Of course, the Nintendo 3DS is still hanging in there with Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D selling 42,247 units (with 146,816 units for lifetime sales) and Tomodachi Collection: New Life selling 34,286 units (with lifetime sales of 1,167,532 units).

The PlayStation Vita sees a place in the top five. Namco Bandai’s Kuma Tomo rounds out the five with 12,705 units sold at launch for the Nintendo 3DS.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf is still going strong with 12,491 units sold this week (averaging 3,290,847 units over its lifetime). Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon sold 11,859 units for a lifetime sales total of 793,519 units.

But that’s not all: The top 5 consists solely of 3DS titles, with Tomodachi Collection: New Life raking in 43,372 with 1,133,246 units sold over a lifetime; Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter: Albatross no Tsubasa, the other new entry on the charts, selling 17,925 units; Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon selling 14,949 units, with lifetime sales of 781,660 units; and finally, Animal Crossing: New Leaf sold 14,393 units, notching up an impressive 3,278,356 units sold over its lifetime.

The 3DS’s dominance is set to continue into the next year as Nintendo has revealed several AAA franchises that will be coming to the platform, including Zelda, Super Smash Bros. and more.

Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 made a comeback at number 2, but many of the spots in the top 10 were occupied by 3DS games. These include Donkey Kong Country Returns, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon and Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, which premiered at third, fifth and tenth place respectively.

Dead Island: Riptide continues to hold on at number 4, making up the remainder of the top 5. Meanwhile, Battlefield 3 reappears on the charts at the ninth position.

According to the NPD, the Nintendo 3DS handheld also reportedly sold more than the Xbox 360, marking the end of Microsoft’s reign at the top in the US.

Much like every other DK game ever made, our simian hero finds his banana stash stolen, this time by an evil Tiki tribe who have brainwashed the island’s animals. The plot is, as ever, fairly superfluous, but it offers enough of an excuse for your traipse around a series of exotic locales. The location variety is improved over the older Donkey Kong Country games, though the level design itself isn’t always so well executed. Previous DKC titles managed to achieve a sense of flow that is never quite matched in Country Returns. The pace is impacted accordingly and, whilst some of the designs are clever and challenging, this lack of platforming rhythm is a detriment to the series.

This level design issue is highlighted by the game’s simple mechanics. Simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing though, and it would be unusual for DK to betray his classic platforming roots in this franchise reboot. DKC Returns is retro platformer all over and, though the gameplay isn’t especially inventive by today’s standards, tight platforming and the removal of the Wii version’s questionable motion controls turns this 3DS port into a well oiled platforming machine.

So it’s Donkey Kong as we know and love him, a return to a classic era of 2D platforming that was largely praised in the original Donkey Kong Country Returns on Wii. The transition to 3DS has not harmed the original experience, with the visuals and frame rate holding up well. The bright and vivid aesthetic fits right in on the smaller screen, and the use of stereostopic 3D works absolute wonders in spite of the game’s 2D perspective. The variety of locations is also mimicked in the game’s soundtrack; a varied arrangement that manages to recall the catchy tunes of the SNES era effortlessly.

Sadly, the lack of new additions make this particular port unappetising for anyone familiar with the original game. The biggest change is the misleadingly titled “New Mode,” a revision of the game with an additional heart for each Kong character and more items for sale in the shop. That’s it. Granted, the extra health removes the often gruelling challenge of the Wii version, but it isn’t exactly enough to warrant the name “New Mode.” There are also a few extra levels near the end of the game, but the eight additional stages, whilst enjoyable, are a paltry offering for those who demolished the Wii original back in 2010. Classic mode replicates the original Wii experience for those who prefer the harsher challenge and, to a certain degree, the added difficulty makes the more archaic elements of DKCR’s design seem more appropriate as a part of a unified push into a retro gaming template.

It’s ironic that it is in sticking to the classic Donkey Kong formula, that Country Returns 3D hits a few longevity issues. The game’s simplicity leads to repetition after a while and, though the variety of level designs alleviate this to a degree, the choppy rhythm of the levels prevents the experience from having that “one more go” feel to it. Short play sessions are the order of the day. Even though there are a huge amount of levels to go through, the variety of gameplay doesn’t always feel like enough to justify a full priced game cart. If the formula had been reinvented slightly, it would be more acceptable, but paying £40 for a 16-bit platformer with a makeover is a bit hard to swallow in this day and age. Cooperative multiplayer is available for those with multiple 3DS systems, but joining in as Diddy Kong doesn’t reinvent the experience in the way you would imagine. It makes sense as an extra in the console version, but it winds up being little more than fluff on the 3DS.

