Nintendo will finally bring its newest portable, Nintendo 3DS, to South Korea on April 28, more than a year after the system's launch in North America, Europe, and Japan.
South Korea's later launch has enabled Nintendo to release the portable with several high-profile localized games that didn't come out until long after 3DS's debut in other countries. Analysts and consumers in other regions criticized the system in its early months for having a weak software lineup.
The handheld's launch lineup in South Korea includes
Super Mario 3D Land, which has already sold more than 5 million copies around the world; and Namco Bandai's
Tekken 3D Prime Edition, the latest entry for a fighting game series that has historically been popular in the country.
The launch selection, however, is limited, with only one other game releasing on April 28:
Nicola Magazine Model Stylish Audition 2, a fashion game targeting women. In other territories, 3DS launched with eight to nine games.
Nintendo has also announced major first-party games like
Mario Kart 7, Nintendogs + Cats, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and
Star Fox 64 3D for release in South Korea later this year,
according to Siliconera.
It will introduce 3DS with three color models -- Blue, Black, and Pink -- each priced at ₩220,000 ($193). As of early 2009, the Nintendo DS had sold 2 million units in South Korea since its 2007 launch (the system debuted there with the DS Lite revision, and not the original model).
