Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program members can now download all 10 Game Boy Advance games from the Nintendo eShop. The 10 free GBA titles are:

* Mario Kart: Super Circuit
* Mario vs. Donkey Kong
* Wario Land 4
* WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$
* Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
* F-Zero Maximum Velocity
* Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
* Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
* Metroid Fusion
* The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Link: NOA Customer Service: Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program

Club Nintendo is now offering Super Mario Kart and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! as rewards. Members can trade in 100 coins for Super Mario Kart on Wii (normally 800 Wii Points), and 150 coins for Minis March Again on Nintendo 3DS (normally $7.99). The first batch of games, which also includes Fluidity and 3D Classics: Xevious, will be available on Club Nintendo through January 10, 2012.

Link: NOA press release

Just in time for the holidays, Nintendo will offer two different Wii bundles, combining Mario games with the new Wii model. The "newly configured" Wii has a slightly different look and does not play GameCube games.

Nintendo of America released details on Tuesday of their upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii bundle, which includes a black Wii console and a Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack CD. According to the press release, the bundle will be released on October 23 with a MSRP of $149.99. NOA has no plans to sell the Super Mario Galaxy 2 music CD separately.

Currently only announced for Europe, a blue Wii and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games bundle is scheduled for a November 18 release.

Links:
NOA press release
NOE news

Nintendo has announced exact release dates for two of the most anticipated 3DS games coming this year.

Super Mario 3D Land will launch in North America on November 13, in Europe on November 18, and in Japan on November 3. Mario Kart 7 will speed into stores across North America on December 4, in Europe on December 2, and in Japan on December 1.

In related news, the Mario and Dragon Quest crossover board game Fortune Street is now scheduled for a December 5th release in North America.

Links:
NOA press release
NOE news
Nintendo 3DS Conference 2011 (Japanese)

Nintendo held a "3DS Conference" in Japan this morning.  While many new surprises and titles were revealed, there were a few special points of interest for Mario fans.

* A new Mario Tennis is coming to the 3DS in 2012.

* Paper Mario and Luigi's Mansion 2 are both scheduled for 2012.

* Footage of Super Mario 3D Land shows Bowser and Goombas both sporting raccoon tailsl!  A variety of items, characters, and environments objects from Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and the Super Mario Galaxy titles appear to be present as well.

* Mario Kart 7 footage reveals the return of the Waluigi Pinball track.

Video footage of the new titles is available at http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/conference2011/titlelist/index.html

Source: Nintendo 3DS Conference

All 10 NES games are now available for download by 3DS Ambassador Program members, just a bit earlier than expected.  Grab them now before the Nintendo servers overheat!

NOA has officially revealed all ten NES titles that will be released to 3DS Ambassadors this Thursday:

* Super Mario Bros.
* Donkey Kong Jr.
* NES Open Tournament Golf
* Wrecking Crew
* Yoshi
* Balloon Fight
* Ice Climber
* Metroid
* The Legend of Zelda
* Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Mario and his friends account for a full 50% of the NES Ambassador titles.  I'm sure his father would be proud.

Source: NOA Consumer Service -- 3DS Ambassador Information

Mario Strikers Charged, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario, and Punch-Out!! will join the "Nintendo Selects" collection on August 28, Nintendo of America announced today. All four titles will have a MSRP of $19.99 and will arrive in stores with new packaging.

Nintendo of Europe will add Super Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to the Nintendo Selects series on September 16. Mario Strikers Charged Football was one of Europe's first Nintendo Selects games when the series launched in May.

Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, previously known only as Super Mario and Mario Kart, respectively, will both launch this holiday season in North America. Super Mario 3D Land is currently scheduled for a November release, while Mario Kart 7 will arrive sometime in December. Both games have the same release schedule in Japan as well.

Nintendo of America also announced today that the Nintendo 3DS will drop in price from $249.99 to $169.99 on August 12. Along with the price drop, Nintendo has started a "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador" program for early adopters. Nintendo 3DS owners who connect to the eShop before August 12 (Eastern time) will automatically become Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors, and will qualify for 10 free NES and 10 free GBA Virtual Console games. The free games, available by the end of 2011, include Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr., Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. For more information about the 3DS Ambassador program, please see the NOA press release.

Links:
NOA press release
NCL announcement

Nintendo showed footage of Luigi's Mansion 2 and announced a new Smash Bros. title during their press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles this morning.

Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO of Nintendo of America, stated that Luigi's Mansion 2 for the Nintendo 3DS is an all new game including several new mansions. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata announced that the next Smash Bros. game is coming to both the 3DS and Wii U, Nintendo's upcoming home console.

Mario Party 9 for Wii was also announced, but not mentioned during the conference.

The Game Boy classic Super Mario Land will be available for download when Nintendo of America opens the Nintendo eShop on Monday evening, June 6. Nintendo 3DS users will first have to download a free system update to access the digital store.

Alleyway, which features a spaceship-paddle piloted by Mario, is set for a June 6th release as well.

Super Mario Land and Nintendo eShop will also launch together on June 7 in Europe, Australia, and Japan.

Links:
NOA press release
NOE news
Nintendo Australia news

A Mario Kart Wii console bundle and "Nintendo Selects" collection will launch later this month, Nintendo announced today.

The Wii bundle includes Mario Kart Wii and a Wii Wheel -- replacing Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort -- at a suggested retail price of $149.99. Nintendo will release the bundle on May 15 in North America and May 20 in Europe.

The Nintendo Selects series kicks off in North America on May 15 with four Wii games: Mario Super Sluggers, Animal Crossing: City Folk, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Wii Sports. Each game has a MSRP of $19.99. In Europe, the Nintendo Selects series launches on May 20 with WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Mario Strikers Charged Football, Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City, and Wii Sports.

Links:
NOA press release
NOE news

Earlier today, Sega officially announced Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games for Wii and Nintendo 3DS. Sega expects to announce a release date later this year.

According to the press release, the previous Mario & Sonic titles have sold over 19 million copies worldwide.

Links:
Sega press release
Official game site

During his keynote speech at the Game Developers Conference earlier today, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed more details about the upcoming Super Mario game for Nintendo 3DS. Four screenshots were displayed on the screen behind Iwata as he announced that the game is being developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo, the team behind the Super Mario Galaxy series. When the temporary "Super Mario" logo appeared on the screen, Iwata pointed out the tail in the shadow of the "O" and promised that the tail will be explained at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Here are some screen captures from the keynote address video at http://gdc2011.nintendo.com:



Link: NOA press release

Nintendo of America recently revealed that it may reprint Super Mario All-Stars: 25th Anniversary Edition, but stopped short of actually committing to a rerelease.  In an e-mail to Wired Game|Life, NOA PR director Marc Franklin said:

We are gratified by the consumer response to this limited-edition product, which we created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. game on NES . . . Because of the strong response, we are exploring the option of bringing this item back at a later date . . . Until that decision is made, consumers should check with retailers, as supplies will vary by store."

Since its release in mid-December, the Wii edition of the SNES Mario anthology has been lambasted by critics as being overpriced, but remains consistently sold out in stores and fetches an absurdly high price on the secondary market.  A new print run of the title would seem to be a sure bet for NOA, but who knows what lurks in the mind of Reggie...

Source: Wired Game|Life