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Nintendo's latest Mario game, 'Super Mario Maker,' is already a major hit.

The console title has seen 1 million sales since its launch on September 11th for the Wii U.

Super Mario Maker is notable because it allows players to create their own Mario levels, and so far 2.2 million courses have been built. In total, the courses have been played 75 million times.

"The game has captured and unlocked the imaginations of gaming fans of all ages," says Reggie Fils-Aime, COO of Nintendo of America. The game has "brought their dedication to Nintendo to a whole new level."

Source:
Time

Struggling smartphone company HTC has sent out invites for a new product launch on October 20th.

The "virtual event" will be streamed on HTC's website, and the event will showcase the latest HTC One, and apparently the device will run on Android Marshmallow. The invite says "Meet the Marshmallow from HTC," suggesting the new phone will run the latest operating system from Google.

If you are interested in the latest HTC device (not sure many will be), head over to HTC Launch at 12PM eastern on the 20th.

According to sources, Twitter is building a new product that will allow users Tweet messages that are longer than 140 characters.

Anything definite about the product is still unknown, but the sources claim it will allow current Twitter users to publish longer-form content to the microblogging service.

In addition, Twitter is also looking into how they count the characters, with the possibility of not including links, image URLs or user handles in the character count moving forward. Twitter users have long complained about having to destroy their grammar just to fit in an @user.

New CEO Jack Dorsey appears to be for the changes, a bold move that shows he seems to care about changing the status quo at the struggling company.

Twitter's current interim CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey will be named permanent CEO later this week, according to new reports.

Somehow, Dorsey will also continue to be CEO of Square, the popular payment processing company he co-founded in 2009.

Dorsey appears to have the backing of investors, who pushed up Twitter's stock 5% today on the report. Twitter revenue boss Adam Bain also supports the co-founder, who has been interim chief for a few months following the firing of former CEO Dick Costolo. "Having Jack back has been really exciting. There's an amazing thing bringing the founder back, bringing a product-driven founder back to the company," Bain said recently. "I came to the company five years ago partly to work with Jack in his role as chairman. He's been somebody who's been thinking about Twitter for so long, so we brought Jack back and for me it was just a continuation of a conversation we've been having for five years."

Twitter's stock is down 68 percent since early 2014, and has even fallen below its IPO price as it struggle to gain users and monetize those users.

Apple has announced this week that their Music, iTunes Movies and iBooks services are now available in China.

Music will feature prominent Chinese artists like Eason Chan, Li Ronghao, JJ Lin and G.E.M. in addition to the international stars seen in other markets.

For iTunes Movies, Apple says there will be a large selection of movies made by Chinese studios in addition to the classic Hollywood fair.

"Customers in China love the App Store and have made it our largest market in the world for app downloads," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "One of the top requests has been more great content and we're thrilled to bring music, movies and books to China, curated by a local team of experts."

Chinese fans will get a 90-day trial to Apple Music, and will cost 10 RMB/month ($1.57 USD) afterwards. The popular family plan will also be available at 15 RMB/month for up to six family members. Movies on iTunes will start at 5 RMB ($0.80) and up to 18 RMB to buy an HD version ($2.85 USD). Books are practically free at 0.5 RMB (8 cents).

According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Android now has 1.4 billion active users around the globe, a huge milestone for the mobile platform.

The last number we had heard was 1 billion back in June 2014, so it seems Android activations are moving exponentially fast.

Despite the numbers, Android has likely peaked in overall market share, at around 82 percent, even with strong emerging market growth.

"We've added 400 million active devices and the momentum is happening around the world -- especially in emerging economies. In many, many places. In countries like Indonesia and Vietnam Android has literally doubled in the last year. And what's exciting about this is in most of these cases these are people who are adopting a smartphone for the first time," added Pichai. "We are well on the way to bringing the next billion users online."

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and product management exec Andrew Bowers announced today the latest addition to the high-end Pixel range: The Pixel C tablet.

The tablet is a $499 10.2-inch tablet running on Android Marshmallow (rather than Chrome OS) with 3GB RAM and a powerful Nvidia Tegra X1 processor.

Bowers took time onstage to show off the Pixel's key feature, a $149 keyboard that attaches via magnets, turning the tablet into a laptop, basically. In fact, Bowers says the "C" stands for convertible.

"Mobile devices often force you back to a laptop when you want to write a document or respond to a long email," said Bowers. "And while there are plenty of keyboard accessories, they are often just that -- they're accessories. They have cramped keyboards, require you to use them on a desk, or get in the way when you don't want to type. In the case of tablets, we asked ourselves what would an ideal touch plus typing experience look like? Something where the screen and the keyboard complement each other."

The tablet will be available in time for the holidays, and as of writing only has a "teaser" landing page. You can see that here: Pixel C

Alongside its bigger announcements, Google also unveiled a new second-generation Chromecast streaming dongle today.

Design-wise, Google has changed the device from a "stick" to a round disc that has an HDMI arm that extends out or sticks to the back when needed. The change in design was made so the dongle can hang further away from the TV and reduce interference.

The new Chromecast also support 802.11ac and 5Ghz bands (thank you Google) and the company says there are now three different antennas for optimized streaming compared to the one the original Chromecast had.

Google also boasted that there are now thousands of apps available that support casting, and Google has revamped the actual Chromecast app, adding a discovery section that searches for what is hot in the streaming apps you have downloaded on your devices.

The search giant says they have sold 20 million units of the original since its launch, quite a success for an experimental product, and the second-generation dongle will keep the original's $35 price tag so Google is hoping the strong sales will continue.

