Nintendo 3DS and Wii U To Support Paid-For DLC, Says Iwata...

Nintendo President, Sotaru Iwata, has promised 3DS users that the console will have a paid-for Downloadable Content (DLC) Service by the end of the year.

According to the Andriasaang website, Mr. Iwata told investors at an earnings briefing in Tokyo, that Digital Downloads would be available for the 3DS by the end of 2011.

 According to the article, Nintendo are currently trying to create a paid item transaction system that would allow users to download purchasable items for 3DS games.

However, at this stage, it is impossible to know what kind of downloadable content would be featured in the service or how this might affect the type of features offered on the console at the moment.

The announcement comes after Nintendo announced that it was going to dramatically drop 3DS console prices from £219 to just £130, in order to combat falling hardware sales.

Furthermore, Mr. Iwata has personality taken a fifty percent cut in pay after accepting responsibility for the failing sales of the 3DS.

 Other members of Nintendo's Board of Directors have also taken a twenty-three percent pay cut, after a recent finacial report showed that Nintendo's estimated earnings may suffer a loss of up to eighty-two percent by the end of the fiscal year, resulting in a sharp decline of stock value.

It is hoped that the introduction of paid-for DLC will help to curb the current loss in sales, boost eShop usage and help make the 3DS more attractive to new respective buyers. Mr. Iwata also confirmed that digital stock will now be Nintendo's main focus for at least the next three years.

Mini Gamers is very interested in the introduction of the DLC service. Keep checking in with the blogsite for more news on this subject as it happens.



Skimpy line-up, Hefty Price Tag, Game Cancellations - Has Nintendo Failed the 3DS?

The Nintendo 3DS was launched a little over four months ago, but dispite its very unique selling-point - real 3D gaming without the need for glasses, it has sold only 3.61 million units since its inception, which is well-below the 4 million units that Nintendo had originally estimated.

Prior to its release on the 25th March 2011, the Nintendo 3DS was "the most pre-ordered video games system ever" according to online retailer Amazon UK [sourced from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS#Release].

However, just a few months later, the console appears to be in trouble. Mini Gamers recently announced that several popular 3DS games had been cancelled, with a few more titles being delayed, pending a cancellation decision. What has prompted video games publishers to do this?

Sega has openly admitted that it has delayed two of its debut 3DS titles - Crush 3D and Shinobi because of the lack of success of the 3DS console in the current gaming market. 

According to Sega Studio Chief, Paul Mottram: "We did our first 3DS title - we got Crush onto that, but we had to delay the release of that because of the [lack of] success of the platform." [sourced from: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-07-14-nights-at-the-roundtable-interview]

So, what has caused the Nintendo 3DS console to sell far below expectation? There are a few speculative reasons as to why the Nintendo 3DS has failed to attract enough attention in the gaming market so far.

Some people blame the expensive launch price of the 3DS for its lack of success. Although the Japanese version of the 3DS console retailed at a fixed price of under £200, (25,000 Yen), the European price of the console was set by individual retailers, which meant that prices varied wildly between £219 to £250. This made the Nintendo 3DS the most expensive handheld console to date, which was quite off-putting to many handheld gamers.

Another potential reason as to why the Nintendo 3DS has failed to sell the estimated amount of units outside of Japan, is the somewhat weak European launch games line-up. The highest-selling 3DS game at the Japanese launch was Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, which sold 119,551 copies in its first launch weekend, and undoubtly contributed to the success of the 3DS in its native country.

However, when it was revealed that Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle would not be included in the European launch, it came as a disappointment. Worse still, other popular Nintendo game franchises were also not included in the line-up.

In fact, it was revealed that some of the most popular 3DS titles, including MarioKart 3D (see screenshot), Super Mario Bros 3D, Metal Gear Solid 3D, and Resident Evil: Revelations amongst others, would in fact not debut on the console until Winter 2011.

It has been argued in certain gaming circles, that if some of these more popular franchises had been part of the original launch games, it would have encouraged more gamers to trade in their DS consoles for a 3DS. Instead, many gamers have decided to wait until these titles are released, thus, affecting the overall popularity of the 3DS console.

A further reason for the lack of success of the 3DS console is that many of the unique features were not available at the original launch. This included the console's eShop and Internet Browser, and the Nintendo Video Service. 

