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Minecraft hits Wii U with off-TV play, bundled customization packs

Danny Cowan
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A Wii U version of Mojang’s sandbox building sim Minecraft launches today via the eShop alongside a varied selection of add-on content previously released for other platforms.

Minecraft: Wii U Edition is the only port of Minecraft to include off-TV play, a feature unique to Nintendo’s console. Players who download Minecraft: Wii U Edition can play the game on either an HDTV or directly on the Wii U’s GamePad.

The Wii U version of Minecraft otherwise boasts a set of features comparable to previous ports for Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles. While off-TV play in Minecraft: Wii U Edition is an option, the game otherwise does not offer any platform-specific touchscreen functionality.

Minecraft: Wii U Edition includes a selection of skin and texture packs that were released as paid content on other platforms, including the Battle & Beasts Skin Pack, Battle & Beasts 2 Skin Pack, Natural Texture Pack, City Texture Pack, Fantasy Texture Pack, and Festive Mash-up Pack. Sixteen additional add-on packs are also available via in-game microtransactions.

Capcom, meanwhile, makes a strong showing in this week’s eShop update with a trio of Game Boy Advance Mega Man games available via Nintendo’s Virtual Console service. New on the Wii U this week is a Virtual Console port of the side-scrolling action-platformer Mega Man Zero 4 and two versions of Capcom’s turn-based RPG Mega Man Battle Network 5.

Players can pick up the Team Colonel and Team Protoman versions of Mega Man Battle Network 5 starting today for $7 apiece. “Game content is the same for Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel and Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Protoman,” Nintendo notes, “but NetNavi chips and other items may differ.”

Other games launching via the Wii U eShop this week include the roguelike adventure title Temple of Yog and the arcade-styled aerial action game Island Flight Simulator.

The updated Nintendo 3DS eShop now hosts downloadable versions of the 2D action game The Legend of Dark Witch 2 and The Delusions of Von Sottendorff and His Square Mind, a narrative-based adventure game featuring a series of environmental puzzles.

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