Check it out here: Google Play

In addition to launching their Nexus 6P high-end flagship today, Google also showed off the LG-built Nexus 5X.

The new smartphone will serve as the smaller of the two flagships, the same way Apple has the 6s and 6s Plus, and the specs are still very solid, especially for the price.

Under the hood of the Nexus 5 is a Snapdragon 808 processor, 2GB RAM and a 2700mAh. The phone runs on Android Marshmallow, has a 5.2-inch 1080p display (with Gorilla Glass 3), the USB-C charging port, and the same 12MP camera of the Nexus 6P which includes 1.55-micron pixels for excellent night shots.

Just like its big brother, the Nexus 5X also adds a fingerprint scanner, calling the tech Nexus Imprint. Supposedly, it takes just 600ms to recognize your prints, and it actually improves over time.

The smartphone is also priced at about half the price of the iPhone 6S, starting at $379 for the 16GB model.

Check out the device here: Nexus 5X

Google's latest flagship is official, although we have seen a slow drip of leaks over the past few weeks that took away some of the surprise.

The Nexus 6P, built by Huawei, is slightly smaller than its predecessor the Nexus 6 with a 5.7-inch WQHD display, and features a completely redone design that is just 7.3mm thick and features an all-metal body.

Under the hood is 3GB RAM, a Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor, and a huge 3450mAh battery. The phone is the first Nexus to include a fingerprint sensor (placed neatly on the back), which can authorize payments and unlock the phone just like on Samsung and Apple devices.

Where the Nexus 6P really shines, however, are the cameras. The selfie cam is up to 8MP and the rear camera is 12.3MP with a special Sony sensor that allows for more light to be taken in and improve low-light photos significantly. The camera also allows for 4K video, burst mode, slow-mo, and more. In early spec comparisons, the Nexus 6P is expected to have the best camera of any smartphone with the exception of the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+.

Huawei has included a USB Type-C port for charging (meaning you can insert the cable in any direction) and it should actually improve charging speeds. Just like the Nexus 6, the 6P also supports fast charging, meaning up to 50 percent of charge in an hour.

Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm has finished serving his time in Danish and Swedish jails following his convictions for hacking and copyright crimes.

Back in 2011, the four founders of the Pirate Bay were all sentenced to one year in prison by Svartholm ran, ending up in Cambodia before getting arrested in 2012 and extradited back to Sweden. After serving his initial sentence, he was then accused of hacking IT company Logica, Nordea Bank and IT company CSC by Swedish and Danish authorities.

For his part in the hack on Logica, Svartholm received one year and for the attack on CSC, three and a half years. For good behavior, he was released early in Denmark last month but shockingly he was arrested again and sent back to Sweden to serve one more month for the original crime.

As of writing, Svartholm appears to be a free man for good.

Apple has said today that they have sold 13 million new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, a new record for three days of availability.

"Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple's history," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "Customers' feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can't wait to bring iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9."

Furthermore, Apple says the phones will be available in 40 more countries starting October 9th, and in 130 countries by the end of the year.

The strong early sales likely bode well for Apple's quarterly earnings moving forward, as there had been worries about the struggling Chinese economy.

Netflix has confirmed that more "Originals" are coming to the streaming service, and Netflix will be in charge of shooting them, as well, lessening their dependence on third party studios.

For example, Netflix is actively considering filming Chelsea Handler's new talk show and will also be the studio behind "Flaked" and "Lady Dynamite," both set for release next year.

By all accounts, the move makes perfect sense. Netflix controls the worldwide rights for all of its original programming, some of its most popular shows are actually owned by other media entities. Marvel owns "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones" while Lions Gate owns "Orange is the New Black." Over time, the licenses Netflix has will lapse and the series will no longer be exclusives.

"Obviously there's benefits if we produce a show," said CFO David Wells. "If there's great reach across the world and we can distribute that show and it will be consumed and enjoyed across the world. So there's tremendous benefits there in terms of just the scale of distributing it."

Netflix recently began leasing 200,000 square feet of office and pre-production space in a tower at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood and is likely to add another 120,000 square feet for sound stages. The move is expected in early 2017.

According to insider sources, Windows 10 has now surpassed 100 million installs, a major milestone for the operating system.

That number is also likely to jump in the near future as Microsoft just signed a deal with Baidu to launch Windows 10 in China.

Additionally, Microsoft is expecting a boost in October when they introduce the Surface Pro 4 and other updates to the operating system.

Microsoft has long claimed they want 1 billion Windows 10 users across all platforms within 3 years of launching the operating system and they appear to be off to a strong enough start.

Two days ahead of its official unveiling, we have all the specs and official pictures of the upcoming Google flagship, the Nexus 6P.

The new phone will be the first Nexus device to have an all-metal body, the first with a fingerprint scanner and the first with USB-C connectors.

As expected, the screen is a 5.7-inch QHD with Gorilla Glass 4, and the smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor and 3GB RAM. The phone has a massive 3450mAh battery, and will run on Android Marshmallow, which has built-in battery efficiency tech.

On the back of the phone is the fingerprint scanner, in a similar position to how LG has their fingerprint scanners compared to where Samsung and Apple have theirs (up front).

The cameras will also get a nice upgrade, with the rear camera at 12.3MP and the front camera at 8MP. The rear camera has an F-stop rating of 2.0 and the camera's sensor uses 1.55 μM pixels allowing for much more light to be taken in - great for low light situations.

You can take a look at the full list of specs and features here: Imgur