These interactive features would have helped to make the 3DS stand out amongst its handheld competitors at launch and would have made the console appear much more versatile. Nevertheless, gamers had to wait several months for these applications to become available, by which time the console was already struggling to maintain good sales figures.

A Netflix film download service has now launched on the 3DS in North-America and is expected to launch in the UK and the rest of Europe some time next year.  It is hoped that this service will raise the console's public profile and lead to more sales, but at this point there is no way of knowing whether this plan will succeed.

Nintendo has now set itself the target of selling at least 16 million 3DS units by the end of the Fiscal year (which is the end of April 2012 in Japan). However, even Nintendo President Sotaru Iwata knows that this will be impossible if big name titles are not released before the end of the year. 

In a recent article on the Nintendo Life website, Mr. Iwata admitted that if big name titles such as MarioKart 3D and Animal Crossing 3D were not released by the beginning of 2012 at the latest, then the target figure of 16 million units was nothing more than a pipe dream.

He said: "If any one of the titles you mentioned right now is not released within this fiscal year, I do not believe that we will sell 16 million units of Nintendo 3DS hardware this fiscal year." [Sourced from: http://3ds.nintendolife.com/news/2011/05/iwata_we_need_big_games_to_hit_3ds_sales_targets_this_year]

Mini Gamers was very impressed with the 3DS console during our review earlier this year, and we are incredibly surprised that the console has not managed to exceed original sales estimations.

 The recent 3DS game cancellations have only helped to fuel the growing accusations that the 3DS is a novelty console whose success could only ever be short-lived.

Nevertheless, it is clear that the next few months will be vital in determining whether the 3DS can become the success that it was originally meant to be...

HAVE YOUR SAY...

Do you believe that the 3DS is a failure?

What can Nintendo do in the next 12 months to ensure that the 3DS can be a success?

If you would like to comment on any of the issues raised above, then please leave a message in our Comment's Box below. We'd love to hear from you.

Why Have These Popular 3DS Games Been Cancelled?

It has only been four months since the Nintendo 3DS launched throughout the UK and the rest of Europe, but already several top video games publishers have announced that they are cancelling their up and coming titles for the handheld console.

The list of 3DS games which have been confirmed as having been cancelled includes the following:

Saints Row: Drive By

My Garden

Assassin's Creed:  Lost Legacy

Mega Man Legends 3

Bomberman

Tetris 3D

Omega Five

As well as the above confirmed cancellations, there are also four more games whose production has been halted, pending decisions on whether to cancel them or not. These games are as follows:

DJ Hero (delayed, pending cancellation decision)

Crush 3D (delayed, pending cancellation decision)

Shinobi (delayed, pending cancellation decision)

BloodRayne: The Shroud (delayed, pending cancellation decision)

It is unclear why  many of these games have been axed, but what is even more worrying is that these titles come from big-name franchises and developers, and thus should have been extremely popular upon their release.

However, Sega has come forward and announced that it has chosen to delay their pre-released games, Crush 3D and Shinobi because of potential poor sales of the Nintendo 3DS console.

Studio Chief, Paul Mottram spoke to GameIndustryBiz about the cancellations recently. He said: "we're finding that everyone is not knowing what platform is going to succeed - we did our first 3DS title - we got Crush onto that, but we had to delay the release of that because of the success of the platform." [sourced from: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-07-14-nights-at-the-roundtable-interview]

Assassin's Creed: Legacy cancelled? Why?!?

The cancellations are also going to mean big gaps in the current 3DS release schedule, meaning that Nintendo 3DS users will have to wait even longer before new titles become available.

Nevertheless, It seems as though some of the cancellations have nothing to do with the Nintendo 3DS at all, but are rather the unfortunate consequences of major shifts within the video games industry instead.

For example, DJ Hero for the 3DS has reportedly been delayed, pending cancellation, because Activision is eventually planning to cease production of ALL its music-related game series, including Guitar Hero for the Wii, PS3 and Xbox because of: "Continued Declines in the Music genre..." [sourced from: http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/23615/news/dj-hero-axed-alongside-guitar-hero/]

Furthermore, according to a recent article on the CVG website, new 3DS titles like Bomberman and Tetris 3D, which were going to be developed by Hudson Soft, may have in fact been cancelled because of a company shift in which Hudson Soft has now become a wholly-owned, (as opposed to partially-owned,) subsidary of Konami, but this has not yet been confirmed.

