Nintendo 3DS XL and More Shown off on Nintendo Direct

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 3DS
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

The 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.

Pics

Nintendo also showed off a long line-up of games coming to the 3DS before the year is over, including:

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

Kingdom Hearts has a demo available right now in the eShop, so be sure to check it out!

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. 3D

Will 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 2

Releasing 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 Emblem

Coming 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:

What was your favorite announcement? What did I miss? Let us know in the comments below!

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Nintendo Direct June 21st Live Blog

AnythingGeek's very first live blog is below. We will follow the Nintendo Direct event as it is streamed live at 12AM EST, while taking your comments! Expect more info on the future of the Wii, DS, and 3DS.

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Nintendo Direct Tonight: Wii U Release Date, New Zelda Remake?

Today we got word of a new Nintendo Direct conference coming soon to our monitors. This conference will start at 12:00 AM EST, quite late considering past Nintendo Directs. If you want to know when it will be on for you, use the following time zone converter to find out.

No word on what the conference will pertain to but I hope it is either the Wii U's Price and release date or information on the rumored Zelda remakes of Majora's Mask or Link to the Past. We will have a round-up of the announcement right after it concludes so be sure to check out our coverage. To watch live head over to the Nintendo Direct website tonight.

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Pokémon Black 2 White 2: Early Copies Give New Info

Hey there folks, Atzunew back on the track of BW2 news. Recently some lucky ducks got their copies of Black/White 2 early. These users from the Japanese forum 2ch have been busily posting new information. Obviously there are spoilers so don't look if you're saving your surprise for the release. However, here are some of the highlights that we thought were interesting.

• The rival’s default name is Hugh/Hue/Hyuu (ヒュウ), the female player is named Mei (メイ) by default, the male character’s default name is Kyouhei.
• Video below shows off the player getting their starter Pokémon in a cool CG cut-scene.
• Repel can now be used again without going into the menu. After one runs out, it asks you “Repel’s effect ran out. Use another one? Y/N?”.
• The World Tournament is based in Driftveil City where the Cold Storage used to be.
• Iris is now the champion, no longer a mere gym leader. Drayden is now the Opelucid City gym leader for both versions.
• After clearing the game, you will be given a Key. This key allows for changing the game’s mode between Normal Mode (standard levels), Assist Mode (Trainers’ level will go down), and Challenge Mode (levels will go up). The Key also allows for the changing of Black City to White Forest and vice versa.

This is just a taste of the amount of content within Black & White 2. Continue to follow our coverage of these games to find out more of what to expect when it releases to Japan June 23rd and to us in North America this fall.

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Battlefield 3 Premium E3

In EA's conference they discussed with DICE on the nature of their new premium service, Battlefield Premium. This is essentially BF's answer for CoD Elite.  Like CoD Elite it will feature content that would enrich a fan's experience in a number of ways.

Members will get access to unique camo, dogtags and knifes, mostly vanity items.  What you would really pay the price of $49.99 for is the 2 week early access of DLC packs.  Back to Karkand, Close Quarters, Armoured Kill, Aftermath and End Game will be available in this service and separately.  Below is the trailer that they showed, the same trailer that was leaked recently.

 

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