Nintendo Okie

It’s that time of year when the games industry starts looking at the following quarter, so we have an absolute mountain of release dates to share with you this week. It’s safe to say that Q1 2012 is going to be great, with some big titles such as Kid Icarus Uprising and The Last Story making their way to European consoles. We also have some news for 3DS owners and yet more good news for Pokemon fans. Enjoy!

Kid Icarus the star of Q1 on 3DS

Who said the 3DS was going to slow down? If the release schedule for Q1 2012 is anything to go by, the 3DS is going to have a long and fruitful life ahead of it. The two big stars are of course Resident Evil Revelations in January and Kid Icarus Uprising in March, but there’s plenty more to be playing in between including the first outing for Mario & Sonic together in 3D. Below is the list of Q1 games, although Nintendo did reverify in their press release that big titles such as Mario Tennis, Layton 5 and Metal Gear Solid 3D will all be making a 2012 release, although oddly Luigi’s Mansion 2 failed to get anything more than a TBC.

Resident Evil Revelations (Capcom): 27th January 2012
Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad Pro: 27th January 2012
CRUSH 3D (Sega): 13th January 2012
3D Game Collection (Mastertronic): TBC January 2012
VVVVVV (Nicalis): TBC January 2012
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega): TBC February 2012
One Piece Unlimited Cruise Special (Namco Bandai): 10th February 2012
Kid Icarus: Uprising (Nintendo): March 2012
Pac-Man Party 3D (Namco Bandai): TBC Q1 2012
Ben 10 Galactic Racing (Namco Bandai): Q1 2012
Tekken 3D Prime Edition (Namco Bandai): Q1 2012
Crash Time 4 (PQube): Q1 2012
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure (Sega): TBC early 2012

3DS eShop keeps on rolling

The eShop is starting to build momentum, and Nintendo are planning to keep that going with two releases in the first quarter of 2012, along with a handful of third party games thrown in. The big title is Dillon’s Rolling Western, which sees you playing as a rolling armadillo. Naturally.

SpeedThru: Potzol’s Puzzle (Nintendo): TBC February 2012
Colors! 3D (Collecting Smiles): TBC Q1 2012
Fun! Fun! Minigolf Touch! (Shin’en Multimedia): TBC Q1 2012
Mutant Mudds (Renegade Kid): TBC Q1 2012
Dillon’s Rolling Western (Nintendo): TBC Q1 2012

Mario and Last Story kick off Wii finale

It’s likely that this will be the last full Q1 release schedule we get for the Wii, so it is pleasing to see plenty of content on the system for fans who have stuck with it so long. The big game is naturally The Last Story which makes its way to Europe in February, but there are also other big releases from Nintendo in the form of Mario Party 9 and a sequel to PokePark. Pandora’s Tower has also received a tentative Q2 release date along with a 2012 release for Rhythm Paradise.

Boom Street (Nintendo/Square Enix) – 6th January 2012
The Last Story (Nintendo) – 24th February 2012
Mario Party 9 (Nintendo) – March 2012
PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond (Nintendo) – March 2012
Winter Sports 2012 (PQube) – Q1 2012
We Sing Pop (Nordic Games Publishing AB) – Q1 2012
La-Mulana (Nicalis) – Q1 2012

Inazuma alone on DS

To be fair, it is a surprise there even is a DS release schedule this time around, but there is, so here are the two big, and only, games coming to your DS in the next 3 months.

Inazuma Eleven 2 Firestorm (Nintendo): TBC Q1 2012
Inazuma Eleven 2 Blizzard (Nintendo): TBC Q1 2012

Pokemon VGC Dated

Good news for Pokemon fans! After the news of a new game being announced in January and PokePark 2‘s release date reveal, the Pokemon Company have revealed the dates for the UK leg of the Championships, which are qualifiers for the grand final in Hawaii in August.

UK
Date: Saturday 3rd March
Location: Birmingham NEC: Hall 11

Germany
Date: Saturday 10th March
Location: Essen, Messe Essen, Halle 1A

France
Date: Saturday 17th March
Location: Paris, Espace Champerret, Hall C

Spain
Date: Saturday 24th March
Location: Madrid, IFEMA, Pabellón 5

Italy
Date: Sunday 1st April
Location: Milan, Centro Congressi Milanfiori, Strada 1

Two new videos on 3DS

Good news for 3DS owners too this week,  as two new video pieces are now available! First up is the Eurosport Channel which can be downloaded free of charge from the eShop and functions much in the same way as the Nintendo Video Channel, providing 4 videos that are updated weekly. The Eurosport Channel offers 3D footage of humorous sporting mishaps, so its well worth a look if you have a few minutes free. The other big news is that NintendoTV is now available to watch on the eShop (odd I know but it’s there) featuring the latest news and games in full 3D.

This Week’s Downloads

EuroSport Channel – 3DS eShop – Free
A brand new channel for you to download, more details above in the news story!

Paint Splash – WiiWare – 500 Points

Elite Forces: Unit 77 – DSiWare – 800 Points

Cake Ninja – DSiWare – 500 Points
Like popular mobile app Fruit Ninja, but with cakes

Escape Trick: Ninja Castle – DSiWare – 500 Points

Wii, 3DS and DS Sales Charts

Wii Chart
1) Just Dance 3
2) Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games
3) Abba: You Can Dance
4) Zumba Fitness
5) Mario Kart Wii
6) Zumba Fitness 2
7) Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword
8 ) Wii Party
9) Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure
10) UDraw Studio

You have to wonder what is wrong with people when Skyward Sword ends up 7th...

3DS Chart
1) Mario Kart 7
2) Super Mario 3D Land
3) Nintendogs & Cats: Golden Retriever
4) Super Pokemon Rumble
5) Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D
6) Rayman 3D
7) FIFA 12
8 ) Sonic Generations
9) Rabbids 3D
10) Cooking Mama 4

DS Chart
1) Professor Layton And The Spectre’s Call
2) Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo
3) Mario Kart DS
4) New Super Mario Bros
5) LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
6) Art Academy
7) Cars 2
8 ) LEGO Pirates Of The Caribbean
9) Mario Vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem
10) Happy Party With Hello Kitty & Friends

And finally…

As with all the other regions, 3DS Ambassadors can now download their 10 free GBA games through the 3DS eShop. Just head over to your downloaded titles list and re-download the Ambassador games!