However, even if this is the case, it still does not explain why other well-known videogame developers including EA (My Garden), THQ (Saints Row: Drive By) and Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed: Lost Legacy) have all cancelled their 3DS projects as well.

These game cancellations certainly do not bode well for the future of the Nintendo 3DS. An article for Kotaku.com summed up the problem nicely: " If developer after developer jumps ship, what kind of message does it send studios thinking about making a 3DS title?" [Sourced From: http://kotaku.com/5822519/whats-with-all-the-cancelled-3ds-games]

Mini Gamers is very disappointed to learn that these cancellations have occurred. The hope of the 3DS now rests with the other highly-anticipated game titles such as Resident Evil: Revelations, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, Kid Icarus: Uprising, StarFox 64 3D, MarioKart 3D, to name but a few.

However, it has to be said that with many of the above games not being released until Winter 2011 at the earliest in Europe, 3DS gamers could be in for a long and boring wait before something truly interesting comes along.

Let's just hope that these games can do enough upon their release to promote and secure the Nintendo 3DS' dominance in the handheld gaming market over the next twelve months or so.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

What do you think of the above cancellations?

Do you think these cancellations will harm the Nintendo 3DS' reputation?

If you would like to share your opinions with other readers on the blogsite, then please leave your comment in our comment's box. We appreciate your thoughts.

Professor Layton and the Specter's Flute/Last Specter Gets New Title For Its UK Release Date...

*Professor Layton 4 Release Date Announced. CLICK HERE for details...*

Professor Layton is one of a few videogame series to which the question: 'What's in a name?' seems to be of great importance. The previous three games in the series all had different Japanese, American and UK titles, and it now seems that the fourth game  is set to continue this trend.

The game was initially released in Japan as Professor Layton and the Specter's Flute. However at E3 2011, a new trailer revealed that the game would also be known as Professor Layton and the Last Specter. The Trailer also revealed a North-American release date of 'Fall 2011'.

However, a recent announcement about the UK release revealed that the fourth Professor Layton game would have a different title yet again. Apparently the UK version of the game will now be known as Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call. 

Unfortunately, there is still no specific UK release date yet, although the game is apparently still scheduled for release in the UK some time in  late 2011, which means that it will probably hit the shelves in time for the Christmas rush, but this is purely conjecture at the moment.

However, it is now also looking increasingly likely that the long-awaited fifth game in the series, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, which will make its debut on the Nintendo 3DS, will now not reach UK stores until 2012 at the earliest.

Keep checking in with the Mini Gamers blogsite for more news on this game as it develops.



Nintendo Launches European Video Service For The 3DS

It's finally here! Nintendo has launched its much anticipated Nintendo Video Service throughout Europe tonight.

The video service, (which is available to download  for free from the Nintendo 3DS eShop), will provide short  2D and 3D video clips and films to 3DS users. The video service in the UK has already provided two separate free video samples - 3D Magic and Oasis Cup, which will both be available until the 20th of July 2011.

3D Magic is a very short video clip showing an unknown Magician doing simple card tricks for the camera. The use of 3D is quite subtle in this clip, but still looks amazing on the 3DS screen. The magic tricks aren't that bad either...

Oasis Cup is a seven-minute short film about a little lizard called Oscar Oasis. This quirky and humorous little film is definitely worth a look. It shows how Oscar and his friends cope whilst they are lost in the desert.

The 3D is amazing and certainly sets the pace for any future short films which might appear on the new Nintendo 3DS Video Service.

The Video Service also includes Internet links to the videos that it uses where available. This means that if you wish to find out more about Oscar Oasis, you can click the 'Oscar on Internet' link and be taken to relevant web pages about Oscar Oasis and TeamTo - the very talented Production Team behind the animated series.

Spotpass notifications for the Video Service can also be set to 'ON'. This means that new videos can be downloaded even when the console is in Sleep Mode.

It may not be the full 3D film service that many users had been hoping for, but the new Nintendo Video service provides an extra interactive element for the 3DS, and, if the two video samples are anything to go by, the service is shaping up to be something very interesting indeed.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

What do you think of the Nintendo Video Service so far?

Does it live up to your expectations?

