Shulk confirmed for Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS

Nintendo has confirmed that Shulk will be a playable character in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. games for Wii U and 3DS. The news came during today's Japanese Nintendo Direct, complete with a reveal trailer.

Earlier this month, it was rumored that Shulk, Bowser Jr., and the Duck Hunt Dog would appear in the brawlers, and a handful of videos were posted on YouTube which were allegedly "leaked" by someone in the industry. The videos appeared to be too convincing to be faked, and Nintendo had them pulled from YouTube by filing claims of copyright infringement. Given today's news, it appears that some of the other rumored characters may be officially announced sometime soon, thought it should be noted that the Duck Hunt Dog did not appear in any of the leaked videos.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Shulk, he is the sword-wielding young man who made his debut in Xenoblade Chronicles, which was released on the Wii a few years back. While it was a Wii exclusive, that is no longer the case.

Coinciding with today's Smash Bros. news, the Big N announced two brand new models of the 3DS called the "New Nintendo 3DS," and "New Nintendo 3DS LL" (Japanese name for XL model). The new models feature a stronger CPU, more buttons, and a right analog stick, in addition to NFC technology for use with Amiibo figures. Right after the portable consoles were revealed, Nintendo announced that the critically acclaimed Xenoblade Chronicles is being ported to them. The stronger hardware and extra buttons have made the conversion that much easier for the development team, and it appears that the existing 3DS and 2DS systems will miss out.

Getting back to Smash Bros.... a two-CD soundtrack for the game was announced, and those who register both the Wii U and 3DS games with Club Nintendo will receive it for free. The offer will be valid for a limited time only, and it will be reserved for members who live in North America and Europe. Here's the official announcement:

"As another offering for fans, those who register both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of the games in Club Nintendo – before a set time - can claim the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U: Premium Sound Selection, a free soundtrack CD packed with tunes taken from and inspired by the games. Further details on the timings pertaining to this offering will follow at a later date."

The reveal trailer for Shulk is titled "Looks like we don't have a choice," which is something he says in Xenoblade Chronicles, though it may also be a joke about the spoiled surprise. If that's the case, it's nice to see that Nintendo has a sense of humor about the situation. You can watch the video after the break.

Kid Icarus: Uprising listed for Wii U on Amazon France, Italy

Coming to Wii U?

Months ago, it was widely reported that Amazon had posted a listing for a Wii U version of Kid Icarus: Uprising on their French website. The listing is still there, and now Amazon's Italian website has also posted a listing for the game. The listings could be simple accidents or wishful thinking on Amazon's part, but it is also possible that they know something the rest of us don't.

 Kid Icarus: Uprising was released on the 3DS last year, receiving very good reviews and selling admirably. The lead designer, Masahiro Sakurai, said that he has no plans for a sequel and is currently hard at work on the new Super Smash Bros. games for the Wii U and 3DS. However, seeing as Kid Icarus: Uprising is already finished, it is possible that Nintendo could port the game to their new console without the need for Sakurai to get involved.

We'll report more on this as it develops.

Sources

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Wii U - Amazon France

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Wii U - Amazon Italy

Rumor: Nintendo working on cartridge for streaming between Wii U and 3DS

(Image from Japanese TV commercial for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.)

According to Nintendo Master, a French video game site, Nintendo is working on a cartridge that will allow  streaming between the Wii U and the 3DS. By using the cartridge and a Circle Pad Pro, the 3DS would function as a Wii U GamePad. The cartridge is supposedly set to release late this year.

Source: Nintendo Master

Mighty Switch Force! HD - Wii U details and video review of 3DS version

Mighty Switch Force! HD is a Wii U eShop launch day title, and if you aren't familiar with it, you should be. It's an enhanced port of the 3DS eShop title, Mighty Switch Force!, which received very good reviews when it was released late last year. The game is a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer where you control a female police offer named Patricia Wagon as she runs, jumps, and blasts her way through puzzles and enemies.

