Saint's Row 3DS is also an Xbox Live game, unlocks things in Saint's Row 3

We're glad we threw away our coffee before walking into Nintendo's E3 conference, because if we hadn't, we would've spit it out the second we spotted the Saint's Row logo among the parade of games announced for Nintendo's latest handheld.

Turns out, though, that THQ didn't just figure, "Hey, you know what'd not be the worst business decision of all time? A game full of thugs and prostitutes for Nintendo's primarily child and grandmother-based audience!" In actuality, it all began with an Xbox Live downloadable title. Take it away, core games VP Danny Bilson.

"Nintendo really wants to launch with a very balanced portfolio. They really don’t want it to feel like a kiddie platform. They were very clear: they really wanted Saints Row on it," he told IndustryGamers.

3D? Saints Row? Well gee, it's not like those grow on trees. Where is THQ gonna get one of thos- oh wait!

"Now, we know how those go sometimes: sure, the first party wants it, but is it really going to work? The interesting thing about the game is we were already making it. We were already making it as our Xbox Live game and in 3D also. It’s designed for 3D already. So the 3DS version is an incremental cost," Bilson said.

Convenient, huh? Better still, Bilson explained that - like the wholesome relationship between a pimp and his ho that Saint's Row sometimes depicts - there's plenty of give-and-take between Saint's Row 3D and Saint's Row 3.

"It’s a killer game. It’s got all the weird humor of Saints Row, and also its existence is part of the marketing plan to sell Saints Row 3. Also, all these games have hooks where, if you play it, it unlocks things in Saints Row 3. If you play Saints Row 3, it will unlock things in the 3DS game or the Xbox Live game. I don’t know if I was clear about that, but all of our extension properties all connect and unlock things in each other."

More through the link.