Category Archives: 3DS

Future Nintendo Direct Rumours Emerge

3DS, Nintendo, Wii U,

new_super_mario_bros_2_mario_flying.jpg

A number of you have sent in a thread by a Neogaf member from a site that claims to know the content of future Nintendo Direct presentations. I saw the information yesterday, but it looks highly suspect to me. Anyway, be sure to take this information with a grain of salt. We already know that the next few Nintendo Direct presentations will feature a whole host of titles for this holiday season and beyond. The games likely to be shown off include 3D Mario, Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker and Smash Bros. Here’s the rumours.

Late May / First Week of June

  • Pre-NintE3do Direct: Wii U & Nintendo 3DS. Summary: Join us for our worldwide announcement of Nintendo’s E3 Expo plans for June 10th through June 13th. In this direct, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will clarify a few names, logos and release dates for upcoming Wii U and Nintendo 3DS software that we will be exhibiting at E3. Furthermore, Mr. Iwata-san will detail how our new E3 structure will work including software updates that will allow you to view Nintendo E3 information where ever you go. (Late May, first week of June.)

June 10

  • NintE3do Direct: Wii U & Nintendo 3DS Social Software. Summary: Welcome to our first ever Nintendo Direct from E3! Before we announce all of the video game software Nintendo plans to release this Summer and Holiday in 2013, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata would like to go into detail a list of software updates for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS and how new social games and applications such as Wii Fit U and Mii Kabuki Theater will leverage those features in the following months. (June 10th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Wii U Zapper. Summary: In our first installment of Iwata’s Asks, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will interview hardware developers and key software developers at Nintendo R&D to how the Wii U Zapper was designed and created to expand the game-play potential of the Wii U GamePad.
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Disney Interactive Studios. Summary: In this Iwata Asks, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will talk to our friends at Disney Interactive, investigating how Disney’s newest properties such as Star Wars [unless EA is making a SW game for 3DS, then I'm not so sure about this], Disney Infinity and Planes will offer unique game-play experience on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. (June 10th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Ubisoft. Summary: In this Iwata Asks, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will interview Ubisoft President Yves Guillemot and the rest of the development staff at Ubisoft as they showcase the huge list of games Ubisoft will bring to the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS platform such as Watch_Dogs and Rayman Legends. (June 10th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Nintendo eShop Showcase: [I didn't feel this had enough ground to add into the article, I might post it in a future article.]

June 11

  • NintE3do Direct: Wii U Software Showcase. Summary: Welcome to the Nintendo Direct E3 Wii U Software Showcase. Nintendo Co Ltd. President and Nintendo of America CEO Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Amie will showcase brand new titles coming to the Wii U.First footage will be shown of Super Smash Bros, Super Mario Wii U, Mario Kart U, Yarn Yoshi, and Project X and more as well as key titles from our partnerships and third party software publishers. (June 11th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Nintendo 3DS Software Showcase. Summary: Welcome to the Nintendo Direct E3 Nintendo 3DS Software Showcase. Nintendo Co Ltd. President and Nintendo of America CEO Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Amie will showcase brand new titles coming to the Nintendo 3DS. More footage will be shown for The Legend of Zelda: Return to the Past, Mario Party 3D, Mario & Luigi’s Dream Team and Pokemon X & Y as well as key titles from our partnerships and third party software publishers. New unannounced titles for Nintendo 3DS will also be shown. (June 11th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Retro Studios: Summary: In this Iwata Asks, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will interview the talented people at Retro Studios as they go in depth on their latest game for Wii U that has been years in the making, a huge undertaking to create something nobody has seen before! (June 11th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Platinum Games. Summary: In this Iwata Asks, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will interview the Japanese hardcore gamer darling, Platinum Games, as they go deeper into how the Wii U gives the studio an amazing canvas to create fast paced, hard edged action games. New footage from The Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 2 and other projects will be spotlighted.(June 11th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Monolith Soft. Summary: In this Iwata Asks, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will interview Tetsuya Takahashi and the rest of the Monolith Soft staff on how the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS allows them to dream and design bigger than ever before. New footage from Monolith Soft Wii U and Nintendo 3DS projects will be shown. (June 11th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Super Smash Bros Direct. Summary: Welcome to the first ever Super Smash Bros Direct! In this first episode, Super Smash Bros creator and President of Sora Ltd. Masahiro Sakurai will give a detailed tour of the game’s new mechanics as well as the relationship between the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of the game. New footage from both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games will be shown. (June 11th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Miyamoto’s Inside Story. Summary: In this special Nintendo Direct, join legendary video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto as well as General Manager of EAD Software Development Department Takashi Tezuka, Nintendo EAD Tokyo Development Group Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi, Mario Kart Producer Hideki Konno, Pikmin Producer Hiroyuki Kimura and Legend of Zelda Series Director Eiji Aonuma as they explore the workings of Miyamoto’s design philosophy in the newest Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games announced at E3 2013. (June 11th)

