feel about this guy.

[Via Kotaku]

Have you played the Mario Kills Tanooki game? Do you think Mario's famous Tanooki Suit might send the wrong message to Nintendo fans?