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With so much talk of Wii U, it’s a little easy to forget what else Nintendo will be showing at E3 2012. The 3DS finally has the momentum its publisher desires, particularly in Japan. In an effort to maintain the system’s strength in the portable gaming market, Nintendo is no doubt preparing an armada of must-see games to showcase.
What’s interesting is we have a pretty good idea of what will make an appearance next week. In fact, one of these games was playable at last year’s show. Will all of these absolutely be there? We’re not sure (and even if we were, we couldn’t say), but this is certainly a good place to start.
Animal Crossing 3DS
Release Date: TBA 2012
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation
It feels like Nintendo has kept Nook fans waiting forever to hear all the juicy details about the next portable Animal Crossing - but we expect the company to blow the lid off it at this year’s show. The biggest change, at least as far as we know, should involve the fact that players will be taking over Tortimer’s old role, acting as mayor of their village. Other additions include the ability to swim and dive, new outfit choices (Shoes! Pants!), the ability to design furniture, and more. All of this has us excited to see if this new game can finally pry us away from Wild World.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate
Release Date: TBA
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Action
The DS Castlevania games were absolutely brilliant additions to the system’s library - needless to say, we can’t wait to see what this new one has in store. Castlevania: Lords of Shadows - Mirror of Fate is a direct sequel to Lords of Shadow, and is being developed by the same company, MercurySteam. While the team may be different from the one that made DS Castlevania classics like Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia, we’re hopeful the game will still have that same portable Castlevania magic. If so, count us in for some vampire killing action.
Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
Release Date: Q3 2012
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: Action
We weren’t all that surprised when Disney confirmed the existence of Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. What did take us off guard was the fact that a 3DS game was also in the works - and it actually has us far more excited than its console counterpart. This 2D platforming adventure will act as a sequel to the SEGA Genesis classic Castle of Illusion. The touchscreen will allow players to draw items that will then appear in-game to either help or hinder Mickey (depending on how good your tracing job was). Little is known about the game at this time - though we do know the one and only Scrooge McDuck will be making an appearance - so expect more details to roll in from E3.
Luigi’s Mansion 2
Release Date: TBA
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Ghost Bustin’
The odd thing about Luigi’s Mansion 2 is that we already played it at E3 2011. Assuming it makes an appearance at this year’s show, we’re expecting to see a substantial amount of new content. For the most part last year’s Luigi’s Mansion demo reaffirmed one thing – Nintendo was indeed making another entry in the franchise we first played back in 2001. If the sequel is going to impress us next week, it needs to clearly establish why it’s different from its predecessor – and why it’s better.
Paper Mario 3DS
Release Date: TBA
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Platformer/RPG
We really don’t know much about Paper Mario 3DS aside from a handful of screens that have appeared over the past year. While Nintendo has mentioned games like Animal Crossing in significant detail since last year’s E3, Paper Mario information has been nonexistent. The only thing we do know is Nintendo intends to release this game by the end of its current fiscal year, making a showing at this year’s E3 all but certain.
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Release Date: August 2012
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: 2D Platformer
New Super Mario Bros. 2 changed the landscape of the 3DS’s software schedule for 2012. Only announced this past April, this sequel to the best-selling DS game of all time will actually arrive before any other game on this list – in August. In addition to bringing back classic power-ups and concepts like the Power Leaf’s raccoon tail, the game will also be the testing ground for Nintendo’s ambitious digital service for full retail games.
The Unknown
We have a good sense (or at least we think we do) of what's coming to the 3DS at E3 2012. But for every game we do know, there's likely one waiting in the shadows. It's certainly possible we see a wave of announcements from Nintendo and its partners, whether it be localizations of games like Fire Emblem, Project X Zone or Monster Hunter 4 (or 3G, for that matter). Will we get confirmation that titles like Square's Bravely Default RPG are on their way, or a concrete release date for some of the games we've listed above.
It's also possible - and likely - we see new games. Though Nintendo already has a formidable line-up for the coming year, it's also a known quantity. E3 is about building buzz, so what if the publisher confirmed the next Zelda game for the 3DS, and whether it's Link to the Past 2 or something entirely original? It would also be smart to pull back the curtain on any projects from third parties. Another Resident Evil? Maybe something from the likes of Rockstar, Activision or EA? The 3DS has been rock solid in Japan for months - but Nintendo could use the assist elsewhere in the world.
The start of E3 2012 is less than a week away. Next Tuesday morning Nintendo will bring its biggest and best announcements, not only to usher in Wii U but keep the 3DS going strong. Keep in mind Nintendo might have a bit more up its sleeve after the Tuesday morning conference ends. The publisher has two more events scheduled, on Tuesday night and Wednesday night. Though the Tuesday night presentation is focused on Wii U, Wednesday's gathering is a more vague 'Software Showcase'. Will we get a bit more for the 3DS? We'll find out in about a week..
