Nintendo Discusses Upcoming 3DS First Party Games

At today’s Nintendo E3 keynote, the Big N teased the audience with five first party 3DS games slated to launch before the year is out. Reggie took the stage, teased the company’s new console, and then dove right into a bunch upcoming 3DS titles. Trailers aplenty after the break.

Mario Kart

The first 3DS title shown was Mario Kart. According to NOA President, Reggie Fils-Aime, this iteration in the series is a “tricked out version”, slightly different from previous Mario Kart titles. The footage shown revealed that both gliding and underwater racing will be added to the classic formula. Mario Kart will be on store shelves this holiday season.

Star Fox 64 3D

The next game discussed was Star Fox 64 3D. In addition to showing off the game’s ability to use the gyroscope to control vehicles, Reggie also revealed that the 3DS’ camera could be used to record the reactions of players in multiplayer squads. Star Fox 64 3D will be available in September 2011.

Super Mario 3D

A couple months back at GDC we saw Nintendo tease an upcoming Super Mario title for the 3DS, leaving the audience with only a logo that sported a tanooki tail “mysterious raccoon tail”. This year, however, Nintendo pulled back the curtain on Super Mario 3D and showed a gameplay trailer featuring the fan favorite raccoon suit. Reggie told the audience that Super Mario 3D will be out “before the year is over.”

Kid Icarus: Uprising

Kid Icarus: Uprising was the fourth game shown during the 3DS spotlight. While the game was shown at last year’s E3, the new footage shown this morning looked to be a polished build of the game. During the presentation Nintendo revealed that Uprising will sport a battle mode and multiplayer that takes advantage of the 3DS’ ability to read AR cards. Kid Icarus: Uprising is also slated for release later this year.

Luigi’s Mansion 2

Finally, in one of the biggest surprises of the keynote, Nintendo unveiled the brand new Luigi’s Mansion 2. This isn’t a revision folks, this is an entirely new game and even features several mansions for Luigi to explore. A release date was not announced for Luigi’s Mansion 2.