Animal Crossing Plaza introduced at Nintendo Direct conference

Animal Crossing Plaza introduced at Nintendo Direct conference

Nintendo announced a new Animal Crossing application for the Wii U during the latest Nintendo Direct conference on 7th August, giving Animal Crossing: New Leaf players a new way to talk and share images with players from all over the world.

The new app, Animal Crossing Plaza, is available to download for free from the Nintendo eShop today, and will allow players to use their Miis to interact and chat to other players across the globe. The app also allows fans to transfer images from Animal Crossing: New Leaf for 3DS to their Wii U to share and organise more easily. Players can also add messages to go with their images and can search other players’ photos by their favourite animal, allowing them to see just the content that they are most interested in.

The app also allows players to create QR code patterns that can link to their images and content, which can be scanned by a 3DS console, allowing Animal Crossing fans to quickly jump to other users’ content on the move, as well as on the Wii U.

Other news from the conference:

  • Pokémon Rumble U: Nintendo provided information about the Wii U’s first Pokémon game, Pokémon Rumble U. Players have the opportunity to control any of the 649 Pokémon that have appeared in the Pokémon games up to Black 2 and White 2, though some will Pokémon will require special codes to access. Watch out for these codes on the Nintendo Facebook and Twitter accounts. Pokémon Rumble U will be available to download from the Nintendo eShop from 15th August.

Pokemon Rumble U Nintendo Direct

  • Luigi has been confirmed as a playable character for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, making 2013 a very illustrious year for Luigi, who is also appearing in Luigi’s Mansion 2 for 3DS and New Super Luigi U for the Wii U.
  • Sonic Lost World: New details have been revealed about the interaction between the 3DS and Wii U versions of this game. The 3DS version allows players to create and customise gadgets to be used in the Wii U version’s multiplayer mode to combat enemies or collect items. Both versions are released on 18th October.
  • Rayman Legends: Nintendo have announced that players will be able to unlock Mario and Luigi costumes for Rayman and Globox, as well as a whole host of the stages previously featured in Rayman Origins. Rayman Legends launches on 29th August.
  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD: Nintendo have announced that they will make a range of gameplay improvements to the original GameCube experience, including faster sailing. Fans will have to wait until 8th October to get their hands on this hotly-anticipated title.

There was also news for 3DS owners:

  • Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy will be released on 8th November and conclude the second Professor Layton trilogy, before Layton teams up with attorney Phoenix Wright for a whole new adventure. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will appear early next year.
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds: Nintendo have revealed that the game’s logo signifies one of the key plot points of the game. The logo centres around the ultimate source of power and balance in the Zelda universe: the Triforce. As demonstrated by the logo, in one world, the Triforce exists as always, whilst the second, shadowy Triforce suggests that another version exists in the second world. How this plays into the plot has yet to be revealed, but it suggests a clash of epic proportions in A Link Between Worlds, set to launch in November.

The Legend of Zelda; A Link Between Worlds

  • 3DS owners can also prepare for a few new RPGs for the console. Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan provides players will a journey to reach the ever-watching tree Yggdrasi, and launches on 30th August, whilst the 3DS port of the Sega Saturn’s Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers will be released on 13th September.

To watch the entire Nintendo Direct broadcast, click here.

I'm Joe, an aspiring games writer and overall massive geek with a soft spot for bows and arrows, role-playing games and main characters with awesome hair and big swords.