Nintendo Direct Broadcast Brings Happy News To Fans Of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and a lot more besides...

If you are a big fan of Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the Nintendo 3DS/New 3DS or 2DS consoles, then you would have been delighted by the latest Nintendo Direct Broadcast, which aired yesterday. Nintendo have announced that they are planning to release a new spinoff interior design simulator, which is themed around the Animal Crossing series, called Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer.

Have you have ever wanted to create the perfect home for your Animal Crossing: New Leaf  buddies?Well, this is your chance. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer lets you design custom interiors for all the characters in the classic game. They tell you what kind of room they want, and you collect items of furniture, wallpapers and carpets that help to turn their dream homes into a reality.

Nintendo also mentioned that this would be the first ever Animal Crossing game to come with Amiibo NFC supported content. However, instead of the Amiibo figurines that have been produced for Super Smash Bros. 4, (which have often been accused of being impractical and too bulky to use when carrying them around with the portable New 3DS console,) Nintendo have announced that Animal Crossing: Happy Home designer will use Amiibo cards instead, which work in the same way as the Amiibo figurines, but which are easier to store and collect. This obviously has a lot of scope for use with other future Nintendo titles as well. 

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer is expected to be released in the USA and Europe some time in Autumn 2015. However, there was even more Animal Crossing news, as Nintendo also went on to talk about the new Animal Crossing DLC course which is now coming to Mario Kart 8 on the 23rd of April 2015.

As well as a course which looks to be every bit as cutesy and quirky as the original Animal Crossing game, including different seasons every time the characters race around the track, Nintendo will also add a free update that adds a 200cc speed class, which  means that players who have mastered the existing races get a brand new challenge.  The update also adds support for more Amiibo characters.

For those of you who are not fans of Animal Crossing, there were further announcements including (amongst others), a  trailer for for a new Fire Emblem game, which is due to be released in Europe in 2016, an announcement about a special Amiibo peripheral which will allow existing 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS consoles to use the Amiibo figurines, and an announcement about the fourth wave of collectible Amiibo figures, which can be expected over the next few months:

MAY 2015:

*Charizard
* Pac-Man
* Wario
*Jigglypuff
*Greninja
*Robin
*Lucina
*Ness

JULY 2015:

* Dark Pit
* Palutena

SEPTEMBER 2015:

* Zero Suit Samus
* Ganondorf
* Olimar
* Dr. Mario
* Bowser Jr.


Thus, it looks as though the next few months are going to be very interesting for Nintendo gamers.
The full Nintendo Direct Broadcast can be viewed below:

Having trouble viewing this trailer? CLICK HERE

New Nintendo 3DS Console Gets Official North American and UK Release Dates!

The wait is finally over for Nintendo fans in the UK after a special Nintendo Direct broadcast at 2pm today has revealed some more information about the upcoming New 3DS, including the all-important European release dates!

Mini Gamers can now reveal that the console, which has already been released in places such as Japan and Australia will now debut in the UK and North America on the 13th of February 2015. Furthermore, both the New 3DS and its XL counterpart will debut in the UK on the same date, so there will be no need to upgrade to the larger model (which is equal in size to the current 3DS XL) at a later date. North America will only have the XL model of New 3DS.

Furthermore, there is good news  for Nintendo 3DS users who wish to use their existing 3DS games on the new system, which was initially considered incompatible with existing 3DS software as it has a different, more advanced processor.

Nevertheless, Nintendo yesterday revealed that some existing 3DS titles, including the ever-popular Super Smash Bros. 4, WILL receive a firmware update on the 13th of February that will make them compatible with the New 3DS system. However, Nintendo will still be bringing out some exclusive titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, (which is set to debut in April 2015,) which will work exclusively with the New 3DS systems only.

As well as being larger and having more processing power than the previous 3DS models, the New 3DS comes equipped with a new C-stick, for enhanced control, as well as a special 'Amiibo' button, which will allow users to sync their New 3DS with Nintendo's unique range of NFC figurines for the first time ever! Nintendo  also announced its second wave of Super Smash Bros. 4 'Amiibo' toys during the broadcast.

We here at Mini Gamers HQ are very excited by the news. Those of you who are desperate to own the New 3DS for yourselves will not have very long to wait at all! If you missed the broadcast yesterday, watch it below now:

Sony and Nintendo's E3 Handheld Line-ups revealed...

There is only three days to go before one of the biggest events in the gaming calendar gets underway in Los Angeles, and already the rumors have been circulating.