Gaming site Polygon has published a massive article on the game's developer, WayForward, which gives a brief history of the company along with a preview of sorts of Mighty Switch Force: Hyper Drive Edition. The game's director, Austin Ivansmith, revealed that the Wii U version will be more than just a port with enhanced graphics, as it will offer more of a challenge than the original game. One of the most common criticisms of the 3DS incarnation was that it was too easy. As Ivansmith explains, the intent was to make it accessible to as wide an audience as possible, and toning down the difficulty was one way to do it.

According to Nintendo's official website, the Wii U version will be playable on the GamePad or on a TV in dual screen mode. It will feature all 21 levels of the original, but there will also be new Hyper versions of each stage which are said to be very difficult. By the way, WayForward is the same developer who created Contra 4. I think they know something about making hard games.

Since the game is a port of the 3DS version, I figured it would be a good idea to include a video review of it. Keep in mind, though, the graphics have been redrawn for the Wii U version and will be in HD. You can watch Kwing's video review after the break.

Source: Polygon

Nintendo announces 2012 Nintendo Holiday Mall Experience

Nintendo has announced the 2012 Nintendo Holiday Mall Experience, a promotion that will allow shoppers to try out Wii U and 3DS games at 26 malls across the United States. It begins on Nov. 19th and runs until Dec. 16th. We actually reported it was coming almost a week ago, thanks to a tip from one of our readers. Anyway, it has finally been officially announced and we have the full details about the games featured and the participating malls.

Games

Wii U
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land
ZombiU
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 13
Just Dance 4 (available upon request)
Madden NFL 13 (available upon request)
Darksiders II (available upon request)
Scribblenauts Unlimited (available upon request)

3DS
New Super Mario Bros. 2
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Pokédex 3D Pro
Skylanders Giants
Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
Sparkle Snapshots 3D
Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!! (available upon request)

Locations
• Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, Calif.
• Independence Center in Independence, Mo.
• Water Tower Place in Chicago
• Westfield Fox Valley in Aurora, Ill.
• Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, Texas.
• Queens Center in Elmhurst, N.Y.
• Kenwood Towne Centre in Cincinnati
• Mayfair in Wauwatosa, Wisc.
• Castleton Square in Indianapolis
• Woodbrige Center in Woodbridge, N.J.
• King of Prussia in King of Prussia, Penn.
• Westfield Culver City in Culver City, Calif.
• Mall of Georgia in Buford, Ga.
• The Mall in Columbia in Columbia, Md.
• Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough, Mass.
• Westfield Southcenter in Seattle
• Southdale Center in Edina, Minn.
• Dolphin Mall in Miami
• The Galleria in Houston
• Westfield San Francisco Centre in San Francisco
• Westfield Topanga in Canoga Park, Calif.
• Westfield North County in Escondido, Calif.
• Washington Square in Portland, Ore.
• Chandler Fashion Center in Chandler, Ariz.
• Northlake Mall in Charlotte, N.C.
• Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Nintendo Holiday Mall Experience 2012 coming - features Wii U and 3DS games

Update: Confirmed - Nintendo has officially announced the Nintendo Holiday Mall Experience.

Click here for details.

Original Story
One of our readers has been giving us a few tips lately. He recently e-mailed Nintendo asking about the Wii U sampling tour, and the customer service rep gave him some big news. It turns out Nintendo is launching something called the "Nintendo Holiday Mall Experience 2012." According to the e-mail, the tour will feature both the Wii U and 3DS XL in 26 malls nationwide "giving busy shoppers an opportunity to sample the Wii U and 3DS XL as several games for each system." The tour is set to begin on November 19th, 2012 and will end on December 16th, 2012.

Featured Games
- Nintendo Land
-New Super Mario Bros. U
-SiNG PARTY
-ZombiU
-Rayman Legends
-"May be other games shown depending on the location"

Our tipster has even made a YouTube video showing the contents of the e-mail. What a guy. Thank you Derrick!

Video after the break.

Nintendo considering Wii U/3DS connectivity

The Wii U is pretty much a giant 3DS.

In an interview with IGN, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that Nintendo is still thinking about possible ways to have the Wii U and 3DS interact with one another. This comes as no surprise as Nintendo has a history of linking their consoles to their handhelds, but Miyamoto did say that things can get complicated when three screens are involved.

