What did we do to deserve this?

Crimson Dragon — also known as "the best reason to have a Kinect right now" — has been delayed.

The new shooter from many of the staff behind Panzer Dragoon was scheduled for release in Japan on 13th June, but Microsoft has put the release back for unspecified reasons.

We didn't have a final Western release date so this delay isn't really a big deal, but does mean we won't get the game for a while. Xbox.com currently lists its release as 31/12/2799, by which time we'll probably all have real dragons and laugh at the idea of video games.

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Prepare yourself

Nintendo's E3 showing this year gave plenty of stage time to some less familiar faces: Katsuya Eguchi and Scott Moffitt both spoke at length about Wii U and 3DS respectively, while president Satoru Iwata — traditionally the conference mainstay — mostly stayed behind the scenes to tweet. This video is probably his finest ever work, though.

If ever you've wanted to see one of the most powerful men in gaming talk to a toy and give the camera a thumbs-up (and that's a pretty specific desire) you'll like this video a lot.

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Several in the works

Last year's Zelda HD experience was certainly graphically impressive, but as always Nintendo was keen to stress it was just an example of what's possible; we know from past experience Zelda tech demos often vastly differ from the finished product. Nintendo's main man Shigeru Miyamoto told Entertainment Weekly there are various Zelda Wii U experiments on the go, but nothing he's ready to talk about.

Miyamoto discussed the increasing trend towards "more casual experiences", musing on how Zelda might fit in:

But one thing that’s interesting is we’re seeing how the way that tastes are broadening in video games and you have some people who prefer more casual experiences, and you have some people who prefer sort of those more in-depth experiences. Obviously, as a company that’s been making games for a very long time, we tend to be more on the deeper, longer game side of things. But really what we continue to ask ourselves as we have over the years is, “What is the most important element of Zelda if we were to try to make a Zelda game that a lot of people can play?”

Miyamoto and team haven't settled on an answer yet:

So we have a number of different experiments going on, and [when] we decide that we’ve found the right one of those to really help bring Zelda to a very big audience, then we’ll be happy to announce it.

We have a feeling we might be happy too. Until we see more, you'll have to get your Zelda fix in the The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest game in Nintendo Land.

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Only one can triumph

After we asked which Wii U game got you excited? we want to know how you felt about the line-up for 3DS.

Unsurprisingly Nintendo first-party games dominated the poll, but there were good showings from Konami and Square Enix.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star — 75
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon — 62
Castlevania: Lords of Shadows - Mirror of Fate — 46
New Super Mario Bros. 2 — 26
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance — 22
Heroes of Ruin — 16
Scribblenauts Unlimited — 11

What's your pick of the best 3DS games shown at E3 this year?

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Luigi, Mario and more

If you missed last night's 3DS software showcase you didn't miss a whole lot, to be honest, but we've collated the trailers and bundled them all up into this very post all the same.

Each game page has also been updated with new screenshots, artwork and official details, so click through to see what's new.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

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Paper Mario: Sticker Star

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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate

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Scribblenauts Unlimited

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This Mario trailer was released before the showcase but we thought you might like to see it again anyway.

New Super Mario Bros. 2

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Summer fling

Once upon a time, Retro City Rampage was announced for WiiWare. That time was over two years go, and with the game having missed its most recent May release window many are starting to worry that this quirky 8-bit-styled title won't make it to WiiWare. The good news is that the game's still coming to WiiWare, and should be out this summer.

A press release from D3Publisher this week pokes fun at the game's seemingly interminable development time, but that should come to an end before the leaves turn brown and our hair goes completely white.

Check out our Retro City Rampage interview for more.

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Retro City Rampage is finally right around the corner after its legendary (and lengthy) development.

The wait was worth it, and it’s playable early at E3 to prove it. Head over to D3Publisher’s booth (South Hall #501) to play it on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Developer Brian Provinciano will be at the show for all of your interview needs, alongside composers Leonard Paul (Freaky DNA) and Matt Creamer (Norrin Radd) to give you an inside scoop on the game’s IGF nominated soundtrack.

