Aside from today's suprise announcement of Sonic: Lost World coming exclusively to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, today's Nintendo Direct broadcast was a pretty standard showcase of this summer's titles.Various release dates and price points were revealed for various games on both of Nintendo's core consoles.
Pikmin 3 was one of the biggest games shown off during the broadcast, as NIntendo CEO Satoru Iwata highlighted some key features of the adventure title. As expected, the Wii U debut of the beloved franchise will make thorough use of the Wii U gamepad, allowing players to access special data and watch replays of full "days" within the game. Replacing the classic Captain Olimar will be three new main characters: Alph, Brittany, and Charlie. The heroes must explore a new world to find food for their home planet, and as you may have guessed, run into a host of Pikmin. The title will release on August 4.
Super Luigi U was also on display during Nintendo Direct, showcasing the first solo 2D adventure for Mario's brother. The game will be available on June 20 as a $20 add-on for New Super Mario Bros. U and August 25 as a $30 stand-alone package. Since Luigi is going Mario-less for this adventure, he will be joined by Nabbit, who was a non-playable character in the original game. Iwata noted that 2013 is the "Year of Luigi," so fans will have to wait and see if more is coming for the slim green plumber.
Nintendo is looking to take the mini-game madness of the Wario series to all-new heights with Game & Wario for the Wii U. Iwata showcased a mini-game that allows players to use the Wii U gamepad as a slingshot that propels monsters onto a gameboard on their television sets. The game will also include Ninja Twins and Kung-Fu, a puzzle game and platformer, respectively. Game & Wario will hit shelves June 23 for a reduced price of $39.99.
The publisher revealed a variety of release dates for smaller titles, such as the re-release of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, These Game Boy Color games will be available on the 3DS eShop for just $5.99 each, but eager fans can nab them for $4.99 a piece if they purchase them during its release week starting May 30.
At the end of the stream, Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime announced that the publisher will be partnering with Best Buy, allowing gamers to enjoy playable previews of unreleased games during the week of E3.
Missed all the excitement? Watch the entire Nintendo Direct broadcast below:
