Nintendo Direct Details

During a Nintendo Direct presentation aired today, Nintendo revealed brand new details about games in its line-up for 2015 and beyond, plus news about major updates to games that fans are already enjoying, as well as the latest on all things amiibo.

Revealed for the first time today, in autumn Animal Crossing fans will be able to put their home-design skills to the test in the newly announced Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. Meanwhile, a totally new form of amiibo, "amiibo cards", will also launch in autumn, with the first set of cards featuringAnimal Crossing characters. By using the first set of amiibo cards in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, players can enjoy a whole new Animal Crossinggameplay experience.

Today's Nintendo Direct once again confirms Nintendo's commitment to provide premium content updates to players and fans of games already released and being enjoyed by millions. A free update available to every Mario Kart 8 owner brings the brand new 200cc racing class to all courses. The fastest class ever in the history of Mario Kart adds a whole new dimension of challenge to the game, even for the most seasoned series veterans. Along with major add-on content and updates announced for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS and StreetPass Mii Plaza, players can keep enjoying their favourite games.

The Nintendo Direct is jam packed with additional details on many of Nintendo's eagerly awaited forthcoming releases, such as confirmed release dates forSplatoon and Yoshi's Woolly World, more on Mario Maker and the announcement of celebrations for the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., plus the next Fire Emblem game. New games announced today include BOXBOY!, a charming puzzle-platform game from the creators of Kirby that is available now from Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS, and a new instalment in the chilling and supernatural Project Zero series for Wii U.

To view the Nintendo Direct video in its entirety, visit http://nintendo.co.uk/nintendodirect or check out the Nintendo UK YouTube channel for even more new videos related to today's announcements.

Some of the key announcements covered in today's Nintendo Direct include:

amiibo

amiibo cards: A totally new form of amiibo is coming this autumn! The first set of amiibo cards will feature Animal Crossing characters and will be compatible with the new Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer game. The NFC reader/writer accessory for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL and Nintendo 2DS that can read amiibo figures and amiibo cards will also launch at the same time.
The next waves of Super Smash Bros. amiibo: In May, two new amiibo in the Super Smash Bros. Collection will launch: Greninja and Jigglypuff. June brings Palutena, Dark Pit, Zero Suit Samus and Ganondorf, and in July Olimar, Dr. Mario and Bowser Jr. will join the amiibo family.
Play classic Nintendo games using amiibo: amiibo Touch & Play: Nintendo Classics Highlights is coming in May as a free download from Nintendo eShop for Wii U. With this title, Wii U users can unlock a variety of three-minute gameplay highlights from select NES and Super NES games, simply by tapping an amiibo to the GamePad.

Yarn Yoshi amiibo: A new set of Yoshi amiibo figures, made out of a knitted material, will launch alongside Yoshi's Woolly World. Among other uses, tapping one of these yarn amiibo to the GamePad while playing Yoshi's Woolly World will make another Yoshi appear, allowing players to control Double Yoshi. The Yarn Yoshi amiibo will be available in three colours: green, pink and light blue.

Splatoon amiibo: Launching simultaneously with Splatoon on 29th May are Inkling Girl and Inkling Boy amiibo figures, as well as a special edition including the game and the Inkling Squid amiibo. By tapping one of these amiibo to the GamePad, players in Splatoon can receive special missions to unlock weapons and gear.

More Mario Kart 8 Mii racing suits: On 23rd April, a free downloadable update to Mario Kart 8 will add support for nine more amiibo characters: Wario, PAC-MAN, Olimar, Bowser, Sonic, Toad, Villager, Rosalina and Mega Man. Players can tap these amiibo to outfit their Mii characters in Mii racing suits themed to those amiibo characters.

Wii U

Mario Maker: Mario Maker launches exclusively for Wii U in September and enables users to easily create their own Mario courses and share them online with people all over the world! Various activities related to the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. are also planned throughout the year.

