Amid the traditional retail release announcements during the Nintendo Direct presentation, the company also announced a number of eShop games coming as well. New Mario & Donkey Kong and Dillon games were revealed, along with a rhythm platformer called HarmoKnight.
Nintendo announced another of Mario's forays into the sports world during its Nintendo Direct conference today. Camelot, known for its Mario Golf and Tennis titles, is developing Mario Golf: World Tour for the 3DS. The game is coming this summer.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf, the 3DS iteration of the popular community and mortgage-payment simulator, is coming June 9. During today's Nintendo Direct, the company's Bill Trinen pointed out that as the mayor, you're no longer beholden to the raccoon slum lord Tom Nook, so this one will focus more on making the town as you like it.
During today's Nintendo Direct conference, the company announced a new game in the Mario & Luigi RPG series. It's part of what Nintendo is dubbing the "year of Luigi," and puts the focus on Mario's overlooked brother in green. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team will release this summer for 3DS.
The starter set for Disney Infinity includes characters from The Incredibles, Monsters Inc, and Pirates of the Caribbean. But of course the game will be expanding with new playsets at a fairly regular clip, and we now know of another Disney property coming: Cars.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate is set to release this March on the 3DS, but the game could come to other platforms as a full HD title. Konami UK studio head Dave Cox says the team would "absolutely" consider an high-definition release, and it wouldn't even be very difficult to make.
If you've been hankering for a portable kart racer and worn out your copy of Mario Kart 7, next week might be just what the doctor ordered. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is set to hit the 3DS next Tuesday, February 12.
Like zombies in a shopping mall, Resident Evil has been crowding the market in the last couple of years. Resident Evil 6 marked the fourth release in only two years, after ORC, Revelations, and Mercenaries 3D. Capcom seems to recognize that perhaps flooding the market isn't the best of ideas, at least if recent comments from Revelations producer Masachika Kawata are any indication.
Read more: 'A lot of titles would not necessarily win over gamers' »
Fire Emblem: Awakening is now available, letting series fans return to the medieval styled classical RPG roots. But Nintendo wanted to shake up the formula for this installment, in hopes of capturing interest from a broader audience. That included some far-fetched ideas on just how to make this game stand out from the others.
XSEED is quickly becoming a favorite of Japanese game fans, having already released several games that might not have otherwise made the trip overseas. Today the company announced five more games coming stateside, including Killer is Dead from Grasshopper Manufacture.
Read more: Others include Rune Factory, Valhalla Knights, and Ys »
Nintendo's portable business has picked up since the 3DS' dramatic price drop, but the company was still forced to lower its earnings forecast last year because of lower-than-expected sales. The company wants to secure games to boost its popularity, and has now committed to assisting Japanese third-parties in bringing games to North America.
Read more: Handheld development waning in US, still big in Japan »
Despite a ten-year history in the states and more than double that time in Japan, Fire Emblem has been one of Nintendo's under-the-radar franchises. It's enjoyed its releases and Smash Bros cameos with a quiet but devoted base of support. Fire Emblem: Awakening is coming relatively early in the 3DS lifespan, before many of the company's heavy-hitter franchises make their debut. This is well-timed, as it allows Fire Emblem to step out of the shadow cast by other franchises and prove itself. To that end, Awakening is a near-perfect encapsulation of the series' unique charms.
The Nintendo Network is scheduled for "emergency maintenance" starting tonight and lasting through tomorrow afternoon. The maintenance is said to impact all of the online shops across its various platforms, rankings in the Pokemon Black/White and Black/White 2, and ranking and matchmaking functions for Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper.
Disney Infinity, the ambitious game that brings together various Disney franchises, is being pitched as a "platform" that will constantly update with new toys and playsets to collect. That means the team at Avalanche will be preparing to roll out characters for unreleased Disney movies, and part of that includes putting some future assets on the disc.
Read more: 'Potential' that people will see future characters early »
Nintendo has shed more light on the vague mention of multiplayer in Luigi's Mansion today. The multiplayer modes apparently focus on cooperative ghost-hunting in the "ScareScraper," a tower full of paranormal creatures.
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