The next game in SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog series will be exclusive to Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announcing details of a worldwide partnership with SEGA during a new Nintendo Direct video announcement today. Sonic Lost World (above) is a new action-adventure platforming game, and more information about it will be announced before E3 begins on June 11th.

The Nintendo Direct also announced a new addition to the Mario & Sonic series, the first appearance for the series on Wii U, as well as revealing launch dates for Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101 and New Super Luigi U.

Today’s Wii U announcements included:

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games: The game includes a variety of sports including curling, skiing, snowboarding, figure skating pairs and snowboard slopestyle. Different events might use the Wii Remote Plus controller, Wii U GamePad or both. In addition to realistic events, the game also includes those set in the worlds of Sonic and Mario that let players perform moves not possible in real life. Launch details and timing will be announced at a later date.

New Super Luigi U: The Year of Luigi-themed downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U offers players 82 updated courses. But it also includes a new playable character in multiplayer mode, Nabbit, who steals items from Toad Houses. New Super Luigi U will be released as downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U on Nintendo eShop on June 20th. In honour of the Year of Luigi, Nintendo is also offering a standalone packaged version of New Super Luigi U that doesn’t require New Super Mario Bros. U, available for a limited period and due for release in Europe on July 26th and August 25th in North America,

The Wonderful 101: The superhero action adventure from Platinum Games launches on September 15th in North America and August 23rd across Europe. More details about the game will be released gradually between now and launch.

Pikmin 3: New playable characters Alph, Brittany and Charlie are to take over from Olimar, the main character who appeared in previous Pikmin games. Another announcement is the use of the GamePad (known as the KopPad in the game), where players can view the overall map and grasp what each character and Pikmin are up to. Pikmin 3 is coming to Europe on July 26th and August 4th in North America.

Game & Wario: The game launches in North America on June 23rd and Europe on June 28th, and includes 16 games that use the GamePad in different ways. Newly revealed games include: Islands, which lets two to five people launch little creatures called Fronks onto islands in the sea to score points; Patchwork, a puzzle game that tests players’ pattern-recognition skills; and Kung-Fu, which challenges players to help Young Cricket navigate a course safely using the forward-looking view on the TV and the top-down view on the GamePad. A new Iwata Asks feature just published offers more details about the game.



The Nintendo Direct in its entirety can be watched below. A separate Nintendo Direct sharing further news on future Wii U content will be aired around the time of E3.

European Nintendo Direct

Watch this video and learn what curious adventurers can expect to find while exploring The Elder Scrolls Online.

Take a look at how Diablo 3 is shaping up for the PS3 and PS4 in the “Conversations With Creators” developer dairy. According to the video, the most important part of the development was creating controls which would work well with the DualShock controller.

The GRID 2 developers head to Brands Hatch in the Ariel Atom, Miami in the Zenvo ST1 and Indianapolis in the Indy car.

SEGA has announced the debut of Sonic The Hedgehog for Android. The SEGA Genesis favourite is now available on Google Play for $2.99/£2.35/€2.69.

This release gives fans a whole new look at Sonic’s world, optimised with widescreen support and exclusive features for mobile phones. Additionally, the all-new update allows gamers to unlock Sonic’s pals Tails and Knuckles as playable characters for the very first time. Sonic The Hedgehog is currently available for iOS through the App Store and this all-new content will be offered as a free update for gamers already playing on their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Following in the footsteps of the critically acclaimed Sonic CD in 2011, Sonic The Hedgehog has received an equally robust overhaul. Through widescreen support, fans will see the game better than ever on their mobile devices and will be able to zoom through Zones at a smooth 60 frames per second. In addition to playing as Tails and Knuckles, Sonic enthusiasts will also enjoy a remastered original soundtrack, new leaderboards and achievements, and an all-new Time Attack mode.

Grip games has announced Atomic Ninjas, a multiplayer action platformer game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The game will be available as a downloadable game via the PlayStation Store throughout North and South America, Europe and other territories this summer.

Atomic Ninjas is a 2.5D multiplayer action game, in which the player controls super-powered ninjas in frantic online matches against other players or bots. While the game relies on traditional jumping and shooting mechanics, it offers several twists that will make Atomic Ninjas unique and original.

The players are unable to directly kill each other. Instead, they must outsmart and outflank their opponents and kill them using various environmental hazards and obstacles. Each one of the seven arenas is like a playfield with infinite number of possibilities to eliminate the competition. The most malicious players will be the most successful ones. Atomic Ninjas is not just about twitch reflexes, but also about malevolent creativity, playfulness and exploring the game’s possibilities.

