Nintendo 3DS Launches this Sunday, Brings Eggs

The Nintendo 3DS launches this Sunday packed with software, games and a few Easter Eggs to discover.

Monday Nintendo officially announced that its new 3DS portable gaming platform is hitting store shelves here in the States this Sunday, March 27, bearing a suggested retail price of $249.99. The news arrives just after recent reports of a hidden RPG installed on every 3DS called Find Mii, tucked away within one of the new console's many pre-installed games and programs.

According to Nintendo, Best Buy actually grabbed dibs on an exclusive launch party which kicks off Saturday night (March 26) at 9pm EST in New York City's Best Buy located in Union Square, and other participating Best Buy locations nationwide. The event will feature hands-on Nintendo 3DS demos with food, music and giveaways (while supplies last), all leading up to a countdown to midnight, when the Nintendo 3DS system goes on sale.

"Nintendo 3DS can play 3D video games and take 3D pictures, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "The 3D display is amazing in its own right, but just as compelling are the new forms of game play it delivers, and the groundbreaking ways it will connect players to new content … and each other."

In addition to dumping just over $250 bucks into the new dual-screen handheld console, gamers will also receive pre-installed software and games including:

• Mii Maker: this app uses facial recognition technology to create a Mii character that looks just like you.
• Face Raiders: a game that requires you to shoot at comical depictions of your own face as well as others around you.
• AR Games: this app will superimpose graphics and animations on the real world using the included AR Cards.
• Nintendo 3DS Sound: this app lets you listen to MP3 or AAC music files, or make your own recordings and play with them using fun filters.
• StreetPass: this feature lets some of your games and applications wirelessly swap small bits of game data as you pass other Nintendo 3DS users throughout the day. This is also where gamers can find the hidden RPG, located within the Mii Plaza.
• SpotPass: this lets the Nintendo 3DS system detect wireless hotspots or wireless LAN access points and allows users to obtain information and game data when the system is in Sleep Mode.

Free software and videos will also become available with future system updates, Nintendo said.

Gamers can also reportedly uncover hidden Easter Eggs. These include a special way to make the Home icons spin faster using the built-in microphone, a free Fishing Game that can be purchased within the unlockable AR Card shop, a phantom alarm clock, the ability to make AR characters larger and more.

In addition to the gaming unit itself, eighteen titles will be available at launch on Sunday with more than 30 total available by early June. Nintendo-published games available this Sunday include:

• Pilotwings Resort
• nintendogs + cats
• Steel Diver

Additional 3rd-party titles will include:

• Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (CAPCOM)
• The Sims 3 (EA)
• Madden NFL Football (EA SPORTS)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D (Konami)
• LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (LucasArts)
• RIDGE RACER 3D (NAMCO BANDAI)
• Super Monkey Ball 3D (SEGA)
• BUST-A-MOVE UNIVERSE (Square-Enix)
• SAMURAI WARRIORS: Chronicles (TECMO)
• Asphalt 3D (UBISOFT)
• Combat of Giants (UBISOFT)
• Dinosaurs 3D (UBISOFT)
• Rayman 3D (UBISOFT)
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Shadow Wars (UBISOFT)