Nintendo Reveals Handheld Release Dates for 2012; Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon Delayed

Nintendo of Canada has issued a press release regarding the Fall and Winter lineup of big name titles for the Nintendo 3DS, and with it comes a little bad news, and a little good news.

The bad news, as you might have guessed from the title, is that Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon will not be released this year, much less by Halloween (which, if you read my preview, you’d know I was really stoked for). Instead, it is now scheduled to arrive in the broadly-vague first half of 2013.

The good news is that Paper Mario: Sticker Star will be arriving on November 11th. As a huge fan of the original Paper Mario and especially its sequel, The Thousand Year Door, we can’t wait!

Pokémon fans will find no shortage of entertainment, either, as Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 are both set for an October 7th release on the Nintendo DS (and are also playable on the Nintendo 3DS, minus the 3D effect). Pokémon Dream Radar will hit the Nintendo eShop on the same day as well, while Pokédex 3D Pro will arrive on November 8th.

The press release goes on to offer the following info on several upcoming games:

·        Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! (Oct. 1) – Users of any artistic skill level can learn painting and drawing techniques that can be applied to real-life art projects, with optional, additional lessons available for purchase.* The game also lets users share and download certain game content via SpotPass.*

·        Crosswords Plus (Oct. 1) – More than 1,000 professionally designed crossword puzzles will challenge players at any skill level. They can also receive and share bonus puzzles via StreetPass or connect their Nintendo 3DS to the Internet to receive free additional puzzles via SpotPass.* The game also includes other game play modes such as Wordsearch, Anagrams and the new Word of the Day.

·        Sparkle Snapshots 3D (Oct. 18) – Launching exclusively in the Nintendo eShop*, this downloadable game is a fun photography application that lets you personalize your 2D photos by adding 3D layers of stickers, ribbons, pens and other effects. Users can then share creations wirelessly with friends or transfer them to an SD card and email them.

·        Skylanders Giants from Activision Publishing, Inc. (Oct. 21) – Fans can look forward to more than 20 new inter-action figures to collect, including Giants that are twice the size of regular Skylanders and new LightCore Skylanders that light up both in the game and in real life when they are placed on the Portal of Power.

·        Style Savvy: Trendsetters (Oct. 22) – Players can run their very own full-scale fashion shop and spark a fashion revolution by helping customers keep up with current trends, buying new clothes for their customizable store and sharing their creations with their friends online.*

·        Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (Oct. 28) – Experienced fans and newcomers to the Professor Layton series can solve dozens of fascinating puzzles as they work their way through a new mystery storyline. Players can even download one additional puzzle per day for 365 days, starting on game launch day, at no additional charge.*

·        Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! (Nov. 5) – Players can create their own creatures and use them to explore a planet that they customize. Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! contains new features not found in the original downloadable title, such as dungeons to explore, enhanced creating capabilities with more parts to choose from and new special powers that can be used to further personalize the creatures. The game also features Download Play, which allows players to share the creative experience with friends who do not have a copy of the game.

·        Paper Mario: Sticker Star (Nov. 11) – Nintendo’s classic Paper Mario franchise gets a fresh 3D look in its hand-held debut. Stickers are the backbone of Mario’s newest adventure in which players use stickers found in the game to not only win battles, but to solve puzzles as well.

·        Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion from Disney Interactive (Nov. 18) – Inspired by the classic Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, this game features new ways for Mickey Mouse to interact with a 3D game world using paint and paint thinner.

“The wide variety of games and applications for Nintendo hand-held systems will put a smile on everyone’s face this holiday season,” said Nintendo of Canada’s vice president and general manager, Ron Bertram, in the release. “Plus, with a new larger-size version of the Nintendo 3DS, consumers have even more choices. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or just discovering Nintendo systems for the first time, you’ll have more ways to play than ever before.”

Nintendo also points out that Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL owners will soon be able to share the 3D photographs they have taken on a new website. “Galleries filled with fun, eye-popping pictures are updated every week, highlighting the creativity of Nintendo fans and the interactive fun of Nintendo 3DS.”

Finally, Nintendo offers up this listing filled with release dates and vague ideas of when games for the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo eShop, and Nintendo DS will be released throughout the coming months (with details subject to change):

Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo eShop

Nintendo DS