Well, it would be something new, but that would take a lot of the exploration out of the game, which is something that Skyward Sword was hurt by.

It does look bigger, which isn't a good thing from a gaming standpoint. Oh Nintendo, I seriously hope people buy this thing and you don't have a Dreamcast on your hands here...

The demo on the 3DS intrigued me, so I picked up the Wii version of Rayman Origins for an awesome price ($19.99 new!) and am loving the game so far. Such an awesome, quirky platformer! Highly underrated.

I like the demo but seeing as how the Wii version is better graphically and frame rate-wise and also is priced 10 dollars cheaper at most retailers, that is probably the version I'll be getting.

Played some Kirby Block Ball. Definitely the most fully-featured Breakout clone I've ever played (I hesitate to even refer to it as such) and well worth the $2.99. Also picked up the Rayman demo but haven't tried it out yet. My 5 year old nephew got it this morning and he seems to enjoy it though. See, these are the weeks I like on the eShop, Nintendo. Keep this trend going.

^^ Then we would only get like 3 a year because of the development time required. No thanks!

If that really is the reason we've not had a VC game in so long, they can keep their cheap, shallow phone app rip-offs and give me some real games on a more frequent basis, kthx.

Good to see the Rayman demo. I really wasn't expecting it since NOA has been very stingy with them.

@RR529 I'll be getting Kirby's Block Ball, but I guess people are more irritated at the fact that it's essentially another Breakout clone (albeit a good one), while other regions have classic games like Wario Land, KI: OMAM, and a host of other ones that Nintendo has neglected to bring over here for whatever reason.

Can almost bet you five bucks the US will get Kirby's Block Ball and some dumb DSi(shovel)ware game, with no Rayman demo. They just don't seem intent on wanting to make any money over here with their digital platform. They did seem to for a while, but it's really trailed off so much now that even the most patient people are starting to get annoyed.

I guess it isn't such a bad thing after all that I don't have internet to my 3DS here at my apartment since the eShop has become pretty much useless anyway.

I won't buy another KI game unless the controls are simplified a bit. I just can't play it. My hands don't work like that.

Monsters Party!?? Is that a sequel or reimagining of the original NES game Monster Party?? I'd die! I loved that game!

I love this! The Gamecube AC soundtrack is the best. It would be nice in AC3DS if they gave you the option to use this soundtrack.

Hanging onto my money yet again. I remember when Monday (and then Thursday) was such an exciting day...

Yes, yes, yes. This is what NSMB2 should have been.

I found Skyward Sword to feel a little bit half-finished and lazy. The enemy variation was awful (bokoblin after bokoblin after bokoblin), there were barely any memorable npc characters or significant side quests, the skies of Skyloft were barren and boring to explore, the list of flaws goes on and on. To me, the game felt like a handheld Zelda title in scope, even though I'm pretty sure that Spirit Tracks had more areas, side quests, and people to talk to. I feel like they maybe tried to dumb Zelda down to make it more accessible to casual gamers but in the end it made for a lackluster (and over-hyped/rated) game, in my opinion.

As far as the sales are concerned, I would think that the reason it wasn't a huge blockbuster was mainly because of it coming at the end of the Wii's lifespan and also because it required use of Motion Plus. I know several people who refused to get it because it required it.

The code idea is definitely intriguing, especially since Nintendo is letting retailers price them independently, but the idea of entering the eShop from the comfort of my couch and paying $39.99 for NSMB2 just isn't that appealing to me. I could run down to Target or Gamestop and actually have a physical copy for the same price.

But like you pointed out, James, about Iwata mentioning Animal Crossing, some games, like it, would be great to have that convenience of not switching carts. I guess I'll keep an open mind till the games start surfacing and choose my stance on the matter once they do.

That could work I guess. I just fear it's gonna be an issue like with the Wii where you download a few games and then you're out of memory. They kind of fixed it with the SD card patch later on but it still had its problems. I just really want the Wii U to live up to the hype of being the next big thing and not be plagued with last-gen problems. This is kind of a make-it or break-it time for Nintendo and I'm a little nervous for them with this system.

I hope the Wii U has a robust built-in hard drive or at least the capability for added external hard drive space for storing games because if it's still "blocks" like the Wii, they're gonna run into a lot of trouble with digital downloads of retail games.

I have two issues with this practice: 1.) The file size would be outrageous (my guess is over 18,000 blocks) so it would be impractical for most people to download retail games to their SD cards. 2.) If there is no discounted price for purchasing a game digitally, what would be the point in doing so? Most of the time, digital games are cheaper since there is no cost in manufacturing hardware, cases, booklets, etc. If I'm going to pay the same price, I — and I'm assuming a lot of people — would much rather have a physical copy. But baby steps for Nintendo, I guess. It's a start.

@Mathieu_W Well, there's Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass, but that's beside the point. Touch controls like that just wouldn't work for Mario platformers. It just isn't precise enough. Smartphone touch controls are strictly for shooters and puzzles. It just doesn't translate well with platformers.

Ah. I guess I missed that somehow. Still yet, most of the time the new game is the first tile to show up and the game itself is featured.

Mario is pretty much what is selling Nintendo consoles these days, so to license him to other devices would pretty much seal Nintendo's doom as a hardware manufacturer.

