European Nintendo Direct PR – release dates and more

7^th August 2013 – Animal Crossing fans are getting a new place on Wii U where they can talk about their towns and share images with players from all over the world. Nintendo announced the free Animal Crossing Plaza application during today’s Nintendo Direct presentation. Nintendo also discussed a variety of other topics about Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games, including the debut of the Pokémon series on Wii U with Pokémon Rumble U and the story behind The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for Nintendo 3DS.

To view the Nintendo Direct in its entirety, visit http://nintendo.co.uk/nintendodirect. Some of today’s announcements included:

Wii U News

• Animal Crossing Plaza: A new application on Wii U for Animal Crossing fans is being made available for download for free on Nintendo eShop today. The service will run through to the end of 2014, and allows Animal Crossing fans from around the world to meet, interact and exchange information through the Animal Crossing Miiverse community. Players can import images they took in Ani mal Crossing: New Leaf on Nintendo 3DS as well as custom design QR Code patterns from their SD Cards, and organise them in albums. Players also can post messages to Miiverse with those images. The QR Code patterns posted can also be directly scanned and used in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Players can select their favourite animals in the Animal Crossing Plaza to post about those specific animals or view posts only about them. If players want to see more posts, they can jump directly to the Animal Crossing series Miiverse community from Animal Crossing Plaza.
• Pokémon Rumble U: As with previous instalments in the Pokémon Rumble series, players control toy versions of Pokémon. Players can play as, and do battle against, every one of the 649 Pokémon that have appeared in the video games up to Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2. The game features a special password system that allows users to unlock certain Pokémon, and these will be shared on Nintendo’s official Facebook and Twitter accounts, the game’s official website, plus other channels. Pokémon Rumble U launches exclusively on Nintendo eShop on 15^th August.
• Challenger Approaching!: Luigi has been confirmed as a playable character in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo is calling 2013 “The Year of Luigi” due to the high number of games that Mario’s brother is starring in, such as Luigi’s Mansion 2 for Nintendo 3DS and New Super Luigi U for Wii U, and to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of Luigi’s first ever appearance in a videogame.
• Sonic Lost World from SEGA: Launching for both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS on 18^th October, the game features radio controlled gadgets which can be created and customised on the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, and sent to the Wii U version for use in cooperative multiplayer mode. Use these gadgets to destroy enemies, collect items and more!
• Rayman Legends from Ubisoft: Even Rayman likes to cosplay! The Wii U version of the game not only assigns a different role to the player using the Wii U GamePad in multiplayer, it also includes a special bonus: players will be able to unlock a Mario costume for Rayman and a Luigi costume for Globox. Players on the Wii U version will also be able to unlock many of the stages from the previously released Rayman Origins game. Rayman Legends launches 29^th August.
• Art Academy: SketchPad: This application, headed to Nintendo eShop on 9^th August, utilises features from an upcoming edition of the Art Academy series for Wii U to let users create original artwork that can be posted directly to Miiverse.
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD: This reinvented HD version of the Nintendo GameCube classic features several adjustments that enhance the overall play experience, such as faster sailing. The game launches on 4^th October.
• The Wonderful 101: Stay tuned! A special instalment of Nintendo Direct dedicated to The Wonderful 101 is coming at 16:00 CEST on 9^th August. The game launches in stores and on Nintendo eShop on 23^rd August.
• A newly released trailer showcased a range of games headed to Nintendo eShop on Wii U, highlighting titles in a range of different genres from independent developers in Europe and Australia.

Nintendo 3DS News

• Layton-mania: The last game in the second Professor Layton trilogy, Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, will launch on 8^th November. Early in 2014, Professor Layton will feature in a new crossover adventure co-starring Capcom’s Phoenix Wright in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds: The game’s logo represents one of its key plot points: Link will undergo a new adventure across two worlds. In one world, the iconic Triforce exists, while the shadowy Triforce in the logo suggests the existence of another Triforce in a different world from where Link lives. Taking place long after the events of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, some of the game’s scenery will be familiar to fans of the series, while its puzzles and dungeons are new.The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds launches this November.
• Animal Crossing: New Leaf: Welcome a Friend Promotion: Starting today, if you register Animal Crossing: New Leaf with Club Nintendo by 7^th September, you’ll be able to receive a Recommendation Code. You can then give this Recommendation Code to a friend. If your friend registers a Nintendo 3DS XL between 7^th August and 7^th October, and enters this Recommendation Code, your friend will be able to claim a free Download Code for Animal Crossing: New Leaf on Nintendo 3DS.
• KORG M01D: Based on the famous KORG M1 music workstation, KORG M01D offers over 340 sounds to choose from, plus a powerful sequencer to create your own songs and sounds, before saving them as MIDI data to import to a digital audio workstation. KORG M01D launches on Nintendo eShop this Autumn.
• SteamWorld Dig: Set in a world run by robots, get ready for a unique action platformer combining the visual styles of westerns and steampunk when SteamWorld Dig arrives on Nintendo eShop today.
• Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan: This RPG from Atlus releases on 30^th August.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers: Another upcoming RPG release for Nintendo 3DS, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers releases on 13^th September.
• Super Mario Bros. 2 arrives on Virtual Console: The platforming classic Super Mario Bros. 2 becomes available to download as a Virtual Console title for Nintendo 3DS today. Its sequel, Super Mario Bros.3, is headed for Nintendo eShop on both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS later this year.
• Summer Carnival ’92: RECCA: This notoriously hard-to-find Famicom game was originally designed for a games festival in Japan in the summer of 1992. It’s remembered as being one of the most challenging shooters ever created, and while it wasn’t featured in today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo of Europe can confirm it’s coming to Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS on 15^th August.
• Mario Golf: World Tour: While not featured in the Nintendo Direct EU presentation, please note that this game will now be delayed, launching in 2014.