Nintendo shows its 2013 hand: Lots of new 3DS games

Nintendo went on the attack just weeks ago, detailing multiple new games that are coming to the Wii U console. Today was the turn of the 3DS handheld, as a new Nintendo Direct broadcast revealed over half a dozen new titles coming over the next year. The Japanese publisher bolstered its upcoming 3DS release schedule with new Mario games, including Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the latter of which is the next in the popular Mario RPG series. Both titles are due for release on the 3DS this summer. The Nintendo 3DS eShop will also receive numerous new titles over the coming months, including Dillon's Rolling Western sequel The Last Ranger, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, and an enchanced version of Wii classic Donkey Kong Country Returns. Elsewhere, Nintendo is looking to beef up its Virtual Console offerings, with Game Boy Color titles Harvest Moon and Legend of the River King on the way. As for other upcoming 3DS retail titles, the long-awaited Animal Crossing: New Leaf was given a U.S. release date of June 9.

Wii U too

The Nintendo Wii U wasn't completely ignored during the broadcast, with a few of its own announcements thrown in for good measure.

New Super Mario Bros. U will soon receive a new downloadable content pack called New Super Luigi U, which Nintendo is touting as a whole new adventure. The DLC takes the original game and provides alternative versions of each level for players to explore as Luigi. The Wii Street U functionality, which allows users to utilize Google Street View on the Wii U GamePad, was also released today for free. And Nintendo revealed that the upcoming Wii U version of EA's Need for Speed Most Wanted will be the first third-party game to incorporate Miiverse functionality directly into the game, allowing users to send Miiverse messages to each other without visiting the Wii U menus. Finally, added functionality for Miiverse means that special channels are now being added to the social network for franchises, rather than games. For example, a Legend of Zelda channel has been added, as Nintendo said that there was currently no place for Zelda fans to converse.

Bundle of joy

Besides game announcements, Nintendo was keen to show off a variety of hardware bundles which it hopes will pull more consumers in. The Wii U Limited Edition Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Premium Pack will launch on March 22 in Europe, featuring a 32GB Wii U, a Pro Controller, and a copy of the Monster Hunter game. The Nintendo 3DS will also receive a Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate bundle, with the game preinstalled on a black 3DS. Meanwhile, Fire Emblem will also receive a Nintendo 3DS bundle pack, again with the game preinstalled on the handheld. That will be released on April 19.