When we received word earlier today that Super Mario Galaxy 2 would be released before Christmas this year, we didn’t think they meant quite this early… Nintendo has just confirmed at its San Francisco media summit that Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be hitting stores in the US on May 23.

The release date was revealed by Nintendo of America executive Cammie Dunaway at the summit mere minutes before this story was posted.

So much for a “summer”  release date. Looks like some of us will have a reason to get our Wiis out of the back of the dust closet a little earlier than expected.

Today’s a Miyamoto kind of day, isn’t it? Alongside the new Nintendo hardware announcement at the Japan Media Arts Festival, Shigeru Miyamoto clued listeners in on his inspiration behind Super Mario Galaxy–a hamster in a ball.

He revealed that he was taking care of a hamster during the development of the game and believed that putting Mario on a spherical world in a 3D environment would allow even inexperienced players to run freely and not get lost, while still providing a rich gaming environment to players.

Seems like such a banal thing to draw inspiration from, huh? I guess that’s why Nintendo doesn’t want Miyamoto divulging his hobbies–other people could start stealing his brilliance!

According to a recent report by Nikkei, Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii has managed to sell over 10 million copies worldwide.

3 million of these sales come from Japan, with more than 4.5 million units being sold in the US, and over 3 million in Europe.

That’s a lot of copies for one singular game to sell.

Looks like Mario still has what it takes to beat the best.

This is one of the most far out, yet most awesome thing I’ve seen on the internet all day.

For those not in the know, a YouTube user have been creating his own versions of Super Mario World levels that plays themselves and makes music as a result. They’re fun, crazy and at times kinda confusing to watch, but the final result is a pretty awesome experience.

This time it’s Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” being played by four different Mario levels running simultaneously. I’ll be quiet now so you can watch it and behold the awesomeness.

That most legendary of people, Mario voice actor Charles Martinet, tweeted recently that he will be lending his voice to a new Mario game.

Now, the obvious assumption to make would be that he’s referring to Super Mario Galaxy 2 or New Super Mario Bros Wii, but according to the legend himself, it’s an entirely now game that hasn’t been announced yet.

“Awesome new Mario Game! And it’s not NSMB Wii, and it’s not Galaxy 2, but it’s going to be crazy fun!”

Here’s hoping it’s not Mario Party Super Extra Special Edition…

Sega has officially confirmed “Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games”. Though methinks it should be “Winter Olympic Games”.

The game will be released late 2009 for Wii and DS, and is being developed at Sega Japan” under the guidance of Shigeru Miyamoto”.

The Wii version will use the Balance Board for certain events.

“We are extremely happy to again team up with Nintendo and ISM on what promises to be another global success,” said Sega’s western boss, Naoya Tsurumi.

“Sonic will partner with Mario once more beneath the spotlight of the legendary Olympic Games. Together they will face new athletic challenges that will provide gamers with more of the exciting experiences unique to this series.”

Full press release, as well as a debut trailer, after the break.

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One of Eurogamer’s “secret sources” has told them a sequel to last year’s “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games” is on the way. This one will feature a winter theme.

Capcom has previously been asked about “Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics” and was quick to state “no comment”. But EuroGamer has something else to say: “a person who knows about this sort of thing has since confirmed the sequel is in the works, and will have a wintry theme.”

Considering “Mario and Sonic” was one of the best selling games in 2008 (5 million sold in 3 months), a sequel isn’t that hard to imagine.

Apparently sticky notes are not the only office item you can use to create ingenious video game related art.

As shown below consuming two and a half semesters and using nearly 20,000 colored pins, students recreated an image of Super Mario Bros. The push pins give the image a pixilated feel, reminiscent of the game itself.

This is the work of the CIS Student Association at the University of the Fraser Valley, and it’s situated in the Student Computing Center.

Siliconera has taken a look at the Japanese Wii Music site, and discovered the first few confirmed tracks from the game.

There are six in all, with probably more on the way:

* My Grandfather’s Clock
* Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
* Ode to Joy
* Super Mario Brothers Theme
* The Legend of Zelda
* Animal Crossing Wild World

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” has also been shown in videos on Gametrailers.

Wii Music launches in Japan in only two days.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so someone out there must really like the original Super Mario Bros.

Last year at the Nite to Unite for Kids charity fundraiser, Ken Kutaragi, the “father of the PlayStation”, was named the Champion Honoree. This year, world-renowned Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto will be recieveing the Champion Award.

Miyamoto joined Nintendo in 1977 as a staff artist, and created many of Nintendo’s iconic characters, such as Mario and Zelda, as well as being credited for masterminding the creation of the Wii and games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit.

The event will be taking place on October 22nd, at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Big names in the industry, such as THQ president and CEO Brian Farrell, Disney Interactive Studios executive VP and general manager Graham Hopper, and Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiell, among others, will be present.

Tickets for the event run $500, with the proceeds being donated to numerous children’s charities across the United States. In the ten years the events has taken place, it has raised more than $11 million, as well as honoring icons such as LucasArts’ George Lucas, EA’s Bing Gordon, and Nintendo’s Howard Lincoln.