Christmas presence

SEGA's announced it'll launch Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on PS3 and PS Vita in Europe on 16th November 2012.

The air, land and sea racer features famous faces from favourite franchises like Panzer Dragoon and Jet Set Radio, set to return on PSN later this summer of course.

Will you take SEGA's latest racer for a spin in November?

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New power-ups and freshly minted enemies make their appearances in this New Super Mario Bros. 2 trailer, straight from Nintendo.

A gold Boo, gold Bullet and Banzai Bills and more all appear to dole out cash, helping you to your target of one million gold coins.

The Mini and Mega Mushrooms return, and now we can finally answer the most burning power-up related question: the Assist Block gives you a white raccoon suit, not a white Tanooki suit as previously claimed. We can all sleep easy now.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is just over a month away.

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8-bit summer heats up

Two 3DS Virtual Console games plus new titles on WiiWare, DSiWare, Virtual Console and the eShop make another very strong week for the Nintendo Download in North America. Here's what's going live today.

3DS Virtual Console

Kirby's Pinball Land (Game Boy, Nintendo, $3.99) — The little pink ball makes the most of his rotund figure in this pinball game. We'll see if it gets a high score in our upcoming review.

The Sword of Hope II (Game Boy, Kemco, $2.99) — Don't worry, you haven't missed a week — prequel The Sword of Hope isn't available on 3DS Virtual Console — but you'll pick up this RPG's story in no time: it's all about dragons, magic crystals and a submarine. Look for our review soon.

eShop

Johnny Kung Fu (UFO Interactive, $5.99) — UFO doesn't have the best track record in the eShop but we're optimistic this retro-styled beat 'em up will rise above the rest: it has a Game & Watch-styled stage after all. Review coming soon.

Sweet Memories Blackjack (CIRCLE Entertainment, $3.99) — A blend of romance and blackjack, this one left us with no good memories; read our Sweet Memories Blackjack review for the full scoop.

Virtual Console

The King of Fighters '96 (Neo Geo, D4 Publisher, 900pts) — One of the best instalments in SNK's legendary fighting series, this game introduced new characters, moves and features like mid-air blocking. Look for our review very soon.

WiiWare

Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition (Konami, 700pts) — Costing 300 Points less than in Europe, North Americans get a good deal this week, but is the game itself actually worth a punt? That's a question our intrepid reviewer will look to answer very soon.

Game of the Weekend

Mighty Switch Force! (only $2.99 from 9am PT 13th July to 9pm PT 15th July) — Another good offer in the eShop this week, grab WayForward's action puzzle game for half its usual price, including the recent extra content that added five new stages. Read our Mighty Switch Force! review for more.

DSiWare

Ace Mathician (CIRCLE Entertainment, 200pts) — Developed by Flipper dev Goodbye Galaxy Games, this is a platform puzzle title about maths. Come back! It might be good. We'll run some calculations and come up with a score for you in the very near future.

Candle Route (Teyon, 200pts) — A quirky puzzle game from Cat Frenzy studio FUN UNIT, this is all about guiding candles with touch screen taps. Check out the trailer as you wait for our illuminating review.

What will you buy from this grab bag of digital delights this week? Let us know in our Facebook poll.

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Easy as 1, 2, 3

Nintendo UK's put together a very useful video explaining how to transfer everything from your 3DS to a 3DS XL console.

Remember that you'll need both your 3DS and 3DS XL consoles and an internet connection in order to make the transfer, so if you're planning on trading in to upgrade consider these things first.

Still not sold on 3DS XL? Read our Nintendo 3DS XL review to give you much more information.

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More in the pipeline

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed we'll see brand new third-party Wii U games later this year when Nintendo reveals the console's price and release date.

Iwata told The Independent that while we've seen some of the machine's third-party line-up, there's more to see:

I think some of these projects have already been announced at E3, but there are other games in the works that haven’t been announced yet and in the autumn, when we announce price point and timing of the launch, we will also be able to announce some more third-party titles.

Whether or not those third-party games will make it for launch is something we'll also have to wait to find out, but if you've been unimpressed by Wii U's third-party offerings so far there might be something to interest you at these autumnal events.

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The race is on

You might not be a real-life Mario Kart medallist like some people, but that doesn't mean you can't have a little silverware of your own to put on display.

Europe's Club Nintendo just updated with three snazzy Mario Kart trophies — Shell, Leaf and Special — at just 5,000 Stars each. They're miniature versions of the trophies being offered at various competitions around the continent: at 12cm by 10cm, the Special cup is the largest, if you're considering size-per-Star value in your redemption decision.

We could see them lining up nicely on our desks at Nintendo Life Towers, but what do you think?

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Plucky dip

The recently announced Angry Birds Trilogy will retail at $29.99 in the U.S., Activision has announced.

The compilation of digital releases Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Seasons will have exclusive 3DS features like StreetPass and stereoscopic 3D. It'll also have extra content over and above its iOS origins, but Activision and Rovio are both keeping quiet on what this content might entail. The press release says "the Nintendo 3DS game is the first truly new Angry Birds handheld experience," but doesn't say why.

