Minecraft has come to another platform. During the September 13, 2017, a New Nintendo 3DS version was announced during the Nintendo Direct. It is immediately available via the eShop, with a physical release to arrive at a later, unspecified date.
The New Nintendo 3DS version of Minecraft has standard and touch controls. There are Survival and Creative modes. Five Skin Packs are included, with the Mooshroom Tamer, Artisan, Red Boy, Santa Claus, and Tundra Tamer shown in the trailer. It also comes with two Texture Packs.
A low key but probably still popular announcement came in the first few minutes of the latest Nintendo Direct.
Nintendo Directs are curious things. Naturally, Nintendo uses them to showcase a few upcoming console titles in pretty nice detail, but it also just casually info dumps a bunch of stuff in other segments, including, in this case, Minecraft.
Yep, the first few minutes of this Nintendo Direct were devoted to Nintendo 3DS and 2DS games, one of which just happens to be a handheld version of the game your kids still can’t get enough of.
Playable only on the New Nintendo 3DS units, this version of Minecraft can be played with touchscreen or button controls and is actually out right now via the Nintendo eShop.
Despite the fact that Minecraft seems like it’s already on every video game platform known to mankind, it had yet to receive a version specifically for the New Nintendo 3DS, so we can cross another one off the list.
Plus, while many things in a Nintendo Direct are coming months later or even next year, this Minecraft comes with the best possible release date, which is immediately. Head to the eShop and check it out now.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled geeking out over upcoming Nintendo games.
Just when you thought that Minecraft couldn’t hit any other console, the game is heading to the Nintendo 3DS. Set to release in digital version on 9/13, Minecraft 3DS was revealed during the most recent Nintendo Direct.
The digital version will arrive first, but there is a packaged version coming to the handheld at an unspecified date. The Minecraft 3DS version includes five skin packs and two texture packs. Other details gleaned from the video were that inventory, crafting and map would be handled on the touchscreen. While the gameplay would be on the main screen.
Players will be able to choose between button or touch controls for the game.
Nintendo is no stranger to a relationship with Microsoft to put the crafting and building game on their platforms. The game just arrived on the Nintendo Switch and we liked it in our review.
We won’t need to wait long to see how Minecraft does on the Nintendo 3DS. It will get the benefit of the New Nintendo 3DS handhelds. The game will only be available for those that own the more recent 3DS systems.
The latest Nintendo Direct has offered up some real surprises but the biggest ones are from Bethesda, not Nintendo…
After having already announced Skryim for Switch, publishers Bethesda are going all in with their support for Nintendo’s console, with ports of both Doom and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
Doom is out this year and seems to be the secret game that Bethesda were hinting at earlier in the week. A snippet of footage was shown during the Nintendo Direct, and while it seems to be simplified from the original versions it still looks impressive.
Since Doom does run well on less powerful PCs it’s appearance on Switch isn’t as strange as it first seems (the original Doom was also released on the SNES and N64). The real shocker though is Wolfenstein II, which is a state-of-the-art next gen game that is just about the last game you’d expect to be announced for the console.
Bethesda announced a release date for Skyrim on Switch of November 17, but Wolfenstein II won’t be released until 2018 – sometime after the other consoles and PC.
The majority of the Nintendo Direct was focused on Switch and 3DS games being released this year, so there were relatively few other surprises.
One exception though was Minecraft for New 3DS (so not the older models), not least because it’s available right now on the eShop, with a retail version to follow later. Or at least it’s supposed to be available today, as of 9.30am it’s still not on the UK store.
Nintendo also announced Snipperclips Plus for Switch, which will add more than 30 new stages and new ways to play the existing ones. It’ll be available either as a new standalone version or you can buy the new content as DLC.
Another oddity was the Arcade Archives range of coin-op ports, starting with Vs. Mario Bros. Back in the ‘90s Nintendo released slightly altered versions of many of their classic NES games in arcades, but there seems no obvious reason why they should suddenly dredge them up now.
The promise of a brand new Square Enix game for Switch turned out to be the previously teased Octopath Traveler, an old school Japanese role-player with an unusual graphical style that’s being dubbed HD-2D. There’s a demo out today, so we advise giving it a go to check out the visuals at least.
Nintendo’s two biggest first party titles for Christmas were reconfirmed as Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which was looking very hardcore anime, and Super Mario Odyssey – which looked as amazing as usual.
Nintendo also revealed a hardware bundle with the Switch, a digital copy of Super Mario Odyssey, two red Joy-Cons, and a special carry case. They didn’t announce a price, but we doubt it’s any cheaper than buying the game and console separately.
Since Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two’s announcement back in June, Telltale Games has released two episodes from the planned five episode series. Today, the studio announced that the upcoming third episode would be landing next week, and launched a brand new trailer to give fans a sneak peek at what’s to come, seen above.
Titled, Jailhouse Block, the episode will be picking up the story where the previous one left off with Jesse and the gang imprisoned. The new episode’s synopsis provided by Telltale reads as follows:
Having bested The Admin’s icy obstacles, Jesse and the gang are rewarded with a one-way trip to The Sunshine Institute, a nigh inescapable prison buried at the bottom of the world and filled with all manner of miscreants. In order to make it back home, Jesse has to find a way to break out, even if that means employing a few desperate measures…
Neowin’s Usama Jawad reviewed the previous two episodes of this season, Hero in Residence and Giant Consequences, finding them both to be much more enjoyable over the first season.
Minecraft: Story Mode – Season Two Episode three, Jailhouse Block, will be available on Windows, macOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Android devices starting September 19. The Nintendo Switch received the entire eight episode first season last month, although there is no word on when will the second season land on the console.
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As we wrote about a few weeks back, Mojang has decided to transform its annual Minecraft [$6.99] convention into MineCon Earth, a brand new format aimed at getting more members of the community involved and at being more inclusive. Today, Mojang revealed more details about the event. This new MineCon Earth will take place at November 18th, with the developers broadcasting a 90-minute show that you can either watch along or with friends in what Mojang is calling Viewing Parties. Mojang announced the locations for some Viewing Parties (they’ll take place at Microsoft Stores across the US) and will be adding more as the day draws nearer. These Parties will be more than just places to watch the stream; they will also host competitions, giveaways, and more, and they will all be free to attend, which is part of how Mojang is hoping to make MineCon a more accessible event than it was in previous years.
And it wouldn’t be a Con without swag, of course. MineCon Earth swag can be preordered from here, and it spans from the new Minecraft-themed Xbox One S’s to tshirts, plushes, MineCon Earth Lanyards, and more. There’s also an online Minecraft costume contest, where players can submit videos of themselves, and the winners will get to appear during the MineCon Earth broadcast. There’s a lot more stuff to come, but it’s already clear how Mojang is turning what used to be a pretty difficult event to attend into something much more accessible, and that’s good for the community, especially given how much of the game’s community are children that can’t just travel across the world to attend an event. What do you think about these changes?
