I was recently talking about Nintendo with friends and mentioned that it’s high time for another Nintendo Direct. My wish came true, but it was in a depressing way. It seems like Nintendo is, at least for now, abandoning the Nintendo Direct format, most likely due to the passing of Satoru Iwata. Or perhaps they did this because there weren’t any new game announcements and it’s all release dates. I’m hoping it’s the latter, Nintendo Directs are a staple of gaming coverage for me and Iwata’s loss would be just that much more saddening.
Walmart will be releasing an exclusive Super Mario Maker bundle on Sept. 11th that comes with the game, the console, and the 30th anniversary Mario amiibo for 299.99$. You can purchase the game and the amiibo separately on this day at other retailers, as well as the next batch of amiibo, including Ganondorf, Zero Suit Samus, Bowser Jr. (Toys-R-Us exclusive), and Dr. Mario (Target exclusive).
In other amiibo news, the Mii Fighter three pack will launch on Nov. 1st, Mewtwo will launch Nov. 13th, a “Mega Yarn Yoshi” will launch Nov. 15th (for forty bucks!) and a Falco amiibo will launch on Nov. 20th, the same day as Star Fox Zero.
Yoshi’s Woolly World is releasing Oct. 16th for 50$, but for 10$ more you can buy a bundle with the green Yarn Yoshi amiibo. The other Yarn Yoshi amiibos will be separate and sell for 17$ each. On the same day, a 50$ bundle of both New Super Mario Bros U and New Super Luigi U will be available.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water will be coming out Oct. 22nd, but it’s a strange release. It’s eShop only, and the prologue, first chapter, and “most of the second chapter” are free to play, with the rest of the game available as 50$ DLC. This is strange, but at least the game is coming out at all!
Xenoblade Chronicles X has a Dec. 4th release date, and Devil’s Third, a game we weren’t expecting to get at all, is getting a full retail release on Dec. 11th.
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, and the amiibos that go with it are releasing sometime this holiday. The KK Slider, Cyrus, and Reese amiibos will be released in an exclusive three pack, with the rest available individualy.
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer comes out Sept. 25th, and will pack in one complimentary amiibo card. All 100 cards will be available the same day, and a pack of six will run you 5.99$. Ordering the game digitally will get you an “exclusive theme” for your 3DS, and a bundle with an NFC reader (for those of you without a New Nintendo 3DS) will be out there for 50$. The reader by itself is 20$.
Chibi Robo: Zip Lash is out Oct. 9th for 30$ or a bundle with the amiibo for 40$. LoZ: Tri Force Heroes is out Oct. 23rd, Yo-Kai Watch hits Nov. 6th, and Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon launches Nov. 20th.
Nintendo has a packed rest of this year. I have no idea how I’ll cover all these games, let alone play them!