June 12

  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Activision. Summary: In this Iwata Asks, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will interview Activision CEO Bobby Kotick as they review all the amazing games Activison will bring to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS platforms from Call of Duty Ghosts to Skylanders: Swap Force and more! (June 12th)
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Capcom. Summary: In this Iwata Asks, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata will interview Yoshinori Ono as they dish out news of Capcom’s new endeavors on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. (June 12th)
  • NintE3do Direct: TOP SECRET IWATA ASKS– June 12th– Summary: [Not enough ground]
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Square Enix– June 12th– Summary: [Not enough ground]
  • NintE3do Direct: Iwata Asks Sega– June 12th– Summary: [Not enough ground]
  • NintE3do Direct: TOP SECRET IWATA ASKS– June 12th– Summary: [Not enough ground]

June 13

  • NintE3do Direct: Pokemon Direct– June 13th– Summary: Welcome to the newest installment of Pokemon Direct. In this edition, Pokemon Game Director Junichi Masuda will give us an in-depth look into the brave new world of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y for the Nintendo 3DS. New Pokemon will be revealed and new game-play mechanics never seen before in the series will be featured.
  • NintE3do Direct: Nintendo E3 2013 Conclusion– June 13th Summary: Thank you all for tuning in to the Nintendo E3 2013 Direct Experience. Before we close shop, Nintendo Co Ltd. President Satoru Iwata would like to express his thanks for those who support Nintendo with our Wii U and Nintendo 3DS products as well as recap all the biggest highlights and buzz from you, our fans.

More Pokemon X & Y Rumours Emerge

3DS, Nintendo, ,

pokemon_logo

Pokebeach, the publication that got the four latest Pokemon names correct, has received a fresh batch of rumours related to the forthcoming Pokemon X & Y. The source behind the information can’t be verified, so it’s clearly worth taking this latest batch of information with a grain of salt. That being said, Pokemon Smash will air later today, and Junichi Masuda, one of the founding members of Game Freak, will be on the show. Let’s hope we get some fresh Pokemon X & Y information. Anyway, here’s those delicious rumours.

  • Pancham evolves into Pangoro in the early level 30s. In order to evolve Pancham into Pangoro, you need to have one other Dark-type Pokemon in your party. Pangoro’s type is Fighting/Dark.
  • A Pokemon named Inkay evolves into Malimar. To evolve it, you have to hold your 3DS upside-down when it levels up (the 3DS has an accelerometer and gyroscope, so it can detect that). Malimar’s type is Dark/Psychic.
  • A Psychic-type Pokemon named Espurr (ESP + purr) evolves into Meowstick (Meow + mystic?). (Sounds like Psychic-type cats. Meowstick’s name sounds too similar to Meowth to me though.)
  • Like in B/W you have two rivals – one is friendly and the other is competitive. Your rival that is more friendly gives you his/her fully evolved starter Pokemon after you beat the game.
  • Another professor named Sycamore gives you either Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle.
  • Even though it shows the player riding on a Gogoat in the new trailer, players can’t ride on their own Pokemon. What was shown is just an alternate way of getting around Lumiose City and it only works with Gogoat.
  • HMs still exist but there’s a lot less of them.
  • Players will be able to see their Pokemon’s EVs (probably through the same in-game facility mentioned in the other post).
  • A new move, Belch, is a Poison-type attack that has a base power of 120. The user must consume a held Berry to perform it.
  • Draining Kiss is a Fairy-type attack that heals the user for the same amount of damage performed. It has a base power of 60.
  • If the previously revealed forme of Mewtwo can be said to look roughly similar to Mewtwo’s original design, the second supposed form of Mewtwo can be said to look roughly/vaguely similar to Mew’s design.
  • In case you missed our correction the other day, the Starters’ final evolutions are Fire/Psychic, Grass/Dark, and Water/Fighting.