What’s interesting is we have a pretty good idea of what will make an appearance next week. In fact, one of these games was playable at last year’s show. Will all of these absolutely be there? We’re not sure (and even if we were, we couldn’t say), but this is certainly a good place to start.
Animal Crossing 3DS
Release Date: TBA 2012
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Simulation
It feels like Nintendo has kept Nook fans waiting forever to hear all the juicy details about the next portable Animal Crossing - but we expect the company to blow the lid off it at this year’s show. The biggest change, at least as far as we know, should involve the fact that players will be taking over Tortimer’s old role, acting as mayor of their village. Other additions include the ability to swim and dive, new outfit choices (Shoes! Pants!), the ability to design furniture, and more. All of this has us excited to see if this new game can finally pry us away from Wild World.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate
Release Date: TBA
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Action
The DS Castlevania games were absolutely brilliant additions to the system’s library - needless to say, we can’t wait to see what this new one has in store. Castlevania: Lords of Shadows - Mirror of Fate is a direct sequel to Lords of Shadow, and is being developed by the same company, MercurySteam. While the team may be different from the one that made DS Castlevania classics like Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia, we’re hopeful the game will still have that same portable Castlevania magic. If so, count us in for some vampire killing action.
Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
Release Date: Q3 2012
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: Action
We weren’t all that surprised when Disney confirmed the existence of Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. What did take us off guard was the fact that a 3DS game was also in the works - and it actually has us far more excited than its console counterpart. This 2D platforming adventure will act as a sequel to the SEGA Genesis classic Castle of Illusion. The touchscreen will allow players to draw items that will then appear in-game to either help or hinder Mickey (depending on how good your tracing job was). Little is known about the game at this time - though we do know the one and only Scrooge McDuck will be making an appearance - so expect more details to roll in from E3.
Luigi’s Mansion 2
Release Date: TBA
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Ghost Bustin’
The odd thing about Luigi’s Mansion 2 is that we already played it at E3 2011. Assuming it makes an appearance at this year’s show, we’re expecting to see a substantial amount of new content. For the most part last year’s Luigi’s Mansion demo reaffirmed one thing – Nintendo was indeed making another entry in the franchise we first played back in 2001. If the sequel is going to impress us next week, it needs to clearly establish why it’s different from its predecessor – and why it’s better.
Paper Mario 3DS
Release Date: TBA
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Platformer/RPG
We really don’t know much about Paper Mario 3DS aside from a handful of screens that have appeared over the past year. While Nintendo has mentioned games like Animal Crossing in significant detail since last year’s E3, Paper Mario information has been nonexistent. The only thing we do know is Nintendo intends to release this game by the end of its current fiscal year, making a showing at this year’s E3 all but certain.
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Release Date: August 2012
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: 2D Platformer
New Super Mario Bros. 2 changed the landscape of the 3DS’s software schedule for 2012. Only announced this past April, this sequel to the best-selling DS game of all time will actually arrive before any other game on this list – in August. In addition to bringing back classic power-ups and concepts like the Power Leaf’s raccoon tail, the game will also be the testing ground for Nintendo’s ambitious digital service for full retail games.
The Unknown
We have a good sense (or at least we think we do) of what's coming to the 3DS at E3 2012. But for every game we do know, there's likely one waiting in the shadows. It's certainly possible we see a wave of announcements from Nintendo and its partners, whether it be localizations of games like Fire Emblem, Project X Zone or Monster Hunter 4 (or 3G, for that matter). Will we get confirmation that titles like Square's Bravely Default RPG are on their way, or a concrete release date for some of the games we've listed above.
It's also possible - and likely - we see new games. Though Nintendo already has a formidable line-up for the coming year, it's also a known quantity. E3 is about building buzz, so what if the publisher confirmed the next Zelda game for the 3DS, and whether it's Link to the Past 2 or something entirely original? It would also be smart to pull back the curtain on any projects from third parties. Another Resident Evil? Maybe something from the likes of Rockstar, Activision or EA? The 3DS has been rock solid in Japan for months - but Nintendo could use the assist elsewhere in the world.
The start of E3 2012 is less than a week away. Next Tuesday morning Nintendo will bring its biggest and best announcements, not only to usher in Wii U but keep the 3DS going strong. Keep in mind Nintendo might have a bit more up its sleeve after the Tuesday morning conference ends. The publisher has two more events scheduled, on Tuesday night and Wednesday night. Though the Tuesday night presentation is focused on Wii U, Wednesday's gathering is a more vague 'Software Showcase'. Will we get a bit more for the 3DS? We'll find out in about a week..