Nintendo Download: 23rd January (North America)

Really want Luigis Mansion to go on sale but I dont think they will happen to until next Halloween, Nothing this round of releases

I might pick up Life Force.

"So sorry.
Try again next week" Alisa Project X Zone

I just want to play Super Mario Deluxe again.

Wow, what a crappy week. No Link to the Past, no SMB3... it's been so long, Nintendo. I don't understand what the hold-up is for two-decade-old roms.

This is just pathetic

This is pathetic. SMB3, Link to the Past are already out on the Wii U eShop. WTF is the hold up Nintendo. sigh

Take a screenshot of these releases and send it to the big wigs at nintendo. Label it "one of the many reasons why you are failing".

Wow, slim pickins ........

Nintendo: trolls of gaming.

If you break 100 titles sold for bomber jack, I'll be amazed. Still waiting on Alltp ans Smb3

Really bad week. I'd pick up Fractured Soul if I didn't already have it. If you don't, get it - it's fantastic

I guess in saving my eshop funds for dktf. I guess the year of wiiu doesn't start until February

still no smb3?

I'm guessing this is a slow week before next week's ND (gotta happen) when they surprise us w/ a MK8 demo immediately after

I think that Pokemon Bank could be safely added to this list now too.

Disappointing as always. This is really starting to bother me.

Nothing for me this week.

@Warruz Nintendo never puts their games on sale so good luck with that!

What a crappy dl month thus far!

And hear I was thinking NOA was just waiting for a week with mostly nothing coming out on the eshop to give us SMB3 or ALTTP, guess I was wrong.

Oh come on Nintendo! I swear, I wish there's a strong competition that force them to reach over-limit!

I put fractured soul but I can't remember if I downloaded it already or not. If I did then nothing.

Hey Nintendo, do you guys only come out of your shell during the busy Holiday season?

Well, that list is.... something.

May pick IP Chibi Robo, but for the most part just waiting till Braverly Default.

This has gone too far. Seriously, I can't understand it.

Aww, I was so hoping the Pokemon Bank was going to be released today. Well I still got one more week and a day before my head hits the floor.

Pathetic

Life force for me.....thought retro city rampage would of been this week or whatnot, could of sworn it was in NoAs lot check.....really takes that long.... ohwell 2 more weeks till "Bravely Default" can't wait!

Wow, yet another disappointing week, just like Iwata.

Craptacular. If they made Life Force in 3D, I'd do it. Otherwise, this week's offering borders on insulting.

SLOW week...Now that Project X Zone is only $20, I may pick that up...

Yeesh, this weeks eShop update is a good reflection of this weeks Nintendo news. Heres hoping they establish a few shake ups in the coming months.

Nintendo, I want you to take my money. Why wont you take it? Are you man enough to take it?

Nintendo, why?

@rjejr They never give demos for their major franchises! Wish they did though. As a matter of fact the only game i've ever seen with a demo was FE:A.

hmm may have to get Fractured Soul while it's on sale.

Not happy with this week. Maybe next time.

Looks like Pokemon Bank should be arriving in the next week. Extended maintenance is being conducted on Monday, January 27, at 4pm-10pm Pacific Time and it will affect online play of Pokemon X and Y.

Is this the worst eShop week yet? One crummy NES game on each system, and that's it. Yeesh.

Great week! Who could possibly ask for more??

I won't be buying anything this week, probably won't until Mario 3 comes out.

Please understand....

@Spoony_Tech - Mario & Luigi: Dream Team got one on the 3DS. Or do you not consider that a major franchise? (I know a lot of people on here don't consider the Paper Mario series to be "real" Mario games.) Or dd you only mean on home consoles, not handhelds? The 3DS gets a lot more demos than Wii U, but of course it's been out longer and has more games. WW:HD has a demo in Target, so did Game and Wario and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. Though I was thinking of the W101 demo that was available after a ND last Aug when I wrote that.

I think MK8 would be the perfect home demo b/c its a multplayer game. Wii U owners could have their friends over to play it so maybe they would buy their own Wii U. SSB would be good for that reason as well but I think a demo for that it still a long way out, a playable MK8 demo has been available since last June.

The virtual console continues to be another source of my confusion and anger towards Nintendo. What the hell are they doing?

Pitiful.

they could at least release virtual consoles games, what's going on ? They really don't want wii u to suceed.

3 games coming out next week too bad they all suck

ARC STYLE: Solitaire comes out JAN 30
Touch Battle Tank 3D 2

Castle Clout 3D

Remember when the Virtual Console for their handheld system was actually about old games on handheld systems? When was the last time we saw a GB/GBC/GG game anyway?

another week of trophy hunting on PS3/ Vita for me...

