Official Nintendo 3DS Launch Lineup Revealed

By Hector Cortez Feb 24, 2011, 2:13 GMT

Nintendo 3DS will launch in North America on March 27.

Nintendo and its third-party publishing partners have made sure that people who buy a Nintendo 3DS on March 27 will be able to choose from a variety of games at launch. More than 30 Nintendo 3DS games will launch before the E3 Expo in early June.

On March 27, the following Nintendo-published games will be available for purchase at a suggested retail price of $39.99:

- Pilotwings Resort, an aerial adventure featuring airplanes, hang gliders and rocket belts.

- Steel Diver, a submarine game that involves strategy and combat.

- nintendogs + cats, a game that lets players interact with realistic puppies and kittens in a variety of ways. There are three versions of the software, each with different starting breeds: French bulldog, toy poodle and golden retriever. But in each version players can unlock and enjoy more than 20 different breeds.

Other Nintendo 3DS games in the works for 2011 from Nintendo include The  Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Kid Icarus: Uprising and a new installment in the Mario Kart series.

Third-party publishers will deliver the following games at launch:

- Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition from CAPCOM
- The Sims 3 from EA
- Madden NFL Football from EA SPORTS
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D from Konami
- LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars from LucasArts
- RIDGE RACER 3D from NAMCO BANDAI
- Super Monkey Ball 3D from SEGA
- BUST-A-MOVE UNIVERSE from Square-Enix, Inc.
- SAMURAI WARRIORS: Chronicles from TECMO KOEI
- Asphalt 3D from UBISOFT
- Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D from UBISOFT
- Rayman 3D from UBISOFT
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars from UBISOFT

Nintendo 3DS also comes pre-loaded with a variety of games, applications and features, such as the Nintendo 3DS camera, which can be used to take photos in 2D and 3D as well as be used in other games and applications.

For instance, the built-in Face Raiders game asks users to shoot at funny depictions of their own photographed faces, while the Mii Maker application lets gamers use the camera to take a picture of a person and have an automatic Mii character created.

The system also comes with six AR Cards, which, when viewed through the outer cameras, bring to life animations and images. For example, when used with  nintendogs + cats, users might see their puppies or kittens sitting on their coffee tables or in the palms of their hands.

Lastly, with Nintendo 3DS Sound, users can enjoy sound-manipulation tools or listen to their MP3 or AAC music files.

Nintendo 3DS is also able to play nearly every game in the Nintendo DS library, except those that require use of a secondary Game Boy Advance slot.