Japanese publication Nikkei Trendy has reported on two new rumors today. One of them pertains to the 3DS.
The site reports that Nintendo is in the process of creating a “follow-up” of sorts to the 3DS. Specifically, it seems as though the Big N is working on a 3DS Lite. The new system would feature an enhanced battery and would be thinner than the current 3DS.
If Nintendo is going in this direction, it wouldn’t be at all surprising. Both the Game Boy Advance and the DS saw numerous iterations that improved on initial hardware.
For now, this report should be treated as a rumor. Having said that, Nikkei has known to be quite accurate in the past.
Square Enix has shared a huge media blast for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance today. You’ll find well over 100 screenshots in the gallery above showing already-revealed worlds, such as The Three Musketeers world. There are a bunch of battle images included as well.
Nintendo Power has released a public preview of this month’s magazine. Titles featured include Kid Icarus: Uprising, Heroes of Ruin, Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure, and Devil Survivor 2. The issue arrives on newsstands on January 10 and is available now for subscribers.
There’s no question that 2011 was a down year for the Wii. In North America, Nintendo published just one game for the console in the first half of the year and there was a dearth of hardcore titles aside from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (some of you may/may not want to include Kirby as well.) It didn’t help that third-parties all but abandoned the Wii.
Because of this, along with Nintendo of America’s disappointing localization efforts, EGM has declared 2011 one of the worst year’s ever for the console. The magazine believed that Skyward Sword wasn’t enough repair the damage done to the Wii last year and gave it a 1/10 for its system rating.
In its Holiday Gift Guide feature, EGM wrote:
“Sure, we know the Wii U’s on its way next year…but that doesn’t mean the Wii had to be DOA this year. Nintendo’s absolutely complicit in this live burial – as the Operation Rainfall campaign has continually pointed out on Twitter, Facebook, and message boards for months. NOA had three excellent RPGs primed for release – Xenoblade Chronicles, Pandora’s Tower, and The Last Story – but didn’t bother to bring them Stateside in 2011, though Xenoblade’s finally coming next year. And it’s not like Nintendo’s a niche developer like Atlus or NIS America who can’t afford to splurge on a localization budget. Sorry, Nintendo – even an end-of-year gem like Skyward Sword can’t salvage the damage you did to the Wii brand this year.”
Thanks to Jake for the tip!
Just wanted to make sure you all were aware that Karaoke Joysound is definitely coming to North America. It was originally announced through a press release provided by Nintendo, and was reconfirmed today through an ESRB listing. Konami will publish the title before the end of March.
Karaoke Joysound originally came out in Japan in late 2008. It was later re-released through the Wii Shop Channel. Based on Nintendo’s PR, it seems that Konami is preparing the retail version for North American consumers.
Missed any of the 2011 Video Game Awards last month? Now’s your opportunity to watch the whole show!
This video was posted a few months back, but it wasn’t really noticed until recently. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of this title at E3!
Thanks to Jake for the tip!
Starting on Thursday, Nintendo fans will have the opportunity to order tickets for upcoming Zelda Symphony concerts. The first concert, taking place in Canada, is set for March 14.
The full list of concert dates are as follows:
Vancouver, BC – Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
Phoenix, AZ – Friday, April 20th, 2012
Atlanta, GA – Saturday, May 12th, 2012
Orlando, FL – July 14th, 2012
A new game is up on the App Store, and it’s drawing a lot of comparisons to Super Mario Bros – for understandable reasons.
In Super Jump World, players take on the role of a leprechaun and “jump’n’run” through four levels. Each level has a different theme, though they all look quite similar to what you can find in Super Mario Bros. There are eight enemies, leaderboards, and even achievements.
The creator’s description of the game is as follows:
“Help the main character Lep to jump and run through the beautiful worlds of Super Jump World. Be careful! There are many angry monsters. They want to stop Lep in each world. If you collect a cloverleaf little Lep grows up to a bigger one. But you are not secure with big Lep. An angry bee could hit him and he gets back to little Lep. An easy and smooth control makes it very funny and to jump or run.”
The author also says that Super Jump World is “inspired by a 2D classic game.” I’m sure anyone would be able to guess which title he’s referring to!
You can find out more about Super Jump World here. It’s free for now, as it should be. You have to wonder if/when Nintendo will take action against it…
Thanks to Jake for the tip!
