Nintendo continues to slowly release details on some of the functionality Wii U will gain once gamers access its Day One update. As we previously revealed, key features like Miiverse and Wii U's backwards compatibility will only be available once this patch is downloaded. Today Nintendo showcased more of these elements in a video. Most of it was previously known, but the footage does provide more context than we previously had, plus actually shows things like Miiverse operating on a Japanese Wii U.

Check it out. We're still waiting to receive the update stateside, so this is currently the latest information we have about these new programs.

Rich is an Executive Editor of IGN.com and the leader of IGN's Nintendo team. He also watches over all things WWE, Resident Evil, Assassin's Creed and much more. Follow him on Twitter, if you dare!

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Windows phones sit somewhere between Android and iOS. They aren't exactly open like Android, but they aren't as restricted in both OS features and hardware as iPhones are.

But because Microsoft mandates that each phone contains many of the same components, there is a unity amongst all Windows Phones. Each phone has the same three navigation buttons and the same dedicated photo button, for instance. But in WP7 they also could only run a single-core processor. This quickly became a problem.

While plenty of the WP7 phones ended up being wonderfully colorful and well-constructed phones, their single-core processors were quickly outdated.  This put Microsoft in the unfavorable position of being a budget alternative instead of a sexy disruptor.

So while Windows Phone 8 contains dozens and dozens of welcome little refinements and improvements (not to mention a few big ones), the biggest change to Windows Phone 8 is the new kernel, which allows Windows Phones to have dual-core processors.

Unfortunately, Windows Phones now have some catching up to do. WP owns less than 5% of the mobile market share currently, and while WP8 is a great new OS, the App Store is proof of Microsoft's challenge.

Microsoft claims 46 out of the top 50 apps are already in the store, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Of the handful of must-have apps I currently use, seven were not present in the store (Instagram, Sidecar, Path, Letterpress, Venmo, Uber, and Hero Academy). There's something sort of depressing about automatically assuming your phone just doesn't have the apps you want, and that thought-process pervaded my time with WP8.

But it may not be like that indefinitely, as WP8 is a very solid OS (with what appear to be some very solid hardware options). Windows Phone 8 may very well win over consumers interested in its "otherness" and where the consumers go, so too will the developers.

New Features

Windows Phone 8 has a handful of new features that makes it more well-rounded, polished OS. Live Tiles can now be resized, which will have a significant part in what your home screen looks like. Many apps are able to display additional information in larger tiles - so if you want Facebook to display your current status, or Xbox Music to display the song currently playing, you can do that by expanding your tiles. Certainly not all tiles benefit from the new sizes, but if nothing else having multiple sized tiles breaks up the monotony of your Home Screen.

There are a lot of cool aesthetic changes that can be sorted through settings. For instance, I changed my boring lock screen to display Bing's photo of the day and made it show me Facebook updates instead of Calendar reminders. This sort of tinkering allows you to really personalize your phone, but because it's all native to Windows Phone 8, I was never worried that I would download a faulty keyboard or start experiencing sluggishness due to add-ons, like I sometimes do in Android.

These WP8 add-ons are prevalent throughout the phone. For instance, on the Camera app, you can add something called lenses, which are basically standalone apps that affect your camera. There's currently only a few, but CNN's allows you to quickly upload your photos to CNN and CamWow allows you to distort your images on the fly.

There's also a new group sharing feature called Rooms. Rooms are basically a more complex, integrated version of Groups and allow you to share calendars, photos, messaging, the works. Even if your friends don't have a Windows Phone 8, you can still share a majority of things with them via Rooms, which means this feature is likely to catch on.

Xbox gets plenty of face time on the device. It's now the central hub for both music, video, and games. After loading my Gamertag on my phone I was able to quickly start racking up achievements on Xbox Live-compatible apps.

There are plenty more features to test out (like Kids' Corner, which allows you to hand off your phone without worrying about your kids getting into your stuff), but my initial impression is very positive.

Windows Phone 8 is probably the most aesthetically pleasing mobile OS out there, and it has a slew of interesting features that makes it a compelling option. Ultimately, it's going to need more apps if it wants to compete with Android and iOS, but WP8 is a big step in the right direction.

