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Driven by Fast-Selling Software Nintendo 3DS Sells More in Its First Nine Months Than Wii Did

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 3, 2012 – Whether they were on the go or at home, whether they played in 2D on the TV or in glasses-free 3D in their hands, gamers of all ages celebrated the holidays with Mario™ and Zelda™. Super Mario 3D Land™ and Mario Kart™ 7 for the Nintendo 3DS™ system not only became the fastest-selling titles in the history of their respective franchises when they launched, but they are now also the first Nintendo 3DS titles to sell 1 million units each in the United States. On the console side, The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword, which also broke launch records, became the 45th Wii™ title to sell more than 1 million units in the United States.

“One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising.”


There have been a few instances in which Nintendo has built off of previous Zelda games. Majora’s Mask, for example, used the same art style as Ocarina of Time and was essentially a direct sequel. The same can be said of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks – both games featured cel-shaded graphics introduced by Wind Waker and took place after the events of the GameCube title.

Regarding Skyward Sword, there’s a strong chance that its art style and world may not be used again in the future. This was the indication Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma gave in an interview found inside the pages of the latest Game Informer.

Aonuma said the following when asked if there about the possibility of releasing more games in the Skyward Sword style or taking place in the same world:

“With Wind Waker, the graphics were suited to handheld gaming. Also the game ended with Link embarking on a journey, so it left open the possibility of what comes after the game. With Skyward Sword, positioning it as the first Zelda game means everything else connects to it and comes after it. It becomes a little bit difficult to do something else within that world and certainly much more difficult to do something that comes before it.”

Would any of you like to see more Zelda releases that make use of Skyward Sword’s art style/world? Be sure to sound off in the comments!

Thanks to PointSkyward for providing us with this information!


Who else all but forget about this WiiWare title? It was briefly “announced” almost two years ago, and then we never heard about it again. I’m wondering if it’s still in development…


Famitsu hosted a survey on their website between December 7 and December 11. Readers were asked to select the top fifty games of all time.

Here’s how they voted:

1. Super Mario Bros. NES
2. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64
3. Super Mario 64 N64
4. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past SNES
5. Mother 2 SNES
6. Xenoblade Wii
7. Legend of Zelda NES
8. Super Mario RPG SNES
9. Smash Bros. Melee GC
10. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Wii
11. Fire Emblem – Seisen no Keifu SNES
12. Famicom Mukashi-banashi Famicom-DiscDrive
13. Super Mario Kart SNES
14. Famicom Tantei Club Part II Famicom-DiscDrive
15. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker GC
16. Fire Emblem – Monsho no Nazo SNES
17. Legend of Zelda – Links Awakening GB
18. Super Mario World SNES
19. Super Mario Sunshine GC
19. Smash Bros. Brawl Wii


Below are the games that Famitsu’s readers are looking forward to the most…

01. [Wii] Dragon Quest X
02. [PS3] Dragon’s Dogma
03. [PSP] Photo Kano
04. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4
05. [PSV] Persona 4: The Golden
06. [3DS] Animal Crossing
07. [3DS] New Love Plus
08. [PS3] Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
09. [PS3] Asura’s Wrath
10. [3DS] Resident Evil: Revelations
11. [PS3] One Piece: Pirate Musou
12. [PS3] Final Fantasy Versus XIII
13. [PS3] The Last Remnant
14. [PSP] God Eater 2
15. [PS3] Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayoneka Arena
16. [PSP] Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: MK II
17. [PSV] Tales of Innocence R
18. [3DS] Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
19. [PS3] The Last Guardian
20. [PS3] 2nd Super Robot Wars Original Generation


This could be one of the craziest Easter eggs in Skyward Sword… if it really is an Easter egg, that is. But there are some interesting similarities in what I’m about to describe.

So, Skyward Sword has a pub called the Lumpy Pumpkin. Twilight Princes has a similar location in Castle Town called Telma’s Bar. Pumm, Kina, Rusta, and Keet can all be found at the Lumpy Pumpkin on a regular basis. The same goes with “The Group”/”The Resistance”, who spend their time at Telma’s Bar. This group consists of Telma, Auru, Ashei, and Shad.