E3 2014  (AKA The Electronic Entertainment Expo), promises an exciting line-up of games and news of future releases for almost every games console in existence, so what does this mean for the Nintendo 3DS and Sony's PS Vita  handheld gaming devices?

As well as the usual E3 conference, which this year takes place at 6pm on Monday the 9th June 2014 Pacific Time (or a very early 2 a.m. BST on Tuesday 10th June 2014 for UK fans who wish to watch the live-stream of the event),  Sony has also decided that it will show a total of seventy different games in its gaming booths, including several PS Vita titles such as:

(click on each link for more information about the game or trailers)

•Big Fest 

•Disgaea 4: A Promise revisited 

•Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed

•CounterSpy 

•Freedom Wars

•Gravity Crash Ultra

•Gunship X

•Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

•Hyper Light Drifter 

•Invizimals: The Alliance

•Legend of Raven

•MechRunner

•Metrico 

•MLB 14 The Show

•Murasaki Baby

•One Way Trip

•PS Vita Pets

•PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate

•Race the Sun

•Rogue Legacy 

•Super Exploding Zoo

•Switch Galaxy Ultra

•To Leave 

Meanwhile, Nintendo has opted for the second year in a row to not participate in an official E3 Press conference. Instead, they have chosen to stream their own special Nintendo Direct broadcast at 9pm on Tuesday the 10th June 2014 Pacific Time (that's 5 p.m. BST for UK fans).

As well as their various announcements for the Wii and Wii U, Nintendo are also expected to reveal a few new 3DS titles, including an as yet unnamed Starfox 64 adventure and Project S.T.E.A.M (Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace).

Furthermore, Nintendo have already announced that the presentation will reveal a brand new NFP (AKA Nintendo Figurine Platform/NFC Featured Platform) range of toys. For those of you who have never heard of NFP, these are special figurines that have Near Field Communication built into them, which allow them to interact within virtual games in the same way that Skylanders or Disney Infinity figurines do.

This year's E3 is shaping up to be quite exciting. If you wish to watch the Press Conferences for yourself, both the Playstation.blog and official Nintendo websites will be streaming the relevant conferences live as they happen in Los Angeles.

Alternatively, PS4 owners may wish to watch the Sony Conference on the PS4's UStream app, or those of you with Youtube accounts will be able to gain access to the Ustream website by clicking the link in the E3 trailer video. Please note, that an age restriction does apply to the Ustream site and viewers will be required to give their birthday details before being allowed to view any of the live footage. Lastly, GameSpot will be offering its readers the chance to watch all the E3 conferences live, so there really is no excuse to miss out on the action.

Just a little reminder for UK fans:

The Nintendo broadcast won't be taking place at E3, but will be streamed live from the Nintendo HUB (on the Nintendo website) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday the 10th June 2014, British Standard Time.

Meanwhile, Sony's Press conference will be streamed live on any of the various channels listed above at 2 a.m. (early morning) on Tuesday the 10th June 2014.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

Which shows/announcements are you most looking forward to at this year's E3 conference?

If you have any comments, suggestions or wishlists for the E3 conference, then why not leave a comment in the box below? Mini Gamers loves to hear from you.

One To Watch: Tomodachi Life [3DS]

Nintendo has today revealed an exciting new  Life Simulation game, Tomadachi Life (Tomodachi is the Japanese word for 'friend'), which will be released for the Nintendo 3DS on the 6th June 2014. The game allows players to create Miis of almost anyone they can think of and bring them to life in their own virtual world.

The game takes place on Chin island,  a special place inhabited by various Miis, which the player can import from their 3DS Mii Maker or via the 3DS QR code reader. Miis can also be created by using the 3DS camera or the in-game creation tools.

 Once created, these little avatars can be given their own voice and then players can set about creating a unique personality based on some slider inputs. The game is open-ended and almost anything can happen as new Miis interact together to form their own virtual communities.

Miis can perform various actions, such as eating, trying on different outfits and doing many leisurely activities such as going to the beach or dining at a restaurant, etc. As more Miis are introduced into the game, different interactions will become available and new events will occur. Miis can develop new skills and experience social developments such as friendship, romance, and rivalry, as well as take part in some bizarre musical numbers.

If you are curious about how all these elements work together, then the latest Nintendo Direct broadcast seeks to answer your questions:

  (Having trouble viewing this video? CLICK HERE)

Tomodachi Life  cleverly blends together many core elements from other Life Simulation games. If you have enjoyed games such as The Sims 3, Enchanted Folk or Animal Crossing, then this may be the perfect addition to your collection. Mini Gamers looks forward to bringing you further news about the game as it develops.