I'd seriously consider blowing the money on that sweet Charizard 3DS XL if it was ever released outside of Japan.

How disappointing. It looks like a traditional sweater pattern.

I'll just stick with my kawaii Pikachu 3DS XL thankyouverymuch.

I'd rather put that money toward another 3DS instead. =/

Oh, God, I LOVE the cover art. They're beautiful.

For those interested, it's an option in The Sims 3 and The Sims 3: Pets on 3DS.

@Starwolf_UK I don't see why the games themselves would need "refurbishing". After all, Nintendo's charging full price for the games if you observe the pricing difference between the bundles and the standalone consoles.

So now the only Pokemon that I am yet to obtain legitimately is Celebi (they didn't bother to bring the Wi-Fi event to Australia).

Even the Virtual Boy version?

Suddenly I've had a feeling that they're going to announce Luigi Kart for Wii U or some kind of Luigi-fied version of a loved franchise (Luigi Party? Super Luigi Galaxy?).

Being labelled as a "multi platform" title in the Australian Classification database means very little nowadays. There have been plenty of titles in the past (including first party Wii/DS exclusives) that have been classified as "multi platform" titles, even though they were exclusive to a single system. Perhaps publishers are playing it safe in case their games are re-released in some form in the future.

Nintendo of Australia is likely to charge $69.95 for it as they do for all 1st party Nintendo titles. "Budget" 1st party titles retail for $49.95, but I don't think that Nintendo would be that generous for a franchise as popular as Animal Crossing.

MIDI files direct to SD card makes this an insta-buy for me.

I've used Mix Superstar for making free music for my short films, so this kind of software is a Godsend for me.

I just hope that this isn't an alternate Mewtwo form, but rather, an all new Pokemon based on Mew (i.e. Mewthree).

@domdom87 : It's supposed to. Titles are usually released simultaneously across the EU/AU/NZ stores, but occasionally, we'll be waiting for months upon months should a game be delayed (we're still waiting for Mighty Switch Force: Hyper Drive Edition to be released, for instance).

We also miss out on a LOT of games due to our smaller market, both in retail and the eShops. Most DSiWare games don't make it here (to think that Shantae of all games wasn't released in Australia), and we've also missed out on quite a number of downloadable 3DS titles, which bums me out as retail 3DS offerings are quite sparse these days.

@Metal_Sonic I use it for Dead or Alive: Dimensions (to keep note of how many figurines I have left to collect) and to keep note of stock levels in New Style Boutique (don't judge me).

There are plenty of copies of the Wii U version in Australian stores, but I'm yet to see any hard copies of the 3DS version.

I'm surprised that they'd even bother bringing this to the EU and Australia considering that Atlus hadn't bothered to release II and III here.

@andreoni79 : I'm with you.

I wants Dead or Alive 5 on Wii U!!!

They release that Fist of the North Star crap but they won't port Dead or Alive 5 to the Wii U? The 3DS game made an instant fan out of me so I'd be really bummed if they neglect to support the franchise on Nintendo's home consoles from hereon.

@WiiLovePeace : I'm guessing that it will be released at $50.

@Yosher You could just do a system transfer of your newly bought 3DS XL to somebody else and essentially forfeit your licence to the pre-installed game from your system.

Good. Now make 2014 the year of Peach!

That's absurd. There is no separate "classification department" on the basis of classification category. Classification board members are expected to be able to assign a classification to a game or film regardless of the strength of its content.

The only other department is the "classification review board" which looks at classifications that an applicant hopes to change (which was often the case with publishers wanting to challenge a banned game).

There is a ridiculous amount of games being rated R18+ now, including a Vita port of a PS3 game which was originally rated PG!

It just keeps getting better and better. I'll definitely keep my eye out on this one at launch.

1am Sydney time it is.

@Scollurio : According to Official Nintendo Magazine (I browsed through last month's issue of the Australian magazine), Code of Princess won't be released in Europe and Australia until "Late 2013".

Only four players? Then what's the point of bringing this game to the Wii U?

Honestly, devs. Five players or bust.

@LEGEND_MARIOID : I feel the opposite. I'm really glad that Australians will also be getting the superiorly titled version of the game, which stays true to the silly Japanese title. I also hate the fact that the U.S. version has essentially censored "Devil" from the title.

I would probably buy more downloadable games if the prices were more reasonable. $69.95 is abhorrently expensive for a 3DS title considering that Wii U games are available for the same price (if not less) in Australia.

