Nintendo eShop update adds Xenoblade Chronicles X, Pokemon Picross

By Danny Cowan Published December 4, 2015

Nintendo’s latest update to its digital eShop storefront marks the North American debut of the Wii U RPG Xenoblade Chronicles X, which arrives alongside other standouts like the Pokemon-themed 3DS puzzler Pokemon Picross.

This week also introduces a new backward-compatible Wii game that players can download via the eShop and play on Wii U consoles.

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Xenoblade Chronicles launches digitally and at retail this week, following up on the 2012 Wii RPG Xenoblade Chronicles. Continuing the story introduces in the first game, Xenoblade Chronicles X puts players in control of mechanical suits of armor as they search for a new home for the human race in the wake of Earth’s destruction.

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The original Xenoblade was ported to the New Nintendo 3DS earlier this year under the name Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. The adaptation is thus far one of the few games that will only play on New Nintendo 3DS portables, as it relies on the hardware’s increased CPU clock speed and C-stick nub.

Also hitting the Wii U eShop this week is Trauma Team, a backward compatible Wii game originally released in 2010. A sequel in Atlus’ Trauma Center series, Trauma Team features surgical gameplay in which players must operate on patients and heal their afflictions using Wii Remote movements and gestures.

3DS owners, meanwhile, can download Pokemon Picross today free of charge. A new entry in Nintendo’s long-running picture-puzzle series, Pokemon Picross features retooled gameplay in which players complete puzzles in order to capture Pokemon creatures. Captured Pokemon boast their own unique abilities, which can aid in completing later puzzles.

Pokemon Picross is Nintendo’s latest free-to-play release, giving players access to early levels before demanding real-world cash for in-game currency and replenished cooldown timers.

Other games hitting the eShop this week include the 3DS first-person survival horror game Dementium Remastered, DSiWare hidden object puzzler The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and the 3DS and Wii U action game Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends.

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Grab these Nintendo 3DS games before the eShop closes

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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.
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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.
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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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Nintendo’s Wii Shop Channel and DSi shops are back online

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After months of service outages, Nintendo's Wii Shop Channel and DSi Shop are back online.

Nintendo's two virtual marketplace services went down in March of this year. In a statement to Kotaku on the outage, Nintendo acknowledged the downtime but had nothing to report other than that the shops were undergoing maintenance and that it would provide updates on them at a later date. It seems it completely skipped the update and simply put both back online instead.

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Nintendo's eShop is currently down in Russia, following a decision made by the payment service used by the company to stop accepting Russia's currency, Rubles.

According to the Russian Nintendo eShop page, the eShop is currently in "maintenance mode." It doesn't seem like the decision to shut down its eShop in Russia was made by Nintendo however, but rather by another company that handles the shop's transactions. Nintendo has notably kept quiet regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, whereas its peers in the game industry have openly taken measures to limit or entirely halt the sales of their products in Russia.

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