3DS News - Latest News

Going on a U.S. tour

The upcoming launch of Mario Tennis Open is coinciding with the start of summer, warm days and the prospect of taking to the courts in real life. It's also launching at the same time as the USTA SmashZone Mobile Tour, which encourages young people to try the sport; so a doubles team has naturally followed. The SmashZone tour is...

Not a golden week

Last week was a major holiday in Japan, and the Japanese charts brought golden results for Nintendo. This week brings more of the same in terms of chart positions, but it seems that all games and platforms have endured a major dip in sales after all of that holiday splurging. As reported by Andriasang, Mario Party 9 retains top...

Too good to ignore

Not long ago, we brought you a feature on Bargain Bin DS Games, detailing some excellent games available for relatively little money. The response to the article highlighted how many little-known or under-appreciated gems the DS library has, as it seems to have been a platform that encouraged a lot of creativity from developers...

Coming to (North) America

Consider quantifying your excitement for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance into financial form. What number would it be? Square Enix hopes some of you will have come up with the number $54.99, as that's what it's asking for the game's special edition. The Mark of Mastery edition — so far only announced for North...

Nintendo lays down shiny gauntlets

Every time Nintendo announces an event somewhere in the world, the response is always the same: "why couldn't it be where I live?" That won't be a problem on 19th May, as Nintendo is encouraging fans all over the world to hold their own events for Kid Icarus: Uprising. Designating 19th May as...

Also on 3DS and Wii

It's another year, so that means another FIFA game from EA Sports, an annual tradition that's never missed. The developer recently hosted a big reveal of features that will be new to this year's entry: Complete Dribbling will allow greater skill on the ball, First Touch Control will make the initial touch from a player more...

More characters and attack styles

As Project X Zone gets closer to its Japanese release, the hype-machine is building up nicely with regular reveals and teasers. First up are combat details: Support Attacks will allow fellow team members within roughly eight spaces to perform a one time follow-up attack to inflict extra damage. Meanwhile, if the...

Shooting things in 3D

With a solid six months of strong sales, especially in Japan, we may see a gradual increase in 3DS titles in development. The latest to be revealed by Famitsu, as translated by Andriasang, is Ex Troopers from Capcom, an action shooting title. The title shares some elements with the Lost Planet series from the HD consoles —...

All a dream

Eyeball-melting speed and glasses-free 3D would be such a happy combination. While Nintendo stays silent on the future of F-Zero, fan Jan Neves has taken the initiative and created a trailer for the smartly named F-Zero 3DX. Footage from F-Zero GX blends with the Blue Falcon flying out of the 3DS top screen. If Nintendo ever does publish...

Omniverse us

The Wii U announcements are coming thick and fast these days. Last week it was Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth and Cloudberry Kingdom; this week it's Ben 10: Omniverse. D3Publisher's next outing for the boy with multiple personalities will reach every current Nintendo format later this year, with development on the home console...

It's so pretty

One of the first things we noticed when Satoru Iwata stood on stage at E3 2010 with a 3DS was the Circle Pad. Some called it a slider pad, others opted for analogue stick: whatever name you chose, it ultimately meant that Nintendo was giving us analogue control in its shiny new handheld. It's since given us the Circle Pad Pro to...

Mouse click

Three months ago we brought you a Japanese trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and now we bring you the same video in English. You've only got a few more months to wait until Sora and friends land in the West in 3D. Make the wait go quicker by watching the video repeatedly. And no, sadly that isn't Jeff Bridges' real...

Commence updating!

The exploit-fixing update for Mario Kart 7 is available now. It patches up glaring shortcuts in the game's Wuhu Island Loop, Wuhu Mountain Loop and GBA Bowser Castle 1 courses. You won't be able to play online if you don't download the update, so hopefully this'll level the online playing field. Here's how to update your game: 1)...

So cheer up

Last week we learnt that Nintendo Japan is discontinuing the Aqua Blue 3DS, and we anxiously wondered what it might mean for us in the West. We've heard back from Nintendo Europe now and it's good news. The official line is that "this announcement is only for the Japanese market", meaning there should be a steady stream of Aqua...

Grab it

European 3DS owners can give Rayman's next adventure a fair shake when the eShop updates with a Rayman Origins demo this week. Come Thursday you'll be able to try out the portable port of the limbless hero's latest — and some would say greatest — adventure, ahead of the full game's release in a few weeks' time. Is this one you'll be...

Itsu no Ma ni Terebi no more

Since June last year 3DS owners in Japan have had access to Itsu no Ma ni Terebi, a video service that has produced regular and exclusive content via SpotPass. Like the former Wii service Wii no Ma, Nintendo has decided to take the service off the air. In the past year the channel has offered content from Fuji Television...

Cobalt from the blue

Nintendo of Japan will soon end production of the Aqua Blue 3DS console. The company's 3DS page lists the currently available colours, with Aqua Blue bearing the note "scheduled to end production shortly" (近日生産終了予定). In March, Nintendo released the Cobalt Blue 3DS for Japan, so it makes sense to stick...

Region locked

Dynasty Warriors VS won't leave Japan. Tecmo Koei community manager Chin Soon Sun made the pronouncement on Twitter: Dynasty Warriors VS (for the Nintendo 3DS) - This title is for Japan only & will not be localized and released for / in overseas. Shame — we wanted to enjoy some feudal fighting dressed as Link and Samus.

For different reasons

The NPD Group has published its list of best-sellers across the United States for April, but two of Nintendo's biggest titles are nowhere to be seen. Xenoblade Chronicles' exclusivity deal with GameStop meant it wasn't eligible for the top ten. Before the official chart analysts from PiperJaffray had predicted the...

Smashing hopes

We've only just asked if Kid Icarus could be Nintendo's next big franchise, but along comes Kid Icarus: Uprising director Masahiro Sakurai to say he won't create a sequel. IGN asked if Project Sora had created a "lasting universe" the team could return to in future projects, to which Sakurai replied: If by ‘lasting u

Holiday week brings extra sales

It's time for the weekly Japanese charts update, and if you've been reading these articles for the past couple of months you'll already know the story: Nintendo dominates sales in its homeland. The company's performance around the world may be a mixed bag at present, but results in Japan rarely let Satoru Iwata and...

Competitive download prices for a good cause

We’re just one month away from the 3DS eShop's first anniversary, a busy period that’s seen the service grow and evolve. A modest start, including a slow-burn of actual 3DS exclusives, made way for a vibrant period of service improvements, game demos and, most importantly, some top quality games. The...

Not quite Mario

Just as we're getting used to the idea that someone is developing a 3DS web browser MMORPG, we hear about a 2D sidescrolling platformer from the same creator. Step forward, Sidescroller, a demo level of which is available to play for free right now. If you go to URL http://www.3dsplaza.com/apps/sidescroller/ on your 3DS, you'll...

Patience and perseverance needed

Just recently we spoke to Trent Oster of Beamdog to learn about WiiWare from a developer's perspective, though his experience had ultimately been negative. Something that we touched upon was that the eShop on 3DS seems to be a better download platform that shows improvements over the Wii Shop, though specific details...