Let's try something different. I'm in Nintendo's 3DS Software Showcase, hoping to see some new games. Unfortunately, there's no internet access in this theater, so I'm going to "Previously recorded blog" the 3DS showcase.
We've got 5 minutes until the scheduled start time.
I've street passed like… 50 million people in the past 48 hours. It's funny to see the Nintendo execs pulling out their 3DS handhelds and playing with their collected StreetPass Miis. I've gotten Reggie Fils Aime twice.
The most mundane thing Nintendo could show here? DLC or firmware update information. The company started patching their titles and opening the floodgates for companies like Square Enix to prep downloadable content for 3DS games.
Reggie up on stage now, introducing Scott Moffitt to talk about 3DS software.
Banter about how Scott beat Reggie at Mario Kart 7 once. Scott says "so far." Scott brings non-specific action figure from the Nintendo Direct video from Sunday.
Reggie: "At least I don't need a sword to kick ass and take names." Scott: "Uh, alright." StreetPass is crazy with Miis at E3 2012. Yes, yes it has.
So I lost my phone before coming in here. I'm pretty goddam pissed right now. Who cares about 3DS software? I'll stick it out.
Sales figures: Super Mario 3D Land – 2M, Mario Kart 7 – 1.7M Third-party publishers will be detailed here tonight. Castlevania up first! A trailer!
So the 3DS Mirror of Fate is developed by MercurySteam as well. It'll star Simon Belmont, Trevor Belmont, and 2D stages with a little 3D depth. I have to admit that I'm going to miss the hand-drawn 2D Castlevanias.
Alucard will also be appearing in Mirror of Fate, confirming his appearance in Lords of Shadow 2 as well.
Konami Producer Digital Entertainment David Cox is up on stage now. He's running through the demo that's on the show floor at E3.
You play as Trevor Belmont. He uses the chain-whip weapon against enemies and giant bosses. Mirror of Fate will use the dark and light magic system as in Lords of Shadow.
Hitting the R button grapples enemies. The L button blocks attacks, allowing you to counter. Secondary weapons will also return. The boomerang is in the E3 demo.
There's some camera work that makes the 2D combat look pretty dynamic. Four playable characters will be featured in the game, including Alucard.
Mirror of Fate will be on shelves in the Fall. The DS definitely benefitted from the Castlevania series, Nintendo's pleased that it'll continue to earn that love on the 3DS.
Now we're watching some Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon video.
It looks so grainy, but on the actual 3DS screen it looks great, really crisp with the 3D on. Lots of really varied environments in Dark Moon. Looks like different vacuum beams will also be available.
Luigi twiddling his thumbs in an elevator with goofy music in the background. I can't wait to play this game. I love you GameCube. Luigi will explore multiple mansions. The multicolored beam is used to discover hidden items and more. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon will be available both as a download and as a retail title this holiday season.
Warren Spector up on stage now with Peter Ong to talk about Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion on the 3DS.
This thing looks almost exactly like a Camelot Mickey platformer. Peter Ong is the creative director at developer Dream Rift. Dream Rift was already working on a drawing mechanic where the bottom screen would generate items on the top screen. Things just fell into place.
Peter would beat Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion once a day. So yeah, that's why it looks the way it does.
Castle of Illusion is such a great platformer. Why bother with the Epic MIckey franchise at all? Just sell that game all over again.
Really pissed about my phone. If it weren't for that I'd be bouncing off the walls right now. This is what I wanted from Nintendo's presser. Games, games, games.
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion will be out this holiday season. November 18th, 2012.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star is up next. This is the first Paper Mario on a portable system. Treehouse's Nate Bihldorff is up next. He's going to play the game on stage.
It looks pretty jaggy on this big screen, but again it looks really good on the 3DS itself. I love the music. Stickers are everywhere, stuck to walls on bushes, carried by enemies. Scouring the environment and collecting them is key. The bottom screen in a battle shows all of these stickers.