The game will offer a plenty of game modes, various super-powers, online multiplayer & local split-screen multiplayer and single-player offline matches. Cross Play and Game Continuation features between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita will also be supported.

Nintendo has announced a new global edition of Nintendo Direct. The broadcast will take a look at the line-up of games coming for Wii U and 3DS this spring and summer and will be streamed from the Nintendo Direct website in North America at 10am EST and in the UK at 3PM.

Details of Wii U releases scheduled for autumn and beyond will be announced in a separate Nintendo Direct broadcast around the time of the E3 Expo in June.

Lords of the Fallen, a challenging fantasy action/role-playing game, will be coming to next generation consoles and PC in 2014, CI Games has announced. Development of the game is being led by Tomasz Gop, former senior producer of the award-winning The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.

“Our team is building Lords of the Fallen specifically for players who enjoy taking on huge challenges, where the odds are stacked against them,” said Tomasz Gop, executive producer, CI Games. “From the very beginning, Lords of the Fallen will intrigue and satisfy players’ hunger to explore each corner of a brand new world, freely customize and build their own character and take down some of the most epic enemies ever seen.”

Lords of the Fallen is a hardcore action-RPG featuring an advanced combat systems and robust class skill trees. Set in a richly created fantasy world where the Gods have failed mankind, players will take on the role of a human named Harkyn who sets out on a quest to stand against an apparently unstoppable supernatural force. Players travel across a world that is deeply divided by those that follow and others that resist, the Fallen God. Along their journey they will be faced with a series of decisions that will alter both the world and their character thus dramatically impacting the storyline.

A playable version of Lords of the Fallen will be presented live at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles from June 11th-13th.

Indie developer NeocoreGames has today debuted the trailer for the Hunter’s Lair - a secret hideout for the legendary vampire hunter to meet with allies and accept new quests – for its gothic-noir steampunk action-RPG, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing.

The Hunter’s Lair will function as a central hub for players to stash collected loot, trade with non-playable characters, accept new quests from allies, teleport between locations, utilize the alchemy lab, and open up the opportunity for a tower-defense mini-game when enemies attempt to raid the lair. Built by the father of the protagonist, the lair comes equipped with a power-generator that permits access to deployable traps and many other upgradable functions to defend against hordes of despicable enemies that want to rid the world of Van Helsing.

Set to release on Windows PC on May 22nd, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing will be made available for $14.99/€14.99/£9.99 on Steam.

Warner Bros has released a teaser trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins. Be on the lookout for the full trailer, which will be revealed on 20th May.

Sony has today announced that Gran Turismo 6, the latest version of PlayStation’s best-selling franchise, will be released in Holiday, 2013. The news was revealed today by legendary Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi at an event held to celebrate 15 years of the 70-million-selling series.

GT6 for PlayStation 3 will bring new levels of authenticity to ‘the Real Driving Simulator’ as well as introducing stunning new tracks and cars and a revised user interface. A new compact game engine will improve operation and increase the flexibility to expand it with downloadable content. Meanwhile, the game is also set for expanded connectivity with other devices such as smart phones and tablets and increased social and community functions.

All of the cars and tracks from Gran Turismo 5, which has sold over 10m copies since launching in 2010, will be retained in GT6. But notable new additions to the already impressive line-up of historic cars, road cars and the latest race cars, brings the total car list to 1200 at launch, with new cars set to be continually added online. Several thousand aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars, and players can personalize their own custom cars in game to the greatest ever level possible.

The UK’s famous Silverstone Circuit will be just one of seven new locations in Gran Turismo 6, taking the total to 33, with 71 different layouts available, 19 of them brand new. There will also be regular additions of new tracks set to be made available online. The improved course maker function will provide gorgeous scenery spanning several tens of square kilometers including the magnificent backdrop of Andalucía.

The theme of Gran Turismo’s innovative collaborations with partner companies will increase with the inception of GT6. A number of exciting new projects that blur the line between the virtual and real will be announced in the run up to the game’s launch. Not least of these is GT Academy, a collaboration with Nissan to unearth real racing driver talent that first ran in 2008. It was announced during the event that the competition returns for its biggest ever year in 2013, with the entry mechanic set to take place on an exclusive GT6 demo in July.

