All the exciting (and disappointing) announcements from Nintendo’s 3DS Direct

On December 2, Nintendo will release 50 additional amiibo cards for villagers that have yet to appear in the game. This means that users will need to leave it up to the game itself to choose random and recommended levels, or rely upon the pre-created Nintendo levels that will come with the title. The game will feature five different sports, baseball, tennis, golf, horse racing, and full 11-a-side football. Each sport can be played in single-player and local multiplayer.

Although it’s not the sort of thing Nintendo talks about publicly, many assumed that the 3DS would be quietly retired after the release of Pokémon Sun/Moon this Christmas – and as Nintendo prepares to launch the NX console in March.

But they will be able to trade work-in-progress levels with other players, bouncing ideas back and forth via local wireless, which sounds like the new IP’s smartest move yet.

At the time, Shingeru Miyamoto admitted that Pikmin 4 was still-in-development but had been pushed back due to other projects Nintendo was now working on. Yoshi can also call upon Poochy Pups to guide the player towards level secrets and collectibles. Nintendo and Japanese stop-motion animation studio Dwarf are collaborating on 30 animated shorts featuring Yoshi and Poochy that will be included in the Nintendo 3DS version of the game.

What’s the catch with the 3DS version? In turn Dragon Quest VII’s 3DS port was showcased as well. New Zelda amiibos will be released including various classic itterations of Link and a new Windw Waker Zelda one too. Through online distributions, players can encounter new monsters, explore new dungeons and even obtain unique items. Plus it’ll be out during the heat of the holiday season, so expect this one to fly off shelves.

It was not all doom and gloom though, as 3DS fans can look forward to some exciting new titles coming in Spring 2017.

For Nintendo fans, 2016 is basically a lost year, with pretty much no major Nintendo games coming out. The update and games released yesterday after the show. It’s themed after the Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks pack and has been released today. It’ll release on November 4 alongside new Mario Amiibo compatible with the game. However, a new report from Let’s Play Video Games reveals possible specs and design choices for the console, including the fact it might be region-free.