With the imminent release of the Nintendo 3DS (though since this article is posting late, it’s probably already out in Europe) I thought it’d be a good idea to go over all the games releasing alongside the new console. So in preparation for the launch of the Nintendo 3DS on March 25th in Europe, the 27th for North America and 31st for Australia, here are your launch titles. Given that the only game I’ve played on the console is the 3D version of Ocarina of Time (which isn’t even a launch game) I’ll try to keep my opinions away from the actual discussion of what’s coming out.
In terms of first party titles, Nintendo are releasing three launch games (or five if you want to count different versions of Nintendogs + cats, which you really shouldn’t). As well as the long awaited sequel to Nintendogs —the game that sold thousands of DS units whether you like it or not— Pilotwings is also finally being revisited, with Pilotwings Resort switching the setting to Wii Sports Resort’s Wuhu Island. Rounding out the trio is Steel Diver, an odd submarine simulator that started life as a tech demo for the original Nintendo DS. Steel Diver will only be a launch title in North America, so I’m predicting we might have another Excitebots on our hands, where Nintendo releases an incredibly niche title in the US only to never bring it anywhere else. That’s not to say that Steel Diver will sink, though, as previews of it so far have been fairly positive.
Somewhat similar to what the DSi offers, the 3DS’ camera capabilities allows you to merge faces of two different people. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto demonstrated this a few months ago.
Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime will be appearing on tonight’s episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, so Joystiq took it upon themselves to merge both of their faces in a couple of photos. You can check out the results above, and make sure to tune in to the show at 12:35 AM EDT.
This information comes from Ignition Entertainment’s Shane Bettenhausen…
“Yeah, we were talking about that at E3 before. I agree with a lot of the concerns you have with the voices in Arc Rise [Fantasia]. I’m not happy with how it turned out and we will definitely not use that localization company for any voices in the future.”
Usually I’m able to listen to the voices in video game without any sort of issue. I even kept the voiceovers on in Baten Kaitos, which most people couldn’t tolerate. With Arc Rise Fantasia, though, I was forced to turn them off right away. I was honestly surprised by how terrible the voice cast was…
It’s been over twenty years since River City Ransom was released. This summer, the title will finally be getting a sequel. Miracle Kidz revealed today that they are working on River City Ransom 2 for WiiWare as well as for the PC. No word yet on any localization plans, but I think we’ll see the game in North America and Europe eventually.
