Are you ready for 20-something seconds of gameplay from Pokémon Black & White 2? Let's do this.

Nintendo put out the most teasing of teaser trailers during its Nintendo Direct conference, but now you can watch it at your leisure to pick out the new gym leaders and areas that make up the sequel.

The game's out in Japan now (curses!) but it hits Europe and North America later this year.

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Quick shots

Didn't catch the most recent Nintendo Direct show? Let us summarise everything for you.

Nintendo 3DS XL

After plenty of speculation, Nintendo revealed a bigger 3DS. The 3DS XL hits North America on 19th August for $199.99 in red or blue, and comes with a 4GB card.

3DS Virtual Console Gets Big Push in North America

Starting on 5th July Nintendo of America will release two 3DS VC games a week. This weekend you can also get Super Mario Land for $2.99.

Kingdom Hearts Demo Out Now

You can grab a short demo for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in the eShop right now. Upcoming demos include Heroes of Ruin and Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure.

Super Smash Bros. 3DS and Wii U Development

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U will be developed in collaboration with Namco Bandai. Team members from SoulCalibur, Tekken, Tales and more will all work alongside director Masahiro Sakurai. Namco Bandai already has a prototype running; Sakurai says it looks "pretty good".

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask will hit 3DS in November.

New Art Academy

A good title to show off the 3DS XL's big screens, a new Art Academy title is in the works for 3DS. No word on whether it's retail or eShop, or when it'll be released.

Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition

A Wii collection of six Kirby games, with new challenge levels based on Kirby's Return to Dream Land. There's an interactive series timeline to race around, and it comes with a music CD and a full colour booklet too.

Fire Emblem

Fire Emblem will reach North America in 2013. It'll feature "robust" add-on content too.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 Add-on Content

New Super Mario Bros. 2 will feature add-on content available after launch to expand its Coin Rush mode. Reggie couldn't say when or how the levels will be available as they haven't been created yet, and was keen to stress NSMB2 is still a fully-featured Mario adventure whether you buy the add-on content or not.

You can watch the show again at the official Nintendo Direct page.

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Serene mode engaged

Angry that Animal Crossing won't reach Europe until 2013 and North America until... well, who knows when? Watch this new Japanese trailer for the game and all your stress might just melt away or, perhaps, become more strongly amplified.

The video shows tonnes of new touches like solar panels to install outside, new shops and lots of new furniture and clothing options. Of course it's all in Japanese so we don't understand a word of it, but it's relaxing enough that we don't really care.

It's out in Japan this Fall, and reaches the western world in 2013.

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Thanks to reader Daniel for the tip!

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Dream team in place

We weren't expecting news on Super Smash Bros. today, but Nintendo surprised us with the revelation that Namco Bandai staff are working on the Wii U and 3DS game.

While series supremo Masahiro Sakurai will still direct the new instalments, top staff from Namco Bandai will pitch in too: Masaya Kobayashi has pledged his "best staff" to make Mr Sakurai proud. Namco staff include Tales series producer Yoshito Higuchi, Tetsuya Akatsuka from Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs., the art and sound directors from the SoulCalibur series and many of the staff responsible for Tekken.

Namco Bandai has already produced a prototype that "looks pretty good" according to Sakurai, who also had a personal message for fans eagerly awaiting news on the new Super Smash Bros. games.

Hello, I’m Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the Super Smash Bros. series.

It’s my personal belief that the only time a creative product really resonates is in that first moment when it’s actually in front of you.

With that said, I’ve realised that if we keep the new Super Smash Bros. title’s development structure secret, it’ll only create more and more speculation, and I won’t be able to develop the game with any freedom. That’s why I’ve decided to announce this news right now, even though it’s still very early on.

I would love to provide more information, but for now, I’m going to stay quiet until I have something solid to show you.

The project has just gotten started. Bear in mind that not only are we developing two titles simultaneously, but we announced the project before we even started actual development, so I’m afraid we will likely have to keep you waiting for quite a while. Please be patient.

Currently, the prototype prepared by NAMCO BANDAI Games and NAMCO BANDAI Studio’s special team looks pretty good, and it’s working great. In order to take advantage of the fact that there will be versions for two different systems, and to maximise and offer fun new gameplay elements, the entire team is going to work hard together. Thank you.

