Last night was surely a late one for many Nintendo fans, with a new Nintendo Direct streaming live at midnight eastern time. It was full of great information and videos. And while much of it has been seen before there were some 'surprises' including of course, the Nintendo 3DS XL:
Nintendo 3DS XL
90% larger screen than original 3DSThe 4GB SD card (compared to the 3DS' 2GB will allow Nintendo to push downloading full games from the eShop even more, starting with New Super Mario Bros. 2 on the eShop August 19th, the same day as the 3DS XL's launch.
Updated form factor (rounded)
Better battery life
Will launch in red and blue colors
Bundled with a 4GB SD card
MSRP of $199.99, releasing August 19th
Pics
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Skylander Giants
Adventure Time
Lego The lord of the Rings
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Some other games were given new details including release dates:
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS)Will be coming to North America November 1st
Downloadable puzzles available every day for a year (FREE)
Super Smash Bros. 3DWill be a partnered effort between Nintendo and Namco Bandai, including Sakurai
Started development after the completion of Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition (Wii)6 classic Kirby games
Includes soundtrack and collectible book
New Super Mario Bros 2Releasing August 19th
Coin rush mode: 1 life, compete with friends over StreetPass
Full local co-op though enitre game
Many new items to get you more coins!
Fire EmblemComing in 2013
Nintendo will also begin to move into more DLC, including paid add-on content. Coin rush stages will be available for purchase for NSMB2 and Fire Emblem will also have paid DLC available.
Also announced were what 3DS users are to expect as to specific features while playing the DS games Pokemon Black 2/White 2. Players who have bought the upcoming eShop game Pokemon Dream Radar will be able to transfer their caught Pokemon to Black/White 2. Also to look forward to are many new and reduced price Virtual Console games coming to the eShop, starting today with Super Mario Land for $2.99.
Finally, in Japan the Nintedo Direct also seems to have shown off the latest Animal crossing game coming to the 3DS. You can check out that footage here, and the entire North Amierca Nintendo Direct below: