2.1 million Nintendo-published 3DS games have been sold in North America during the first four months of 2013.

Nintendo has reported a 52 percent year-on-year rise in sales of first-party 3DS software during the first four months of 2013.

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata.

2.1 million Nintendo-published 3DS games have been sold between January through April 2013 in North America, Nintendo says, citing data from the NPD group.

Nintendo reports it took 30 weeks to sell two million first-party games in 2012, and reports that it accomplished the same sales milestone this year in 18 weeks, suggesting increasing take-up of the platform in North America.

While the first four months of 2012 saw the release of high-profile 3DS titles such as Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D and Resident Evil: Revelations, there were two first-party releases; Kid Icarus: Uprising, and the Tecmo-developed Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir.

In the same time period in 2013, however, Nintendo has published Fire Emblem: Awakening, Brain Age: Concentration Training, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, and LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins.

Nintendo says sales of Lego City Undercover: The Chase begins have reached almost 94,000 copies since its late-April launch, whereas Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon has been purchased over 530,000 times.

The Mario publisher has scheduled a Nintendo Direct conference for later today.

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Images show latest DLC for Awakening altered for North America and Europe to block out character’s behind.

It appears Nintendo has censored the latest Fire Emblem: Awakening downloadable content.

As NeoGAF and IGN point out, the Summer Scramble DLC in North America and Europe censors out Tharja’s behind, which is presented in full in the Japanese version.

A pictorial breakdown of the two versions is available below.

IGN reports that everything else in the DLC, including images of other characters in swimsuits, was not altered in any way. Nintendo has not commented on the matter.

For more, check out GameSpot’s review of Fire Emblem: Awakening.

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The Champions of Yore 2 and EXPonential Growth DLC maps are out now for PAL owners of Fire Emblem Awakening, while Summer Scramble is now out for North American players.

Americans might have been playing this game since February but Intelligent Systems’ strategy masterpiece has been out for just under a fortnight in the PAL regions and, pleasantly, Nintendo has been very much on the ball when it comes to the game’s downloadable Content. Within days of its release, we’ve had Champions of Yore 1, The Golden Gaffe and Harvest Scramble… and there’s much more on the way this month!

Champions of Yore 2 will allow players to recruit Roy, the hero of the sixth Fire Emblem who you may remember from Super Smash Bros. Melee, while EXPonential Growth will pit your army against a legion of Entombed. As any good Emblem player knows, where there’s Entombed, there’s a mountain of experience to be had – so grinding this one should make those Lunatic+ runs a bit more bearable! Just watch out for those Level 30 nasties with Counter – or pray to your deity of choice that your Skill takes them out instantly.

Also out today is the SpotPass Side Story, The Dead King’s Lament. Want to learn more about the conflict between Ylisse and Plegia? Play this map right and you could have your answers – not to mention a new character, complete with some very interesting new Support Conversations.

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here – New DLC out for Fire Emblem Awakening – News

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President of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime spoke with GamesIndustry International about how releasing their games digitally the same day as the retail version has paid off. He said that Fire Emblem: Awakening has sold 240,000 units in the US to date and one third of those figures are digital. He also stated that Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon has sold 415,000 units to date in the US.

“We have 15 Nintendo-published titles available, both physically and digitally [on the 3DS],” he said. “So far in 2013, of those 15 available in this format, 11 percent of sales have come through full digital downloads of those games.”

Reggie also announced that more than 20 million games have been sold for the 3DS to date, however that does not include digital sales. Through April 2013 “3DS game sales are up 55 percent versus last year, counting both physical and digital.”

Reggie stated that the 3DS had a slow release schedule when it first launched and the company has stepped up since than. He says that the Wii U has had a slow start like the 3DS due to the lack of games. While it sounds like nothing will be announced before E3, Reggie did say that Wii U game releases will “dramatically increase.”

“We believe consumers buy our systems first as a gaming system, then enjoy the other entertainment options, so that’s why we’re putting such a big emphasis on the gaming software,” he said.

Read more here: VG Charts

Nintendo of America pres. Reggie Fils-Aime reveals sales milestone for 3DS game; Fire Emblem: Awakening up to 240,000 units.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon has sold over 415,000 units in the United States since launch, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told Games Industry International. The 3DS game launched March 24 and is the first entry in the series since 2001′s GameCube game Luigi’s Mansion.

The game was well-received and currently boasts a score of 86 on Metacritic, GameSpot’s sister site.

