Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo's 3D Classics initiative for the 3DS, which sees old games converted to 3D and sold in the handheld's eShop, hasn't really been bringing the fire lately. That's going to change next year though, with the company confirming plans to turn the NES classic Kid Icarus into a 3D eShop title.

No release date is confirmed -- it's not even clear if a U.S. release is happening (fear not, it will) -- but early 2012 seems like a good bet. Japanese Club Nintendo members will have an opportunity to pick up the download for free by purchasing two 3DS titles between now (technically, October 1) and January 15. No word on there being a similar offer for U.S. customers.

Source: Siliconera

Sega will bring the series-spanning adventure in Sonic Generations to home consoles and PCs on November 1 in North America. There's also a Nintendo 3DS version of the game inbound, though the publisher hasn't said much about when we might see it... until now.

The Dimps-developed portable game will come to Nintendo's newest handheld on November 22, a morning press brief confirms. A European release will follow days later, on November 25. Aaaand... that's pretty much all there is to say. Sonic. 3DS. November 22. It's on.

We reported yesterday that Nintendo of Europe revealed that the November firmware update for its 3DS handheld would include a 3D video recording feature. More details emerged this morning about the update and what it adds to the device at Nintendo's previously announced online press conference.

The pre-recorded presentation hosted by company CEO Satoru Iwata opened with a look at the firmware update, which is coming in late November (via Andriasang). 3D video recording is the big added feature, with users able to record up to 10 minutes. It sounds like there will be a range of video options too, such as stop-motion photography.

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We learned yesterday that Nintendo is planning a 3DS-focused online press conference for tomorrow that will fill in some of the blanks left after September's pre-Tokyo Game Show media gathering. One of the topics to be covered is the upcoming November firmware update, but it looks like Nintendo of Europe got there first.

The company held an event in Munich this week where it revealed the details of a 3DS firmware update that will be arriving (in Europe) on November 4, according to Nintendo World Report. The update will add 3D video recording to the device, as well as a new StreetPass game and improvements to the Mii Plaza and Nintendo eShop.

Source: Nintendo World Report

Nintendo revealed quite a bit in September at its pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference built around the Nintendo 3DS handheld. There was apparently more to be said, however, as the publisher and hardware maker has confirmed an online press conference for this Friday, October 21.

There's no word on what will be discussed specifically, though Andriasang notes that the pre-recorded presentation hosted by company CEO Satoru Iwata "will cover details that could not be covered during the September event." Expect to hear news of the coming November firmware update and Mario Kart 7's wireless play, among other things.

The press conference starts at 8pm in Japan, or 7am ET. Check Nintendo's website at the appropriate time for a link to the Ustream page.

Source: Nintendo

Some might have hoped for true portable online play in Capcom's Monster Hunter 3G, but alas, it is not to be. The series has traditional only supported local wireless co-op play, and that is still the case.

Capcom's Japanese-language support page (via Andriasang) has been updated with confirmation that the addictive action-RPG series' upcoming 3DS release won't allow for co-op over wifi, though the game will use the Internet to download event quests. The game is out in Japan on December 10, though a U.S. release has yet to be confirmed.

Source: Capcom

With Men in Black 3 coming to theaters next spring, I suppose it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Activision confirmed today in a press release that a Men in Black video game will be released for consoles and handhelds next year at around the same time as the Sony Pictures film.

It's not clear if the game will tie in with the movie in any way or simply tell its own story within the MiB universe. Actually, there's not much that's clear at this point. The press release makes no mention of the game's story (though it will be "original"), developer or features. 

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Supergroups are a thing in the music world. The Firm, The Highwaymen, Traveling Wilburys and so many others all come together around their well-established players. It's not nearly as common in gaming, for fairly obvious reasons I think. The upcoming Level-5 3DS game Guild 01 bucks that trend, gathering together some of Japan's great development talents for the upcoming four-game collection.

The project is being spearheaded by Level-5's recent hire Yasumi Matsuno (Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII), according to Famitsu (via Andriasang). He'll contribute one of the collection's four games. The rest will come from Goichi "Suda 51" Suda (No More Heroes), Yoot Saito (Seaman, SimTower) and Yoshiyuki Hirai, a member of the Japanese comedy duo America Zarigani.

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Nintendo has announced that an "Ice White" colored version of its 3DS handheld will be released in Japan on November 3, according to Andriasang. There's no mention of a release in the U.S. or other regions, but you can expect/hope to see it pop up here eventually. The Flame Red 3DS arrived here in September, two months after that color's Japan release.