@Geonjaha Mario Tennis.

Life Force looks like the only redeeming thing among the titles released this week. I'll get that (and maybe Gradius as well). I need some more retro shoot 'em up action after playing RECCA!

Still, that's a mighty scrawny little list. I hope they'll give more options in the coming weeks. (SMB3 hint hint...)

Disappointed, getting used to it.

Salamander is a great game!!

Does Nintendo understand that if they want Wii U Software sales they need to offer games people want to purchase on the eShop?

It's not that hard to figure out, and if it is take a look at Microsoft's playbook. Release at least one Virtual Console game, one $5-20 eShop title every week to the marketplace, and offer discounts on a few games for the week.

@Darknyht I don't think they do. It seems logical, if you want to sell software you have to actually put it up for sale, but they just don't get that. They seem to think that money materializes from thin air. I've been a long loyal Nintendo fan, but even I'm finding myself disillusioned and ready to abandon this company.

This brings to mind Johnny Rotten's famous proclamation during the last Sex Pistols show.

Nintendo made me sad. Don't they need to increase profits right now?

That's its? Try again next week.

@Darknyht Except they made it clear they're not in charge of eShop dates for games that aren't theirs

@Warruz it's not a heavy discount, but if you live in the U.S., Luigi's Mansion is on sale for 29.99 on Amazon this week.

They should release more eShop titles in this slow months to keep the momentum going. Although life force seems fun, its not enough to make this week a good one.

Bleck.

Btw, if you don't have project X zone (and you like the strategy genre) its quite fun (once you understand the story is not very complex/coherent)
And Shin Megami Tensei IV is one of the best RPG's of the system, if not the best, for that price its a must have

yawns

Good God,why does Nintendo refuse to do the obvious?
1 - Add good games
2 - Profit

Well,hopefully Pokémon Bank (FINALLY) comes next week,being that it just came back to Japan.

It's telling that the discounts are included as options in the poll this week when discounts like these happen all the time on the eShop.

Having only three options to choose from (and one being "Nothing") would have been hilarious.

@rjejr Nope I totally forgot about that one still its an rpg and that's why I believe both those 2 got demos. I really hope they do bring out that demo they used a while back for MK8 but I don't have my hopes up. In a perfect would we would get a demo for every game released. I hear on Xbox 360 that's a requirement

I don't understand. If you are losing money in your last earnings report, and you have a slow retail release month...why would you not load up on VC releases to help with both problems(make profit and fill in game gaps)?

I haven't given up on my wii u, has nintendo? I know jan is considered a slow month in general for games, but nintendo needs to be agressive and change their gameplan. It makes no sense to me. Mighty bomb jack is the major/only "new" option this wk? Really?

If only nintendo diehard fans are supporting nintendo now, then they need to support and cater to us. We have money and are willing to spend it. ' Grandpa casual' and 'non-informed grandma' ain't gonna pay your bills nintendo. We are.

Sorry, end rant.

Disaster , I just don't get it , WTF do they think our tiny little brains can't cope with more than one download per week .
2014 is meant to be the year that Nintendo Kick Donkey
OK maybe they will surprise us at the next ND and then all will be forgiven,
But in the mean time Nintendo give us something to shout about , give the fans some hope .. give us a light at the end of a tunnel ..
_{Please watch the profanity — TBD}

You know, we are getting a lot of excuses and apologies and promises of direction changes from Nintendo but, seriously, what we need is games. Drop some premium WiiU eShop discounts on us, get some buzz going. It's as simple as that.

Right now they need customers, not cash — they need players playing and talking up the WiiU. This week MS dropped the price of 2 great titles down to $5. Sure, they're older titles for the 360, but instead of playing something new on my WiiU, I'm finally going to buy, play and talk about the original Dark Souls. So are A LOT of people.

They don't have to make such drastic price drops, but pick a great game and do a flash sale. Get people to want to turn on their WiiU, they'll stick around once they remember how fun things are. AND they'll stick around to see what the next flash sale is. But they'll be having fun playing Nintendo games and be more encouraged to buy Mario Kart or Smash Bros. on day one.

The best recent option was Dr. Luigi for $15! You know what I did when I heard about Dr. Luigi? Nope, I didn't run and turn on my WiiU. I dug out my GBA and played Dr. Mario. Hey Nintendo, give me something that gives a me new reason to turn on my WiiU. Love you, guys, but I'm tired of the way you treat your longtime fans.

Seriously, Dr. Luigi? On a console? My 3DS is sitting in it's dock just shaking it's head slowly, back and forth.