Fils-Aime also revealed that Fire Emblem: Awakening has now sold 240,000 units in the US since launch in February, up from 180,000 copies sold in its first month.

One-third of all Fire Emblem: Awakening sales were digital, Fils-Aime said.

The Nintendo executive also commented on the software lineup for Wii U, saying the company had hoped it could have more titles available by now.

“What I would say about Wii U–and what [Nintendo president Satoru Iwata] has said–is that the pace of launches has been slower than we hoped,” Fils-Aime said. “But as we prepare for E3, the pace of launches for Wii U is going to dramatically increase.”

Significant first-party titles for the Wii U are on the way, including a brand-new Wii U Legend of Zelda game and a Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker high-definition remake. Other Nintendo-produced Wii U titles revealed recently include new Yoshi, Mario, and Mario Kart offerings.

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Genki Yokota said “no way” when it was first suggested

One of the Fire Emblem series’ chief characteristics is the brutal manner in which you can straight up lose a party member forever. That permanence plays a big role in the strategy-RPG’s design, so when Casual mode was initially suggested for Fire Emblem: Awakening, director Genki Yokota said “no way.” Read on for more.

Read more here: Crunchy Roll

Nintendo has told GamesBeat that the 3DS title Fire Emblem: Awakening has set a franchise record for biggest opening month in the US. The game sold 180,000 units in February. One third of that total or 63,000 units were sold digitally.

“Building off its 92 Metacritic score, Fire Emblem Awakening for Nintendo 3DS had the best first month sales in franchise history, selling more than 180,000 units — more than 117,000 at retail and more than 63,000 digital units,” said Nintendo in a statement.

The current best selling Fire Emblem title in the US is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. The game has managed to sell 250,000 units lifetime. In just 28 days Awakening has been able to sell 70 percent of that figure.

Read more here: VG Charts

Nintendo reveals 3DS title sees franchise-best opening month, moving 117,000 units at retail and 63,000 digitally during last month.

Nintendo announced today, citing NPD data, that Fire Emblem: Awakening for Nintendo 3DS sold 180,000 units during its February launch month. That mark is good for the best first month sales in franchise history, the company said.

Of the 180,000 total Fire Emblem: Awakening sales, 117,00 units were sold at physical retail and 63,000 units digitally.

By comparison, 2009′s Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon has sold just over 250,000 units life-to-date in the US. Fire Emblem: Awakening has sold 70 percent of that figure already.

Nintendo did not share any sales data regarding Wii U hardware or software or 3DS hardware or software. The Wii U reportedly sold only 57,000 units in January. The full NPD February sales report showed overall industry sales slid 25 percent to $810 million.

For more on Fire Emblem: Awakening, check out GameSpot’s review.

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There comes a point, when you’re playing a Fire Emblem game, that everything just seems to ‘click’. That magical moment where all your strategies fall into place, where you become so absorbed in the story and your characters’ fates that a single death in your line-up becomes a personal tragedy and where you can spend several minutes contemplating a single move that could change the course of the whole battle. These things have always defined the series, but with this latest instalment on the 3DS, Nintendo has shaken things up and opened up this very ‘hardcore’ franchise to the masses. Does this new direction feed the flames or is this fire quickly fading?

The game opens with a brief encounter between our heroes: Chrom (crown prince of Ylisse, not to be confused with the web browser) and your custom character (an amnesiac tactician) who are battling against a dark mage. Once the magician is defeated all seems well until your character suddenly turns and attacks Chrom. You then awaken in a field, not remembering who or where you are but greeted by Chrom and his ‘Shepherds’, a group of elite warriors who decide to take you on as their tactician. It isn’t long, however, before things really start going pear-shaped and everyday seems to bring a new threat to Ylisse, whether it be undead hordes, royal abductions, border incursions or whatever bad luck happens to befall the kingdom that day.

Chess has got nothing on this bad boy.

This is an excerpt from the full story which was originally featured on gamrReview, read the full version here – Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS) – Review

Source: gamrReview

“Awakening” delivers the goods for longtime fans while giving newcomers a great welcome to the series

Gamers have been waiting with baited breath for the 3DS debut of Nintendo’s premiere strategy-RPG Fire Emblem, and the tag-team of Nintendo and Intelligent Designs have delivered in a big way. Past the jump, check our review, and find out why Fire Emblem Awakening is a must-have title–even if you’re a novice at strategy games!

Source: Crunchy Roll