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Release Date Fever: Nintendo Drops Dates for Rhythm Heaven, Kid Icarus, and More

Want to know how/where/when you can get that circle pad attachment? Now we know.

Perhaps suddenly aware that 2011 is nearly finished and that it is literally out of new games to sell for the near future, Nintendo has gone ahead and pushed out release dates for a number of first quarter 3DS and Wii titles in order to replenish the anticipation coffers among the fan base. Yes, new Wii games are coming! Excitement?

Thanks to GameStop, now you can have this thing!
Thanks to GameStop, now you can have this thing!

Well, you should be excited, because the sure-to-be insane Rhythm Heaven Fever releases on February 13th for the delightfully budget price of $29.99. Later that month, PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond drops on the 27th. Depending on your fondness for PokeParking, that's either great, or a non-event, but perhaps you'll be a bit more tantalized by the March 11th release of Mario Party 9, which is, of course, the ninth Mario Party.

But let's say you've already put your Wii away and don't plan on dusting the old girl off any time soon--no worries! There's always the 3DS to keep you busy. While the Q1 3DS lineup is far heavier on third party releases than Nintendo published titles--Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater, Resident Evil: Revelations, and Tales of the Abyss chief among them--Nintendo does plan to bring out Kid Icarus: Uprising on March 23rd.

Also releasing in the first quarter of next year is the much-talked-about Circle Pad Pro, which adds a second analog stick and additional shoulder buttons to a handheld that for some reason lacked those things to begin with. The peripheral launches on February 7th for the price of $19.99. Interestingly, the item is yet another GameStop exclusive, joining the recently announced North American release of Xenoblade Chronicles (which arrives in April). I don't know if this is good news, terrible news, or barely news at all. I just...don't...know...

Thus ends our tri-monthly communique on Nintendo release dates. We'll see you again in March.

Alex Navarro on Google+

59 Comments

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onarum

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Edited By onarum

Can't wait for rhythm heaven, I love the DS one.

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sixpin

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Edited By sixpin

@MormonWarrior: Well that makes more sense. My guess is that the peripheral won't really catch on unless Nintendo eventually releases a dual analog 3DS. Personally I want a 3DS XL. I love the giant screens on the XL. Been using it to play Crono Trigger again.

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Klaimore

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Edited By Klaimore

Do we get the monster hunter game?

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MormonWarrior

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Edited By MormonWarrior

@sixpin: Resident Evil Revelations is using it, and I bet MGS3 will use it too.

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doesnoevil

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Edited By doesnoevil

I've played the jap version of rhythm heaven wii. it's very good and 30$ seems appropriate for what it is.

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asurastrike

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Edited By asurastrike

I'm honestly really excited for Mario Party 9.

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MooseyMcMan

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Edited By MooseyMcMan

Wait, Xenoblade is GameStop only? I thought that was just a rumor. I'm sad now.

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nickux

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Edited By nickux

Really loved Rhythm Tengoku on DS. Definitely going to pick up for the one for Wii and, at $29, that's a deal.

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vinsanityv22

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Edited By vinsanityv22

Pokepark 2 best be in the queue for a Quick Look, Giantbomb. That last one was frickin' sweet!

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SpunkyHePanda

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Edited By SpunkyHePanda
Take a good long look at that.
Take a good long look at that.
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Ori

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Edited By Ori

I feel that Nintendo is slowly starting to you realize that the gaming-market is changing. Casual-gaming today is not just sports games and minigame collections but rather easy-to-access FPS games and other games that would be classified as "hardcore" games four years ago. Hope they got it before it's too late.

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excido

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Edited By excido

Circle pad is so damn ugly...but I'm still planning on buying a 3DS next week.

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ThePhenomenal1

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Edited By ThePhenomenal1

That fucking circle pad.....uhhhg

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TheCheese33

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Edited By TheCheese33

@iAmJohn said:

@supermonkey122 said:

@iAmJohn said:

@byterunner said:

@iAmJohn said:

Also: anyone who buys the Circle Pad Pro is a fucking prick. Please die in a fire.

no

Yes. >:(

no

Still yes.

I'm buying one. HAH.

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iamjohn

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Edited By iamjohn

@supermonkey122 said:

@iAmJohn said:

@byterunner said:

@iAmJohn said:

Also: anyone who buys the Circle Pad Pro is a fucking prick. Please die in a fire.

no

Yes. >:(

no

Still yes.

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supermonkey122

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Edited By supermonkey122

@iAmJohn said:

@byterunner said:

@iAmJohn said:

Also: anyone who buys the Circle Pad Pro is a fucking prick. Please die in a fire.

no

Yes. >:(

no

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iamjohn

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Edited By iamjohn

@byterunner said:

@iAmJohn said:

Also: anyone who buys the Circle Pad Pro is a fucking prick. Please die in a fire.

no

Yes. >:(

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byterunner

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Edited By byterunner

@iAmJohn said:

Also: anyone who buys the Circle Pad Pro is a fucking prick. Please die in a fire.

no

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Daikonqueroar

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Edited By Daikonqueroar

@zerdune said:

Mario Party 9 TNT next year, please.

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MideonNViscera

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Edited By MideonNViscera

Thank God there's no upcoming 3DS I want that I could fathom actually needing that horrible add-on. On the downside of things, when the fuck are they gonna release Animal Crossing? My girlfriend seems to think it's my fault she doesn't know when it's coming out.

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zerdune

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Edited By zerdune

Mario Party 9 TNT next year, please.

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laserbolts

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Edited By laserbolts

Yay metal gear

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Brackynews

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Edited By Brackynews

If Guitar Hero was still a thing they could bolt a few more on there... >_< "INTERNS, MORE NUBS."

