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Portabliss: Mighty Switch Force! (3DS eShop)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: Mighty Switch Force! WayForward's Mighty Switch Force masquerades as a run-and-gun shooter, but the eShop game is basically a puzzle game, albeit one of the few puzzle games I can think of that's reflex-heavy enough to encourage speedrunning. That emphasis on speed allows a game with a relatively small set of levels to become a long-term pastime.%Gallery-142339%
VVVVVV arrives on the 3DS eShop on December 29
Terry Cavanagh's great platformer VVVVVV is heading to a 3DS near you as promised: The game has been set for release on the Nintendo eShop next week. Starting December 29, you'll be able to grab the game (published by Nicalis, the company behind Cave Story and its various iterations) for a price of $7.99 on your 3DS, and take on the game's many frustrating yet ingenious challenges for yourself. Or, if you've never played the title before, you could go try out the free Flash version, or play it on PC or Mac as you wish. It's a great and well-made experience for sure, but bring all of the patience you have. You'll need it.%Gallery-136044%
Legend of Zelda is Japan's first NES release for 3DS Virtual Console, Ambassadors get free update
Quietly, and very much in Japanese, Nintendo released the original NES game, The Legend of Zelda, on its eShop Virtual Console section. Zelda marks the first of the 10 NES "Ambassador Program" games to arrive on the eShop for sale, replete with save states and a price tag: ¥500 (approximately $6). Those of you who already have the game downloaded via Nintendo's early adopter Ambassador Program are able to snag the updated VC version of the game for free as well. And for those of you who really wanted a virtual copy of the game's instruction manual, Nintendo's got that covered as well! Hot dog!
'Prince of Persia' for Wii and 3DS, 'Rayman' for 3DS rated
Ratings have popped up in Australia for 3DS games called simply "Rayman" and "Prince of Persia," along with a Wii "Prince of Persia." Ubisoft has done plenty with both of these franchises, ensuring that we can't know for sure exactly what's been revealed here. The simplest explanation is that these listings are all for Virtual Console downloads. Prince of Persia was released on both the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, making it eligible for the 3DS Virtual Console -- and it was made for almost all of the platforms supported by the Wii Virtual Console. In addition, a game called "Rayman" was released on Game Boy Color, which was a combination of elements from Rayman 1 and 2 -- and thus providing an example of why we'd have a hard time knowing what the plain "Rayman" title referred to. [Image: GameFAQs]
Nintendo completes 3DS Ambassador program, delivers ten GBA games to early adopters
If you've still got the 3DS price drop blues, perhaps a fresh (and final) infusion of free games will help. Early adopters that signed into the Nintendo eShop before August 11th will find ten GameBoy Advance games tacked on to their handheld's purchase history, retrievable via the same clunky redownload system that delivered the 3DS Ambassador program's NES titles. Thankfully, the unintuitive process is relatively simple -- just hop into the eShop's menu, scroll down to "Settings / Other", and select "Your Downloads," to claim your (potentially-exclusive) games. Short of having a 3DS guide us through the Louvre, we can't think of a better use for Nintendo's fledgling handheld.
NintendoWare Weekly: Blaster Master: Enemy Below, Carmen Sandiego
A relatively obscure sequel to a very popular NES game appears on the 3DS eShop this week: Sunsoft's Blaster Master: Enemy Below for Game Boy Color. It's time to return to the world of upside-down space trucks and floating cyborg head things. WiiWare offers a new Carmen Sandiego game (what?) about math (what?) and DSiWare shows it is possible to offer a retail DS game as a download -- though that functionality has so far been almost the exclusive domain of tiny publishers. For example, today we have Elite Forces: Unit 77 from Gammick Entertainment, and a game in the spirit of a retail DS release: a new sequel to 2007's WordJong.%Gallery-141882%
Now you can exchange Club Nintendo Coins for games
If your home is already full to bursting with Mario paraphernalia, you'll be delighted to learn that you can exchange your Club Nintendo Coins for downloadable games. Nintendo is featuring a rotating selection of WiiWare, Virtual Console, DSiWare, and eShop downloads offered on the North American Club Nintendo site. Through January 10, your choices include Super Mario Kart (100 Coins), 3D Classics: Xevious (100 Coins), Fluidity (150 Coins), and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again (150 Coins). In a way, this is really cheap as it trades illusory fun money for games -- but in another way, it's outrageously expensive as said fun money is only acquired through the for-real purchase of multiple games. Those of you with more space for swag have new reward options as well: three different, adorable Mario notebooks, and a Zelda poster set.
Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Party 9, more coming in Q1 2012
Nintendo dropped its Q1 lineup on us this morning, offering highlights like the inexplicably GameStop-exclusive Circle Pad Pro and the best news of the year. But there's a lot more in the lineup than those two items -- for example, we now have a specific release date for Masahiro Sakurai's 3DS Kid Icarus: Uprising: March 23. On the 3DS eShop, Nicalis's ports of indie hits VVVVVV and NightSky are scheduled for eShop sometime in Q1, as is WayForward's Mighty Switch Force, a port of Zen Pinball, and Mutant Mudds. Nintendo will bring Kirby's Block Ball to the Virtual Console in the quarter as well. Mario Party 9 will launch on Wii March 11, preceded on February 27 by PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond. The only listed WiiWare title is, again, from Nicalis: La-Mulana sometime in the quarter. The DS lineup is ... light, with only the February release of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 really worth mentioning. But you can see the full list of announced releases on all three platforms, after the break.%Gallery-141688%
2011 Buyers Guide: WiiWare, DSiWare, and 3DS eShop
Somehow you've ended up with a prepaid points card for your Wii, DSi, or 3DS. If you're looking to fill up your Wii with the best stuff from this year, you might be surprised to find out that there was stuff this year! The Wii Virtual Console actually looks populated, for example, when you look at the whole year's output at once. And we were surprised to see how well the 3DS Virtual Console has built up since its launch. Join us after the break to find the most entertaining ways to spend your Nintendo points on your platform of choice. You guys probably don't even know about Freakyforms, do you?
NintendoWare Weekly: Pushmo
Nintendo brings another original, downloadable 3DS game to the eShop, inspiring ... not quite cautious optimism, but a cautious lessening of pessimism. Intelligent Systems' Pushmo is a puzzler about pulling stacked 3D blocks into and out of the screen to make climbing paths. It makes sense for a puzzle game on 3DS! On WiiWare, we finally have the opportunity to try out RedLynx's MotoHeroz without paying $15 for the privilege.%Gallery-141347%
PSA: 3DS firmware update is live
I just updated my 3DS, and other users are reporting that they've been asked to do so as well. This is the delayed "November update" meant to add DLC capabilities, 3D video recording, and more. Looking around my system, I see a new "Nintendo Zone" app for interfacing with "participating locations," to receive special content from certain free wi-fi hotspots. The "3DS Camera" app now has a toggle for video or stills, and -- most unexpected of all -- there are new "accomplishments" (achievements, kind of) in the StreetPass Mii Plaza. A few popped up immediately upon starting the app (above). You can see them all in a list within the Mii Plaza. I have 20 total (!) relating to the number and location of the people I've met. Other new stuff in the StreetPass Mii Plaza includes a music player for Mii Plaza music, new Find Mii stuff (Find Mii 2 game and lots of new hats, accessible only to those who have all the hats from the first game), new Puzzle Swap puzzles, and even some kind of new SpotPass connectivity, to bring Miis into your Plaza from the internet. I'm not sure how this works yet. Though the eShop was down all day in preparation for this update, I didn't see anything new there yet -- except for a news item about the 3D video update.
NintendoWare Weekly: Adventure Island, Double Bloob
The 3DS's Virtual Console adds an extra layer of abstraction today, with the Game Boy port of the NES version of Adventure Island II (called, confusingly enough, "Adventure Island.") You can enjoy this Game Boy version of an NES game in a little Game Boy-looking window on your 3DS! DSiWare features Double Bloob, a vertical shooter/puzzle game we first covered way back in 2007, years before there even was a DSiWare service. It's gone through a lot of changes since then, not the least of which was a departure of the development team from its former home at the infamous Nibris.%Gallery-140821%
Metroid 2 on 3DS eShop Nov. 24, Sakura Samurai coming in January
It's rare for Nintendo to give us advance notice of downloadable games, but the company has done so for some new 3DS eShop content. Metroid II: Return of Samus will arrive on the eShop in both North America and Europe this Thursday. Nintendo also announced a North American release of Nimble Sakura Samurai (above), the Punch-Out!!-resembling eShop action game shown off last month in its Nintendo Direct presentation. The American version will be called Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword, and is due in January. Nintendo also reminded us of the December release of puzzler Pushmo.
NintendoWare Weekly: Kirby's Adventure
Nintendo delivers another kind of remastered classic, with 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure. It's much less "remastered" looking than earlier 3D Classics -- it's windowed, and has all the UI on the top screen with the gameplay. On the other hand: Kirby's Adventure! This week, WiiWare offers Pinocchio-themed jigsaw puzzles, and DSiWare offers a Chinese language learning game and a thrilling, chilling game about being stuck in a convenience store. Do you dare enter the convenience store of mystery?%Gallery-139731%
NintendoWare Weekly: Balloon Kid, 1950s Lawn Mower Kids
It's a "kid" oriented week for Nintendo downloadables. If you've been waiting for more Balloon Fight since downloading the NES game -- and of course you have -- Balloon Kid for Game Boy brings you an adventure expanded from that NES game, with new abilities and obstacles. You'll be delighted as long as you don't realize that Japan got the Game Boy Color version ... whoops! While you have the 3DS open, you can also enjoy a "Main Theme Medley" from the recent Zelda concert on Nintendo Video. On DSiWare, 1950s Lawn Mower Kids is a game about guiding three of the title characters to perform their gardening duties among UFOs, dogs, and other obstacles.