SEGA Confirms That Sonic Is A Three Game Exclusive To Nintendo Platforms

3DS, Nintendo, Wii U, ,

sonic-close

SEGA has confirmed via a press release that there will indeed be three Sonic titles coming to Nintendo platforms. The first game was revealed yesterday as Sonic The Lost World which is exclusive to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. The second game was also announced yesterday and is titled Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The game includes a variety of events from the Winter Games, including skiing, figure skating and curling. SEGA has yet to reveal the third game in the exclusive new Nintendo-SEGA partnership, but it’s rumoured to be a mashup between Sonic & All-Stars Racing and Mario Kart.

“Sonic the Hedgehog has proven incredibly successful on Nintendo platforms and we are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Nintendo. As we initiate this new exclusive partnership with the next three titles we believe that Wii U and Nintendo 3DS are ideal platforms to showcase the evolution of the Sonic brand.”

- John Cheng, President & COO, SEGA of America

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates To Infinity Review

3DS, Nintendo, , ,

pokemon_mystery_dungeon_gates_to_infinity_artThe Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series is back, but Gates to Infinity comes with a pop and a fizzle instead of an explosive bang.

Marking its ninth release in the spin-off series, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity for the Nintendo 3DS begins with such promise; gorgeous 3D settings, vast dungeons and cute, lovable characters. But it’s this tremendous style which gives way to its lack of substance.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity starts in a similar way to its predecessors – you’re sent down to the Pokémon world to save them from a great evil, but you must have a quick costume change along the way by turning into a Pokémon yourself. Yet unlike its past entries, Gates to Infinity allows the player to choose their starter – Snivy, Oshawott, Tepig, Pikachu and Axew – and gives much more freedom from the get-go. By choosing a partner from the remaining four, a new journey can begin to save their world from impending doom.

The main storyline opens up in a place named Post Town, where fights break out needlessly between Pokémon due to thievery, mistrust and evil-doers in the community. Your designated partner, however, sees it as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf and create a peaceful paradise for Pokémon. In a series of game tutorials, you start to build Paradise with your partner, with your first task to produce a house. But as a request from a fellow Pokémon, you must venture into the darkness and descend into a mystery dungeon to gather materials.

pokemon gates to infinity

Poor Oshawott is scared, but Tepig’s too captivated by the gold at his feet to notice.

Those new  to the series will enjoy exploring the first few dungeons immensely, collecting new Pokémon to add to your ever-growing team through requests, but series regulars may find the lack of dungeon variation disappointing and, at times, cumbersome. Exploring the dungeons to their full potential gives you little other than extra and rather unnecessary loot, and the layouts – for the most part – remain unchanged. However, the game’s saving grace is its wonderful graphics and art style, enhanced beautifully by the 3D, turning its regular 2D sprites into all-animated and loveable 3D versions. Pokémon moves such as Gust turn into mini moving whirlwinds, Razor Leaf cuts straight to the bone and String Shot strikes halfway across the room, allowing the enemy to slink casually to its prey.

The title also allows a unique feature with the 3DS camera, which is great for younger players. Using the camera, you can capture a portal, or ‘magnagate’, by finding circular objects around the house or nearby. These magnagates allow you to step into another dungeon, giving the game a boost in variation. Add to this the wireless mode to team up with other players, and the main storyline begins to pale in comparison.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity promises an extraordinary dungeon-crawling experience like no other in the series, but its distinct lack of dungeon variation, coupled with the monotonous requests and a storyline that screams for more drama, leaves you feeling sucker-punched.