I find it kind of dumb that I went to the eShop today and they don't even have Block Factory featured. I literally had to type "block" into the search bar to find it, yet that's this week's "big game" that, theoretically, is the reason why we didn't get any Virtual Console games.

@SteveW I've been thinking about picking up a GBA SP off of eBay or something. I used to have one back in the day, but it got stolen.

I've pretty much downloaded everything I'd want that's available. I mean I'm not sitting here saying "I'LL SELL MY 3DS IF NEW VC DOESN'T COME" or anything, because I do enjoy it all around the board, but it's a little disheartening to see a new block puzzle or mini golf game released every week and no awesome retro goodness.

@bahooney The prospect of having Game Boy and Game Boy Color games (which I had never played before) on one system is the thing that excited me about the 3DS initially, yes. Why is that so hard to believe? And I didn't just buy a Game Boy or GBC because of the backlighting issues. I'd rather play them on a system that's backlit because I can see them better.

@LztheBlehBird Not losses, but maybe they're not making money on them or something. I know that when they do release VC games, their Facebook posts are littered with comments like "I don't want these Gameboy games! The graphics are ugly and they're black and white!" mostly by 11-16 year olds and stuff like that. All I know is after that one little splurge of Game Gear games a month or so ago, they've not looked back. Besides Colors 3D, the eShop has been in block puzzle hell ever since.

I'm starting to think Nintendo of America is convinced that 3DS VC games won't sell well with a younger audience or something. That's the only explanation I can think of as to why they're consistently ignored like this. It's gotta be a money/marketing issue.

Well, then they need to quit coming out with generic puzzler 3DSware games then because I want some damn VC. That's why I bought this system in the first place. Been disappointed for what seems like months now.

I would be really excited for this if it didn't look like such a cut and paste job. I just wish that they would take some more time out between Mario games and deliver something new, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise, like they did with the original New Super Mario Bros and Mario Galaxy. Both of those games were highly anticipated because they were in development for a long time. We need those gaps without Mario so we can appreciate him all over again when he finally emerges.

Who wants to bet that world 2 is a desert?

I'm just so tired of the Mario 3 references now though. Pick another game. At this point, to me, it feels like being bashed over the head with it. We get it, Nintendo: you LOVE SMB3. Cool. Quit running it into the ground for the rest of us.

It also bugs me that this game, so far as I can see, looks identical to NSMBWii. Couldn't they have changed up the art style just a little bit? I don't know. Maybe I'm just getting old and jaded, but this will likely be the very first Mario game that I don't buy on day one because I've played it before so many other times.

I wonder how the 3DS is doing in sales in comparison with the PSVita in Europe and North America? Sony's been very hush-hush about sales numbers for these regions.

I'd like to play a new Pikmin. I also hope, though, that at some point, the 3DS gets some Pikmin love as well. The landscapes would look amazing in stereoscopic 3D.

I wish it had ended up on Wii so I could play it. My copy sits in its case gathering dust due to the fact that my hands simply don't work the way the developers want them to.

Snore. How boring.

I'm going to assume it's gonna be a crowd pleaser if it's a launch title, simply because they'll want to drum up big sales; however, I do hope that they come up with something a little more original than NSMBMii because that demo did absolutely nothing to psych me up for buying a WiiU. I don't really care to see NSMBWii in HD with Miis.

I just don't know if Miyamoto has "it" anymore when it comes to developing new and totally original game ideas. Since Pikmin, he's just "produced" things and sort of ridden on his laurels a bit. I hope he impresses me once again with something completely new and original like he has in the past, but I'm not holding my breath in waiting on it.

I kind of hate this game and I actually grew up playing it. I do love the music, sound effects, and other things from it, but to me, it's just way too difficult to be enjoyable. Zelda II (although insanely hard) is my favorite of the 8-bit Zeldas because I can actually make progress in it.

I'm just not very proficient at writing or drawing on the touchscreen so I guess I'm going to sit this one out.

Just more Miyamoto babble. If it happens, it happens; if it's doesn't, it doesn't.

@Duney They should be releasing more than one "big game" a week if they're serious about improving their digital retailing presence though. It's just poor business practice and it might bite them hard if the WiiU is more of the same in this regard.

I mean, I love Nintendo, guys. I really do. And I hate to bash them but jeez. Pull your digital presence together and make some money. How can you expect the WiiU to be a success when you always let things fall apart like this? New Mario games will only save you so many times.

And Nintendo wonders why people say that the eShop is a joke compared to the Apple app store...

Junk again. And this time, the whiners have a reason to whine. This is getting ridiculous. When the 3DS was announced, I was SO excited to actually be able to play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games for the first time ever. Hell, I bought the system specifically for that feature in the beginning since the launch games were so poor, but unfortunately it seems NoA has really dropped the ball with 3DS VC. There is absolutely no reason at all why we should not get at least one VC game a week, especially when in its heyday, the Wii got two or more per week. I guess in order to play those games within the next billion years, I'm gonna have to track down a GBA SP and get 'em on eBay, which sucks because I shouldn't have to do that.

Looks like every fighting game I've ever seen. *yawn

@warioswoods I agree. As much flack as SM3DL has gotten for being a retro throwback without much innovation, that in itself is sort of innovative since they've never done it so blatantly before; however, if the next game in the 3DL series is cape Mario riding Yoshi with Chargin' Chucks runnin' around, I might become a little worried.