Other notable partnerships in the development of GT6 have been with tyre manufacturer Yokohama Rubber and suspension company KW Automotive. Both companies are active in the commercial car industry and in racing, and they have acted as technical development partners for the game’s new physics engine, for its tyre and suspension kinematic modeling, creating an even more realistic experience for GT fans.

“It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo,” explained Kazunori Yamauchi, during the announcement at Silverstone Circuit.

“Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We’re pleased to deliver GT6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform. However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments. I am very pleased with everything about the new game and the new additions, but the launch will be only the beginning for GT6. The game will continue to develop throughout its life. I already have many ideas for things I want to achieve in the next 15 years of Gran Turismo.”

Further news about Gran Turismo 6 will be revealed at the forthcoming E3 and Gamescom events.

The second gameplay trailer for Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag plunges you deeper in the fearsome life of pirates. Join Captain Edward Kenways' crew under the Black flag and explore this short but brutal period of history.

GameFuse has announced that Renaissance Heroes is now available for download on Steam, complete with one new playable character, a new map, and a number of new lethal devices.

“We’re excited to make Renaissance Heroes available on Steam,” says Matthew Lenehan, Producer. “Steam is the premiere destination for PC gamers, and we feel these gamers are the perfect fit for Renaissance Heroes.  We hope to increase the competitiveness and intenseness of our gameplay by bringing a mix of new players to our already established Renaissance Heroes community.”

Renaissance Heroes is an online multiplayer first-person shooter that takes place in an alternative 16th century. In Renaissance Heroes, players are able to dive right into the action with an array of fast-paced arenas and gameplay modes such as Capture the Flag, Seize the Scrolls, Touchdown, Deathmatch, and Duel. With numerous new weapons added to the mix, along with additional features, players can anticipate an extremely twitch-based arena shooter that leaves no room for mistake.

In celebration of the Steam launch, players will be introduced to a new hero, Alphon, who is an explorer in search of glory and fame. Alphon joins the other seven heroes in the battle to find the blueprint for the "Da Vinci Machine” – a device said to grant its possessor with exorbitant wealth and everlasting power.

In addition, all players who register for Renaissance Heroes through Steam will receive a permanent Steam banner that grants additional XP when equipped, along with a playable “Grinder-R” submachine gun. Also, for one week only, players will have the opportunity to purchase bundles of weapons and costumes in the Steam shop at a 75% discount.

Kalypso Media has released a new trailer for Dark, the upcoming vampire-themed stealth/action title for the Xbox 360 and Windows PC. In the new trailer, you'll get a close-up look at several of the vampire powers available to you, as the newly turned vampire, Eric Bane. Watch as Eric hypnotises unsuspecting guards to slip past them or deliver a deadly strike. Or, use Regeneration to convert the blood of your enemies to health points.

Sanctum 2, the sequel to the first-ever true hybrid of tower-defense and first-person shooter genres, is now available worldwide on Xbox Live for the Xbox 360 and Windows PC, Coffee Stain Studios has announced. The PlayStation Network version will launch in the coming weeks.

“We built Sanctum 2 from the ground up, creating stunning visuals while keeping everything that players loved from the original,” said Anton Westberg, CEO of Coffee Stain Studios. “We then added more characters, more enemies, more bosses, more levels, more weapons and more towers to make Sanctum 2 bigger, better and badder than we ever imagined.”

In Sanctum 2 players take on the role of an elite soldier whose mission is to protect the oxygen-producing Cores from hordes of deadly aliens who are threatened by their existence. Utilizing key elements of both tower-defense and first-person shooter genres, players set up defensive towers to take out the waves of attacking enemies and then jump head-on into the fray, either alone or as part of a squad in four-player co-op multiplayer.

Sanctum 2 is available for $14.99/£11.99 on PC and 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live.

Codemasters has released a new GRID 2 gameplay video that showcases the game’s intense Drift events and reveals key Asian locations, including the addition of Hong Kong, set to feature in the game.

The ‘World Series Racing 3: Asia – New Frontiers’ video focuses on the Asian cars, clubs and locations set to star in GRID 2. Racers earn points for style and form in Drift events on steep and aggressive mountain roads filled with hairpins inspired by Okutama in Japan. Open Road racing is represented with Touge events in Hong Kong, where players must close the gap and take their chance to pass in one-on-one, contactless sprints.

The Street Racing category is showcased in Dubai, as cars power down highways and speed past stunning skyscrapers in this distinctive city fuelled by petrol-powered wealth. Track Racing is shown at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi, one of the most advanced and thrilling dedicated racing circuits in the world which has played host to a wide range of motorsport up to the very highest level.