Miyamoto: “Of course we are thinking of the possibility of connecting Wii U and Nintendo 3DS once again. But we have challenged connectivity on many occasions, and one of the great lessons we have learned is the simple fact that those who own both are much fewer than those who don’t own both. So what we decided early on when considering the Wii U design was that we had to make it so that every single purchaser of the Wii U is going to have the same play conditions, the same equipment.”

“Even between Wii and 3DS, there are some things that can be done by connecting with each other – Mii channel is interchangeable on both systems. There are things that can easily done by transferring data between Wii and DS or 3DS systems.”

“If we are going to do that with Wii U and 3DS, there would be three screens to consider. The reason why we were not so eager to do a similar thing between Wii and DS if that it would have become very complicated using two screens on the DS and one screen on the Wii. But of course we are trying to think about a way to expand the experience of 3DS and Wii U when they are connected with each other, one way or the other.”

Source: IGN

Club Nintendo offers Donkey Kong: Original Edition for free

Though not its official name, we will always call it the "pie factory." 

Yes, it is included in Donkey Kong: Original Edition. 

Club Nintendo has a special offer you might want to take advantage of. From now until January 6, 2013, if you buy one of five 3DS titles and register it at Club Nintendo, you can download Donkey Kong: Original Edition for free! This special version of the NES Donkey Kong has extra material to make it more like the arcade version, including the level you see in the screenshot above.

And yes, we are aware that this is a 3DS eShop offer, but it's a pretty slow news day as far as the Wii U is concerned, and this is just too good a deal to miss out on.

Click here for details.

Amazon France lists Kid Icarus: Uprising for Wii U

Coming to Wii U?

Online retailer Amazon French website has posted a listing for a Wii U version of Kid Icarus: Uprising on their French website. The game was released on the 3DS last year, receiving very good reviews and selling admirably. The lead designer, Masahiro Sakurai, said he has no plans for a sequel and is currently hard at work on the new Super Smash Bros. games for the Wii U and 3DS. However, if Nintendo were to port the game to their new console, it could be done by a team with little to no effort by Sakurai. Then again, the listing could be a simple accident or possibly wishful thinking on Amazon's part. We'll have more on this as it develops.

Source: MyNintendoNews

Capcom explains how Wii U and 3DS versions of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate interact

You'll be able to hunt monsters wherever you go.

Ryozo Tsujimoto, producer of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, has explained how the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game will interact with each other. As previously revealed, players will need to download a special app onto their 3DS in order to transfer save data between the handheld and the Wii U, allowing players to play the game at home or on the go. Here is some of the new information Tsujimoto had to share:

Tsujimoto: “We wanted people to play together. We know there are some people who want to play online. Unfortunately with the 3DS version you can’t do that. But we have made this feature so you can play together. You can have your friends bring their save data to your house and have a Monster Hunter party. One person will play on the big screen and three other people will play with their 3DS versions. People can continue their save data from what they had before and go back home and update their data on their Wii U.”

As for the question as to why the 3DS version does not support online play, Tsujimoto explained that the team looked into it but felt it would not be up to their standards, detracting from the experience and lowering the quality of the game.

Tsujimoto: “To put it frankly, when we were developing the game we were looking into it but there were some places we were unsure about. We didn’t have the correct techniques to get it to work. We decided we probably shouldn’t release something that didn’t work well. We didn’t want to lower the quality of the game.”

Source: Eurogamer.net

To share Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate saves between Wii U and 3DS, players will need a special app

Ultimate indeed.

Capcom is working hard to make Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate the best it can be, and one of the game's best features is that it will allow players to shave save game files between the Wii U and 3DS versions. To do so, gamers will have to download a special Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate transfer app to their 3DS.

An SD card is not required to transfer saves. As long as both consoles are present and able to connect via a wireless network, it should be pretty simple. Capcom's plan is to have the title available for players to enjoy while at home or on the go. Sounds pretty cool. Here's hoping Nintendo will do the same with some of their big titles.

Source: IGN