J Trust Co. has placed a bid for Atlus parent company Index, according to a new Bloomberg report.

The site writes that J Trust “aims to use cash raised through a record rights offering to fund takeover bids” such as Index “as part of a client-boosting strategy”. The company will have as much as 130 billion yen (roughly $1.3 billion) “in cash on buyouts without seeking external financing”.

SEGA Sammy Holdings is also said to have placed a bid for Index.

Source

Disney Infinity will receive a Play Set based on the Toy Story franchise, it has been confirmed. The news was revealed during a presentation at the D23 Expo just a short while ago.

The three characters included with the Play Set are Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and Jessie.

Joining them will be Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey, Skellington, Rapunzel, Wreck-It Ralph, Vanellope, Phineas, Ferb, Agent P, Elsa, and Anna – also new characters announced today. Mickey’s figure will launch in January.

Last but not least, an update about the Toy Box – Disneyland will be available through this mode at launch.

Source 1, Source 2

The new Smash Bros. games are particularly noteworthy for a couple of reasons. On Wii U, this marks the first time that the series will be shown in HD. And on 3DS, Smash Bros. will be making its debut appearance on a handheld, complete with a unique style thanks to character outlines given to the playable characters.

Director Masahiro Sakurai spoke about the visual design of both versions while speaking with GamesTM this month. Regarding Wii U, Sakurai said fans can expect “more details, and bigger stages”. He also shared an interesting comment about the 3DS version, noting that screenshots “look fine” but don’t do the game justice compared to actually seeing it running in person.

Sakurai told the magazine:

“And the same thing with the Wii U screen – since we’re an HD-compatible console, we’re able to do more details, and bigger stages as seen on previous home consoles. Now of course, I want to point out that everything on 3DS is designed for that screen, and that’s where they look the best. It’s unfortunate we can’t show everyone what it looks like on 3DS, rather than screenshots, while they do look fine, do not do that justice once you see it on the system. Too bad we can’t show everybody what it looks like on the system.”

Thanks to joclo for the tip.

In the UK, Pokemon Rumble U will cost £13.49 – so says a listing on the eShop. A $17.99 price point was previously confirmed for the US release.

Pokemon Rumble U launches this coming Thursday in Europe. North America will be getting the game on August 29.

Source

Amazon began selling the Pokemon 3DS bundles in Japan yesterday. And then it promptly sold out.

According to a tweet from Amazon, the Pokemon Center bundle featuring the golden 3DS XL system sold out just an hour after pre-orders went live. The standard 3DS bundle also sold out within nine hours of its availability.

Source, Via

Monkey Pirates was one of several games confirmed for the Wii U eShop during the latest European Nintendo Direct. And it makes sense for it to be there – Henchmen Studio programmer Christophe Siccardi says it’s “in the spirit of a Nintendo game.”

Originally, Monkey Pirates wasn’t scheduled for any console – it was only planned for PC, Mac, and Linux. Siccardi explained to BeefJack that the team decided to take on systems such as Wii U late in development: “We contacted Nintendo near the end of production, as well as Sony and Microsoft.”

Nintendo fans can look forward to a “special mode” that utilizes the GamePad. Specific details on the feature are unknown at this time.

Source

01./00. [3DS] Disney Magic Castle: My Happy Life # (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.08.01} (¥5.480) – 119.154 / NEW
02./01. [3DS] Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies (Capcom) {2013.07.25} (¥5.990) – 40.203 / 290.419 (-84%)
03./05. [3DS] Mario & Luigi: Dream Team # (Nintendo) {2013.07.18} (¥4.800) – 32.537 / 176.230 (-26%)
04./06. [3DS] Friend Collection: New Life # (Nintendo) {2013.04.18} (¥4.800) – 21.313 / 1.330.780 (-7%)
05./00. [PS3] Killer Is Dead (Kadokawa Games) {2013.08.01} (¥7.980) – 17.709 / NEW
06./04. [PS3] The Witch and the Hundred Knights # (Nippon Ichi Software) {2013.07.25} (¥7.140) – 16.131 / 65.340 (-67%)
07./00. [PSV] Mind/Zero (Acquire) {2013.08.01} (¥6.279) – 15.575 / NEW
08./07. [3DS] Youkai Watch (Level 5) {2013.07.11} (¥4.800) – 13.819 / 115.119 (-25%)
09./03. [PSV] Dragon’s Crown (Atlus) {2013.07.25} (¥8.190) – 13.772 / 84.855 (-81%)
10./02. [PS3] Dragon’s Crown (Atlus) {2013.07.25} (¥8.190) – 13.714 / 118.074 (-87%)
11./08. [3DS] Fantasy Life: Link! (Level 5) {2013.07.25} (¥4.980) – 10.487 / 28.721 (-42%)
12./10. [WIU] Pikmin 3 (Nintendo) {2013.07.13} (¥5.985) – 10.342 / 145.735 (-27%)
13./13. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf # (Nintendo) {2012.11.08} (¥4.800) – 9.620 / 3.354.784 (-3%)
14./14. [3DS] Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (Nintendo) {2013.06.13} (¥4.800) – 8.481 / 235.176 (-11%)
15./09. [WIU] LEGO City Undercover (Nintendo) {2013.07.25} (¥5.985) – 7.772 / 25.971 (-57%)
16./18. [3DS] Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (Nintendo) {2013.03.20} (¥4.800) – 7.595 / 850.134 (-7%)
17./11. [PS3] Earth Defense Force 2025 (D3 Publisher) {2013.07.04} (¥6.980) – 7.445 / 230.292 (-32%)
18./12. [3DS] Little Battlers eXperience W: Ultra Custom (Level 5) {2013.07.18} (¥4.400) – 7.287 / 45.325 (-33%)
19./00. [PSP] Shiratsuyu no Kai # (Idea Factory) {2013.08.01} (¥6.090) – 6.187 / NEW
20./16. [3DS] Hoppechan: Tsukutte! Asonde! Punipuni Town!! (Nippon Columbia) {2013.07.25} (¥5.040) – 6.016 / 14.853 (-32%)

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Mario & Luigi Dream Team has now launched in North America. Accompanying the game’s digital release is an unannounced demo.

Nintendo hadn’t announced any sort of demo for Dream Team, but it’s up right now on the 3DS eShop. The download takes up 1,010 blocks and offers twelve uses.

It’s a bit strange, but certainly not a bad thing!