Splatoon: In addition to previously detailed single-player and online "Turf War" modes, action shooter Splatoon will feature a competitive "Ranked Battle" mode, which ranks and matches players based on their wins in 4-on-4 multiplayer games. The game will also feature a "Battle Dojo". In this mode, players can enjoy local 1-on-1 battles with friends. One player uses the GamePad, while the other plays on the TV screen, competing to see who can pop the most balloons. Splatoon will launch exclusively for Wii U on 29th May.

Yoshi's Woolly World: The lovingly crafted new Wii U game launches on 26th June and overflows with challenges and hidden secrets. In addition to the challenging Classic Mode, Yoshi's Woolly World adds Mellow Mode, which lets players of all skill levels play as Winged Yoshi. From launch, a bundle comprising a copy of the game and a Green Yarn Yoshi amiibo will also be available.

200cc in Mario Kart 8: For the first time in the Mario Kart series, a 200cc racing class is coming to Mario Kart 8. Even faster than 150cc, the new high-speed class will be applied to all tracks in the game and makes braking an important consideration during a race! The new 200cc class will be offered as a free downloadable update to all Mario Kart 8 players on 23rd April. On this same day, the purchasable Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2 - themed after Animal Crossing - featuring three new characters, four new vehicles and eight new tracks will also be released.

Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS games hit Wii U Virtual Console: Releasing at midnight tonight (2nd April), classic Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS games are coming to Virtual Console on Wii U. Today brings Mario Kart DS and WarioWare Touched! for Nintendo DS and Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64. While playing Nintendo DS games, the TV and GamePad combination will provide various options for dual-screen layouts, while all Nintendo 64 games that supported the Rumble Pak will continue rumbling away on the Wii U GamePad. As a special offer, purchase any three of these games before 16th April and receive the fourth one for free on the same Wii U. Games scheduled for future release include Paper Mario for Nintendo 64 and Yoshi's Island DS for Nintendo DS in May.

More downloadable Wii games on Wii U: Adding to the growing list of Wii games available to download from Nintendo eShop on Wii U, critically acclaimed titles Pandora's Tower and Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies will arrive on 16th April and 30th April respectively. Both games will also be 25% off for one week after their launch.

Shin Megami Tensei & Fire Emblem Crossover Project: The role-playing masters at ATLUS are developing a truly modern RPG, where everyday life exists alongside a secret world of fantasy, including characters from the Fire Emblem series.

New Project Zero game coming to Europe: Fans who have been clamouring for a chance to play the latest game in the unnerving Project Zero series will have their chance when it launches later this year for Wii U. Players will play as one of three different characters, each with their own storyline as they explore the cursed tourist destination, Mount Hikami. The Wii U GamePad is used as a camera to investigate the environments and soak in the supernatural atmosphere, as well as a means to fend off hostile spirits during quick bursts of chilling action.

Affordable Space Adventures: The Wii U GamePad transforms into the cockpit display of a stealth spacecraft in this Wii U exclusive. On a hostile planet, players need to carefully manage all of the ship's systems to avoid danger and slip by monsters unnoticed. Players can fly solo or work together in local multiplayer as a crew of two or three players, each with their own specific responsibilities. Affordable Space Adventures is available from Nintendo eShop for Wii U from 9th April.

Swords & Soldiers 2: Coming exclusively to Nintendo eShop for Wii U on 21st May, this side-scrolling strategy and action game is the sequel to the award-winning WiiWare title. Build structures and create an army to overpower the enemy on a 2D battleground. With touch screen controls it only takes a quick tap to heal your units, cast lightning bolts and unleash meteor strikes!

Nintendo 3DS

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer: This new spin-off title in the Animal Crossing series focuses on the decorating and home-designing aspects of the Animal Crossing games. Animals will ask players to design houses for them, and it's up to designers-in-the-making to meet the animals' requests by furnishing and decorating their homes. By scanning a new Animal Crossing series amiibo card to a New Nintendo 3DS system or NFC reader/writer accessory, players can design a room for that specific character on the card and scan additional character cards to invite those characters to visit.Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer will launch this autumn.