The Ice White color option arrives in Japan a little more than a month after the release of another new 3DS look, Misty Pink. Anyone else think that they should've called it Kirby Pink? But I digress: you can take a peek at the Ice White color configuration up top and marvel at its tiny MacBook-like appearance. Then imagine how silly it will look with the black Slide Pad attached to it.

Source: Andriasang

Former Capcom creative Keiji Inafune has been relatively quiet since leaving the company last year, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy. He's launched two game companies so far this year, Comcept and Intercept, and it's now confirmed that the latter is working on a Nintendo 3DS game called King of Pirates.

There's not much to go on right now. The all-CG trailer doesn't feature any gameplay, but you can get a rundown of the story and take a peek at some concept images on the game's website. Andriasang also notes that the game is apparently only planned for release in Japan right now, though considering that the official website is in English, it's a safe bet we'll be seeing that change.

Source: King of Pirates website

EA Sports' FIFA 12 is one of those rare sports games that is so fundamentally solid and entertaining, you don't really have to be a fan of the sport to appreciate it. That's probably part of the reason why the newly released game launched in such a big way, with EA confirming that its 3.2 million sold-through units qualify it as the biggest launch of 2011 and the biggest launch for an EA Sports title... ever.

Note that "sold-through" is not the same as "sold"; essentially, roughly 3.2 million copies of the game have been available in stores since the game's September 27 launch. The number isn't so much a reflection of how many people are buying it, but rather how much retailers are willing to bet that people will.

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We have a release date for you fans of Resident Evil who also enjoy the Nintendo 3DS. Resident Evil: Revelations will be hitting stores on February 7, 2012.  So mark your calendars, people.

Beginning today, North American retailer GameStop will begin offering an incentive for consumers who pre-order RE: Revelations. A unique Resident Evil Revelations 3DS case with an image that changes in the sunlight will be available when consumers pick up their retail copies of the game.

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CheapyD at CheapAssGamer.com scours both the online and offline world for the best deals on video games, and to help out your wallets, we're bringing his weekly recap to you!

Best Buy drops many games to $39.99, including Dungeon Siege III, Catherine, Bodycount, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12, and Warhammer 40000: Space Marine.

Kmart provides $20 gaming coupons with the purchase of Rage, NBA 2K12, Dark Souls (KMart carries standard edition only), and/or Spiderman: Edge of Time. The following games are $44.99 each: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Warhammer 40K Space Marines, NCAA Football 12 $44.99, and NHL 12. Buy the Sony Wireless Stereo Headset ($99.99) and get God of War Origins Collection free. Buy Starfox 64 ($39.99) and get any other 3DS game for 50% off.

Target offers a $10 gift card with the purchase of Rage, NBA 2K12, Dark Souls, and/or Tetris Axis. Buy a Nintendo DSi XL, get a $20 gift card.

Toys R Us includes $10 gift cards on Tuesday only with Rage (+ free game guide) and NBA 2k12. Get a $25 gift card with a PS3 160GB console. All gaming t-shirts are 70% off. Read on for details about their Mega Mario Sale.

Amazon matches or beats deals on Catherine, Deus Ex, F.E.A.R. 3, Rage, and NBA 2K12.

Visit CAG for more details and the rest of this week's Sunday ad deals.

Best of the Rest

The Sims 3 $14.99 at Origin
Mafia II $7.99, Enslaved $9.99 Used at GameFly
King's Bounty: Platinum Edition (Download) $4.99 at Amazon
Mass Effect 2 $19.99 at Best Buy

Follow Cheap Ass Gamer on Twitter at videogamedeals and ukgamedeals.

The conventional gaming wisdom about the music game genre is that it's dead genre. With the big players in the field, Guitar Hero and Rock Band, either dead or on life support, it's easy to see where this notion came from, but author Scott Steinberg has a different view, and he should know. Steinberg has written and published Music Games Rock, a full length book covering the music game industry, from its inception in pre video game days to the present. According to Steinberg, the music game is as least as old as video games themselves and will always be with us in one form or another.

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According to a survey held by Interpret LLC at this year's 3D Gaming Summit, 28 percent of more than 1600 people surveyed weren't even aware that the Nintendo 3DS doesn't require 3D glasses. The survey also shows that 28 percent of 3DS users said that the 3D detracted from their overall gaming experience. What?

"A theme you'll see over and over again is just the need to educate people," said Interpret senior vice president of strategy and analysis Dan Casey. Clearly.

Casey also said that of all the 3DS players surveyed, 13 percent preferred playing with the 3D effect off completely. Findings from the survey also included that the number of users who reported dizziness or nausea due to watching 3D entertainment was up to 37 percent this year, where it had only been at 30 percent in previous year.

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