Nintendo Direct - Sonic: Lost World exclusive to Wii U, 3DS
Nintendo Direct sessions for North America and Europe contained quite a bit of interesting information on the firm's upcoming Wii U and 3DS titles for summer. During the event, the biggest take away was when Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that the next three Sonic titles to be released from SEGA will be exclusive to Nintendo systems.
An alliance with SEGA
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games for Wii U is in the works, and new events such as figure skating pairs have been added. Stages take place in both Sonic and Mario themed worlds, and different events such as curling, skiing, and snowboard slopestyle might use the Wii Remote Plus controller, Wii U GamePad controller or both. Launch details and timing will be announced at a later date.
Nintendo also announced a partnership with SEGA which will bring Sonic: Lost World to Wii U and 3DS exclusively. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said during the North American Nintendo Direct session that more will be announced closer to E3.
The first screenshot for the game is posted over on the SEGA Blog.
The SEGA partnership will also include a bevy of Game Gear titles coming to Nintendo's Virtual Console for 3DS such as: Columns, Crystal Warriors, Defenders of Oasis, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, G-LOC: Air Battles, Shining Force 2: The Sword of Hajya, Sonic Blast, Sonic Drift 2, Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Tails Adventure, and Vampire: Master of Darkness.
Another, unannounced Sonic title exclusive to Nintendo systems is also in the works.
Zelda, New Super Luigi, Wonderful 101, more
Nintendo Direct UK
NoA's JC Rodrico reiterated during the session that The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons lands in the NA eShop on May 30, and for the first three weeks of availability, each will be on sale for $4.99 instead of the normal $5.99.
JC also said that leading up to the launch of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, new videos from Nintendo Treehouse will be released showing various aspects of the game. A new Animal Crossing puzzle is available through StreetPass Mii Plaza today as well.
Game & Wario will release in US on June 23 and in Europe on June 28 through eShop and stores for $39.99. It includes a number of games that use the GamePad in different ways.
Newly revealed games include: Island, which lets two to five people launch little creatures called Fronks onto islands in the sea to score points; Patchwork, a puzzle game that tests players’ pattern-recognition skills; and Kung-Fu, which challenges players to help Young Cricket navigate a course safely using the forward-looking view on the TV and the top-down view on the GamePad.
A new Iwata Asks feature offers more details about the game here.
The Wonderful 101 will release in Europe on August 23 and in the US on September 15. Additional details will be announced after E3.
The biggest new out of both sessions, was that New Super Luigi U will be released as a standalone title, and as DLC for New Super Mario Bros. Wii U in July and August.
Nintendo Direct US
It will contain a new playable character in the form of Nabbit, who is only playable in multiplayer. New Super Luigi U hits retail as a standalone on August 25 in the US and on July 26 for Europe.
If you buy it as DLC, it will release in in both regions on June 20. As DLC it will run you $19.99 and $29.99 as a retail version.
Pikmin 3 gameplay was explained a bit more, such as how it can be played on the GamePad alone, how it the screen on it can also be used as a map showing areas previously explored and to pinpoint where characters are located in the world.
Three new main characters in the form of Alph, Brittany and Charlie have been added, and the game will not contain limitations during times of day.Various play controls will be available with Pikmin 3 as well such as the controller, nunchuck, GamePad, and more on multiplayer will be announced at a later date along with challenge modes.
Pikmin 3 will release in the US on August 4 and July 26 in Europe on Wii U.
Resident Evil: Revelations hits eShop on May 21 with GamePad controls and new content. Players can use the GamePad to view the map and change items using the touch screen without pausing their progress, or they can play the full game on the GamePad in off-TV mode, or play with the Wii U Pro Controller. The game is Miiverse-compatible, and a demo version is currently available on eShop.
Another Nintendo Direct focused on future Wii U content will air around the time of E3 2013, and will contain information on the new Smash Bros., 3D Mario game, Mario Kart and other Wii U titles.
If you are attending E3, Nintendo has partnered with Best Buy in the US to allow customers to play unreleased Wii U games during the event before they hit shelves.
You can re-watch both of today's sessions above, and specific game videos below.
