New Nintendo eShop releases: Pokemon Pinball Ruby and Sapphire

To complement the recent launch of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the latest Nintendo eShop update is headlined by Pokemon Pinball Ruby and Sapphire.

For those unfamiliar, Pokemon Pinball Ruby and Sapphire is, as its name suggests, a pinball adaptation of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, the same games that provided the basis for the recent Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire remakes. In Pokemon Pinball players are still working toward catching all the Pokemon available, but the core series' lengthy adventures are replaced by complex table layouts and bouncing silver balls. Pokemon Pinball Ruby and Sapphire is now available from the Wii U eShop for $8.

The other half of this update is the GameBoy Color platformer Bionic Commando: Elite Forces. It's not the best in the series, but it's also not the worst, and it is notable for relatively novel gameplay and what the developer's were able to do with the aging handheld hardware. Bionic Commando: Elite Forces is priced at $6.

Capping off the update are a list of sales. Joystiq favorite Shovel Knight is 33 percent off on both Wii U and 3DS until January 8, Unepic is 30 percent off on Wii U until January 29 and the 3DS eShop is hosting 50 percent discounts on both Dress to Play: Cute Witches! and Dress to Play: Magic Bubbles! until February 1.

[Image: Nintendo]

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REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week's Nintendo Download includes the following featured content:

Virtual Console on Nintendo 3DS
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces – You are the perfect combination of man and machine – a Bionic Commando equipped with a Bionic Claw that will be extremely handy when infiltrating the danger zone. Blast through enemy lines as you grapple, swing and scale more than 20 levels of forests, deserts, mountains and futuristic cities. You are the last hope in saving your homeland from utter destruction. Suit up, soldier!
Virtual Console on Wii U
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire – Much more than a regular pinball game, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire combines fast flipper action with a unique way to catch your favorite Pokémon. Control the flippers to shoot the Poké Ball at targets on one of two PlayFields. Play on either the Ruby or Sapphire Field to rack up as many points as possible. The game lets players catch more than 200 Pokémon and features characters from the Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire games.
Nintendo eShop Must-Haves
Start the new year off right in the Nintendo eShop, which features must-have classic and current games. Check the Nintendo eShop each week in January (from Jan. 1 at 9 a.m. PT until Jan. 29 at 8:59 a.m. PT) for Nintendo eShop Must-Haves – they're the perfect way to build a collection of great games that you can enjoy for years to come.
Nintendo eShop Sales:

Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS
Shovel Knight on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS is 33 percent off until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 8.
Nintendo eShop on Wii U
Unepic is 30 percent off (reduced from $9.99 to $6.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 29.
Nintendo eShop Nintendo 3DS
Dress to Play: Cute Witches! is 50 percent off (reduced from $3.99 to $1.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Feb. 1
Dress to Play: Magic Bubbles! is 50 percent off (reduced from $3.99 to $1.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Feb. 1
In addition to video games available at retail stores, Nintendo also offers a variety of content that people can download directly to their systems. Nintendo adds new games weekly to the Nintendo eShop on the Wii U console and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, the Nintendo DSi™ Shop for the Nintendo DSi system and the Wii™ Shop Channel for the Wii console.

The Nintendo eShop is a cash-based service that features a wide variety of content, including new and classic games, applications and demos. Users can add money to their account balances by using a credit card or purchasing a Nintendo eShop Card at a retail store and entering the code from the card. All funds from one card must be loaded in the Nintendo eShop on either Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, but can be used in either Nintendo eShop if the systems are linked to a single Nintendo Network account.

The Wii Shop Channel offers games and applications and uses Wii Points™, which can be purchased via the Wii Shop Channel. The Nintendo DSi Shop offers games and applications and uses Nintendo DSi Points™, which can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop.

Remember that Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage some of the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu or http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.