The eShop is Earthbound this week (finally)

The Virtual Console is the place to be this week as the Earthbound prequel finally (finally) has arrived on the Wii U in the US.

It’s been a long time Earthbound. A long, long time. For many gamers actually, it’s probably never been, since we’re talking about the prequel game here in Earthbound Beginnings. The game has a voracious niche audience that venerates it, as well as a section of the gaming populace who’s never experienced what’s considered to be a lost gem from the Nintendo archives, since it’s never appeared on a US console. And now, it’s available to purchase on the Virtual Console in all its 8bit glory.

Although it’s pretty clearly the biggest release this week, it’s not alone as Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones has arrived from GameBoy Advance land, and Super Smash Bros newest content has arrived in the form of Street Fighter’s Ryu, Roy from Fire Emblem, and Lucas from Mother 3. You can also now use the 3DS as a controller in the title with an additional paid piece of DLC.

Past that, there are some decent sales to report (like Another World – 20^th Anniversary Edition) on both the 3DS and Wii U, as well as a slate of smaller releases. Check out the full list of what’s happening below.

• Virtual Console on Wii U
  • EarthBound Beginnings – The Year is 198X. As Ninten, a young boy from Podunk with psychic powers, you must locate the eight melodies to aid the Queen of Magicant. Armed with your trusty baseball bat, you’ll fight crazed hippies, zombies … and the occasional Magic Snail? Find out what’s causing these strange phenomena in the first-ever U.S. release of the EarthBound Beginnings game! Click here to view a trailer for the game.
  • Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones – The kingdom of Renais lies in ruins, shattered by a sudden invasion from a former ally. In this Game Boy Advance classic, use cunning strategy to guide the royal heirs, Eirika and Ephraim, on their quest to rebuild Renais. Take advantage of your strengths and exploit your enemy’s weaknesses, but be careful: If soldiers perish on the battlefield, they are gone forever!
• Nintendo eShop on Wii U
  • Nindies@Home – Be among the first to play upcoming indie games coming to Wii U later this year. From now until June 22 at 8:59 a.m. PT, if you play select free demos in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U, you’ll receive 15 percent off the purchase of those games at launch. See all the included games on the offers page.
• Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS
  • Smash Controller – Expand your controller options in the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U game by using a Nintendo 3DS system as a controller – even without owning the hand-held version of the game. Simply purchase and download the Smash Controller application in the Nintendo eShop to your Nintendo 3DS system as a controller and get ready to battle in a new way!
• Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS
  • Super Smash Bros. – New content approaching! Ryu from the Street Fighter series and Roy from Fire Emblem join Lucas from Mother 3 as new playable fighters, and are available for download now. In addition, there are three new stages and many new costumes for Mii Fighters, including outfits from classic fighting series Virtua Fighter and Tekken. Learn more: http://www.smashbros.com/US/.

Nintendo eShop Sales:

• Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS
  • Nintendo is celebrating its lineup at E3 2015 with up to 30 percent off select games for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Fans can score deals on games related to some of the top franchises being featured at the show, including Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, LEGO, Just Dance and Yoshi. See all the games on the sale page. This offer runs until June 23 at 8:59 a.m. PT.
  • Pure Chess (Wii U and Nintendo 3DS) is 50 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $3.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on June 22.
  • Another World – 20^th Anniversary Edition on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS is 60 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $3.20) beginning at 9 a.m. PT on June 20 until 8:59 a.m. PT on June 27.
• Nintendo eShop on Wii U
  • Knytt Underground and Stick it to the Man! from Ripstone are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on June 22.
  • psyscrolr is 30 percent off (reduced from $3.99 to $2.79) until 8:59 a.m. PTon June 23.
  • Arrow Time U is 50 percent off (reduced from $1.99 to $0.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 2.
  • Paper Monsters Recut is 25 percent off (reduced from $7.99 to $5.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 2.
  • Tilelicious is 33 percent off (reduced from $5.99 to $3.99) until 8:59 a.m. PTon July 2.
  • Gravity Badgers is 50 percent off (reduced from $4.99 to $2.49) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 16.
• Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked and Shin Megami Tensei IV from ATLUS are on sale beginning at 9 a.m. PT on June 22 until 8:59 a.m. PT on June 29.
  • Tiny Games – Knights & Dragons is 33 percent off (reduced from $2.99 to $1.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 2.
  • Swords & Soldiers 3D, Glory of Generals and Quell Reflect from Circle Entertainment are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 9.
  • Cubit the Hardcore Platformer Robot is 33 percent off (reduced from $2.99 to $1.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 16.
  • PIX3D, League of Heroes and more games from Huuuge Games are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 16.
  • Zombie Incident is 25 percent off (reduced from $1.99 to $1.49) until 8:59 a.m. PT on July 16.

Activities:

• Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. “Global Cup” Tournament – See how your Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. squad stacks up online in Nintendo’s Public Tournaments. Top players earn unique titles that are visible online and earn major bragging rights with their friends and around the world. The new “Global Cup” tournament runs from June 18 to June 24. Opt in via the SpotPass feature for notifications on future tournaments, and click here for more information about multiplayer tournaments. Good luck, agents!

Also new this week:

• Fat City (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Life of Pixel (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Solitaire Dungeon Escape (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Best of Board Games – Chess (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Comic Workshop 2 (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley – New DLC (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)

In addition to video games available at retail stores, Nintendo also offers a variety of content that people can download directly to their systems. Nintendo adds new games weekly to the Nintendo eShop on the Wii U console and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, the Nintendo DSi^™ Shop for the Nintendo DSi system and the Wii^™ Shop Channel for the Wii console.

The Nintendo eShop is a cash-based service that features a wide variety of content, including new and classic games, applications and demos. Users can add money to their account balances by using a credit card or purchasing a Nintendo eShop Card at a retail store and entering the code from the card. All funds from one card must be loaded in the Nintendo eShop on either Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, but can be used in either Nintendo eShop if the systems are linked to a single Nintendo Network account.

The Wii Shop Channel offers games and applications and uses Wii Points^™, which can be purchased via the Wii Shop Channel. The Nintendo DSi Shop offers games and applications and uses Nintendo DSi Points^™, which can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop.

Remember that Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage some of the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu or http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.