The 8-4 Play folks call this the "frankenstick" for a reason. Granted that reason is they like to be dicks, but still. Part of me does respect Sony's decision to say "fuck it" and stick with one PSP nub. Stay in that corner and watch the paint dry, there's a good chap.

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Xeirus

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Edited By Xeirus

@Ezekeilpurger said:

Gotta buy a wii now.

Buy used, there's tons of them

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vonFlampanker

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Edited By vonFlampanker

I'm keen to get a 3DS again mostly thanks to Super Mario 3DS, but I've waited this long; may as well wait for the inevitable hardware revision. The circle pad add-on has made me leery.

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BBQBram

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Edited By BBQBram

RHYTHM HEAVEN TO PURGE MY SOUL

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MikkaQ

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Edited By MikkaQ

Aww man, a Tales game for the 3DS?

Damn... now I might just have to get one. Though at some retailers I've seen them for 130$, which is certainly no 250$, so maybe it'll be worth it.

But just smell a hardware revision around the corner. I think I can wait until E3 to find out.

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xXLeadFarmerXx

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Edited By xXLeadFarmerXx

WHY NO ANIMAL CROSSING?

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Xtrememuffinman

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Edited By Xtrememuffinman

So is just the add-on an exclusive, or are all the bundles going to be too? 
I'm cool with Gamestop, but I sometimes get stuff off Amazon too.

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paulunga

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Edited By paulunga

@msavo said:

I bought a 3DS a few days ago. I like the system, it's really neat and the battery isn't as bad as everyone said it was, but I refuse to ever purchase that ridiculous circle pad peripheral.

I also got it recently (got the white 3DS + Mario 3D Land bundle cause, yeah, that black Zelda one looks cool and all but I've already played through OoT 4 times, I'd rather have a new game for my new system) and I also noticed the battery life not being terrible. I played 3D Land with full 3D on, brightness setting of 3, battery saving mode, no wireless and headphones on and was surprised to find the battery gauge still being full after a 3 hour session. Pretty sure it took almost 10 hours to drain the batteries, something I can totally deal with.

Though I DID consider the Nyko battery life enhancers just because they're only 20 bucks or so but I'll have to wait until they release a circle pad pro compatible one. Already excited to see what this Megadrive 32X CD-type monstrosity will look like.

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SpunkyHePanda

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Edited By SpunkyHePanda

$30?! $30!

This is all starting to sound too good to be true.

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kenniWORLDPEACE

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Edited By kenniWORLDPEACE

YES!!!!!!!! NEW RHYTHM HEAVEN YO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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iamjohn

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Edited By iamjohn

@msavo said:

I bought a 3DS a few days ago. I like the system, it's really neat and the battery isn't as bad as everyone said it was, but I refuse to ever purchase that ridiculous circle pad peripheral.

I think Nintendo really did the 3DS a disservice by having it default to max brightness and having power save mode off when you get it new. At 3/5, the screen brightness looks basically no different and you get at least an hour more battery life, if not more. Nintendo should've gotten in front of all that battery life talk and explained to people all the ways you can conserve battery life with the system, because I honestly think it would've made a difference in how that system is perceived.

Also: anyone who buys the Circle Pad Pro is a fucking prick. Please die in a fire.

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DarthOrange

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Edited By DarthOrange

I just...don't.......know.

Hilarious!

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halberdierv2

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Edited By halberdierv2

CAN WE SEE THE RETURN OF THE NINTENDOWNLOAD EXPRESS????

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TehFlan

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Edited By TehFlan

@Video_Game_King: I prefer to not think about it. :/

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rjaylee

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Edited By rjaylee

What a terrible and dumb monstrosity.

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RE_Player1

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Edited By RE_Player1

I bought a 3DS a few days ago. I like the system, it's really neat and the battery isn't as bad as everyone said it was, but I refuse to ever purchase that ridiculous circle pad peripheral.

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Vexxan

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Edited By Vexxan

CIRCLE PAD PRO GET!

Or not. It still looks totally ridiculous.

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nukesniper

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Edited By nukesniper

@Enigma777 said:

So the 3DS "launch window" is a year now? Huh...

This is all I clicked on this story for. I thought Icarus was canceled at this point.

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Video_Game_King

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Edited By Video_Game_King

@TehFlan:

Near 18 months worth of patience?

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Enigma777

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Edited By Enigma777

So the 3DS "launch window" is a year now? Huh...

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giant_frying_pan

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Edited By giant_frying_pan

30 dollars. No excuses. Not even, 'I don't have a Wii'!

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TehFlan

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Edited By TehFlan

@Video_Game_King said:

WHERE'S MY FIRE EMBLEM, DAMN IT!?

Patience, my liege.

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sixpin

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Edited By sixpin

Not really feeling any of those games except for Xenoblade. It is curious as to why they are releasing the thumb stick add-on now. Is there anything stateside that can even take advantage of it? Seems odd without Monster Hunter and stranger yet with it being a Gamestop exclusive.

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WickedCobra03

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Edited By WickedCobra03

Super excited fir Xenoblade, and probs will pick up Rythem Heaven for 20 or 30 since I never got the DS version!

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phuzzybunny

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Edited By phuzzybunny

Sweet! Rhythm Heaven coming soon

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Little_Socrates

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Edited By Little_Socrates

I like budget prices. Rhythm Heaven, I will get along with you shortly.

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DoctorWelch

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Edited By DoctorWelch

How is that Kid Icarus game not out yet?

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Video_Game_King

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Edited By Video_Game_King

WHERE'S MY FIRE EMBLEM, DAMN IT!?