After less than two weeks on store shelves, The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time™ 3D for the Nintendo 3DS™ portable entertainment system finished the month as the No. 2 best-selling video game on an individual platform, with more than 283,000 units sold, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States.
Other highlights from the month include:
How did the first major 3DS game sell? According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D moved 280,000 units in June. The tracking period included sales starting from May 29 to July 2.
3DS hardware sales saw a small increase based on data calculated from Anita’s comments. Zelda saw a 34 percent attach rate to the install base, which means that the handheld sold roughly 134,000 units last month.
In May, the 3DS reached only 97,000 new consumers. Indeed, June saw a bump-up in system sales, but it doesn’t appear that Zelda has become a significant system seller… at least not yet. Having said that, Ocarina of Time 3D is likely the most successful 3DS title in the U.S. thus far.
Assassin’s Creed: Lost Legacy was originally announced at Nintendo’s E3 2010 media briefing. However, much like Saints Row: Drive By, it appears that another Western game for the 3DS has been canned. Assassin’s Creed Revelations writer Darby McDevitt says that the Lost Legacy “kind of morphed into” the latest console game for PS3/360.
“You may have heard of the game ‘Lost Legacy’ for the 3DS. It was announced, but that kind of morphed into this idea.”
A couple of Assassin’s Creed DS titles did make it to market, so it’s possible that Ubisoft will bring the franchise to the 3DS in the future. I’d say that Lost Legacy is no more, though.
Software (New physical retail only, across all platforms including PC)
01. L.A. Noire (360, PS3) Take 2 Interactive
02. Duke Nukem Forever (360, PS3, PC) Take 2 Interactive
03. Infamous 2 (PS3) Sony
04. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) Disney Interactive Studios
05. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) Nintendo
06. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC) Activision Blizzard
07. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC) Take 2 Interactive
08. Mortal Kombat 2011 (PS3, 360) Warner Bros. Interactive
09. Cars 2 (NDS, Wii, 360, PS3, PC) Disney Interactive Studios
10. Just Dance 2 (Wii) Ubisoft
Yes, this game is finally coming out. It’s been in development for a long, long time… I believe it was announced for WiiWare back in 2008.
July 13, 2011: FDG Entertainment is happy to announce the US release date of its Puzzle Adventure Bobby Carrot Forever for Nintendo’s WiiWare™ service. It will become available on the Wii Shop Channel™ on July 21st 2011. The game includes 72 levels with a whopping 15 hours of fun for only 800 Wii Points. Additional level packs with 72 levels each will provide additional 15 hours of gameplay for 500 Wii Points™. 5 Add-On level packs will be available at launch. With all Add-On contents combined, the game has a length of 90 (!) hours of gameplay.
Bobby Carrot Forever gameplay trailer (YouTube):
About “Bobby Carrot Forever”:
According to online resume listings, Rockstar may have been working on a second DS title. Rockstar Leeds, the studio behind Chinatown Wars, was apparently working on a 3D open-world game for the system.
The resume of an ex-AI programmer contained this blurb:
“…Later I worked on an unannounced DS title set in a full 3D open world. For this title I worked on various AI Systems including a complex hand to hand combat system. I ended my position at Rockstar while working on L.A. Noire for PS3.”
Meanwhile, an art assistant’s Linked in profile states that the employee has been involved with “2D and 3D art, prop placement and research.” The staffer is still with Rockstar Leeds.
Are the two listings related? Is the game still in development? My guess would be no to the second question. Or, if anything, perhaps the project was moved to the 3DS. At this point it just wouldn’t make sense to bring the game to the DS since, although it’s receiving some support still, is on the way out.
3DS Virtual Console
Mario’s Picross (Game Boy, Nintendo, £3.60/€4)
WiiWare
Successfully Learning German: Year 4 (Tivola, 500pts)
DSiWare
Jewel Keepers: Easter Island (Nordcurrent, £4.50/500pts)
Successfully Learning German: Year 4 (Tivola, £4.50/500pts)
Airport Mania: Non-Stop Flights (Lemon Team, £1.80/200pts)
Videos (free)
Zelda 25th Anniversary E3 2011 Orchestral Trailer
Mario’s Picross
Kirby TV Channel trailer
Kirby Mass Attack trailer
Kirby Wii trailer
IndustryGamers has posted a lengthy interview with Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma. Aonuma discusses some interesting topics, such as his involvement for Wii U, his desire to make something other than Zelda, and online gaming for the console (and talk relating to Zelda). Aonuma has also confirmed that Four Swords for DSiWare will not contain online functionality.
Aonuma’s thoughts on Wii U…
“First off… I’ve been involved in it in some capacity since the stage where we started to bring things all together and decide what to make of this new system. We had the idea already that we’re going to have this monitor in the controller. So that was about 2 years ago when I started to be involved in these meetings and we decided how we should further develop the system, and in what direction we wanted to take it.
“The way I was involved in many ways in the project was as the representative for how Zelda will evolve with this new console. That was the perspective I brought to those meetings. Obviously, Zelda is one of those games in which a lot of the gameplay is centered around the idea of items and tools that the player uses in various ways in their environment. And so, so far it’s just been me examining how I’d like to use that new controller on the interface there to allow additional control or easier control over the toolset that’s given to the player as well as how to open up new possibilities.”
