With care

Gearbox Studios has revealed development work on Aliens: Colonial Marines for Wii U is being handled by Demiurge Studios.

Demiurge, the team behind Shoot Many Robots on PSN, spent nine months creating a prototype of the game before being given development duties. Gearbox is also collaborating with Texan studios Nerve and Timegate, but 80% of development work will be handled in-house by Gearbox.

By all accounts Aliens: Colonial Marines won't be playable on Wii U at this year's E3, but hopefully we'll at least get some new details. Stay tuned.

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Sine Mora is coming to Vita. That's rather good news.

Had to wipe my PS3 hard drive but VF5FS finally finished downloading. Time to kick some Kage!

Guardian heroes

Atlus has just announced it'll release Code of Princess on 3DS in North America this Fall.

The new action RPG from the creators of SEGA Saturn classic Guardian Heroes, Code of Princess is a 3DS exclusive and comes with online cooperative and competitive play.

Eager players can pre-order the game now and receive a free art book and soundtrack sampler when they purchase the game.

We can't wait.

ATLUS TO BRING CODE OF PRINCESS FOR NINTENDO 3DS, ACTION RPG BRAWLER WITH COMPETITIVE AND COOPERATIVE MULTIPLAYER, TO NORTH AMERICA THIS FALL; FANS WHO PRE-ORDER AT PARTICIPATING RETAILERS WILL RECEIVE FREE "SOUND & VISUAL BOOK" BONUS

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — JUNE 4, 2012 — ATLUS, a brand of Index Digital Media, Inc., today revealed North American publishing plans for Code of Princess™, an action RPG brawler for Nintendo 3DS™ with cooperative and competitive multiplayer.

Slated for release this fall, Code of Princess offers players an exciting yet unconventional hardcore experience, deftly blending fighting gameplay with components from classic arcade side-scrolling beat 'em ups and the character development and customization of an RPG. Up to four players can take on challenges cooperatively or battle against one another in competitive play. Both modes are available locally or online via Nintendo Network.

"Developed by an all-star team of industry veterans, Code of Princess is unlike anything else available for Nintendo 3DS," commented Tim Pivnicny, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ATLUS. "Fans of action will savor the game's combat, which is loaded with satisfying chain attacks and plenty of depth--both in terms of attack options and also quite literally in the sense that battlefields employ a three-railed design, letting players move forward and back as tactics dictate. Fans of RPGs will relish the ability to level and improve their characters, converting their gained experience into boosts for the stats that best suit their play style and tactics. This appealing amalgam of game designs is wrapped in a beautiful package, boasting lovingly rendered and animated characters and eye-catching flurries of punches and kicks. With something for virtually every kind of old-school gamer and with an esteemed pedigree to draw upon, Code of Princess is certain to be one of the most anticipated Nintendo 3DS games of the year."

In keeping with proud ATLUS tradition, fans who pre-order Code of Princess (at a participating retailer while supplies last) will receive the Code of Princess Sound & Visual Book, a collection of art work from famed designer Kinu Nishimura and music from ACE's stellar soundtrack that are the perfect complement to the game and a wonderful collectible to proudly display.

Code of Princess is set to release this fall exclusively for Nintendo 3DS. For more information, visit http://www.atlus.com/codeofprincess.

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Amazing news! Atlus Will Bring Code of Princess to North America - 3DS News @ Nintendo Life http://t.co/1qyCpi6o via @nintendolife

Here it is!

Nintendo said we wouldn't see any Wii U games in tonight's Nintendo Direct Live, but Satoru Iwata snuck in a cheeky glimpse of Super Mario Bros. to show off the system's new Miiverse functionality.

It was only a short video and focuses more on the system's all-new social networking functions, but we'll never pass up an opportunity to show you the new Mario.

Expect to see a lot more of this game on Tuesday.

[youtube:CQA_v8Klq1s]

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Better late than never

Nintendo's pre-E3 show just wrapped up, with an unprecedented focus on Wii U's online functions.

The machine's innovative new Miiverse online system took centre stage, and Nintendo's put it front and centre in the console itself too. When you power up your Wii U, you'll see the Miiverse Plaza, a vibrant, online connected community: other players will fill the plaza with comments about games they're playing, introducing you to new games and a whole community. Wii's online functions are all behind Channels; Wii U puts them right in your hands, right from the start.

It's the scope of the features that impress most, though. Miiverse aims to connect consoles and players even for single-player games.

Imagine playing the new Zelda and getting stuck in a temple; instead of opening up a strategy guide or a web browser, the Wii U's social networks can be accessed from any game with a few taps, suspending the game in the background. Post a message asking for help, and other users will be able to respond; if you get really stuck you can start a video chat with them to discuss strategies. You'll be able to check into the Miiverse on 3DS and, in future, all web-enabled devices.

No Nintendo console has offered such open communication before, and while that's damning with faint praise, Wii U truly does look leaps and bounds beyond Wii and even 3DS. While there will undoubtedly be limitations — hey, this is Nintendo we're talking about — the framework is far stronger than we've seen before.

Yet there's still an unmistakable air of Nintendo-ness to all this. Mii characters gathering around icons in a plaza; sending handwritten notes and doodles to friends and social networks; commiserating when you die on Super Mario Bros. for the hundredth time. It's less about connecting consoles and more about connecting players.

After spending so long trailing so far behind the competition, Nintendo could finally have an online service that leads the way.

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I am quite excited.

Watch it again inside

Can't wait to find out more about Wii U? Nintendo president Satoru Iwata will bring you brand new information about the upcoming console right here tonight.

We've got the embedded video below so you can watch it here, plus we'll be doing live text updates throughout the show too so you won't miss a thing.

Remember: this is for new information about the Wii U console only. We will not see any Wii U games tonight — they're coming Tuesday.

[youtube:9AkPdAWfFjI]

[livetext:e3/2012/nintendo-direct]

Don't forget that E3 'proper' starts on Tuesday with the Nintendo Press Conference 9am Pacific / 12 midday Eastern / 5pm UK / 6pm Central European Time / Wednesday 6th June, 2am Australian Eastern Standard Time. Where to Watch: http://e3.nintendo.com, Facebook, on MTV2 and Spike TV.

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Won't say which sites, but two that have been consistently proven wrong about Wii U and Nintendo rumours in the past. They're just noise.