Nintendo 3DS Continues its Evolution with Mario Kart, Super Mario and the Nintendo eShop as Nintendo Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda
LOS ANGELES--
At the E3 Expo, Nintendo introduced a new paradigm for video
games and home entertainment: Wii U™, a new console that
includes a controller with a 6.2-inch screen. Adding a second screen to
the living room creates a multitude of new video game experiences while
offering families a variety of options to customize their entertainment.
Previously, video games played on a home console have been confined to
the TV and offered identical viewpoints to each player in a multiplayer
environment. Furthermore, watching TV and playing console games have
been completely separate experiences. The new controller removes these
boundaries, creating a more dynamic and fluid gaming and entertainment
experience. Visitors to the E3 Expo will see firsthand the
type of gaming experiences made possible by Wii U and the new controller
such as:
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In single-player games:
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The new controller can display information on its screen that does
not appear on the TV.
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The information and viewpoint can also change in the new
controller based on the orientation of its gyroscope.
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In multiplayer games:
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The player using the new controller can have a different
experience than those looking at the TV. This will offer a wide
variety of competitive and cooperative opportunities.
In addition to the 6.2-inch screen, the new controller also features an
accelerometer and a gyroscope, a rumble feature, an inward-facing
camera, a microphone and speakers. Adding these features to the Classic
Controller™ button scheme – two analog Circle Pads, +Control
Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons – will enable a
breadth of game-play experiences while appealing to both casual and
dedicated video game players.
Wii U combines motion-sensing game play with the ability to support full
HD graphics. Each Wii U console will be partnered with a new controller
and can also use up to four additional Wii Remote™ or Wii
Remote Plus controllers. The system is also backward compatible and can
play all Wii games and use all Wii accessories. The Wii console has sold
more than 86 million units globally and greatly expanded the overall
audience for video games. Wii U aims to expand that audience even
further. Developers worldwide are already working on new games and
experiences for the console.
“Wii U redefines the structure of home entertainment by fundamentally
changing how the TV, the game console and the Internet function and
interact together,” said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. “The
experience enabled by Wii U and the new controller takes players deeper
into their games, while reaching out wider than ever before to be
inviting to all kinds of gamers.”
Nintendo 3DS™, which lets users see 3D images without the
need for special glasses, launched in the United States on March 27 and
continues to evolve. Owners will find that their Nintendo 3DS experience
is different every time they pick up the system, thanks to new content
and updates delivered by Nintendo, by third parties and exchanged
between users.
A new system update is now available for the Nintendo 3DS system. Users
who connect to a wireless broadband Internet connection and install the
system update will instantly gain access to the Nintendo eShop, which
contains a variety of games and applications for download using a
cash-based system.
Users can browse original 3D software, 3D Classics (select classic video
games re-mastered in 3D), classic Game Boy™ and Game Boy
Color games, and more than 350 games and applications currently offered
for the Nintendo DSiWare™ service. Visitors can also see
videos and screen shots for games, plus see how other players rank games.
The system update also provides Nintendo 3DS owners access to free
items, including an Internet browser that can show 3D images on sites
specifically designed to show 3D images, a download of a re-mastered 3D
version of the NES™ classic Excitebike™
game (free until July 7) and Pokédex™ 3D, which
lets users discover and view more than 150 Pokémon™ from the Pokémon
Black Version and Pokémon White Version games in visually
engaging 3D.
Nintendo also announced a huge lineup of upcoming new and fan-favorite
franchise games, many of which are playable on the E3 Expo
show floor in booth 4922.
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Nintendo 3DS: Super Mario™, Luigi’s Mansion™
2, Mario Kart™, Kid Icarus™:
Uprising, The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of
Time™ 3D, Star Fox 64™ 3D,
Animal Crossing™, Paper Mario™, Picture
Lives!, The Rolling Western™.
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Wii: The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword, Kirby™
Wii, Wii Play™: Motion, Mystery Case
Files™: The Malgrave Incident™, Mario
Party™ 9, Rhythm Heaven™ and Fortune
Street™.
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Nintendo DS™: Kirby™ Mass Attack, Professor
Layton and the Last Specter™, Dragon Quest Monsters:
Joker™ 2 and Super Fossil Fighters™.
Nintendo kicked off its E3 Expo Presentation by announcing a
number of initiatives to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The
Legend of Zelda. A re-mastered 3D version of The Legend of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time launches for Nintendo 3DS on June 19, while Wii
owners will see the arrival of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
in the 2011 holiday season. Additionally, Nintendo announced a tour of
orchestral concerts featuring music from the beloved franchise.
Additional commemorative activities will be announced at a later date.
For the duration of the E3 Expo, Nintendo will provide fans
with exclusive videos and Nintendo content on the Nintendo Network.
People can visit http://e3.nintendo.com
to watch developer interviews, get all the information about new games
and see coverage coming directly from the show floor. The same exclusive
content also will be streamed through the Nintendo® Channel
to Wii owners who have a broadband Internet connection.
For more information about Nintendo, visit http://www.nintendo.com
or http://www.facebook.com/nintendo.