March 12, 2015
Nintendo News
Nintendo 3DS is Best-Selling Hardware Platform in February
The one-two-three punch of New Nintendo 3DS XL, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate helped Nintendo 3DS become the top-selling hardware platform in the United States in February. All three products launched in the United States on Feb. 13, and even with only 17 days of data being reported they were able to accomplish the following:
- In its 48th month on the market, the Nintendo 3DS family sold nearly 395,000 units in the U.S. The great majority of these sales were New Nintendo 3DS XL systems, which sold 130 percent more units in its initial frame than Nintendo 3DS XL did when it launched on Aug. 19, 2012.
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D was the top-selling title for the month with more than 515,000 combined physical and digital units sold. The game is now the fastest-selling Legend of Zelda hand-held title in U.S. history.
- Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate sold more than 290,000 combined physical and digital units and is now the fastest-selling Monster Hunter title – across all platforms – in U.S. history. In addition, the game has the highest Metascore of any Monster Hunter title and is also Capcom’s fastest-selling title on the Nintendo 3DS platform in U.S. history.
- Through the first two months of 2015, sales of Nintendo 3DS hardware have increased by more than 90 percent over sales in the same period in 2014.
Nintendo also saw strong results for Wii U, which had its best year ever in 2014 and has continued to build on that momentum in 2015. Specific achievements include:
- So far in 2015, sales of Wii U hardware have increased by more than 20 percent over sales in the same period in 2014.
- Life-to-date sales of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and amiibo have surpassed 1.5 million total units and 3.5 million figures, respectively, an attach rate of nearly 2.5 amiibo figures per game unit sold.
Mario Party 10 + Mario amiibo bundle (Wii U, March 20)
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (Nintendo 3DS, April 10)
Splatoon (Wii U, May)
The momentum for Nintendo software and systems should continue over the next few months thanks to a strong lineup of software that includes Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (Nintendo 3DS, March 13)
Full Steam Ahead! Battle Aliens Using a Star-Spangled Strike Team in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
Enhanced Control Options and amiibo Support on New Nintendo 3DS XL
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Developed by Intelligent Systems, the creators of the beloved Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series, the single- and multiplayer turn-based strategy game Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. launches for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems on March 13. The game places players on the front lines of a series of intricately designed battlefields and requires them to use both brains and brawn to emerge from battle victorious. Players are thrust into the boots of some of the most original and unexpected playable characters ever assembled in a Nintendo video game. These agents of S.T.E.A.M. (Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace) are composed of literature- and folklore-inspired icons like John Henry, Tiger Lily, Tom Sawyer, Lion from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and many more – all led by Abraham Lincoln. Players who dive into the action on New Nintendo 3DS XL can even take advantage of the new system’s enhanced controls and creative amiibo functionality.
Developed by Intelligent Systems, the creators of the beloved Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series, the single- and multiplayer turn-based strategy game Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. launches for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems on March 13. (Photo: Business Wire)
“Fresh on the heels of the launch of New Nintendo 3DS XL,Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. comes whistling in to give portable players a patriotic punch of action-strategy,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “For players who may be wrapping up The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, or just looking for their next hand-held gaming experience, this refreshingly unique game is just what Honest Abe ordered.”
Steam is a critical component of the game play. Each selectable agent in the game has a boiler on his or her back that generates a certain amount of steam every turn, allowing the player to move and fire at enemies. This simple and intuitive concept leads to many deep and strategic game-play choices. Moving forward across the battlefield uses steam, but players can also explore and then backtrack with no loss of steam, letting players scope out the surroundings and uncover hidden enemies. To add to the strategy and uniqueness of the steam mechanic, players that leave steam in their reserves after a turn can potentially attack during the enemy’s turn by using “Overwatch.” These Overwatch attacks can be performed by equipping specific weapons.
Before beginning each mission, players select a four-member team composed of the game’s many playable characters. As players progress through the wild story, more and more surprising characters will join the strike force, each with his or her own unique primary weapon and ability. Because of the multitude of characters and the vast, well-designed maps, players can approach each stage using different techniques. Players might want to keep their characters together and deploy a full-on attack, or split them up and sneak around corners to scope out the surroundings and take the enemy on with a more stealth-like approach.
In addition to each character’s main weapon, the eclectic agents also possess various secondary weapons and boiler packs that can be equipped before each mission. Want to outfit the powerful John Henry with a secondary weapon that provides him with an Overwatch attack option like the Steam Crossbow? No problem! The deep customization options add a whole new layer of strategy to the game, and encourage playing and replaying the game’s numerous missions in new ways.
The game also offers three different multiplayer modes that pit player against player in exciting local battle modes, or online with a wireless broadband Internet connection. In Death Match, players try to defeat all the enemies on the opposing team to win. Medal Battle asks competitors to earn the most medals after five turns. And in the epic A.B.E. Battle, players pilot massive presidential mechanical robots and battle to victory. Players can even join online tournaments or create their own!
Anyone who plays Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. on a New Nintendo 3DS XL system can experience some additional fun features. In addition to controlling the camera with the C-Stick and basking in the game’s striking graphics using face-tracking 3D, Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is one of the first Nintendo 3DS games to feature amiibo compatibility using the built-in NFC technology on New Nintendo 3DS XL. If a Fire Emblem amiibo character like Marth or Ike is tapped on the touch screen of the New Nintendo 3DS XL system, he will join the battle as a playable character in the game. But just like in theFire Emblem games, if these amiibo characters fall in battle, they are gone permanently – well, at least until players tap them in again at the start of the next mission.
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. boils over for Nintendo 3DS on March 13 at a suggested retail price of $39.99.
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ISP's should be scared
There have been ISP's like AT&T and Comcast doing... and continuing to do things that absolutely stink. The fight continues after our victorious win for net neutrality (that totally wiped the gengar-style smile right off of their faces), because... greed just refuses to fold. Wait... I think I hear John Boehner crying... hmmm, meh... who the hell care.
The business they receive, obviously isn't enough for them to appreciate... but what really puts a smile on my face is that competition is scaring companies like AT&T. They tried to stop a city from even setting up a fiber optic infrastructure for faster connections, but it didn't appear to work... and its just amazing how they were so comfortable crapping out excuses about how the current speeds were enough until someone else turned up the heat.
You don't deprive people of better... if you have the ability to provide better. Money to set things up was likely not going to be a factor in that either... because plenty of companies have ways of getting grants and funding through taxes (only to turn around and charge you heavily).
It's no mystery to some... but if you had the option to choose between Google Fiber & AT&T Gigapower, you might want to do your research on both. We wouldn't tell you to go with one over the other... because your money is yours to do with what you please, but AT&T charges more if you wish to have more privacy ($29 more). Maybe that's the compensation for them to not sell off your data, but that's a topic for another day... and they wouldn't be the only ones involved because other companies like Lenovo are in the same boat (catching a whole lotta... complaints about those... SuperFish). If a company can't be trusted, they don't deserve a penny.