Japanese gaming publication Famitsu has announced that Nintendo has reached the four million milestone slightly earlier than they had previously expected with the Nintendo 3DS. The publication also revealed that both Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 have both broken the 1 million sales barrier.
Nintendo 3DS: 4,135,739
Super Mario 3D Land: 1,042,511
Mario Kart 7: 1,082,391
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword sadly lost out to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim at tonight’s Spike Video Game Awards. All was not completely lost as the Hall of Fame award went to The Legend of Zelda series which was collected by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Nintendo also scooped the award for Best Motion Control Game and Best Wii Game with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land was awarded Best Handheld Game. So not too bad a night for Nintendo.
Enterbrain and Famitsu have revealed that Super Mario 3D Land has managed to shift over half a million copies from October 31st through to November 27th which means it has outsold both The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in Japan. Here’s the full list:
UK trade publication MCV is reporting that retail outlets throughout the United Kingdom are now beginning to sell out of Nintendo 3DS consoles following the release of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. The Metallic Red Nintendo 3DS seems to be the most popular version, with other colours also in short supply.
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has told USAToday that the frankly amazing Super Mario 3D Land is the fastest selling portable Mario game in company history, and has sold more than 500,000 units since its launch on November 13th.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii and Super Mario 3D Land have both entered the UK all-formats chart at number seven and nine respectively. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games 2012 also entered the charts at number 20 for the week ending November 19th. I would expect all three titles to chart higher next week.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has confessed in a statement that their anti Tanooki suit campaign was in fact just a joke. Clearly they managed to troll quite a few people including a variety of mainstream news outlets.
Mario fans: Relax! PETA’s game was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, a fun way to call attention to a serious issue, that raccoon dogs are skinned alive for their fur. We wish real-life tanukis could fly or swat enemies away with their tails and escape from those who profit from their skins. You can help them by never buying real fur.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has launched a campaign against Super Mario 3D Land because they believe the Tanooki Suit endorses animal cruelty. The PETA website states the following:
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.
Nintendo of America has uploaded a time-lapse video of the Super Mario 3D Land launch event in Times Square. To help celebrate the launch of the game Nintendo transformed Military Island into a level from the game complete with warp pipes, Goombas and a large Nintendo 3DS.
Super Mario 3D Land sees the return of Nintendo’s iconic mascot for the company’s latest platform the Nintendo 3DS, but is it as good as others would have you believe? Read on to find out.
How does Super Mario 3D Land look?
The first thing that strikes you when you embark on Mario’s latest adventure is just how crisp, colourful and downright gorgeous the game looks. Whilst Super Mario Galaxy 2 looked beautiful on the Wii you couldn’t help but notice that the visuals weren’t as sharp as you would have liked due to the standard definition display on Wii. With Super Mario 3D Land on Nintendo 3DS everything is razor-sharp due to the small LCD screen which leads you to believe that Super Mario 3D Land is the more visually impressive game out of the two. The game looks stunning.
As it’s a handheld game will I be able to explore?
The first question I had when I first played Super Mario 3D Land is will I be able to explore the levels, or will they be too small and compact? With Mario games I love to explore the open worlds, climb the trees and take in the scenery from all different angles and I was able to do this with Super Mario 3D Land. Yes, the stages are smaller than Super Mario Galaxy but they’re packed full of little touches and star coins that entice you to explore every nook and cranny the game has to offer.
So, how are the 3D effects?
As some of you may know I don’t generally play Nintendo 3DS games in 3D but with Super Mario 3D Land I felt compelled to. It really does make a difference to the gameplay. With the 3D on you’re able to navigate any tricky jumps better and of course Nintendo has included set pieces which take full advantage of the 3D effects such as Bowsers notorious fireballs amongst others. This is the first Nintendo 3DS game I’ve played with the 3D on the whole way through the game and not once did anything make me want to turn it off.
Result
Super Mario 3D Land combines the best of Super Mario Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros Wii to create the perfect Mario game for a handheld. There’s been so much love, dedication and experience put into Super Mario 3D Land that you really couldn’t ask for more from a handheld Mario title. Highly recommended.
9.5/10