Do you like the two sample videos?

What suggestions do you have for future 3DS videos?

Please leave us a comment in our 'Comment's Box' and let us know what you think. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

No 3DS games in the eShop: Why the Nintendo 3DS Shop Will Never Beat The PSN Store...

It is now almost three weeks since Nintendo launched their new eShop service, and a lot of gamers out there are all wondering the same thing: Why are the games on offer all retro Nintendo titles? Why can't I download new Nintendo 3DS games from the eShop as well?

These are two very valid questions, and as yet, there has been no satisfactory answer as to why the actual 3DS games that you can find in the shops are not available to purchase from the eShop as well, but this could be one of the core reasons why the new eShop has not proven to be very popular amongst 3DS fans so far.

Instead of offering a few good 3D games to play and download, the eShop tends to be filled with several 2D retro Gameboy and DSiware titles, which is fine for those gamers who want to play them, but has left several other 3DS users feeling disappointed recently.

A sample of the only 3D game on offer in the eShop at the moment

Don't get us wrong, the Nintendo 3DS eShop is very useful when one is planning which Nintendo 3DS title to buy next. The 'Coming Soon to Shops' section, provides details of several up and coming titles as well as video trailers, which are displayed in full-3D, so that you can really tell how the games will actually look on your 3DS console.

The 'Now in Shops' section is also useful for keeping track of new 3DS game releases as well, as it lists several new titles along with customer reviews, trailers and information, which is very good.

Retro 2D games feature heavily in the eShop

However, it could be said that the 3DS eShop is still lacking in several ways. Nintendo's rival, the Playstation Network Store offers a whole range of new games for its various Playstation consoles, including its PSP handhelds. These games are purchasable and are instantly downloaded onto the console's special Memory Stick.

Frogger would look so much better in 3D, but alas, 2D only...

The Nintendo 3DS has a removable SD card for data and game storage, so it would not be too difficult for Nintendo to offer its own type of 3DS game download service if it wanted to. This would save gamers having to pre-order new games, and would add real value to the 3DS eShop.

Furthermore, Sony's Playstation Network Store also offers its own video rental and download service, so that gamers can get the latest films straight onto their consoles.

Nintendo has recently begun a 3DS TV streaming service in Japan, and has suggested that this type of service might eventually become available throughout Europe via a company called NetFlix, but with no commencement date in place, it seems like this could be a long way off in the future.

So will we ever get 3DS games in the eShop? Nintendo has mentioned that they will be adding playable demos alongside video trailers but they did not say whether they would ever consider adding purchasable 3DS downloads to the eShop.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

Would you like to see downloadable 3DS game titles in the Nintendo eShop, or do you think that the Nintendo eShop is okay just the way it is? What other services do you think Nintendo should provide in the 3DS eShop?

Please feel free to leave us a comment, and let us know your thoughts on this subject. We'd love to hear your opinions.

Nintendo 3DS Game Release Calendar: July 2011- Dec 2011

A list of new 3DS games with potential 2011/2012 North-American release dates has recently come to light on the Internet. The list gives details of upcoming 3DS games along with their currently scheduled North-American release dates.

The leaked Nintendo schedule contains a few titles that already feature in the pre-order sections of many online shops at the moment, but also contains a few interesting titles that we did not know about.

 It has to be said that some of the games shown in the list are North American releases only, and there does not seem to be any UK equivalent release date at all.

How The Calendar Is Arranged:

As Mini Gamers has attempted to modify the 3DS release date list in order to include confirmed UK 3DS release dates as well, you might notice some slight differences between our calendar and the original list. We have tried to make the calendar as easy to follow as possible by implementing the following rules:

•  In order to distinguish between the North-American and UK release dates, we have included either (NA) or (UK) alongside the relevant titles.

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• Where the UK date has been confirmed as being in the same week and/or month as the North-American release of the game, we have only listed the UK release date in order to avoid confusion.
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• Where the North-American release date for a game has been generalised, (ie. FALL 2011) but the scheduled UK release date has been given in full (ie. 07 July 2011), we have given the UK release date only, in order to avoid confusion.
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• Where the release date for a game has been generalised (ie. FALL 2011), and there is no UK release equivalent, we have placed the game title in the most likely month for its release, (ie. Fall = October etc) but we have listed the game as 'FALL 2011 TBC'.

