Nintendo 3DS eShop to launch with Game Boy classics, Pokemon Rolodex

By Adam Rosenberg Published June 2, 2011

We were all disappointed to hear last month that Nintendo would be pushing back the launch of the 3DS eShop from late-May to June 6. Fortunately, June is officially here and and the eShop is literally days away from becoming a reality. A large portion of the games reporting world will probably be too busy with E3… unless of course they’re in attendance at Nintendo’s press conference on opening day, the morning of June 6. The eShop will probably be a hot topic of conversation there, right?

Then again, maybe not, since a freshly e-mailed press release from Nintendo gives the scoop on what’s coming. We already knew that the 3DS eShop would launch with a 3D-remastered version of the NES classic Excitebike as a free download. It’s a limited time offering (July 7 cutoff), likely to knock fence-sitters off of the perches, but it’s a sweet freebie all the same. More newsworthy is the revelation that the 3DS Virtual Console will launch with Game Boy Advance classics Super Mario Land, Radar Mission and Alleyway. Okay, only the first two are classics, but Alleyway is kinda like Arkanoid, which is great. New content updates will follow every Thursday.

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Also coming is PokeDex 3D, which is essentially an interactive Rolodex of Pokemon characters. Your level of excitement about this one is of course directly proportional to the amount of love you have for the magical animals fighting series, but the franchise has always been very popular with Nintendo fans and this Pokedex sounds like a cool nod to that contingent. It sounds like it integrates with the most recent Nintendo DS releases in the series Pokemon Black and Pokemon White. The app (it’s an app, right?) will also feature SpotPass integration for sharing data with friends and an AR Viewer, which uses the device’s built-in camera to render a Pokemon beastie in the real world.

The eShop update will also bring a few other tweaks to the 3DS, including the promised web browser with built-in 3D support for site’s containing that kind of content. Also, for DSi and DSi XL owners, the update will bring a method for transferring DSiWare games to the 3DS.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

You need to get this oddball Zelda game for free before the 3DS eShop closes

legend of zelda twilight princess nintendo wii grandma grandmother reddit 755 hours

The day of reckoning is fast approaching: The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop isclosing down on March 27. When that happens, you’ll no longer be able to make any digital purchases on those systems. Considering that several games on each platform only ever got digital releases, it’s creating a bit of a preservation nightmare. Hidden gems that never came to another platform, like Affordable Space Adventures, will be totally lost to time.

But it isn’t just obscure indies that are impacted by that change: One of Nintendo’s biggest franchises is about to lose a piece of its storied history. You’ve only got just over a week to grab a certain Legend of Zelda game before it disappears forever -- though it’s probably not one you’re expecting.

Gaming

Grab these Nintendo 3DS games before the eShop closes

wii u 3ds exclusive nintendo games eshop closure ever oasis

While the Nintendo 3DS had a rocky launch, the handheld system recovered gracefully and ended up having one of the best game lineups of any Nintendo system. Many of these 3DS games, like Super Mario 3D Land and Fire Emblem Awakening, were very popular and well-known. Still, the 3DS had a lot of fantastic games that not as many people know about and threaten to be lost to time when the eShop closes down.
The 3DS eShop will shut down soon, preventing people from purchasing new games. As such, we've been reflecting on the system's vast library and all of the fantastic games that 3DS owners will no longer be able to buy digitally. From games that we think will skyrocket even further in price after the store shuts down to some enjoyable hidden gems that didn't get the attention they deserve, you might want to snag these 3DS games before you can't anymore after March 27.
Ever Oasis

Grezzo is one of Nintendo's most underrated developers. It's delivered top-notch The Legend of Zelda remakes like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Link's Awakening. So what if I told you that it used that experience to make an original IP for 3DS that's one of the best-looking and expansive games on the system? Ever Oasis, a 2017 3DS game, follows a young kid as they help a water spirit named Esna build an oasis and try to save their brother from Chaos.
The result is a mix of 3D The Legend of Zelda and city management games. Players can venture out into surprisingly large open worlds and dungeons to restock and grow the number of "bloom booths." This mix of open-world exploration, dungeon crawling, and oasis-building will keep players engaged for dozens of hours, and it also stands as one of the deepest and best-looking action-adventure games on the platform.
Ever Oasis didn't get much attention when it launched because the Nintendo Switch had been released a couple of months earlier. Still, it stands as one of the 3DS' best games, so it's a shame that more people don't know about it. It risks being forgotten forever now the 3DS eShop is closing down, so check it out before the closure; it will surpass your expectations.
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Gaming

The Nintendo 3DS’ best (and weirdest) cult hit is coming to Apple Arcade

Horses race in Pocket Card Jockey.

Apple Arcade is kicking off 2023 by adding three new titles in January. Most notable among them is Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On!, a mobile port of one of the Nintendo 3DS cult hits set to launch on January 20.

The original Pocket Card Jockey, released in 2013 in Japan and 2016 in North America, is one of the 3DS' oddest titles. Developed by Pokémon studio Game Freak, it's a horse-racing RPG that revolves around solitaire. Players raise and breed horses and then race them by playing fast-paced rounds of solitaire. It's an extremely bizarre concept, but an incredibly fun one that made it one of the handheld's most charming hidden gems.