6/10

Sonic Lost World Info Coming May 29th, Partnership Is For Next Three Sonic Games?

3DS, Nintendo, Wii U, ,

sonic_lost_world

Nintendo of America confirmed yesterday in a Nintendo Direct presentation that it has joined forces with SEGA to bring Sonic Lost World exclusively to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Sonic Stadium claims that SEGA leaked the Sonic Lost World announcement early yesterday morning, before the Nintendo Direct took place. The company apparently showcased three teaser images and the promise of more details on May 29th. SEGA has also apparently said that the unexpected partnership is for the next three Sonic games. Here’s what was supposedly said on the official Sonic Facebook page.

  • The sonic Facebook page just leaked a picture of the lost world, six “guardians”,
  • And the announcement that sega and Nintendo are forming an “exclusive partnership” for three games.
  • The Facebook page accidentally leaked 3 pictures of the game with important information:
  • Full details will be announced on the 29th.
  • The lost world (not worlds) is a partially unfinished planet seemingly made of hexagon tiles.
  • The game has six “guardians” who may be friends or foes- only their outlines are shown but they look very cartoony, like characters from Rayman.
  • Most importantly, Sega and Nintendo have entered an exclusive partnership for Sonic’s next three games.
  • These photos should still be accessible, they’re just not in posts but rather in the picture gallery itself.
  • At this point I consider the Sonic Excursion rumor to have no credibility.

Nintendo Direct US Roundup

3DS, Nintendo, Wii U,

luigi_3ds_pouch

The next title in SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise will be exclusive to Nintendo’s Wii U home console and Nintendo 3DS portable system. Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata announced the details of a new partnership with SEGA during a new Nintendo Direct video announcement today. Sonic Lost World is a new action platforming game, and more information about it will be announced before the E3 2013 video game trade show begins on June 11.

The Nintendo Direct also announced Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games for Wii U, and revealed that additional SEGA Game Gear games would be coming to the Virtual Console service for Nintendo 3DS. Outside of SEGA news, Nintendo announced that select Wii U games featured at E3 2013 will soon be playable at participating Best Buy stores, the launch date for New Super Luigi U, new Pikmin 3 game details and additional information about a variety of previously announced Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games.

Wii U News

  • Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games: The game includes a variety of events from the Winter Games, including curling, skiing, figure skating pairs and snowboard slopestyle – which will make its Olympic debut in Sochi, Russia. Different events might use the Wii Remote Plus controller, Wii U GamePad controller or both. In addition to realistic events, the game also includes those set in the worlds of Sonic and Mario that let players perform moves not possible in real life. Launch details and timing will be announced at a later date.
  • Experience Games from Nintendo’s E3 Booth at Best Buy: Exclusively at participating Best Buy locations in the United States and Canada, consumers will be able to play some of the unreleased Wii U games featured at E3 while the event is occurring in Los Angeles. Details about locations and which games will be featured will be revealed in the coming weeks.
  • New Super Luigi U: The Year of Luigi-themed downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U offers players 82 updated courses. But it also includes a new playable character in multiplayer mode: Nabbit, who steals items from Toad Houses. Nabbit can’t power up, but also won’t take damage when he touches enemies. New Super Luigi U will be released as downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U in the Nintendo eShop on June 20 for $19.99. But in honor of the Year of Luigi, Nintendo is also offering a standalone packaged version of New Super Luigi U that doesn’t require New Super Mario Bros. U on Aug. 25 at a suggested retail price of $29.99.
  • The Wonderful 101: The mass-action adventure from Platinum Games launches Sept. 15. Additional details will be announced after E3.
  • Pikmin 3: New playable characters Alph, Brittany and Charlie recruit the Pikmin creatures to help them gather fruit so that they can return with the seeds to save their home, Planet Koppai. Players can divide activities among the different characters, and explore separate areas in the same map with different groups of Pikmin. Using the GamePad (known as the KopPad in the game), players can view the overall map and grasp what each character and Pikmin are up to. Players also can choose their preferred control option: GamePad in conjunction with the TV, Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk combo or GamePad only in off-TV mode. Players can also use the Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk with the GamePad as a second-screen monitor. Pikmin 3 launches Aug. 4.
  • GAME & WARIO: The game launches in stores and in the Nintendo eShop June 23 at a suggested retail price of $39.99, and includes a number of games from WarioWare, Inc., that use the GamePad in different ways. Newly revealed games include: Island, which lets two to five people launch little creatures called Fronks onto islands in the sea to score points; Patchwork, a puzzle game that tests players’ pattern-recognition skills; and Kung-Fu, which challenges players to help Young Cricket navigate a course safely using the forward-looking view on the TV and the top-down view on the GamePad. A new Iwata Asks feature offers more details about the game at http://iwataasks.nintendo.com.
  • Resident Evil Revelations: Capcom’s horror-survival game is launching in stores and in the Nintendo eShop on May 21. The game originally released for Nintendo 3DS, and the Wii U version offers players updated HD graphics, GamePad controls and new game content. Players can use the GamePad to view the map and change items using the touch screen without pausing their progress. Or they can play the full game on the GamePad in off-TV mode, or play with the Wii U Pro Controller. The game is Miiverse-compatible, and a demo version is currently available in the Nintendo eShop.