I don't want to check these anymore... It only leads to disappointment in a company I want to support and congratulate for good decisions (which don't happen anymore) .. Oh well.

Nintendo release good games like ALTTP/SMB 3 in EU who don't even buy the systems, nor care at all. Yet your largest target audience in NA gets the shaft? Nintendo needs to get their house in order....

what a shame , 2 vc only and they look boring

Ugh. No love for Life Force (the JP one is slightly better, but it's still a great game). I want SMB3 too, but it's disappointing when good stuff like this and River City Ransom gets overshadowed because of it.

The bottom line is , someone somewhere within the Nintendo Organization has the final say on what comes to eshop , that Person seriously has underestimated what is required , it just sucks , there's no other way to describe it , its a poor show and the eshop sucks ..

Ugh. No Bank. I don't even care.

Now that Nintendo Life did a positive review I'm getting UnEpic.

Nothing for me. Only thing I'd want is Lifeforce, and I already have that game on my PSP.

Oh, my...
there have been some dud weeks before...
but this one is just abysmal.
The eShop and VC could really be something to get jazzed about each week if handled properly.

SMT IV and Project X Zone, $ 30 and $ 20...
Meanwhile in Europe, PXZ € 40 ($ 54) and no SMT IV.
Marketing at its best.

Yup keep trolling, NoA! No SMB3 or anything good for the VC. Stop dropping the ball here!

Here's a better discount offer, Professor Layton and the Azran Lagacy currently in a preorder price of $29.96 at Amazon.

@Unca_Lz Then that is a failure of their own creation. I like gaming, but my budget is tight these days so $20 in a month is all I can spend usually. Lately, that has been going elsewhere (Steam and other media) because Nintendo eShop is a barren wasteland of games I purchased elsewhere and things that do not interest me (or most people in the case of VC releases).

This is just embarrassing how Nintendo is treating the VC...

Another week of disappointment. I want to spend my money on games, Nintendo, why won't you let me? Now it's going elsewhere!

This is without a doubt the most dissapointing week of downloads on the eShop ever... Just wow. I don't even believe we're going to see N64 and GBA games on Virtual Console anymore when we don't even have SMB3 yet in America even if we had the promise of getting it before the end of 2013... and we're almost at the end of January and still nothing. Let's go blackout or something haha. Sigh. Shin Megami Tensei discount is good tough.

Pretty weak week. Oh well I have lots to catch up on. Back to Unepic for now!

More like Mighty Bomb Wack.

Nothing. Lousy selection.

..................Still nothing...are you serious? :/

wtf is wrong with NOA? seriously..... SMB3 is one of the top selling games in the NES library and it's still not been released in America.... it's been teased on both the website and eshop but still nothing....instead we get mighty bomb jack.... honestly the decision on order of release should be easy. Look at how many units each respective game sold and then release them in descending order. for ex. SMB3 sold more then MBJ so SMB3 should be released before MBJ.

Nothing for me. I'm joking!

This has been the worst month for the eshop by far. It's time for more VC systems already. Nintendo really needs to turn this around fast.

I've had a twenty dollar gift card for the 3ds eshop for two months.I wonder if I'll ever use it.

@Superryanworld Save it for Treasurenauts, retro city rampage, Shovel knight or shantae

@Vann I'd like to try retro city rampage.

I'll never give up on you, Nintendo. Mostly because I've got money on my eShop account that I won't let you let me not spend. Next Thursday is best Thursday ever for the eShop. I'm callin' it right now.

What's up with sudden lack of new releases this year?

This has been a terrible start to the year so far. What is Nintendo up to? Probably nothing, like usual.

Grabbing Life Force. I can't believe how little Nintendo has been offering the last 4 weeks. There's no excuse for this.

This is why I hate Nintendo now.....

@Mizore I know...why is the VC service seeing mainly mediocre titles at best here in NA? And with nearly 175 confirmed upcoming Wii U eshop titles why are we seeing weeks with no releases?!

Can't really add anything original to this comment section. This week's update can only be summed up as a collective 'WTF'.

@Rukiafan Eh, I was talking about the Bank, really...lol.
It's like they enjoy tormenting us.

I don't understand what the hold-up is for two-decade-old roms.

Because other two decade old ROMs are getting released too. There's a queue. There are hundreds of two decade old ROMs yet to be released as well.

Yes! I've been waiting for Life Force.

Nintendo, please stop trolling us & release SMB3!! XC

It looks like its going to take the Wii U's life span to get half of the Wii VC Library. Why can't they freakin release ExciteBike 64? I just can't get excited about VC releases when a lot of games will never be released, even those that don't have licensing issues.