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• Where a game has two separate release dates (ie. the same game is released in different months of the year) we have listed the game twice in its respective release month and used the (NA) and (UK) symbols to differientiate between the two versions.

It is impossible for Mini Gamers to list all the various pre-releases, so we have ommitted some of the games which have already been highly publicised, but there were a few 'surprise' titles that piqued our interest, which we felt were definitely worth a mention.

 Here we summerise the most interesting new 3DS pre-releases, along with their planned release dates. Please note, however, that all release dates are approximate, and may therefore be subject to change.

3DS GAMES July-Dec 2011

 JULY

Resident Evil: The  Mercenaries 3D July. 1 (UK)

Dream Trigger 3D July. 15 (UK)

MAHJONG CUB3D™ July. 19 (NA only)

AUGUST

Cave Story 3D Aug. 9 (NA)

Shin Megami Tensei® :Devil Survivor Overclocked™ Aug. 23 (NA only)

 

PAC-MAN® & GALAGA® DIMENSIONS Aug. 26 (UK)

James Noir's Hollywood Crimes™ Aug. 30 (NA)

 

Driver® Renegade Aug. 30 (NA)

 

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights SUMMER 2011 (NA)

SEPTEMBER

DualPen Sports Sept. 2 (UK)

Driver® Renegade Sept. 2 (UK)

Face Racers Photo Finish Sept. 2 (NA only)

                                        

StarFox 64 Sept. 11 (UK)

FIFA Soccer 3D Sept. 30 (UK) 

OCTOBER

Thor: God of Thunder FALL (NA), TBC (UK)

Captain America: Super Soldier FALL (NA), TBC (UK)

FIFA Soccer 12 FALL (NA)

 

Tetris 3D OCTOBER (NA - TBC)

The Hidden Oct. 4 (NA ONLY)

WRC: World Rally Championship Oct. 7 (UK)

 

Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic Oct. 11 (NA ONLY)

 

Pet Zombies Oct. 11 (NA ONLY)

Imagine® Fashion Designer Oct. 11 (NA ONLY)


Order Up! Oct. 14 (UK)



Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Oct. 14 (UK)



The Sims™ 3 Pets Oct. 21 (UK)



Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn Oct. 21 (UK)

Cute Puppies Oct. 25 (NA ONLY)

 

Horses 3D Oct. 25 (NA ONLY)

NCIS (working title) Oct. 25 (NA ONLY)

Imagine® Babyz 3D Oct. 25 (NA ONLY)

Michael Jackson The Experience Oct. 25 (NA)

Dr. Lutrec and the Forgotten Knights Oct. 28 (UK)

James Noir's Hollywood Crimes™ Oct. 28 (UK)

 

NOVEMBER

Raving Rabbids® 5 (working title) Nov.1 (NA ONLY)

One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP Nov. 1 (UK)

Disney's Magical Star (3DS) Nov. 1 (UK)

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 Nov. 4 (UK)

Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove 3D Nov. 4 (UK)

Reel Bass Fishing 3D Nov. 4 (UK)

 

Cooking Mama 4 Nov. 11 (UK)

Farm (working title) Nov. 15 (NA ONLY)

Sonic Generations Nov. 15 (NA), TBC (UK)

Need For Speed: The Run Nov. 18 (UK)

 

Tales of the Abyss Nov. 18 (UK)

Cave Story Nov. 25 (UK)

DECEMBER

Resident Evil: Revelations Dec. 2 (UK)

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater Dec. 2. (UK)

Gundam Dec. 2 (UK)

Super Mario 3D Dec. 2 (UK)

Luigi's Mansion 2 Dec. 2 (UK)

Mario Kart 3D Holiday (NA), TBC (UK)

 

There you have it, several new 3DS games, which will apparently be released by the end of the year. We were pleased that  popular games such as FIFA Soccer 3D and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 made the list, as well as many more besides.  

 As always, it is impossible to give accurate release dates as they tend to change so often, but we are hopeful that the information presented here is correct at the time of publication.

We have also used a reputable retailer for the scheduled UK dates (where listed), so we are confident that these dates are as accurate as possible. If you would like to read the original list, please click HERE.

Remember to check in with the Mini Gamers blogsite regularly for updated news about these games as it happens.