Fire Emblem (working title): For the first time in the series, the main playable character is not only a customisable avatar, but also the main hero or heroine of the game. Players must choose to take one of two major paths, resulting in two different experiences: the "Hoshido" side for a more traditional experience, or the "Nohr" side, which makes the story more complex and the difficulty level more challenging. The new Fire Emblem title will launch for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems in 2016.

Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition: This two-games-in-one package releases on 8th May. Puzzle & Dragons Zcombines the key elements of a deep and strategic puzzle game, a dungeon-crawling RPG and a monster-collecting adventure. Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition offers the same deep puzzle gameplay, presented in the Super Mario Bros. universe. For players who can't wait until launch day to play, a free demo for Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition will be coming soon to Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.: Launching on 15th May, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is a turn-based strategy shooter featuring extensive single-player and multiplayer content. Multiplayer supports both local and online play across various modes such as Death Match - where each turn only lasts 60 seconds, Medal Battle - where teams battle to collect the most medals with limited turns in a limited time, and "A.B.E. Battle" - where players fight using a giant robot inspired by Abraham Lincoln himself. Players will be able to enter tournaments against players from all over the world and even host their own private tournaments.

New StreetPass Games: On 16th April, two new StreetPass Mii Plaza games will be available to purchase. In StreetPass Fishing, players visit islands to try to catch more than 150 types of fish and legendary monsters with bait received from Mii characters via StreetPass. In StreetPass Zombies, players receive items based on the hobbies of their Mii Plaza StreetPass characters to defeat a horde of zombies. Fans will also get the option to purchaseStreetPass Mii Plaza Premium, which adds features like StreetPass Birthdays and the new VIP Room. Around the same time, there will be activities for International StreetPass Week, including the possibility to receive a special Mii of Mr Shibata, at participating Nintendo Zone locations. More information will be published on the Nintendo website soon.

BOXBOY!: From the celebrated developer HAL Laboratory, Inc., creators of the Kirby series, comes BOXBOY!. This monochrome platform-puzzle game tasks players with creating, casting and hooking blocks to navigate more than 150 challenging stages. BOXBOY! is available from midnight tonight, releasing exclusively on Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS.

Pokémon Rumble World: The latest game in the Pokémon Rumble series is free-to-start (with paid content) and features over 700 Pokémon, all the way from the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue to the recent Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. Pokémon Rumble Worldwill launch on Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS on 8th April.

Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains: Based on the popular anime, Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains features four-player local and online co-op gameplay and leaderboards as players work together to defend the outer walls from the giant Titans. Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains will launch on Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS in May. For some early inspiration, the first two episodes of the Attack on Titan anime series are available for free on Nintendo eShop from midnight tonight, until 30th June.

Azure Striker Gunvolt & Mighty Gunvolt: Experience thrilling fast-paced action in these two separate but related titles from acclaimed developer Keiji Inafune. Play as a powerful hero who can control lightning. Blast through stages, conquer intimidating bosses and challenge yourself to set new high scores. Azure Striker Gunvolt is available from 2nd April on Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS, and until 2nd July purchasers of Azure Striker Gunvoltwill receive Mighty Gunvolt for free.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS

New (AOC) challengers approaching!: The previously announced Mewtwo will join the roster of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS as a downloadable character on 28th April. Players who have purchased and registered both versions of the game by 31st March will receive free download codes for Mewtwo on 15th April. In addition, fan-favourite character Lucas from MOTHER3, the sequel to EarthBound released only in Japan, is planned to join the all-star Super Smash Bros. cast in June as purchasable DLC. After a software update on 15th April, Super Smash Bros. players can also purchase more costumes for their Mii fighters, including outfits inspired by major game series, such as The Legend of Zelda, Xenoblade Chroniclesand Capcom's Mega Man series.

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