Life Force is awesome, but this is pretty weak. It's amazing how this company can have so many assets & totally under use them. I still can't believe we don't have a single N64 game on the Wii U console. The VC is an abysmal failure. This is one of the reasons why I plunked down some good dough recently to buy an unopened & Mint condition NES. In sick of waiting for them to get their act together!!!!

what the hell!!? we still dont have Pokemon Bank!? Why do te spolied rotten Japanese get it this week buy wee dont!?

@Superryanworld Take a look at Gunlord. (Really puts most of the indies to shame. They have a small amount of resources as well but they have so much more effort put in to the pixel art). https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/09/eurostyle_neo_geo_shooter_gunlord_is_blasting_its_way_to_3ds_and_wii_u

If next week doesn't bring Mario 3, I give up. There's still some hope inside of me for ALttP because of ZALBW, but not much hope is left for that. I think SNES Mario Kart will come out around when 8 releases. And Bank, who knows..........

I really am disappointed in nintendo. A year ago I was mad they were doing so bad then up until recently I thought it was funny. Now it's just sad.

@Deadstanley Have you played Crisis Force or Gun-Nac ? (For me those are the best NES space shooters other than Recca which we already have by miles. PC Engine - Salamander is a better port of the same Arcade game as Life Force). Don't think there is anything as good as Power Strike 2 - Master System though on the NES in the genre.

Nothing interesting at all for me this week.

@2Sang Agreed. SOME official comment from Nintendo in regards to their Virtual Console strategy would be most welcome. It's hard to 'understand' without reasons. Until then all fans can do is get frustrated because Nintendo isn't talking about it.

Nintendo it's time to get your noggin back in the game! If you really want those profits back release those good games like the people above me already talked about! Like some good VC games for example.

ATTENTION EVERYONE>>>

You should really consider taking a gander at Fractured Soul. Please, listen to me on this one. Fractured Soul is hands down one of THE best games on the 3DS. Easily. The game was originally intended as a full retail DS game, but for whatever reason the game ended up being sold digitally on the 3DS eShop instead. The fact it was going to be full retail speaks volumes of it's standard of quality.

You want to see what dual-screen gaming can bring to the table? THIS is the game for you. It's like a puzzle platformer with duality, switching between two alternate dimensions of one stage, one on each screen, with the press of a button. Kind of like Mega Man with a dual screen alternate dimension puzzle element, similar to that of Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, with sections of Ikaruga style shmup action. Believe me, this is a game that should be on EVERYONE'S radar.

Here's a review:

@JaxonH Even more so there is a demo. (Or at least there used to be).

(I played the demo ages ago and then forgot about it. If it wasn't for this site listing it on Monday which reminded me about it then I would probably have bought Super C which I don't even really like that much).

It is miles better than Mutant Mudds or Mighty Switch Force as far as I am concerned.

@unrandomsam

Right. It's a good *** game, any way you slice it. If one is looking to spend a few eShop dollars, they'd be hard pressed to find a better game, or deal for that matter. I paid $12 and felt like it should have cost twice that. $6 is a steal.

@sleepinglion definitely. What I would have done if I were them was say "every week we will release a new virtual console game. Also, we will re-release 3 wii virtual console games a week"

insert another no SMB 3 this week comment here

@JaxonH Okay Jax, I'll bite. On your recommendation for this game on the 3DS. If you say it's that good, I'll definitely consider it. You're one of the few people on here whose judgements I trust.

I'm tempted by Fractured Soul and Lifeforce (although I'd prefer the arcade or PC Engine versions over the NES one).

I'm not too bothered about SMB3 or ALTTP not being released yet as I already have them on the Wii VC. While it'd be nice to upgrade them, I'm not that desperate for games that I can already play.

@Rafie

Thanks Rafie, I appreciate the kind words. Personally, I think it's a phenomenal game. I guess it all boils down to what you like, but for $6 you really can't go too wrong. I loved the alternate dimension mechanic in Metroid Prime 2, so this game was right up my alley. This is much faster paced though- you can see both dimensions at once at all times, and will have you use your brain and Mega Man-ish platforming skills to maneuver in and out of the 2 realities to progress. I hope you like it (I think you will)

Well... I said it once, and I'll say it again. At this rate, we're going to get Shantae and the Pirate's Curse before NOA even mentions Super Mario Bros. 3 again.

@Warruz I dont think it will ever even happen, Nintendo likes being ridiculous and never putting up their first party, retail titles on sale on any occasion. And knowing that really old first party DS games haven't received a retail price drop, I dont think first party retail titles (physical or digital) will go on sale anytime soon.

