ICYMI: Nintendo hosted a Direct presentation today wherein they announced a number of exciting tidbits hoping to stir some interest for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Among these announcements:
-Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy will be released to Europe on November 8. On top of that, a hybrid Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton title will be coming sometime in early 2014.
-Trailers for the Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds and Wind Waker HD were shown. While both are essentially remakes of older Zelda titles, they also appear to offer something new in the way of visual details and certain gameplay aspects. Wind Waker HD drops in Europe on October 4 and Link Between Two Worlds is looking at a release sometime in November.
-Any budding artists looking to hone their talents will be able to do so on the Wii U this week! Art Academy Sketchpad will be dropping in Europe on August 9.
-A boatload of Wii U eShop titles will be hitting the shelves soon including Nnooo's Cubemen 2, BetaDwarf's Forced, Ittle Dew by Ludosity, Knytt Underground and Pure Chess from Ripstone, ISOTX's March of War, Monkey Pirates by Henchman Studio, Nihilumbra from Beatifun Games, So Hungry by Xiotech Studios, Keen Games' TNT Racers, Wooden Sen'SeY by Upper Byte, and more. Keep your eyes peeled for these.
-A new Animal Crossing community has been opened in the Miiverse. This community, referred to as Animal Crossing Plaza, is now accessible to any and all Animal Crossing users. Among its co-op features, you'll be able to use your 3DS SD card to move images from your game onto the Wii U for use in the Plaza and Miiverse.
-Also available now are Super Mario Bros. 2 on the 3DS' Virtual Console and SteamWorld Dig on the Wii U eShop.
-Trailers for already-announced titles like Sonic Lost World and Rayman Legends were presented as well, and both appear to utilize the Wii U GamePad fairly well. If you weren't interested in Nintendo's newest handheld/console hybrid, perhaps these games will change your tune. Rayman comes to stores on August 30, and Sonic will hit on October 18.
Given that recent sales have been lackluster at best for Nintendo, announcements like these are essential for keeping the company relevant and interesting. Hopefully, more good news is around the corner. Like, maybe a Zelda title that isn't just a retread of an old classic?? We'll keep our fingers crossed.
RELATED: Wii U Struggles to Sell
RELATED: Nintendo Say It's Making Games Easier, Saturo Iwata Resists Punching Himself in the Face
