Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 coming late 2011, and yes, those are the official names

Today’s been full of earth-shattering news, not the least of which was Nintendo’s gutsy move to hack $80 off the price of the 3DSto spur sales, as well as offering a plethora of free games to appease early adopters. Tucked away within that bombshell, Nintendo announced its fall line-up for 3DS, which included known quantities Star Fox 64 3D (September 9) and Kid Icarus: Uprising during the holiday, then we got details on the new Super Mario and Mario Kart games for 3DS, namely their official names, and the actual titles took us by surprise.

Since its shocking announcement during GDC we’ve been excitedly hanging on to whatever news we could of the plumber’s first fully 3D handheld adventure. Once we got our first chance to play it at E3we were impressed, though not as mesmerized as we expected we’d be. Of course, our outlooks improved upon hearing that more classic power-ups would be included in the title.

Now we have its official moniker, Super Mario 3D Land, and we must say that’s one awkward title. Our mouths want to say, “Super Mario Land 3D,” but that sounds like someone remade the Game Boy launch game. We don’t have anything better off the top of our heads (do you?), and we get that Nintendo wants to channel nostalgia for the Land series, but that title is going to take some time for us to get comfortable with. We have till November to get ready.

Almost as strange is the name of what we once knew as Mario Kart 3D. We weren’t shocked in the slightest that Kart was coming to the handheld, as Mario Kart DS was a consistent best-seller for years. However, the title Mario Kart 7 is just bonkers. No Mario Kart game has ever been numbered and to jump straight to 7 is nuts, especially in an era where many publishers drop numbers after the third game. Sure, it’s technically the seventh game in the series, but this move is very uncharacteristic for Nintendo, though the December launch for the game is plenty traditional.

This double dose of Mario could help lead the struggling system into a Merry Christmas, but is it enough? Do these back-to-back, original entries in these iconic franchises impress you? Do these games, mixed with a new price tag entice you to buy a 3DS, or are you still unconvinced?

Jul 28, 2011

Since its shocking announcement during GDC we’ve been excitedly hanging on to whatever news we could of the plumber’s first fully 3D handheld adventure. Once we got our first chance to play it at E3we were impressed, though not as mesmerized as we expected we’d be. Of course, our outlooks improved upon hearing that more classic power-ups would be included in the title.

Now we have its official moniker, Super Mario 3D Land, and we must say that’s one awkward title. Our mouths want to say, “Super Mario Land 3D,” but that sounds like someone remade the Game Boy launch game. We don’t have anything better off the top of our heads (do you?), and we get that Nintendo wants to channel nostalgia for the Land series, but that title is going to take some time for us to get comfortable with. We have till November to get ready.

Almost as strange is the name of what we once knew as Mario Kart 3D. We weren’t shocked in the slightest that Kart was coming to the handheld, as Mario Kart DS was a consistent best-seller for years. However, the title Mario Kart 7 is just bonkers. No Mario Kart game has ever been numbered and to jump straight to 7 is nuts, especially in an era where many publishers drop numbers after the third game. Sure, it’s technically the seventh game in the series, but this move is very uncharacteristic for Nintendo, though the December launch for the game is plenty traditional.

This double dose of Mario could help lead the struggling system into a Merry Christmas, but is it enough? Do these back-to-back, original entries in these iconic franchises impress you? Do these games, mixed with a new price tag entice you to buy a 3DS, or are you still unconvinced?

Jul 28, 2011

Since its shocking announcement during GDC we’ve been excitedly hanging on to whatever news we could of the plumber’s first fully 3D handheld adventure. Once we got our first chance to play it at E3we were impressed, though not as mesmerized as we expected we’d be. Of course, our outlooks improved upon hearing that more classic power-ups would be included in the title.

Now we have its official moniker, Super Mario 3D Land, and we must say that’s one awkward title. Our mouths want to say, “Super Mario Land 3D,” but that sounds like someone remade the Game Boy launch game. We don’t have anything better off the top of our heads (do you?), and we get that Nintendo wants to channel nostalgia for the Land series, but that title is going to take some time for us to get comfortable with. We have till November to get ready.

Almost as strange is the name of what we once knew as Mario Kart 3D. We weren’t shocked in the slightest that Kart was coming to the handheld, as Mario Kart DS was a consistent best-seller for years. However, the title Mario Kart 7 is just bonkers. No Mario Kart game has ever been numbered and to jump straight to 7 is nuts, especially in an era where many publishers drop numbers after the third game. Sure, it’s technically the seventh game in the series, but this move is very uncharacteristic for Nintendo, though the December launch for the game is plenty traditional.

This double dose of Mario could help lead the struggling system into a Merry Christmas, but is it enough? Do these back-to-back, original entries in these iconic franchises impress you? Do these games, mixed with a new price tag entice you to buy a 3DS, or are you still unconvinced?

Jul 28, 2011

Since its shocking announcement during GDC we’ve been excitedly hanging on to whatever news we could of the plumber’s first fully 3D handheld adventure. Once we got our first chance to play it at E3we were impressed, though not as mesmerized as we expected we’d be. Of course, our outlooks improved upon hearing that more classic power-ups would be included in the title.

Now we have its official moniker, Super Mario 3D Land, and we must say that’s one awkward title. Our mouths want to say, “Super Mario Land 3D,” but that sounds like someone remade the Game Boy launch game. We don’t have anything better off the top of our heads (do you?), and we get that Nintendo wants to channel nostalgia for the Land series, but that title is going to take some time for us to get comfortable with. We have till November to get ready.

Almost as strange is the name of what we once knew as Mario Kart 3D. We weren’t shocked in the slightest that Kart was coming to the handheld, as Mario Kart DS was a consistent best-seller for years. However, the title Mario Kart 7 is just bonkers. No Mario Kart game has ever been numbered and to jump straight to 7 is nuts, especially in an era where many publishers drop numbers after the third game. Sure, it’s technically the seventh game in the series, but this move is very uncharacteristic for Nintendo, though the December launch for the game is plenty traditional.

This double dose of Mario could help lead the struggling system into a Merry Christmas, but is it enough? Do these back-to-back, original entries in these iconic franchises impress you? Do these games, mixed with a new price tag entice you to buy a 3DS, or are you still unconvinced?

Jul 28, 2011