Freakyforms comes alive on 3DS next week
The 3DS has been out since March, and the eShop has been running since June. So it's pretty noteworthy that Nintendo's first original game for the service will be released in November. The kid-friendly Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive! is designed to allow players to build the weird-ass creature of their dreams, and then use said weirdo in an adventure, exploring its new environment, finding food, collecting coins for new items, and even gaining the ability to redraw stuff in the environment. It'll hit the North American 3DS eShop November 10, for $6.99.
Iwata: 3DS is Nintendo 'priority,' even at the sake of short-term profitability
In a recent Q&A following a semi-annual investor's meeting, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata laid out the company's plans for its slow-starting handheld, the 3DS. "We came to the conclusion that we needed to make that bold investment," Iwata explained, "instead of focusing just on this term's profitability, so that we would be able to make the Nintendo 3DS an important foundation for Nintendo for years to come." He added that the company expects the system's profitability to improve dramatically during the fiscal year ending March 2013. Iwata mentioned that, falling in line with this strategy, unspecified 3DS games were delayed from the holiday release window to prevent being overlooked due to overcrowding. The only major first-party 3DS titles scheduled for the rest of the year are Super Mario 3D Land (November 13) and Mario Kart 7 (December 4). He also discussed the company's plans to expand the eShop with an "add-on" marketplace for individual games, and the ability to access the store using PCs and Smartphones. You can read more about this initiative in our post from last week, though it lacks Iwata's almost comically tardy discovery of social networking platforms. He's kind of like your grandpa who just discovered Facebook, likes everything you post, and leaves embarrassing comments on all your pictures in all-caps.
Nintendo's eShop plans: premium DLC, game demos, smartphone shopping, relevancy
Nintendo's latest earnings report may be a litany of woe, but at least the outfit's semi-annual financial results briefing bore good news: the 3DS eShop is about to get a kick in the pants. Today's 3DS store gets the job done, but it's hampered by disorganized categories, limited accessibility, and poor download management. Want something better? It's on the way -- a late November update is slated to bring "sleep mode" background downloading to the fledgling console, and opens the door for publishers to release in-game premium DLC and "limited-play" demos. Nintendo is even taking steps to address the handheld's lousy shopping experience, announcing a companion website where users will be able to browse the eShop from a PC or smartphone. Eventually 3DS owners will be able to buy content directly from the eShop website, but at launch shoppers will need to scan a QR code with the handheld to make a purchase. It's not a perfect plan, but at least it's a start. Baby steps Nintendo, baby steps.
Nintendo adding sleep mode downloads to 3DS eShop, planning web interface
Nintendo has evidently listened to the feedback about the 3DS's awkward eShop, announcing several improvements to the interface in an investor presentation. President Satoru Iwata confirmed the addition of "add-on content" download capabilities, as part of the November firmware update. "This is a feature a number of software creators have been looking forward to," he said. In addition, the firmware update will add the ability for publishers to release demos, "for which they can put a limit on the number of trials." Also nice (and previously missing): the ability for users to download content while in sleep mode. Iwata revealed future plans for a web-based PC/smartphone interface for the eShop, in order to make it easier to discover highly rated games without first having to check the eShop on the 3DS. At first, the web eShop will generate QR codes that you can point the 3DS at to buy stuff. "That function is already included in the upcoming system update for the Nintendo 3DS," Iwata said. Nintendo plans to add full web-based shopping later. The next step, and the one about which Nintendo didn't say much: actually putting some things in the eShop to buy.
NintendoWare Weekly: BurgerTime Deluxe, Anima: Ark of Sinners
If you want to remember the classic, seasoned BurgerTime gameplay before BurgerTime World Tour hits next week, you can check out BurgerTime Deluxe for Game Boy, out on 3DS Virtual Console today in North America at a cost of $2.99. If you want something new, the puzzle game Pyramids is that rarest of games: an original downloadable 3DS release. Players control a treasure hunter attempting to escape from pyramids by creating and destroying blocks. Finally, WiiWare now features the $10 Anima: Ark of Sinners, a distinctly Castlevania-style game based on a pen-and-paper RPG.