Life Force is a terribly underrated game! You guys with a 3DS who like Virtual Console games (and shooters) should def check it out. I remember having so much fun with this game when it was released.

VC is living the dream..............NOT!

Hey people, use your heads. I'm as disappointed in the VC as the next guy, but everyone here keeps acting like the VC is the reason why Wii U is failing and why Nintendo is losing money. The VC probably makes Nintendo very little money, and is the LEAST of their worries right now. Everybody on this site keeps acting like the VC can turn Nintendo's problems around completely. It can't.

I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather have new eShop releases from Nintendo and the indies than some VC game that I've played countless times before.

The ONLY games that Nintendo could release on VC that would excite me are the Pokemon games (Red-Emerald). Though other GBA games would be nice.

I'm willing to bet that most of you people are still going to complain about the "disappointing week" when SMB3/ALttP releases.

Oh, and Nintendo isn't going to release PokeBank with the normal weekly update. It will come unannounced.

/rant

Before I read any comments, & even afterwards, I'm willing to consider the possibility that Nintendo is making SMB3 a 3D Classic; as a play on the fact it has 3 in its title, or based on how popular it was. Pirate's Curse, I have an e-Shop card I got for Christmas, back when the cards were on sale. Plus, I don't have the kind of money to get something every week, so there are some things on the e-Shop I still would like to get.

& it probably is true that the VC is not Nintendo's largest profit maker, though I also imagine it has to be making some decent profits, as otherwise they would discontinue it, I think. Because certainly, with all the licensing issues, & lack of supported chips from certain games, Nintendo (simply) can not truly believe the VC is a piracy deterrent, unless of course they actually do, but that really requires some thinking that I just don't understand. Maybe they believe that releasing their own games will stop ppl pirating their own games?

@JaxonH: I actually have, & kinda like the demo for Fractured Soul. I was just today looking at that in the e-Shop when I was trying to figure out what was new this week(I hadn't come here, yet.). Pretty good demo, I'd say. The $6 caught my eye.

I don't understand the frustration. You lot have already played/can play SMB3 & LTTP on Wii VC... Why do you need to download them again

@MAB Because on the Wii U, you'd get save states and controller config, plus you don't have to boot into Wii Mode and monitor the Wiimote's battery power.

But more importantly, Nintendo gave people's hopes up that this classic would likely be released by the end of 2013, and it didn't happen. At least, not in North America. That hurts consumer confidence.

But the most important thing is I got them on my Wii U the other week and haven't had the urge to play them again anyway

@speedyboris I concur. Anyone else remember when Nintendo added a separate Earthbound community on Miiverse for new Earthbound announcements... and then proceeded to make none? It's just an example of their directionless strategy, but yes, the broken promise of SMB3 in 2013 for America is a prime example of how they don't seem to know what's going on.

Got the Wii All stars version of SMB3 don't see why all the complaints...

Wondering, what happen to the Flipnote studio? I recall, it said, officially, it will releases last year, August. I guess, it is, yet, another empty promise.

@MAB Yep, They have the 60fps versions on the Wii. (Neither of those games are ones that savestates would interest me on).

@Uberchu As awesome as SMAS is, they're not the original games. And besides, you can't play that on Wii U, can you?

MAB

Troll harder.
But, have you ever considered that maybe, just maybe, that gasp some people don't have Wii's, so their 3DS or WiiU is their only way of playing SMB3 or ALTTP?

"But the most important thing is I got them on my Wii U the other week and haven't had the urge to play them again anyway"

Well, it was rather silly of you to waste your money then. But just because you can't appreciate timeless classics doesn't mean everyone else can't.

If you like bomber jack you should try the arcade version.

Life Force for me, for sure. My collection of shooters on 3DS grows ever stronger...
@JaxonH Oy, your recommendation has not fallen on deaf ears. I have not paid any attention to this game, but your enthusiastic post made me check out just what it is. The gameplay trailer is really all it took to pique my interest; I'm sure to download this during its time of reduced price. It looks way too cool to pass up.

Is Nintendo just trying to fail?

COME ON! How many weeks are gonna go by B4 they us something worth mentioning. LOOK 77% of the people don't give a **** like what a joke seriously.

Well nintendo needs to release more virtual console games this slow release and this one game a week on each console makes me want to hurl a chunk.

you know just seeing Nintendo have a few money issues the other week you think the best idea would be to release vc games faster and better (by better I mean more recognizable titles). We all know nostalgia is a very powerful weapon when i comes to games so cmon Nintendo step up your game! You can do this!