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Nintendo: 3DSWare logo a 'placeholder'
Just because a logo for a service called "3DSWare" showed up on the official Nintendo Greece website, it's no indication that such a service exists. At least, that's what Nintendo told VG247. The company said that a "technical issue" accidentally made public a "temporary logo" put together by Nintendo's Greek distributor. "This logo is in no way related to any unannounced services or features for Nintendo 3DS," said Nintendo, "and was simply a placeholder used whilst the website underwent construction work and has since been removed." Which means we're back to there not being a known download service for new 3DS games -- in other words, the 3DS download service is a step back from the DSi. Why is Nintendo working so hard not to announce this, again?
Nintendo Greece outs new content platform, 3DSWare
It would seem that Nintendo Greece has inadvertently confirmed that the 3DS will indeed feature a downloadable game service called 3DSWare. The news comes via Nintendo Greece's website, which displays a logo for 3DSWare amongst the WiiWare and DSiWare logos. Unsurprisingly, the 3DSWare section currently has no titles listed. Previously, the name '3DSWare' had been trademarked by Nintendo, though it has never been officially mentioned by the company. In fact, earlier this month, Nintendo's senior director of corporate communications, Charlie Scibetta, wouldn't confirm to Joystiq that such a service existed, much less that it had a name. Of course, that hasn't stopped Rovio from announcing yet another port of Angry Birds for it.
Angry Birds also flying to 3DS
Just in case you didn't get the memo: developer Rovio is planning on bringing Angry Birds to every platform imaginable -- including platforms that aren't out yet. Speaking with 3DS Focus, the team confirmed plans to bring all three Angry Birds games to the 3DS as downloadable titles "later this year," including the recently-announced Angry Birds Rio. A behind-the-slingshot 3D camera would certainly make the best use of the handheld's capabilities, but that's undoubtedly a pipe dream. In case you don't already have it on your phone, Angry Birds is also out now for PS3 and PSP.
Beauty Clock makes an appointment for 3DS
Beauty Clock may be the first 3DSWare game announced, Andriasang hypothesizes. Tucked away at Nintendo's conference yesterday was a 3DS version of the app which -- you may have guessed by looking at this image -- features pictures of women holding signs, telling you the time. The 3DS version of Beauty Clock is likely to be very similar to the already-available PSP version and iPhone version of the app. Downloadable on the Japanese PlayStation Store for 300 yen, Beauty Clock not only tells you the time, but also gives you vital information about the girls holding the signs: birthday, blood type and occupation. We hope "professional digital time sign holder" isn't one of those occupations.
3DS supports transfers of downloaded software
The 3DS is going to answer DSiWare fans' prayers (except for the one about not having to pay 300 bucks for a new system). A hardware fact sheet (PDF) notes that it is possible to move downloaded software from one 3DS to a newly-purchased 3DS (at least, if our translation is accurate). In addition, it is possible to move downloaded DSiWare from a DSi or DSi XL. Some (unspecified) software can't be moved, and Nintendo warns that there are limits on the number of times a transfer can be undertaken, but this is leaps and bounds ahead of the DSi's current limits, which are set at zero games and zero times.
Nintendo trademarks 3DS, 3DSPlay, and 3DSWare in Japan: begin speculating as soon as you're comfortable
It's been a couple months since Nintendo rush-released a statement on its up and coming 3D handheld, and the company's been predictably mum on most of the details. To be honest, we're not even sure what the official name for the thing will be -- although Nintendo 3DS has been the working title (and the one that makes the most sense, if you ask us). Now the kids at Siliconera are reporting a flurry of activity in Japan's trademark database, with Nintendo registering such names as: Nintendo 3DS, N3DS, 3DSPlay (a 3D WiiPlay variant?) and 3DSWare (similar to DSiWare, perhaps). All in all, it seems safe to assume that the device we see at E3 will be dubbed the 3DS, but who knows? This certainly wouldn't be the first time that a trademark has thrown us for a loop.
Nintendo registers several '3DS' trademarks in Japan
Though Iwata recently alluded to the fact that a "formal" moniker for the Nintendo 3DS hardware would soon be announced, a set of trademarks recently filed in Japan seem to hint that the device won't actually undergo a name change. Siliconera reports that Nintendo recently registered Japanese trademarks for "Nintendo 3DS," "N3DS," "3DSPlay" and "3DSWare." There's a lot of room for conjecture in those listings -- for instance, is Nintendo planning on implementing a separate online store specifically for the stereoscopic handheld? More importantly, do they really think they can make the shorthand version of the device's name "N3DS" and not expect us to exclusively refer to it as a "Ned's?" Because, heads up guys, that's exactly what we're going to call it. "It might be a long car ride, Billy," we'll say. "You'd better bring your Ned's."