Drift events in GRID 2 push players to show their skill in maintaining style and form as they break traction on ribbons of asphalt. Available in career mode, split-screen and online, each Drift event features three short multi-car runs on technical sections featuring combinations of corners and hairpins. Players must record the highest score possible, earning points for the speed, angle and duration of their drift as well as proximity to drift markers on corners. Drifting in GRID 2 requires players to look at cars in a different way, rewarding them for car control in a vehicle’s most unstable state on each and every spectacular run.

GRID 2 will ship to retail on May 28th for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC and is available for pre-order now.

Namco has announced that Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures will be coming to Europe and Australasia this winter for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U. A separate side-scrolling version of the game will also be available for the Nintendo 3DS.

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures follows the storyline and charming characters from the highly anticipated animated series (of the same name) created and produced by Avi Arad, acclaimed director and founder of Marvel Studios. The animated TV series, based on Namco Games’ classic Pac-Man property, will begin airing on Disney XD this summer.

The game revolves around the vibrant universe of Pac-World, where Pacworlders lived in peace until the mischievous Netherworld ghosts, led by their wicked leader Betrayus, escaped from their ghoulish domain to forcibly take control of Pac-World. Pac-World’s only hope lies in the last surviving yellow Pacworlder, our hero with a voracious appetite.

Not only will Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures feature an entirely revamped Pac-Man universe, but it will also hearken back to Pac-Man origins with classic elements such as Ghost encounters. The Ghost-chomping mechanics return from the original Pac-Man but with exciting powered up variations in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, creating an innovative yet familiar gameplay experience.

“As one of the most iconic and popular video game character, Pac-Man has virtually become the symbol of our company” said Olivier Comte, Senior Vice-President at Namco Bandai Games Europe. “As a wish to renew the Pac-Man franchise and bring it to the new generation of gamers, we are proud to introduce a brand new concept in the Pac-Man universe, with Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures”.

Ubisoft has released a new Rayman Legends trailer revealing the "20000 Lums under the Sea" world. As its name indicates, this part of the game takes place under water. In this Ocean world, players face brand new enemies and can manipulate light and dark using gameplay mechanics based on stealth and infiltration.

2K Games has announced that the sixth playable character for Borderlands 2, Krieg the Psycho, is now available via digital download across all available platforms for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points).

Krieg the Psycho harnesses his psychotic multiple personalities to give the bandits and baddies of Pandora a taste of their own medicine. Borderlands fans can now rip foes to shreds with Krieg's deadly attack skill - Buzz Axe Rampage. Players can also stack combat bonuses with Krieg's Bloodlust skill tree, live on the edge of insanity with his Mania skill tree, or engulf enemies in flames with his Hellborn skill tree.

"On behalf of the development team at Gearbox Software, I want to thank the fans of Borderlands 2 for the love and engagement that allows us to invest our hearts and time into supporting the game with an entirely new player character, Kreig the Psycho," said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. "Our fans now get the opportunity to step into the shoes of one of the most iconic characters in the Borderlands franchise as they slice their way through Pandora on the hunt for new loot!"

"Fans have been clamoring for Krieg since we first announced him at PAX East," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "The Psycho Pack adds even more replayability to the wildly popular Borderlands 2 experience that both casual and hardcore fans will love."

Vault Hunters can use the new character class to shoot and loot their way to new heights in Borderlands 2 with the recently released Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack. The pack raises the level cap to 61 for all six characters, unlocks a third play through called Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, and is available now for $4.99 (400 Microsoft Points) as a standalone purchase. It is also included as part of the Borderlands 2 Season Pass.

Konami's third annual pre-E3 show wil be streamed on June 6th, the publisher has announced. The pre-E3 Show will begin at 19:00 CEST (18:00, UK time), and can be watched via events.konami.com.

The pre-E3 show will provide insights into the upcoming titles from Konami, including behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Producer Kei Masuda regarding the next edition of the Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) series. The presentation will also unveil exclusive information on Hideo Kojima’s latest Metal Gear Solid epic: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Similarly, MercurySteam, the Madrid-based team behind Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, will share a new trailer and insights to the new game. The Pre-E3 show will also make a number of additional key announcements.

“Our third major Pre-E3 showcase will again premiere the very best Konami has to offer,” explained Shinji Hirano, President for Konami. “We will give gaming fans major updates on key Konami titles, and offer unprecedented access to stunning releases ahead of the world’s most prestigious video game event.”