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Pre-order Kingdom Hearts 3D for 'Dream Eater' AR cards
Kingdom Hearts 3D is taking a page from Kid Icarus: Uprising's book ... or a card from its album, maybe? Square Enix is handing out a semi-random selection of AR cards with pre-orders in North America.Every pre-order gets the card that unlocks the "R&R Seal Dream Eater" and the card that unlocks a viewing stand for 3D Dream Eater images. A third card will unlock one of three other Dream Eaters: Ursa Circus, Sudo Neku, or Meowjesty. These characters can be recruited to join you in battle.You can see the Dream Eaters for yourself in the gallery below (they're the cute monster things), along with character art of The World Ends With You's Neku and others, and some shots of Traverse Town.%Gallery-155236%
Pick up some Kid Icarus AR cards today at GameStop
Kid Icarus: Uprising AR cards are hard to come by unless you go to conventions or press events, but if you can brave a crowd of kiddos, you may be able to pick some up at a local GameStop today.Nintendo and GameStop are holding demo events in "select GameStop locations" today from 1-4PM, during which you can try out the game if you haven't yet, and pick up some cards if you have. Reader Andrew tells us that the cards include the Eggplant Wizard, Fiends Cauldron, Skyscraper Club, Firework Cannons, and Minos, along with possible random packs.Check GameStop's site to see if your local store is participating, and then look deep into your heart to decide if you want to be the person who goes to a GameStop just to pick up some video game cards. It's okay to be that person occasionally – especially when it leads to some possible Kid Icarus multiplayer.[Thanks, Andrew!]
Joyswag: Kid Icarus Uprising AR Idol Cards
The "AR Idol Cards" for Kid Icarus: Uprising are pretty hard to find: Nintendo's only giving them away at certain retailer/publisher/industry events. But we know where ten of you can find a sealed pack of random cards: right here!Just tell us your favorite meal featuring eggplant, and you can enter for some cards to enhance your Kid Icarus experience. Enjoy the launch trailer above, read our review, then use the Power of Flight to soar past the break, and find the full rules.
Here's how you'll get those Kid Icarus AR cards
We've known for a while that Kid Icarus: Uprising will play host to hundreds of AR cards but, until now, we've been fuzzy on just how eager 3DS owners would get their hands on them. With the release a little over a week away, Nintendo has announced where and when you can snag some for yourself.First of all, Kid Icarus: Uprising itself will include six randomly chosen cards from a set of 20 possible cards. Second, Club Nintendo members can pick up three cards for free -- i.e. no coins required -- by visiting this website right now. Cards will also be included in the April issues of Game Informer (subscribers only, apparently), Nintendo Power and Best Buy's @Gamer magazine.GameStop will be giving away cards during Uprising play sessions on April 14 from 1 to 4pm. Those who purchase the game from the Nintendo World store in New York on launch day (March 23) get the Three Sacred Treasures card as a bonus. Finally, Nintendo will be giving away packs of cards at WonderCon, PAX East and during tournaments to be held at GameStops in New York and Los Angeles (two of which have already taken place).Find details on available cards after the break.
Kid Icarus: Uprising has hundreds of AR cards, make space in your binder
Each copy of Nintendo's Kid Icarus: Uprising for 3DS will include six AR cards, but as far as Nintendo sees it, that hardly makes it difficult enough to catch "collect them all." Nintendo has announced there will be "hundreds" of AR cards available and it will host special events for players to trade, share and obtain new cards after the title's launch on March 23.The cards can be placed facing each other and the AR figures will battle, which we think is cooler than just watching Pit preen his feathers -- but you can totally do that too. We assume.
Bravely Default demo takes TGS to an alternate reality
Square Enix isn't really showing the 3DS RPG, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, at TGS, but the demo it's using to represent the title is pretty impressive regardless. 3DS systems are set up in front of a curved wall with a projected blue background, and a large AR card on the floor. After paging through some text in the in-game engine (with cute 3D characters designed by Akihiko Yoshida), a young woman appears in an AR view, delivering a monologue in which she pleads for your help before being swallowed up by a crack in the earth. This is a surprisingly effective bit of AR! The 3DS keeps track of her location, even when you move the camera away, without freaking out or admonishing you as the system's built-in AR games do. She even paces out of camera range herself. Square Enix wouldn't allow me to photograph my own demo or the stage area, but the AR demo was released on the Japanese eShop, which allowed YouTube user Sumwheat to capture it on video. Should you get the opportunity to play the demo, you'll need a Bravely Default AR card, an image of which can be found after the break.
