A press release sent out by Nintendo today gives some more information regarding the upcoming Zelda Symphony concert to celebrate the franchise’s 25^th anniversary. According to the announcement, a concert will be held on October 21^st at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles with the full tour coming sometime next year.

Tickets will range from $35 and up and go on sale August 1^st by Ticketmaster. Along with the concert, Skyward Sword, and the free Four Swords download, the last line of the statement promises that other activities planned for the 25^th anniversary will be announced throughout 2011.

The orchestra sounded great during Nintendo’s E3 press conference so this is bound to be a treat for the fans who attend.

Pat reviews this unlicensed action title, but is it as shiny as its gold cart?
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Tomorrow the 3DS joins the ranks of portable devices that are capable of accessing Netflix. The news was revealed via an e-mail sent out by Nintendo earlier today.  In addition to the free Netflix app the eShop update will also include Extreme Hangman 2, Afterzoom, Baseball, Puzzle Fever, Just Sing 80′s Collection, and Game & Watch Gallery.

Normally I would be excited at the idea of having a portable Netflix device but seeing as how I recently got an iPod touch this doesn’t do much for me, however; if they ever get 3D movies on the service I will definitely  be checking it out.

Nintendo of Japan has announced that the Pokemon franchise will be coming to the apple app store and the android market this summer in Japan. The game is named “Pokemon Say Tap” and is said to be a rhythm based game where players tap Pokemon cards to the beat of music. The game will also be available for free on both platforms. When asked if other Nintendo franchises would be appearing on these platforms as well Nintendo of Japan spokesmen Yasuhiro Minagawa stated “Nintendo’s strategy to develop software only for its own hardware hasn’t changed and won’t change”. No word on any North American release of the title as of yet.

Kinda crazy to think that people in Japan can soon play a Pokemon game on the Sony Xperia Play. Hopefully we will eventually get the title stateside as well.

Are you one of those people that frantically runs to the internet to register each and every Nintendo game they buy to Club Nintendo for coins?  Well Nintendo has decided to reward you with some free swag.  Gold status members of club Nintendo can get a free Nintendo Themed Calendar and Platinum level members can get a set of 25 Mario themed Pins.  Members have until July 31st to redeem their free gift on the club Nintendo website.

I don’t mean to lick a gift horse in the mouth here but the idea of getting collectible pins sounds pretty lame to me.  I’m all for the free calendar though.

Nintendo made an official announcement today regarding Operation Rainfall (see our previous story here), the fan campaign striving to persuade Nintendo into releasing three Wii-games in the US that so far are only available in Japan: Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower. Their response? From the official Operation Rainfall blog:

“We promised an update, so here it is,” NOA announced on its official Facebook page. “We never say ‘never,’ but we can confirm that there are no plans to bring these three games (Xenoblade aka Monado, The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower) to the Americas at this time.”

Here’s a protip for you, Nintendo: If you really want people to believe that you’ll cater to the hardcore-crowd with the Wii U, I’d suggest you start right now. If you already have three hardcore games lined up, where’s the harm in releasing them to people who are a) obviously eager and willing to pay for them and b) allegedly the group of gamers you want to win back?

On June 24th, 2008, a young plucky boy named Pat uploaded a video review of Baseball Stars for the NES to youtube.com. It was a proof-off-concept video just to see how well it would go, or the disaster it would be. It may have gotten 20 views in the first three days it was online, and perhaps gained Pat his first dozen or so subscribers.

Prepare for terrible lighting, an unnecessary introduction, and an overly enthusiastic delivery!
Relive the magic again!
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You’re probably aware by now that some people are having a problem with Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D for the 3DS. When you begin the game, there’s no turning back and one cannot restart their saved game if they want to start over. This has come off as a ploy to discourage used game purchases. Some are upset by this while others could care less.

Well, today Capcom has made a statement about the game saves for The Mercenaries 3D. On the Capcom forums, a statement was released saying that it was a design decision to allow everyone to access content and that the sale of used games were not a factor in deciding this.

After the post was made, they promised to try to answer as many questions as possible about the game.

‘In Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, all mission progress is saved directly to the Nintendo 3DS cartridge, where it cannot be reset. The nature of the game invites high levels of replayability, encouraging fans to improve upon mission scores. The save mechanic ensures that both original and unlocked game content will be available to all users. Secondhand game sales were not a factor in this development decision, and we hope that all our consumers will be able to enjoy the entirety of the survival-action experiences that the game does offer.’

So, basically if you buy it used, just think of it like going to the arcade in the old days and trying to beat someone else’s score.

I guess we’ll have to stay above ground for a little while longer, as Cave Story 3D, the reinterpretation of the indie classic heading to the Nintendo 3DS has been delayed until November. While this is a good 3 months later than the originally intended release date of August 3rd, at least it seems like the developers are using the time efficiently. From the official press release:

“We are currently undergoing improvements to enhance gameplay. Changes are in the
small details, but in order to satisfy both the fans and the new players we need to make
sure the game is done right. Please look forward to it this holiday season. Cave Story 3D
will be a blast.”  -Jack Niida, producer at NIS America