Nintendo 3DS News

  • SEGA Game Gear: Games from the classic hand-held system are headed to the Virtual Console service. These include:Inside the Treehouse with Animal Crossing: New Leaf: Because of the vast amount of content in the upcoming Animal Crossing: New Leaf game, Nintendo’s Treehouse localization team is hosting an ongoing video series to talk about the franchise and many of the fun features of the new game. The videos will be available on Nintendo’s YouTube channel and in the Nintendo eShop on a regular basis leading up to the game’s June 9 launch. Additionally, a new Animal Crossing panel for Puzzle Swap is now available for StreetPass Mii Plaza, and fans also might find a special Animal Crossing-themed message on Swapnote.
    • Columns
    • Crystal Warriors
    • Defenders of Oasis
    • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
    • G-LOC: Air Battles
    • Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya
    • Sonic Blast
    • Sonic Drift 2
    • Sonic Labyrinth
    • Sonic the Hedgehog
    • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
    • Tails Adventure
    • Vampire: Master of Darkness
  • Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D: This game launches in stores and in the Nintendo eShop on May 24 and includes all the fun of the original Wii game, now optimized for portable play. It also includes eight new unlockable levels that are each based on one of the eight worlds from the original game. These levels will challenge players with new elements like platforms that force them to move at a faster pace, large drops of tar falling from the ceiling and giant rotating stone gears that can alter the level itself.
  • A Legendary Sale: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons arrive on the Virtual Console service for Nintendo 3DS on May 30. Because playing the games together unlocks so much additional content, Nintendo is offering them for just $4.99 each for the first three weeks after launch. After this promotion expires, the games will be available for $5.99 each.
  • Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move: The game, which launched May 9 exclusively in the Nintendo eShop, challenges players to place tiles on the bottom screen to guide the Minis to their goal on the top screen. The game includes more than 180 stages, but also dramatically extends the fun of the game by letting players create their own stages and share them with others. Players can opt to try a random user-created level or one created by their friends. They can also select from the most popular levels overall or search the top levels of the week.

Nintendo UK Launches 3DS Hashtag Campaign

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Nintendo UK has kicked off a social media campaign for the 3DS by asking you a simple question: what is your reason for owning a Nintendo 3DS? The company launched a YouTube video, which you can see above, profiling the extensive list of titles that are currently on the portable handheld, as well as upcoming exclusives. And in a bid to chug away on the 3DS hype train, Nintendo UK has created a hashtag for fans to add their #3DSreasons over Twitter. But with such an exciting list of titles coming to the 3DS in the future, does the handheld need such an advertisement? In the meantime, what are your #3DSreasons? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.