Nintendo has been on a roll with retail releases on the 3DS eShop, so it wouldn’t make sense for that to stop now. But just in case you had any sort of doubt, it has now been completely confirmed that Fire Emblem: Awakening will be available on the digital store when the game launches next month.
Did you know Awakening is currently unavailable on the Japanese eShop? I suppose that’s because Nintendo started getting involved with digital retail releases after the game shipped.
Disney Home Video will release the DVD and Blu-ray versions of Wreck-It Ralph starting next month. The company announced yesterday that the digital version – featuring HD digital and HD digital 3D formats – will be available on February 12. That’ll be followed by the physical launch on March 5.
Consumers will be able to choose from a standard DVD copy without extras, a two-disc collector’s edition, and a four-disc ultimate collector’s edition. Each copy of the collector’s edition packs in the DVD and Blu-ray versions. The four-disc ultimate collector’s edition will also offer the Blu-ray 3D and digital copy.
Bonuses include a “making of” video titled “Bit by Bit: Creating the Worlds of Wreck-It Ralph”, alternate as well as deleted scenes, video game commercials for games made for the film, and Paperman, the short movie shown before Wreck-It Ralph at theaters. All Blu-ray copies additionally contain a video hosted by stand-up comedian Chris Hardwick, who goes into detail about the many video game references in Wreck-It Ralph.
Are you an Animal Crossing fan? Have 9.5 hours to spare? Then be sure to check out the video above. It contains almost ten hours of footage from Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
Fry’s is offering a discount on LEGO City: Undercover pre-orders. You can order the game for $39.99 and $2.99 for shipping, bringing the total to $43.
Check out the product page here.
The official Pokemon Twitter account is also hyping up Tuesday’s announcement. Just a few minutes ago, a tweet was sent out stating that “big news” is coming on January 8.
Pokémon fans, mark your calendars! Check Pokemon.com on January 8th for some big news!
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) January 4, 2013
No matter what is planned, this Pokemon announcement appears to be a worldwide affair.
Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham has published a second blog post focusing on 3DS piracy.
Watsham started out by looking to clarify his thoughts, as “some people have taken my comments as an attack on Nintendo, the 3DS, and the players.” But Watsham noted: “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Watsham went on:
I understand that piracy is always going to exist, and that every market has some form of piracy. I accept that piracy will exist on the 3DS. The question is how much is it affecting the market? Some markets maintain a healthy business environment alongside piracy. I believe this is due to many factors, not least of which is the service provided in that market.
I don’t think there is a solution to piracy. It will always exist in some form. We just need to make sure the price of games is affordable. We need to make it easy to buy and own games. The availability and access player’s have to their games needs to be at least as easy and convenient as the ROM sites make it to illegally download a game file. Ideally, it should be better. If the player’s only question is, “buy or not buy?”, and not dealing with issues such as, “how do I transfer ownership of this game to my new system?” then we’ll have minimized the appeal of piracy.
Ultimately, Watsham noted that Renegade Kid’s “support of the 3DS platform couldn’t be stronger.” The studio has games planned for Nintendo’s portable into 2014.
Be sure to read the full blog post here.
GfK Chart-Track has shared the top twenty best-selling games in the UK of 2012. A listing of the rankings can be found below.
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Activision
2. FIFA 13 – Electronic Arts
3. Assassin’s Creed III – Ubisoft
4. Halo 4 – Microsoft
5. Hitman Absolution – Square Enix
6. Just Dance 4 – Ubisoft
7. Far Cry 3 – Ubisoft
8. FIFA 12 – Electronic Arts
9. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Bethesda
10. Borderlands 2 – 2K Games
11. Mass Effect 3 – Electronic Arts
12. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes – Warner Bros
13. Need for Speed: Most Wanted – Electronic Arts
14. FIFA Street – Electronic Arts
15. Mario & Sonic: London 2012 Olympic Games
16. Skylanders Giants – Activision
17. Battlefield 3 – Electronic Arts
18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Activision
19. Max Payne 3 – Rockstar
20. Sleeping Dogs – Square Enix
Namco Bandai launched a Tank! Tank! Tank! basic pack on the Japanese eShop. The game comes with some content, but you’ll need to purchase a lot of DLC to get the full package.
Take a look at the video above to see how DLC is handled on Wii U. The process may change slightly from game to game, but on the whole, things should be similar.
