Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii U will be released in time for the 2012 holiday season. I know that a lot of you were down on the Wii and the Nintendo 3DS, but it’s my civic responsibility (not really) to check if you’re at all interested in picking up a Wii U. So how about it?!?

If you’re already on the hook, please tell me why you’re set to pick up a Wii U. If you’re definitely not buying it, please tell me what you don’t like about the system. If you’re taking the wait-and-see approach, please tell me what features and/or games you’re waiting for.

Yesterday, my excellent friend Wired Chris Kohler reported that Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was planning to “retire” or “step down” in order to work on smaller projects. For the last decade or so, Miyamoto has been more manager than creator. On the handful of occasions I’ve gotten to chat with him, he always mentioned that he missed working on smaller teams and having a more creative role.

Nintendo promptly denied the story, chalking it up to a misunderstanding. Some are speculating that the denial had something (everything?) to do with the company’s stock dipping two percent after Kohler’s story spread throughout the Internet.

In my heart, I believe that Miyamoto has been tired of being in upper management for a long time. I believe that he’d love to “step down” and work on a smaller team with a more creative role. What do you think is really going on? Is Nintendo covering its ass due to the stock dip? Or was this really all a misunderstanding? Post your theory in the comments section (please!).

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has gone after an unlikely target: Nintendo’s Mario. As many of you know, Mario dons a tanooki costume in Super Mario Bros. 3 and more recently in Super Mario 3D Land. PETA sees Nintendo’s use of the tanooki suit as encouraging animal cruelty. The organization even made a game called Super Tanooki Skin 2D that denounces Nintendo. Here’s more from the site:

When on a mission to rescue the princess, Mario has been known to use any means necessary to defeat his enemy — even wearing the skin of a raccoon dog to give him special powers.

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

I’m not a fan of fur by any means, but PETA’s campaign seems completely misguided to me. Nintendo is one of the most family-friendly developers and publishers in gaming. Mario is one of the most wholesome videogame characters in history. Legendary designer and Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto is a known animal lover. Surely there are better companies for the organization to target, no?

Never for a second did I think that Nintendo had malicious intentions with the tanooki suit. It’s simply a cute costume that gives Mario silly powers. Does PETA honestly think that kids are going to be all, “Hey, know what would be awesome? Wearing fur!” after playing as Mario in the tanooki suit?

Naturally, I want to hear your opinion on this matter. While PETA certainly has a point in a literal sense, is it being misguided in going after Nintendo? Do kids get the message that wearing fur is okay from seeing Tanooki Mario in Super Mario Bros. 3?

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It’s a Nintendo sandwich this week with Super Mario 3D Land kicking things off and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword wrapping it up. In between those Nintendo games are fine titles like Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Need for Speed: The Run, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Saints Row: The Third, Rayman Origins, and Kinect: Disneyland Adventures.

Any of you picking up new games this (absolutely loaded) week?

Between Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, this might be the most loaded videogame week of the year! But wait, there’s more!!! Kojima Productions fans will definitely want to pick up the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, while wizards and witches of all ages will want LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (spoiler: Dumbledore dies!). Fans of cinematic adventures should check out Heavy Rain: Director’s Cut…even though it’s not really a director’s cut. You can get retarded (in here!) with The Black Eyed Peas Experience. If all this videogame excitement is too much for you then you might want to chill out with Deepak Chopra’s Leela.

Any of you picking new games this week?

Nintendo has announced that it expects to lose 20-billion yen (a shade under $264-million) for its fiscal year ending March 2012. Software sales are down, hardware sales are down, and the Japanese yen continues to be one of the strongest currencies in the world, which is bad news for a company that’s dependent on exports and global sales. This will be the first lost since the company started releasing its financial results in 1981.

In some positive news, worldwide sales of the Nintendo 3DS portable console have hit 6.68-million units. Considering its rough start and the fact that many pundits called it a “doomed” system, the sales are impressive. Like I’ve said in the past, I expect 3DS sales to be strong in the long run.

The exchange rate issues will continue to plague Nintendo for some time to come. There’s not much the company can do to counter that factor…outside of relocating the entire company to China and Mexico. Hmmmmm…I’m going to put a pitch together. I think I can convince at least 40 percent of Nintendo of Japan that Cabo San Lucas is where they want to be.

Battlefield 3 hits stores this week and millions of gamers are psyched to get their hands on this military shooter. On the other end of the spectrum, which is decidedly pink, is Kirby’s Return to Dream Land. Continuing with Nintendo’s cutesy theme is Pokémon Rumble Blast. If you’re look for action that doesn’t involve wars or pink creatures with incredible suction powers then you might want to give The House of Dead: Overkill and Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi. Lastly, if motion floats your ocean then perhaps Dance Central 2 and Kinect Sports: Season Two are for you.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Please, please, please check out this video of some of the 30+ action figures that can be used in Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventures. The action figures themselves have some cool designs and the marketing copy is hilarious. Most of the action figures have tag-lines that are so silly that you have to laugh at them.

I’ve actually started my second run of the game and the main reason I’m playing it again is because it’s fun to use the action figures to swap characters. I’m positive that the game and the toys will sell like crazy this holiday season. Well played Activision. Well played.

Nintendo of America has announced that its 3DS and Wii consoles will be getting Hulu Plus by the end of the year. The streaming video service is already available on the competing PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 systems. Here’s a clip from the press release:

With Hulu Plus, Wii and Nintendo 3DS users will be able to instantly stream thousands of TV episodes — including the entire current season of popular shows like Modern Family, Glee, Dancing with the Stars, The Biggest Loser, House and Grey’s Anatomy — from premium content partners like ABC, Comedy Central, FOX, NBC, MTV and many more. Hulu Plus also offers access to classic TV favorites like Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The Hills and hundreds of popular and award-winning movies. Hulu Plus is available through a separate subscription fee of $7.99 per month with limited advertising.

I’m positive that all of you are going to rush out to buy a 3DS to watch The Biggest Loser. I kid, I kid. Seriously though, does the addition of Hulu Plus make the 3DS or Wii more appealing to you?

I’ve started playing Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventures for a Machinima.com review. I’m completely fascinated by the Skylanders business model. For those of you not familiar with the deal, Skylanders is an action-RPG available for most videogame systems. What makes it unique is that it uses toys to enhance and unlock gameplay. The $69.99 starter kit comes with the game, the “Portal of Power” accessory that plugs into your console, and three action figures. Additional action figures can be purchased for $7.99 and up.

Now here’s the kicker: from what I’ve seen, you have to buy more toys to get everything out of the game. That’s brilliant…and possibly a little evil. So far, the game is surprisingly fun; I had low expectations for it and they have been greatly exceeded. The toys look cool. On their own, I’m not sure they’re worth $8 each or $20 for a three-pack, but considering that they unlock in-game features, they’re pragmatic as well as decorative. There are more than 30 toys, with more action figures and DLC on the way, so it’s entirely possible to spend hundreds of dollars on Skylanders…and I’m sure some kids will do just that.

Fascinating, hey? I’m not really sure what kids and tweens like these days, but I imagine Skylanders is going to be hugely popular this holiday season. While most of the videogame business has been focusing on DLC and $10 online solutions to make more money of off each title, Activision is probably going to strike gold with dollies action figures. If this game does well, can you imagine a Transformers, Pokemon, or Disney game using a similar business model? This dolly thing could be huge…and more than a little exploitative.

Anyway, I wanted to see what you thought about Skylanders and its business model. Is Skylanders brilliant, evil, or both?!?