A new Super Mario game for the Nintendo 3DS is on the way, Nintendo announced today, assuring that the Nintendo 3DS will eat all other DS system sales alive once Mario hits the 3D handheld. Nintendo also announced two upcoming collaborations for the Nintendo DS: Nintendo 3DS owners will be able to connect automatically to the Internet at more than 10,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots, and Netflix members will instantly stream movies and other content on their Nintendo 3DS systems.
Nintendo announced the new Super Mario 3DS game and these two partnerships at its Game Developers Conference (GDC) keynote address by President Satoru Iwata. Iwata’s address was entitled “Video Games Turn 25: A Historical Perspective and Vision for the Future.”
The Nintendo 3DS launch is slated for March 27 in the United States for $249.99. The Nintendo 3DS lets users view 3D content without the need for special glasses. The new 3D Super Mario game will feature traditional Mario game play while letting Shigeru Miyamoto “bring true depth and distance into the game’s mechanics.”
Nintendo’s new 3DS Super Mario game is being developed by the same Nintendo team that created Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Wii.
Also announced today was a wireless update coming at the end of May Nintendo will activate the Nintendo eShop and give Nintendo 3DS owners access to a number of features:
- A short-form video service will let people view trailers for Hollywood movies in 3D and access video game trailers, screen shots, background information and links to publishers’ websites. Content will include short video clips, such as comedy shorts or music videos, selected by Nintendo and delivered to Nintendo 3DS users who choose to receive them.
- Downloadable classic games via the portable Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console service will include Game Boy™ and Game Boy Color games, as well as those from the Game Gear and TurboGrafx-16 systems.
- “3D Classics” will introduce select classic video games remastered in 3D.
- Games currently offered as Nintendo DSiWare and an Internet browser will be available
Also in May, Nintendo’s collaboration with AT&T will bring Nintendo 3DS owners automatic and free access to more than 10,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots nationwide. People who opt in to the SpotPass service will tell their Nintendo 3DS systems to automatically connect to AT&T Hot Spots at restaurants, book stores, coffee shops and airports across the country.
This summer, Nintendo 3DS will also incorporate Netflix functionality. Netflix members who have an unlimited plan starting at $7.99 a month can access a broadband wireless Internet connection and instantly stream movies and TV shows directly to their Nintendo 3DS systems, similar to how the service is used on the Wii console. This means people can start watching a movie via Netflix on their Wii systems at home and then pick up the same movie later from a different location using their Nintendo 3DS systems.
