Yesterday, Nintendo said that today’s Nintendo Direct would solely focus on games coming out this summer. That was mostly true, but the company did take time to reveal a new partnership with Sega that will either make Sonic fans very happy, or very disappointed.
First up, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that the popular Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games franchise will be back in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The game will be the first time the series has debuted on the Wii U with improved graphics and gameplay. The highlight was a curling minigame that takes advantage of the Gamepad.
In even bigger news, Iwata said that Nintendo has entered into a partnership with Sega that will see the next proper Sonic game – Sonic Lost World – released exclusively on Wii U and 3DS.
The final bit of news from Nintendo’s new partnership from Sega revealed that more Sega Game Gear games will be released on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in the near future.
Iwata then turned it over to Nintendo of America where they announced that The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons will be launching on May 30 for the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Each game will cost $5.99, but the price will be reduced to $4.99 each for the first three weeks to ensure that everybody can experience the game connectivity features.
They also announced a number of release dates for other Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, which features a new world exclusive to the 3DS version, will be out on May 24. Animal Crossing: New Leaf will be out on June 9. The sole Wii U game from Nintendo of America was Game and Wario, which they say will be out on June 23 for only $39.99.
Nintendo of America gave the mic back to Iwata where he announced that New Super Luigi U, the Luigi-centric spin off of last year’s New Super Mario U, will be out on June 20 on the Nintendo eShop. The game will feature multiplayer, but will not have Mario. Instead, the game will include Nabby as a playable character. Players of the original game may remember Nabby as the character that stole items from Mario. As a playable character, Nabby is not affected by power ups, but he is also immune to all enemy attacks. Iwata says that he’s meant for players who find 2D Mario platformers to be too challenging.
As an added bonus for fans, Nintendo will be releasing a separate retail version of New Super Luigi U at retail on August 25. The retail version of the title does not require the original New Super Mario Bros. U to play. The DLC version releasing on June 20 will cost $19.99, and the retail version will cost $29.99.
Platinum Games’ The Wonderful 101 will be out on September 15. There was no price announced, but you can assume that it will be probably go for the full $59.99.
Iwata also dished out some new details on Pikmin 3. The game will feature three new protagonists – Alph, Brittany and Charlie – who are trying to collect food for their dying homeworld. As such, players will have to collect fruits and turn them into juice if they want to keep exploring. There is no time limit this time around though, and players can replay previous days to collect more fruit. Pikmin 3 will be out on August 4.
On a final note, Reggie Fils-Aime announced that Nintendo has partnered with Best Buy to bring the E3 experience to gamers in America and Canada. During the week of E3, select Best Buy locations will have exclusive E3 demos in stores for fans to play.
The next Nintendo Direct is scheduled to take place in June before E3. We’re likely to not hear much on the Nintendo front until then.
If you want to watch the Nintendo Direct yourself, you can do so below: