New amiibo Cards, Super Smash Bros. Characters, Mario Kart 8 Speed Class and an Animal Crossing Game Are Among the Numerous Announcements

REDMOND, Wash. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — April 1, 2015 — With so much information, it would be easy to dismiss the latest Nintendo Direct presentation as an elaborate April Fool’s Day prank. But the latest Nintendo Direct is definitely no joke. The next evolution of amiibo? It’s happening! Lucas from Mother 3 in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS? He’s joining the battle! The debut of a 200cc speed class in Mario Kart 8? Yup! A new line of Yoshi amiibo figures made of actual yarn? Oh yeah. A home-designing Animal Crossing game? Launching this year! Splatoon launching on May 29 and more details about Mario Maker, Yoshi’s Woolly World and the new game in the Fire Emblem series? It’s all accurate!

A totally new form of amiibo is coming this fall! The first set of amiibo cards will be based on Animal Crossing characters and will be compatible with the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer game. (Photo: Business Wire)

To view the Nintendo Direct video in its entirety, visit http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct.

“The world of amiibo is getting bigger, better and even more interactive,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “And with existing amiibo support for games like Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 8 and more, and upcoming support for Splatoon, Yoshi’s Woolly World and Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, amiibo continue to stretch the definition of the toys-to-life category.”

Highlights revealed in the video include:

amiibo

• amiibo Cards: A totally new form of amiibo is coming this fall! The first set of amiibo cards will be based on Animal Crossing characters and will be compatible with the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer game. An NFC reader/writer peripheral for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL and Nintendo 2DS – which offers the functionality for scanning amiibo currently included in the New Nintendo 3DS XL system – will also launch the same day as the new Animal Crossing game.
• The Next Waves of Super Smash Bros. Series amiibo: On May 29, a new set of amiibo in the Super Smash Bros. series will launch, featuring Charizard, PAC-MAN, Wario, Jigglypuff, Greninja, Robin, Lucina and Ness. July brings Dark Pit and Palutena. And in September, Zero Suit Samus, Ganondorf, Olimar, Dr. Mario and Bowser Jr. will join the amiibo family.
• Play Classic Nintendo Games Using amiibo: With amiibo tap: Nintendo’s Greatest Bits, Wii U users can download the free application from the Nintendo eShop and tap any amiibo to unlock game-play highlights from select NES and Super NES games.
• Yarn Yoshi amiibo: A new set of Yoshi amiibo figures made of actual yarn will launch later this fall along with the Yoshi’s Woolly World game. Tapping one of these yarn amiibo to the Wii U GamePad controller while playing Yoshi’s Woolly World will make another Yoshi appear in the game to assist the player. The Yarn Yoshi amiibo will be available in three colors: green, pink and light blue.
• Splatoon amiibo: Launching simultaneously with Splatoon on May 29 are Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy and Inkling Squid amiibo figures. By tapping one of these amiibo to the GamePad, players can receive special missions to unlock weapons and gear.
• More Mii Racing Suits!: On April 23, a new free downloadable software update to Mario Kart 8 will add support for nine more amiibo figures, including Mega Man, Sonic and PAC-MAN. Players can tap these amiibo to outfit their Mii characters in Mii Racing Suits themed to those amiibo characters.

Wii U

• Mario Maker: The Mario Maker game launches exclusively for the Wii U console in September and easily lets users create their own Mario levels and share them online with people all over the world! Various activities related to the 30 ^th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros . game are also planned throughout the year.
• Splatoon : In addition to previously detailed single-player and online “Turf War” modes, action shooter Splatoon will feature a highly competitive “Ranked Battle” mode, which ranks and matches players based on their wins in 4-on-4 multiplayer matches. The super-fun and super-colorful game will also feature a “Battle Dojo.” In this mode, players can enjoy local 1-on-1 battles with friends. One player plays on the GamePad controller, while the other plays on the TV using a separate controller, competing to see who can pop the most balloons. Splatoon will launch exclusively for Wii U on May 29.
• 200cc? 200cc! : Yes, that’s right: For the first time in the Mario Kart series, a 200cc racing class is coming to Mario Kart 8 . Even faster than 150cc, the new high-speed class will work on all tracks in the game and makes braking an important driving skill. The new 200cc class will be offered as a free downloadable update on April 23 alongside the new paid DLC Pack 2 featuring three new characters, four new vehicles and eight new tracks.
• Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS Games Hit the Virtual Console Service : Starting today, classic Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS games are coming to the Virtual Console on Wii U. Today brings Yoshi’s Island DS for Nintendo DS and Super Mario 64 for Nintendo 64. While playing Nintendo DS games, the TV and GamePad combination will provide various options for dual-screen layouts, while all Nintendo 64 games that supported the Rumble Pack will continue rumbling away on Wii U controllers. Upcoming Virtual Console releases include WarioWare: Touched! for Nintendo DS on April 9 and Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64 on April 16.
• Yoshi’s Woolly World : The lovingly crafted new Wii U game launches this fall and overflows with numerous challenges and hidden secrets. In addition to the challenging Classic Mode, Yoshi’s Woolly World adds “Mellow Mode,” an additional mode that lets players of all skill levels play as “Winged Yoshi.”
• Shin Megami Tensei & Fire Emblem Crossover Project : The role-playing masters at ATLUS are developing a truly modern RPG, where everyday life exists alongside a secret world of fantasy that includes characters from the Fire Emblem series.
• New Fatal Frame Game Coming to the U.S. : Fans that have been clamoring for a chance to play the latest game in the creepy Fatal Frame series will have their chance when it launches later this year for Wii U.