Nic is the Editor of IGN Tech. He loves technology almost as much as the Seahawks, Fresca, and P.O.S.'s new album. You can follow him on Twitter @nicvargus and IGN.

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There are certain rules that must be respected in order for a caricature to work. It must exaggerate and distort the features of the original, while preserving the likeness of its subject. If it fails to do that, it becomes something else, something grotesque. F1 Race Stars negotiates that fine line, producing a cutesy, cuddly, and impossibly cheery take on that fairly inaccessible sport – Formula 1 – in which races are interminable and the personalities of its drivers are obscured by helmets.

But F1 Race Stars does a pretty good job of translating the mainstays of Formula 1 – the engines, the teams, the pit stops, the change in weather conditions – into elements that make perfect sense within the context of a kart racer. And ultimately, that's what F1 Race Stars is – a kart racer, but one with some notable differences.

Firstly, there’s no drifting – this is F1, you see. Unlike most kart racers, in F1 you’ll benefit from hitting that perfect racing line. It isn’t as po-faced as that might sound; you’ll still hurtle around tracks, bashing into your fellow drivers, but you'll also be slamming on the brakes too. Periodically, sections of the tracks are coated in blue, and while passing through one of these sections, you'll have opportunity to charge up your KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) by ‘pumping’ the throttle. Manage to do it three times and when you emerge back onto tarmac, you’ll be treated to a formidable speed boost. For a generation weaned on Mario Kart, it feels deeply strange to not use the breaks, and having to shed some momentum in order to take a corner perfectly. But in the year of the kart racer – LittleBigPlanet Karting and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformer are also out before the end of the year – being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The cars may be adorable but they aren’t impervious to damage. Power-ups inflict lasting harm; parts of your car will begin loosen and rattle, and you’ll have to keep an eye out for an upcoming pit-stop. At the expense of a slight detour, your car will be as good as new and ready to compete with the best.

The disparity between racing teams – say, Ferrari and McLaren – is preserved by each team having their own unique power-up from the starting grid. Hamilton and Button both have the ability to swap their power-up by holding A, for instance. Meanwhile, Alonso has a ‘backward seeker bubble’. And this brings us to one of the prominent shortcomings of the game: the power-ups. Perhaps it's down to the restrictions of the F1 licence itself, but the power-ups mainly comprise of coloured bubbles endowed with different abilities. Some act like green shells, some like red shells, but regardless of their properties, they still just look like brightly-coloured bubbles, regardless of whether they imprison you or knock you off the track. They also have ridiculous names like ‘triple ricochet bubble’ and ‘smart pulse bubble’. In addition to ‘bubbles’, the remaining power-ups consist of a wide variety of boost types. And again even though they have different properties, they all feel inevitably samey. For a game that obviously prides itself at being crammed with character it’s power-ups sadly lack just that.

The insipid nature of the power-ups is in stark contrast to charming level and character design, an obvious strong point. Tracks exploit the globe-trotting nature of F1 to good effect, with each course drawing on that country’s landscape and most iconic landmarks. The USA is a composite America, with Midwest tractors lazily crossing the track, arid dusty canyons, and even a giant yellow robotic T-Rex presiding over a Monster Truck show (yes, you read that correctly). If that wasn't enough, you’ll ride up walls, on courses that rudely defy gravity. Meanwhile, the German course is stitched together from a section set in the deep Black Forest, a tour of a Disney-fied Bavarian castle, and a final stretch on the hectic autobahn. The art direction is very distinctive. It won’t be to everybody’s taste; some will find the perky pastels a tad nauseating but it looks as if everything has been whittled from vinyl. The faces of the drivers have a plastic sheen, and sharp, contoured edges. They nudge and point to each other on the starting line.

In the annus mirabilis of kart racers, F1 Race Stars has its own distinctive personality, which comes from transforming and playing around with the Formula One licence; this could also be its undoing, however. Playing it safe with the licence, not taking those risks, could see it left behind on the starting grib.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

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