What do you make of its $29.99 price tag?

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In November 2011 we brought you a sample of the most bizarre Nintendo Life search results, and now we're over halfway through the year (and our current editor ready to leave) we think it's time to dive into the log files again to bring you more oddball ideas that have all brought users to Nintendo Life.

Nintendo Should...

Turns out that everyone on the internet's an expert in what Nintendo should or shouldn't do. Here are some of the weirder ideas of what Nintendo should do.

They already did.

nintendo should release old play control: twilight princess

Zelda remakes for everyone!

nintendo should remake a zelda game for each system they make to keep you happy until the new one comes out

But then it wouldn't be Wind Waker, would it..?

instead of a new zelda nintendo should make a new wind waker with new everything

Woah woah woah, steady on now.

nintendo should make a sonic game

By jove, I think you've got it!

nintendo should make games and release them

Big Questions

This is it: the most burning questions on the minds of Nintendo fans around the world.

He must be around here somewhere...

come on nintendo where is mario

No.

does 3ds cause cancer

We're all wondering this.

animal crossing 3ds wtf where's the release date

Streamers come out and it lights up.

what does 3ds do on your birthday

When you buy one.

when does 3ds come to our house

Get help.

why is zelda in skyward sword so hot

Ask the guy above you.

is zelda a boy or girl on a 3ds

Yes, but it'll take AGES.

will nintendo become like sega?

Wii U

Some of the finest and funniest Wii U search results we've had this year from people looking for information on Wii U.

Feline heavy.

could a wii u tablet crush a cat

Not with a cat nearby.

can you play the wii u outside

You betcha.

are developers using the wii u's capabilities

Almost certainly.

are the rumours about wii u fake?

You found it.

best nintendo wii u website

Use smaller words please.

why does wii use text bubbles when kids can't read

Come back tomorrow for the fifth and — yes — final instalment of Bizarre Emails Sent to Nintendo Life.

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3DS will get its best video series since Threediots at the end of this month when Nintendo and Atlantic Productions release a 90-second clip from Kingdom of Plants 3D.

The time-lapse video was filmed over the course of a year and gives a "revealing and fascinating new look at plant life", apparently. You can check it out for yourself when it hits the European eShop on 28th July — the same day the 3DS XL hits the continent.

PLANTS COME TO LIFE IN BREATHTAKING 3D IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND

Nintendo partners with Atlantic Productions to bring immersive 3D time-lapse footage for the European launch of Nintendo 3DS XL

11th July 2012 – As part of an exciting new partnership, Nintendo has teamed up with award-winning Atlantic Productions, the company behind Sir David Attenborough’s BAFTA winning ‘Flying Monsters 3D’ and triple Emmy Award winning ‘First Life’, to bring exclusive new video content for the launch of Nintendo 3DS XL on 28th July 2012.

The partnership will see an exclusive 3D video clip from Atlantic Productions’ ground-breaking Sky series, Kingdom of Plants 3D with David Attenborough made available to download for free from the Nintendo eShop on 28th July 2012 for all Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL owners to marvel at.

The exclusive one and a half minute clip is an astonishing look at the secret lives of plants filmed at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London, revealing a dramatic world otherwise invisible to the human eye. Filmed over the course of a year, the clip is a revealing and fascinating new look at plant life through the use of stunning 3D time-lapse filming techniques.

Anthony Geffen – Executive Producer of Kingdom of Plants 3D and CEO of Atlantic Productions said ‘We are delighted to bring you this specially edited clip from the ground-breaking 3D TV series ‘Kingdom of Plants 3D’ exclusively to Nintendo 3DS XL and Nintendo 3DS. It is a unique way to see David Attenborough’s new series in 3D without glasses, bringing it to a whole new audience.’

Sir David Attenborough said: ‘Watching flowers develop and insects visiting flowers is always wonderful to see, but in 3D it becomes transcendental. Seeing this happen in such depth gives you a most extraordinary, vivid impression. It’s unforgettable.’

Kingdom of Plants 3D is available on Blue Ray Disc and DVD now, and is due to be released in IMAX and giant screen theatres in the winter of 2012. For more information go to www.thekingdomofplants.com and www.goentertain.tv

For more information on Nintendo 3DS XL, visit the official Nintendo 3DS website at www.nintendo3ds.co.uk.

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Japanese developer Nigoro has said there's still a possibility we'll see La-Mulana reach WiiWare in the West.

The team said on its official blog:

To be honest, we don’t give up WiiWare version for overseas.
So, we want to let you know in advance, “There is a possibility to release WiiWare version.”
It will be without the additional download contents. So far, you can’t play Hell temple on WiiWare though, it might be a better option for someone who doesn’t need to play Hell temple or prefers to play on the game console.

The news the game will no longer receive the DLC is a blow, but after this long we'd settle for getting anything La-Mulana related.

Nigoro closed its blog with the optimistic words:

The plan is proceeding smoothly, but please wait for the information.
We will let you know when the release is entirely confirmed.

In June we reported that PEGI had rated La-Mulana for release by Spanish publisher EnjoyUp! Games, but the rating was swiftly taken down.

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