Nintendo brings 3DS game demos, big AR Cards to Warped Tour
Attendees of the Vans Warped Tour this summer will have a chance to see not only bands we're too old to know anything about, but also the Nintendo 3DS. Through August 14, Warped Tour shows will host a 3DS tent, with playable demos of Ocarina of Time 3D, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, and more.
Refactr turns whiteboard into giant 3DS AR card, proves bigger is better (video)
If you haven't already seen our demo of the 3DS' rather impressive bag of augmented reality tricks, then let us take this opportunity to show you -- once again -- why we're excited about the thing's AR capabilities. The folks over at software development firm Refactr have done some tinkering and found that all you need to make your very own 3DS AR card is a white board, some dry erase markers, and a projector. By tracing the outlines of that mysterious question mark card on to a shiny white surface, they found that conjuring the device's AR interface is actually quite simple, and mostly a matter of contrast. Going big, in this case anyway, not only makes for a good time -- as evidenced by the video below -- but it should also put to rest any questions about whether or not these things are sprinkled with pixie dust, Juju powder, or some other magical substance.
Great news: The 3DS will recognize a giant AR Card drawn on a whiteboard
It's been kind of a bummer day, hasn't it? Studio closures? Game cancellations? No thanks. Luckily, we've had our spirits boosted by Refractr's recent, mind-blowing discovery: Your Nintendo 3DS AR Cards can be blown-up to hilariously gargantuan proportions. You should probably watch the video below.
Load up your 3DS AR cards on your internet-equipped phone
Last week, Android users got their hands on an app which let them load up images of the 3DS AR cards on their smartphones -- but the rest of the world had to go without. Today, a more accessible mobile site has launched, opening up the doors to anyone with an internet-enabled portable device.
Augmenting your 3DS reality just got a little simpler thanks to an Android app
Before we proceed any further, you owe it to yourself to check out our 3DS review or the video after the break in order to fully comprehend what Nintendo's augmented reality cards mean for 3DS gaming. We'll wait right here, take your time. Now that everyone's fully up to speed, an enterprising dev has put together an app that includes all of Ninty's add-in cards for its soon-to-be-launched handheld, allowing you to stash them on your Android smartphone and freeing up more pocket space for game cartridges and bubble gum. The descriptively titled 3DS AR Cards app costs nothing to own, though we're sure its maker will appreciate a note of thanks should you end up using it.
Giant AR card used to create a Mega Mii
Follow us on this one: The way augmented reality cards work is that a camera (like the cameras on Nintendo's 3DS) sees a certain marker image at a certain size on screen, and then displays video from the camera along with a virtual object that matches that size. The closer the camera is to the card, the bigger it is on screen, and thus the bigger the object is displayed, as if it really exists in the on-screen world. So what if you took one of the slightly-smaller-than-a-credit-card-sized images, blew it up, pixel for pixel, into a 22 foot long swimming-pool-sized poster, and then looked at it with the Nintendo 3DS? Answer: You'd get a three-story tall augmented reality Mii. See it in action after the break.
Nintendogs + Cats offers augmented reality support
3D augmented reality is one of the coolest features we've seen on the 3DS so far, so we're particularly enthralled by its addition to the upcoming Nintendogs + Cats. By using the AR Cards included with the 3DS system, you'll be able to beam your virtual pet into the real world: in your hand, on your desk, or wherever you place the card. With the 3D effect turned on, the simulation of pet ownership must be that much more convincing. If you're unclear how augmented reality works, you should check out this video of the PSP version of EyePet. Like Nintendogs, EyePet uses augmented reality to add a virtual pet to your surroundings -- sans 3D, of course.