I really hope that these arcade versions of Mario Kart are released as VC Arcade titles in the Wii U eShop. I spotted Arcade GP2 about a year ago at an arcade in Sydney but they've just recently closed down as they haven't been paying their rent. I've never had a chance to play it and arcades are only becoming harder to come by as time goes on.

We probably ended up with a PAL locked version of the NA release.

I'm really glad that PAL regions will be getting a more appropriately titled version of the game. The original Brain Training was a day 1 buy for me back in the day, but I skipped out on Brain Training 2 due to its fiendish difficulty. I'm quite anticipating this instalment though.

Boo! I doubt I'll ever buy any NES games via the 3DS eShop considering that the Wii U versions will eventually incorporate save states and the like.

The 3DS VC service has been severely disappointing so far. I was expecting a regular stream of Gameboy releases (which was the case when the eShop initially launched). What gives? I'd be all over the remaining Double Dragon handheld games if only they'd bother to release them.

New Style Boutique (Style Savvy in the U.S.) is over 1.5GB.

I don't understand why people are so gung ho about the deer Pokemon. It looks like Sawsbuck 2.0 to me.

Both the Wii U version and the trilogy for PS3/360 costs about $80-$90 in Australia. I'm tempted to give this series a chance, but not when we're receiving such a lousy deal. Even the standalone version of Mass Effect 3 is only around $25-$30 on other platforms in Australia.

I'm kind of glad that I didn't buy it now. I'll hold out for the plus version to be released via retail in the West seeing as I'm yet to complete The Last Spectre.

DLC is already available, however, they must be purchased directly through the eShop as opposed to an in-game shop. Additional songs cost $2.99 in the U.S. and $3.90 in Australia.

The songs currently available for the Wii U version are...
Katy Perry - Part of Me
Psy - Gangnam Style
P!nk - Funhouse
Harlin James & Clav - So Glamorous
Cobra Starship Ft. Sabi - You Make Me Feel [PAL only]

The Wii version includes a slightly wider variety of DLC, and are priced at 300 Wii points apiece.

@Placlu : Unfortunately, there's no certainty that the game is going to be released in Australia at all (it hasn't been classified yet), and the fact that it's being released digitally only in Europe of all places makes me think that it won't come here at all.

Australian air times... (yes, I'm bored =P)

7.00pm Western Australia
8.30pm Northern Territory
9.00pm Queensland
9.30pm South Australia
10.00pm New South Wales, A.C.T., Victoria, Tasmania

@Deathgaze That's not at all accurate. $150 in Australian dollars circa 1997 adjusted for inflation and the value of the Australian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar at the time would have meant that it would have been worth around (if not more than) US$200 today.

According to the Australian Classification Board, this game has been rated MA15+ for "Strong fantasy violence". It is also said to contain mild themes, sexual references and nudity; in other words, not a lot to write home about as far as debauchery is concerned; however, there have been quite a few games that have been rated M by the ESRB that have received only a PG rating in Australia.

The Australian release of this was cancelled entirely, though it was released for the PS3/360.

If this version includes 5 player local multiplayer then I'm definitely sold.

Dementium II's sales were poor because it wasn't made available... anywhere. It was classified way back in 2009 by the Australian classification board and I'm yet to see it on shelves. I've emailed South Peak games about it and they basically told me to import the game. No dice. I want to support the Australian version if only for the fact that they bothered to go through the expense of classifying it locally.

I'm surprised that the first game even received a proper local release (as opposed to a European import with the Australian rating stickered over the PEGI/BBFC rating) considering that adult titles on DS don't seem to perform very well sales-wise.

Awesome. I was keen on this being my very first Castlevania game (not counting that awful GB game =P), and all of this debauchery only sweetens the deal.

This sucks. While it's not a Capcom title, I was actually hoping for a late port of Dead or Alive 5 seeing as I don't own a 360/PS3.

A double pack of Resident Evil 5 & 6 on Wii U would be great considering that neither of them have been previously released on a Nintendo platform. Seems doubtful that it would ever happen though.

Some of those games were also released in Australia via retail. We do share the same region coding, after all, and the European and Australian eShops are more or less the same, though we do tend to miss out on a lot of titles due to our smaller market.

It doesn't bother me though, as most of these games look like absolute rubbish.

This was released some time ago in Australia via retail at the low, low price of $30. o.O

From my understanding, there is no difference between the US eShop version and the Australian retail version as the Aussie version doesn't include multiplayer either.