Nintendo has picked up a few new trademarks in Japan. Let’s take a look:

• U
• Tomodachi Collection: New Life
• Nymphia
• Mario & Luigi Dream Adventure
• Mario and Donkey Kong Minis on the Move
• Splash or Crash
• Pokemon Scramble
• Nintendo Web Framework

One particular trademark is “Nintendo Web Framework”. It’s some kind of behind-the-scenes technical item that we haven’t heard much about. Nintendo of America’s Ryan Lynd will be talking about the Nintendo Web Framework at GDC tomorrow.

– Changed from Killer Freaks because aliens were too fast to use the Gamepad effectively
– Using the Gamepad requires a slower-paced game that lets you look away from the TV occasionally
– The question of how gamers could attach to the story with a perma-death mechanic was a tough hurdle to overcome
– That issue resolved itself, however, because the gameplay told a story that players could get attached to naturally
– Dialogue wasn’t needed to tell this story because it arose out of the player’s individual actions with survivors they got attached to
– Players are meant to be the various survivors, so when the Prepper says the last survivor he knew was sloppy or ineffective, he’s really judging the player

Via GameInformer

We found out earlier this week that Harvest Moon would be arriving on the European 3DS eShop on Thursday. The wait in North America will be a bit longer.

Natsume has confirmed on its Twitter account that Harvest Moon will be hitting the North American 3DS VC in late April. No exact date yet, but it should be around a month away.

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There’s more than one Warp Pipe reference in Need for Speed: Most Wanted U. The game contains a total of three, each of which houses a “secret garage”. All locations can be found in the map above.

Drive on top of a pipe and press down on the left stick to access a garage. You’ll find one unique car inside each:

• Red and Blue Ariel Atom: Representing Mario
• Pink Caterham: Representing Princess Peach
• Green BAC Mono: Representing Yoshi

The cars listed above can only be used in single-player mode, and it is not possible to customize the paint of the cars. Polygon also confirms that handling, mods and milestone are the same as the non-themed versions of each car.

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REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo has released a downloadable update for Nintendo 3DS that will add new functionality to the hand-held system. Items featured in the update include:

• A tool that allows Nintendo 3DS users to transfer save data from the packaged version of a game to the downloadable version. Players that originally purchased a physical version of a game will be able to pick up right where they left off with their save data if they decide to purchase the digital version of the same game. Save data that is transferred to a digital game cannot be moved back to the physical version.
• An improvement to the feature that downloads items in the background when the Nintendo 3DS system is in Sleep Mode. Items will now download when the Nintendo eShop is running. Users can simply close the system cover to activate the “Download Later” feature and the game or application will begin to download.

For more information about Nintendo 3DS, visit http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.

Source: Nintendo PR

Toki Tori 2 has completed all steps in the submission process. Developer Two Tribes confirmed on Twitter a short while ago that Nintendo has approved the game, meaning it should hit its April 4 release date. That’s a worldwide release – you’ll be able to pick up Toki Tori 2 in both North America and Europe in just a couple of weeks.

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