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New Super Mario Bros. U ships 3.89M, Super Mario 3D World almost 2M
Between Super Mario 3D World and New Super Mario Bros .U, Nintendo's mustachioed mascot (whose year it wasn't) has shipped almost 6 million units on the Wii U. In figures revealed in the big N's financial briefing, NSMBU is now at 3.89 million for its lifetime shipments, while SM3DW is at around half of that with 1.94 million. Keep in mind that 2D Mario had the head-start on its 3D sibling when it launched alongside the Wii U, not to mention a much larger presence in system bundles. The Mario platformers are two of five Wii U games that have shipped more than a million so far this fiscal year - that's between April and December 2013, by the by. The other three launched after April, so their shipments for the period represent lifetime figures anyway. Coming in third behind the two Marios is yet another Mario, namely Mr. Luigi Mario with Super Luigi U. The green man's standalone expansion to NSMBU shipped 1.51 million after arriving in the summer. It wasn't just the year of Luigi because Wii Party U and Zelda: Wind Waker HD both got on in the act, shipping 1.24 million and 1.15 million respectively after their fall launches.
Nintendo's sales figures for August include many zeros, plumbing heroes
Following the NPD Group's analysis of August's overall sales data comes a handful of extra statistics from Nintendo. When taking both physical and digital sales into account, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team has sold "nearly" 190,000 units since its release on August 11. Meanwhile, Pikmin 3 has sold "more than" 115,000 since August 4, while New Super Luigi U has sold "nearly" 120,000 units since refreshing the Year of Luigi on August 25. Nintendo also updated on its year to date: More than 6.47 million pieces of 3DS software have been sold in 2013, with Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon being the best-selling of the lot at 863,000 physical/digital copies. Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a close second, however, having moved 739,000 units in three fewer months on the market.
New Super Luigi U review: Not easy being green
Mario has stolen the show often enough that it can be difficult to remember he even has a brother. As Nintendo celebrates the "Year of Luigi," though, Mario's gangly sibling is finally enjoying some well-deserved time in the spotlight. First there was Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS, and now the less famous of the two Marios has found a starring role in New Super Luigi U, a retelling of the excellent Wii U launch title, New Super Mario Bros. U. New Super Luigi U works like a traditional expansion pack, offering content that builds upon a solid foundation and grows it in a new direction. Rather than simply offering new stages that feel like cutting room rejects, Nintendo has returned with a refined bundle of more than 80 new levels that essentially pick up where the last adventure ended.%Gallery-191095%
New Nintendo eShop releases: Super Luigi U, Bugs vs Tanks, Virtual Console explosion
The Nintendo eShop is positively bursting with content this week. The New Super Luigi U DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U is out, and Nintendo is celebrating with a double coin promotion on Club Nintendo. Until August 1, everyone who registers the game on Club Nintendo and completes the related survey will receive 40 coins instead of the usual 20. Meanwhile, the 3DS gets Bugs vs Tanks, a new Level 5 collaboration with Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune. We've also got a load of new Virtual Console games. On the Wii U, Mario Bros and Wrecking Crew make their debut. On the 3DS, there's Defenders of Oasis, Mega Man 6, Sonic Blast and Tails Adventure. Next week marks the launch of a few full retail games on the eShop as well, including Game & Wario on Wii U June 23. The 3DS will get Project X Zone and LEGO Legends of Chima: Laval's Journey on June 25. Finally, there's a pair of sales. Little Inferno on Wii U is down to $4.99 until June 26 (9am PT), while Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo is discounted to $3.99 until July 8 (9am PT).
PSA: New Super Luigi U arrives as NSMBU DLC today
New Super Luigi U, the downloadable expansion to New Super Mario Bros. U centered around the lankier Mario brother, comes to the Wii U's eShop today priced at $19.99. The green campaign includes over 80 redesigned courses, each one with a timer set at 100. And of course you play as the big L himself, which means you can jump and slide to even greater heights (and lengths). If you'd prefer to green your fingers with something more material, the retail version of New Super Luigi U hits North America on August 25, and Europe a smidgen earlier on July 26. Unlike the downloadable version out today, you don't need a copy of NSMBU to play the retail game, but it is priced a bit higher at $29.99.
Pro Controller support coming to New Super Mario Bros. U (in Japan)
New Super Mario Bros. U will get an update to coincide with the release of Super Luigi U, at least in Japan. It will allow players to purchase the Super Luigi U DLC directly from within New Super Mario Bros. U (i.e. no need to visit the eShop), and enable use of the Wii U's Pro Controller. Director Masataka Takemoto writes on Miiverse that the update is scheduled to arrive with the DLC on June 19. We've contacted Nintendo to see if the update is headed to North America as well.
Nintendo lists Best Buy E3 demo locations
The recent Nintendo Direct had a "one more thing" finale when company prez Reggie Fils-Aime announced a special partnership with Best Buy to demo the company's E3 line-up. Nintendo released the list of over 100 stores from across North America hosting the special events this morning. Nintendo doesn't specify which games it'll show at E3 will be playable at the Best Buy locations, but it does give the time parameters... and they are tight. The demos are playable 4-8PM local time on Wednesday, June 12, and 1-5PM local time on Saturday, June 15. Then the Pikmin must return to the ship. Although the web page isn't live as of this writing, Nintendo says to go here for the most up-to-date list of locations. Find the currently announced list of locations after the break.
Nintendo Direct roundup: Multiple Sonics, Luigi and Best Buy E3
This morning's Nintendo DIrect, hosted by the ever gracious Satoru Iwata, covered NIntendo's plans for the summer. The company has another Nintendo Direct planned closer to E3, since it isn't holding a press conference at the mega show. Here's the highlights from this morning: Sonic: Lost World was confirmed as a Wii U and 3DS exclusive. This comes after yesterday's trademark, domain registration leaks. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons will be discounted at $4.99 for the first three weeks after launch on the Nintendo eShop May 30. Mario and Sonic are teaming up again to sell millions of copies in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. No release window was given. Super Luigi U is both downloadable content and a standalone product. The Wonderful 101 are set to save the Wii U the best they can on September 15 in North America, flying into Europe on August 23. Sega's Game Gear lives again with several more games for the 3DS virtual console. And, finally, if you can't attend E3, Nintendo will hold special demo sessions of unreleased games at Best Buy. Specific locations will be detailed in the future.
Super Luigi U arrives as DLC June 20, packaged standalone August 25
The Super Luigi U DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U is being released as a digital download for the game on June 20 in both North America and Europe. However, it's also coming to retail as a packaged standalone. It'll be available August 25 in North America, and July 26 in Europe. The DLC will be priced at $19.99, while the standalone is $29.99. You won't need NSMB U to play the packaged game. This morning's Nintendo Direct also revealed that Nabbit, a little critter who you chased in the first game, is a playable character in the new content. He'll be available in multiplayer games as an easier alternative to Luigi and the Toads. He won't take damage when he touches enemies, but to balance that he won't be able to use power-ups. Super Luigi U makes changes to NSMB U's campaign to make every course "all-new" - it's essentially a new Luigi campaign.