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Two new games every week

If you live in North America and you're fed up of getting the brown end of the 3DS Virtual Console stick, there's very good news on the way.

From 5th July to 1st August, Nintendo will release two 3DS Virtual Console games in the eShop every week. That covers four Nintendo Downloads — 1st August is a Wednesday — so expect eight titles, including long-awaited games like Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Kirby's Pinball Land and The Legend of Zelda on the way. Here are the dates we know so far:

The Legend of Zelda (NES) — 5th July.
The Sword of Hope II (Game Boy) — 12th July.
Kirby's Pinball Land (Game Boy) — 12th July.
Tumble Pop (Game Boy) — 19th July.
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy) — 19th July.
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 — 26th July.
Sonic Blast
Sonic Labyrinth

Also, from Friday 22nd June to Sunday 24th June you'll be able to get Super Mario Land for $2.99, the first time Nintendo's offered such a sale in the 3DS eShop.

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Lazy days

Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata just confirmed two much-anticipated Nintendo 3DS titles, Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem: Awakening, will not reach 3DS until next year.

Nintendo had previously announced Fire Emblem for 2012, but Shibata said Nintendo wants to work hard on developing the best games possible. Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem are now due to reach Europe in the first half of 2013, which means there is a maximum one-year wait until you can play these titles in Europe.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed Fire Emblem will reach North America in 2013. He didn't have anything to say about Animal Crossing.

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Pull up a chair and stay a while!

Nintendo of Europe will host a new Nintendo Direct presentation today at 5am UK time/6am Central European time.

The video will focus on 3DS, DS and Wii and will feature announcements and content specifically tailored for Europe. It's hosted by Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata.

Yes, we know it's early. Sorry about that.

North American readers can catch the North American Nintendo Direct live blog.

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Updated with live video!

Kicking off at 9pm Pacific and 12 midnight Eastern tonight is a Nintendo Direct presentation all about 3DS, DS and Wii. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is once again in the host's chair.

You can keep up with all the live happenings right here in our live blog hosted by Nintendo Life editor James Newton. It's very early morning in the UK, so we politely request your understanding.

European readers, you can watch the European Nintendo Direct live on the site. North American fans can watch the stream at Nintendo Direct or catch the live text right here.

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Not as creepy as it sounds

Back to the Future Part II's vision of 2015 was an intelligent house that greeted people as they walked in. "Welcome home, Marty!" it would say. "Lord of the manor, King of the castle!" Well, this new patent application from Nintendo might lead to that mythical home of the increasingly-near future.

The patent shows a wireless connection between a home console and portable game system — let's say Wii and 3DS — used to share information like who's at home but potentially much more.

It's a simple premise. After pairing the two devices, a Wii console left in standby mode would communicate with a 3DS console via wireless. If the 3DS leaves range, the Wii would know the user had left; when the machine comes back into wireless range, it'd know the user had returned. The patent explains the TV screen could display a message, or the console could make a sound or illuminate an LED bulb to let people know someone was back. The 3DS too could display a "welcome home" message to its owner.

It sounds straightforward, if unreliable: what if you simply switch off your 3DS, or you have a large house and leave wireless range? Using the 3DS's pedometer and internal clock functions, the software would be able to calculate if you'd actually left the house and come back or simply wandered out of range. It could also see if you'd tried to trick the pedometer by shaking the console by plotting number of steps against time elapsed. Clever stuff, really.

The best part of all is that using WiiConnect24 in conjunction with this new ability would allow the Wii to download new content for 3DS games — a map, a weapon and so on — and push it to any 3DS consoles within range. SpotPass is capable of this function too of course, but we like the idea of a home console sending new content to handheld users.

Nintendo has repeatedly said its intention with Wii and Wii U was to make them integral to the living room; this is just another step towards those high-tech 2015 homes Robert Zemeckis promised us. Next we want one of those hydrating microwaves, please.

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North American date confirmed

Just as today European 3DS owners get to sample Mutant Mudds, next week North American eShop fans can try out Renegade Kid's next title, Bomb Monkey.

Renegade Kid's just told us the eShop puzzler will reach North America next week for $4.99.

We went hands-on with the game during E3, so make sure you read our Bomb Monkey first impressions.

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