Though I’d argue the slick visuals and re-imagined controls make the 3DS port the definitive version of Donkey Kong Country Returns, it’s not quite the no-brainer you’d expect if you were raised on the DKC games on SNES. The magic just isn’t quite there any more and, whilst DK on 3DS remains an exciting and engaging platformer, it may not satisfy you entirely if you have previous experience with the king of Kong.

This game was reviewed on 3DS.

Revelations knocked down Metro: Last Light, which itself debuted last week at number 1, to number 3 while FIFA 13 took the number 2 position. Dead Island Riptide is still in the top 5 at the fourth position while another port, this one a stereoscopic 3D version for Donkey Kong Country Returns on 3DS debuted at number 5.

Both Donkey Kong and Resident Evil: Revelations did enter into the top 10 charts when they first debuted for the 3DS and Wii. Maybe the UK just appreciates quality games?

The only new release otherwise was Activision’s Fast and Furious: Showdown, which debuted at an abysmal 14th place while Fast and Furious 6 sailed ahead in box office collections worldwide.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is a port of Retro Studios’ Wii game of the same name, which sees the famed Donkey and Diddy Kong return to tear things up. The 3DS version, handled by Monster Games (developer of Pilotwings Resort for the console), will feature an Original Mode which will mirror the original Wii release and the New Mode which makes the game easier with increased health and extra items.

This doesn’t include the new stereoscopic 3D graphics specifically developed for the handheld, along with an extra world and new levels that will be exclusive to the handheld version.

Both North American and European gamers can look forward to the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D on May 24th for the Nintendo 3DS.

First up, we have The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, which will be coming to the 3DS Virtual Console by May end for North America and Europe. Easily one of the best Zelda games of all time, Oracle of Seasons had Link controlling various seasons and use the elements to solve puzzles.

Resident Evil Revelations is next up. Releasing on May 21st in North America and May 24th in Europe, Revelations follows the chronicles of Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, founders of the BSAA, as they struggle to fight off new threats aboard the SS Queen Zenobia. The Wii U version will be presenting its own gameplay additions to differentiate it from the other platforms.

Pikmin 3 is perhaps one of the bigger announcements. The gameplay presentation explained the premise for the game, introducing the new protagonists and some of the new mechanics that involve the Wii U GamePad. But best of all, the game has a release date. It will be heading to Europe on July 26th and to North America on August 4th.

As part of the Wario series of mini-game collection, Game and Wario aims to bring Wii U mechanics to the mix. It offers up to 16 mini-games that thankfully all five players can take part in, lending the proper party game feel that most releases have been missing till now. It release son June 23rd for North America and June 28th for Europe.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D returned with a gameplay trailer, and if the porting work by Monster Games is even half as good, it’ll become another ace in the 3DS’s growing library of hits.

And to say he spoke about it, is to say that he teased the hell out of it. “I wonder what kind of game it is? I hope to introduce it to you in the not so distant future.”

The news is interesting for two reasons: Firstly, the game that Nintendo US president Reggie Fils-Aime promised would be amazing is still very much in development. Secondly, if Nintendo is indeed skipping E3 this year, you can bet their not too heartbroken about it.

After all, why compete with Sony and Microsoft in terms of attention when it can just announce the game via Nintendo Direct and garner the same response worldwide at lesser costs?

For now though, we’ll have to wait for more details on Retro Studios’ next game.

The titles in question are some of the hottest releases currently on the handheld which includes: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins!, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

You’ll need to register with the Nintendo Club by June 30th, and from there you’ll receive your free download code for the game of your choice. Download codes can only be requested from April 23rd, 15:00 CEST onwards and has to be completed before July 31st with the code itself expiring on December 31st. So if you recently bought a bevy of games already, tough luck.

Head here for all the terms and conditions on “So Many Games!”.

Monster Games has also apparently reworked the game’s difficulty to offer longer play times in accordance with the game’s 3D visuals. Now Donkey and Diddy Kong will have three hearts each, along with items such as the Portable DK Barrel for getting Diddy in at any time and the Green Balloon to help you back up in case you fall off in a stage (though it can only be used once).

There will also be a new mode that takes place in a new world, featuring eight new levels, that can be accessed after you clear the game. Local co-op multiplayer for up to two players is also planned.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is currently scheduled to release for the Nintendo 3DS in North America and Europe on May 24th.