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3DS launch games: The best of the rest
With limited time, 3DS systems and eyes capable of processing 3D, we couldn't deliver full reviews for the full 3DS launch lineup. However, we've got the next best thing, a ton of impressions on some of our favorite releases we couldn't get enough quality time with for a full critique. Between the cheat sheet after the break and our bevy of full reviews, you should have all that you need to be a 3DSpecialist at your local electronics retailer. Happy hunting! ... And, umm, sorry about saying "3DSpecialist." It was a long weekend.
Nintendo 3DS to launch with 18 games in North America, $40 each for most
The North American launch details for Nintendo 3DS have been finalized. In addition to Face Raiders and AR Games, both pre-installed on the hardware, the system will launch with three first-party games: Pilotwings Resort, Steel Diver, and nintendogs + cats. Each first-party game has a suggested retail price of $39.99. Thirteen third-party games will be available on March 27th, including Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Rayman 3D. Nintendo promises that thirty games will be available for the platform by E3 expo. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Kid Icarus: Uprising and a new Mario Kart game will all be available before year's end. You'll find the complete launch lineup listed after the break.
Iwata chronicles the history of Samurai Warriors
For his latest Iwata Asks interview, Nintendo's Satoru Iwata put the spotlight on one of the less-examined 3DS launch window titles: Tecmo Koei's Samurai Warriors: Chronicles. He speaks to Hisashi Koinuma, who is in charge of the Warriors series at Koei, and who has been with the company since 1994. Koinuma offers a few details about the 3DS game, like the fact that you can use the touch screen to select from a party of four warlords at any time, but the most interesting things he has to say are about the series in general. For example, while most non-fans can't really tell the difference between the Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors series, except that all the names are Japanese in the former and Chinese in the latter, Koinuma reveals that there are design considerations that separate the two. "In Dynasty Warriors 2, you fight on a wide-open field, but castles are more representative of the Sengoku (Warring States) period, so in Samurai Warriors, we decided to feature castles and the characters surrounding them in order to create a difference." Koinuma also offered the following information, which we didn't expect to be mentioned so openly: "The games in the Samurai Warriors series can be played by pure button-mashing."
3DS 'launch window' to include more than 30 games leading up to E3
Did you hear? It's got a built-in pedometer! The 3DS measures your steps as you walk -- right there in your pocket! Even better: You can pull the thing out whenever and snap all kinds of pics -- the thing's got three cameras! And get this: It also pipes out music, browses the internet and even plays games. True, you've already got a pile of old DS games (and now defunct DS devices) that you could be playing on your new pedometer, but more than 30 three-DEE titles are expected to be released during the 3DS "launch window" (which begins March 27 and promptly closes on June 7 with the start of E3). We've listed 24 of the apparent launch-window releases after the break (though Nintendo's being coy about exact dates), including Nintendo's own Nintendogs + cats and Pilotwings Resort, plus a hearty helping of third-party support; with notable newcomers, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (previously unannounced outside of Japan) and Crush 3D, a possible port of the 2007 PSP platforming puzzler from Sega. Don't look at the date ambiguity in dismay -- see it as an opportunity! Beginning in late March, you can walk to and from GameStop in anticipation of a new batch of games each Tuesday for ten whole weeks, and the 3DS will count your steps -- each and every one of them! And just imagine how many Street Passes you're going to rack up?