This 8-bit game’s virtual cartridge tips the scales at 128Mbits with so much content that it nearly needed the strength of two Power Gloves to jam it into the console. It boasts a massive story mode with over 50 missions, an arcade mode with over 40 leaderboard challenges for instant pick-up-and-play action, a free-roaming mode with cameos and crossovers, and bonus games including an 8-Bit Splosion Man, BIT.TRIP: Retro City, and “Virtual Meat Boy” (put on your red and blue 3D glasses, now). It’s also packed with 50 vehicles, over 25 weapons and power-ups and over 200 styles to customize your character with.

If you think you’re rad enough to outrun the law and carjack the '80s, then lock and load your LIGHTGUN and power up your POWER-UPS, because you're ready to go on a RETRO CITY RAMPAGE!

Release Date: Summer 2012
Price: 1200 Microsoft Points, $14.99
Platforms: Xbox LIVE® Arcade for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (PSN), PS Vita (Digital), WiiWare, PC/Steam/GOG
ESRB: T (Blood, Crude Humor, Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol, Violence)
PEGI: 12+ (violence)
USK: 16+
FPB: 13+ (violence)
GRB: 15+ (violence, drugs, and crime)

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Bats, cats, balance and curling

It's a bumper week for North America with new 3DS Download Software, demos, DSiWare, 3D videos and more. Here's what's available today.

3DS Download Software

Art of Balance TOUCH! (Shin'en Multimedia, $6.99) — An excellent puzzle game that tasks you to create a balanced stack of blocks. It's tougher than it sounds, as our Art of Balance TOUCH! review explains.

3DS Demo

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Warner Bros.) — Released yesterday during the 3DS software showcase, try out a free portion of the upcoming LEGO super heroes adventure.

3DS Virtual Console

Prince of Persia (Game Boy Color, Ubisoft, $4.99) — That was quick. Nintendo only announced this for a Q2 release on Tuesday, and here we are about to play the Prince's GBC adventure in North America. Check our Prince of Persia review for the full lowdown.

Wii Virtual Console

The Last Blade (NEO GEO, SNK Playmore, 900pts) — Here's a turn-up for the books. Released in Japan in March, North American fight fans can unsheathe their blades this week. We'll have a full review very soon.

DSiWare

Cat Frenzy (Teyon, 200pts) — The frenzied felines reach North America in a game that's not bad but not great. Our Cat Frenzy review explains.

Curling Super Championship (Cypronia, 500pts) — What could be better during the summer than some ice cold curling? Sadly this doesn't quite have the stones to be worth a purchase, as our Curling Super Championship review spells out.

Nintendo Video

Dinosaur Office: Bring Your Child to Work Day — "Dinosaur offspring take over the workplace in this week's episode of Dinosaur Office. Available on Nintendo Video at 6 a.m. PT on June 7."

eShop

You can also download 3D trailers for some of Nintendo's E3 line-up for a limited time.

Quite a big week. What's coming home with you this week?

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Pokémon artist on board

Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada has a new studio and a new game in the works, currently codenamed Project Happiness. TOYBOX, Rising Star Games and Natsume have just released the first teaser trailer for the game and it looks very much like Wada's signature style.

The voiceover will sound familiar to Little King's Story players, and the art style rings a few bells too: character design was handled by Pokémon series artist Atsuko Nishida. Best of all is famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu is providing the soundtrack; sounds like Wada has some pretty powerful connections in the Japanese development community. Or maybe he just has dirt on a lot of people.

It might look like a Facebook-style game but we've been assured it's not browser-based, and with Wada's past history on Nintendo platforms there's hope we'll be playing Project Happiness on a Nintendo console in the near future.

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Everybody gets a turn

Although there was no mention of it during last night's 3DS software showcase, Fire Emblem: Awakening is coming to North America.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed to IGN the turns-based strategy RPG will make it across the Atlantic, but at the moment we don't know any more.

Nintendo Europe recently confirmed the game for Europe in 2012. We'll keep you posted on further developments.

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What will we see?

Nintendo's hosting a 3DS software showcase to spend more time talking about its range of upcoming 3DS games. And you know what? We're going to be covering it live right on this very page.

It all kicks off at 6pm Pacific — that's 9pm Eastern and 2am UK time.

Don't forget the comments will automatically refresh so kick back, chill out and chew the fat as we guide you through some forthcoming treats for your Nintendo 3DS.

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