What’s most intriguing is how these characters’ looks are quite comparable. Pumm has his hair up and is a bit on the chubby side like Telma, and Rusta’s hair is very similar to Auru’s (they’re both old men, too!). Kina and Ashei look somewhat similar, as do Keet and Shad.

If this is at all confusing, I suggest you take a look at the comparisons in the gallery above. Comparison images from left to right: Ashei/Kina, Auru/Rusta, Shad/Keet, and Telma/Pumm.

I feel like this has to be more than a coincidence since Skyward Sword contains tons of references to past Zelda titles. What do you guys think?

Thanks to PointSkyward for the tip!


Best Buy has attached the photo above to its Mario Party 9 page. Apparently it’ll be the game’s final boxart. It’s too small to make anything out at the moment, so consider it a preview of sorts.


01./03. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo) {2011-12-01} – 260,836 / 1,050,706 (+43%)
02./00. [PS3] Warriors Orochi 2 (Koei Tecmo) {2011-12-22} – 200,526 / NEW
03./05. [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo) {2011-11-03} – 174,566 / 1,011,709 (+55%)
04./02. [3DS] Monster Hunter Tri G (Capcom) {2011-12-10} – 155,069 / 885,456 (-26%)
05./01. [PS3] Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Square Enix) {2011-12-15} – 118,816 / 643,033 (-77%)
06./06. [WII] Kirby’s Return to Dream Land (Nintendo) {2011-10-27} – 114,545 / 513,061 (+61%)
07./09. [WII] Just Dance Wii (Nintendo) {2011-10-13} – 96,771 / 420,064 (+120%)
08./00. [3DS] SD Gundam G Generation 3D (Bandai Namco) {2011-12-22} – 90,873 / NEW
09./04. [3DS] Inazuma Eleven Go: Shine / Dark (Level 5) {2011-12-15} – 86,026 / 221,285 (-36%)
10./00. [WII] Inazuma Eleven Strikers 2012 Xtreme (Level 5) {2011-12-22} – 85,117 / NEW
11./11. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) {2010-07-08} – 71,461 / 2,200,697 (+68%)
12./00. [PSP] Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s Portable: The Gears of Destiny (Bandai Namco) {2011-12-22} – 57,320 / NEW
13./10. [WII] PokePark 2: Beyond the World (Pokemon Co.) {2011-11-12} – 55,344 / 219,362 (+26%)
14./17. [WII] Taiko Drum Master Wii: Ketteiban (Bandai Namco) {2011-11-23} – 55,256 / 155,539 (+84%)
15./13. [WII] Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Nintendo) {2011-12-08} – 52,611 / 117,185 (+53%)
16./00. [PS3] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Dubbed Edition (Square Enix) {2011-12-22} – 51,156 / NEW
17./12. [NDS] Magician’s Quest: Osharena Mahoutsukai (Konami) {2011-12-10} – 50,074 / 131,184 (+43%)
18./20. [NDS] One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World (Bandai Namco) {2011-11-17} – 49,921 / 257,379 (+76%)
19./16. [WII] Wii Sports Resort with Wii Remote Plus (Nintendo) {2010-11-11} – 48,929 / 782,975 (+59%)
20./21. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) {2008-04-10} – 43,752 / 3,428,903


More incredible art pieces from The Legend of Zelda have been found inside the pages of Hyrule Historia. We get a look at some alternate designs for Tetra in Wind Waker, concepts for Ganon and unused Sheik designs for Twilight Princess, awesome art for Skyward Sword, and more.

Source


What were the most pirated Wii games of 2011? Super Mario Galaxy tops the list with nearly 1,300,000 downloads. Other games in the chart include Mario Sports Mix and, interestingly, Xenoblade Chronicles.

The full list is as follows:

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (1,280,000)
Mario Sports Mix (1,090,000)
Xenoblade Chronicles (950,000)
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (870,000)
FIFA 12 (860,000)

Source



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