Active battle system returns as well. Koopa shell attack, stomp attack, fireflower attack, hammer attack, fire hammer attack, POW block. Toad is crying because his flowers were blown away by a real-world looking fan. Y button turns on Paperization: let's you put some stickers down in specific spots to complete objectives etc.
Using stickers on Toad allows you to reap the benefits, get back all the flowers you spent on Toad. Also picks up an HP Up powerup.
Warped to main town. Specific locations allow you to turn the real-world objects into Stickers. Using these in battle will destroy enemies. Sticker inventory has to be managed.
Later in the game, finds a windmill, puts stickerized fan next to it, Gigantic fan pops up in the background, starts blowing the windmill. Exploring the world will find more spots like this one.
You will run into big battles often, like 5 goombas or giant enemy. You can spend coins in these situations to use the BattleSpin and get a Two-Sticker turn. Slap hammer bounces the enemy off the walls.
I want to play that game so bad. Haven't played Paper Mario in a while, but I've been loving RPGs on my handhelds lately. It'll be out this holiday season.
More third-party games: Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance first. There's a trailer for the game. I have no idea what's going on. The cinematics are nice, but the story has completely left me… and probably everyone in the whole world behind.
Flying sections look like they'd be really cool in 3D. This game is out in like a month so… yeah. We've got a preview of it here. The game will be in stores on July 31st.
Scribblenauts Unlimited for 3DS is on now. I am so tired. The guy next to me is nodding off. I'm thinking if he falls asleep and doesn't let me out of here I'm going to draw a mustache on his face.
Hype trailer now: Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. Transformers Prime: The Game. Rabbids Rumble. Heroes of Ruin.
Now they're talking about Pokemon Black and White Version 2. They take place two years after the original Black and White games. They're developed for DS, but they're going to have special features for 3DS owners.
Moffitt is talking about the eShop now, noting Pushmo, Colors 3D. Apparently users buy an average of 4.7 games on the eShop once they pick something up.
5 items in the eShop have been downloaded more than a million times, including Netflix, SwapNote, Pokedex 3D, and Zelda: Four Swords. Also there's something called Nintendo Video, I don't care for it. 60M views.
Threediots will be running on Nintendo Video in the coming months.Some crazy bull shit going on… Holy shit the people sitting around me smell horrible.
Pokemon Dream Radar and Pokedex 3D Pro will be on the eShop this fall. Dream Radar lets you capture Pokemon and transfer them into Black and White Version 2. Pokedex 3D Pro comes with every pokemon open.
Demos for The Amazing Spider-Man, Heroes of Ruin and more will be in the eShop later this year as well. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes will also get a demo in the eShop. It's available now apparently.
I'm not fucking fact checking that.
New Nintendo published 3DS games will be available at both retailer and downloadable via the eShop. Download codes will be available at retailers, because I love dropping $40 in a store and walking out with a little scrap of paper.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 on stage now. Fully fledged Mario game. Tons of coins will be in the game. Pyramid world, first level. Kicking a Koopa shell will leave a trail of coins. The golden fireflower turns everything into coins.
"You have the power to monetize anything and everything in the game."
Coin Rush: You beat a level in the game and it goes into your bank. When you want to play Coin Rush you pick a pack of levels from your bank. A pack is three levels. One-up mushrooms are instead gold mushrooms worth 50 coins.
Players only have one life. If you die, it's over. It's a high score mode that you pass back and forth between other 3DS users.
You can play the entire single-player game with a friend together. This is the full game. The camera is tied to the brother in front. If you leave your buddy behind they appear in a bubble.
JC isn't letting Moffitt out of the bubble. Seriously, he's going to finish the level. "I think we better stop playing this now before I kill JC."
New Super Mario Bros 2 will be playable in the booth tomorrow. Lands in stores August 19th, both packaged and as a download.
[I recovered my phone from one of the press representatives outside of the event.]
