Almost six and a half years after its release, the Nintendo 3DS continues trucking on, in the face of all common wisdom and rhetoric that would have you believe that the market for a dedicated gaming handheld no longer exists, and the 3DS will be dying any minute now. Not only does it continue to subsist, however, it is thriving– it’s doing great on the hardware sales and software front, with a brand new model having just released, and many major games in the pipeline.

And to keep the momentum going, Nintendo has announced a new bundle for the Nintendo 2DS, the cheapest, budget priced model- starting August 25, you can get a Nintendo 2DS, with a copy of New Super Mario Bros. 2, for just $80. Given that New Super Mario Bros. 2 isn’t half bad, and that the 3DS library is remarkably strong at this point, that is a hell of a deal.

As for what you can look forward to on the 3DS- major games still in the pipeline for the system include Metroid: Samus Returns, Pokemon UltraSun/UltraMoon, Fire Emblem Warriors, Yokai Watch, Monster Hunter Stories, Etrian Odyssey 5, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, and Radiant Historia, among others. It’ll be around for a while, guys.

The so-called Gold Classics pack is available for access within New Super Mario Bros. 2. But keep in mind that it’ll be free for a limited time only – Nintendo plans to put this bad boy up for purchase in good time. So get it while it’s…shiny…or something. Check it out below in Nintendo Direct’s latest video.

The Gold Classics pack will join the previously five released packs for the game, each featuring a range of courses varying in difficulty from one to five stars. This new pack, however, is purely designed for fun (read: noobs) and consists of one star courses.

So far, Mario’s latest escapade, that had Penelope Cruz engaging in all too surreal commercial, has sold 3.25 million copies. This includes download sales, of course. Japanese sales are about 1.31 million, while overseas the 3DS platformer has sold 1.95 million copies.

On the other hand, Pokémon Black/White 2’s sales figures are about 4.26 million units worldwide with Japanese sales at 2.84 million copies and overseas tallying 1.42 million copies. The game has been out longer in Japan, of course, which explains the higher sales figures.

Hence, honestly, when Nintendo says their new console will be selling for a loss, does anyone really doubt they’d be able to compensate?

Source: Siliconera

But man alive, 57 billion coins. That’s how much all of the New Super Mario Bros 2 players have collected since the game launched less than a month ago. This was announced by Satoru Iwata at Nintendo Direct, according to Siliconera.

Calculate the number of coins Penelope and Monica Cruz collected in that surreal New Super Mario Bros 2 commercial and then multiply it by the number of times you’d have to loop it. We’d guess that’s a swirling whirlpool of Cruz madness.

Does it reflect the enthusiasm of players, the number of players, the sheer addiction of coin-collecting or all of the above? What can we say?

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a 2D side-scrolling Mario game which released simultaneously along with the 3DS LL–featuring a large screen and nothing else. But I suppose that can be termed as a good revision. The 3D effect is well done here with proper depth and really enhances the game even on the vanilla 3DS.

There is a reason why we all like 2D Mario’s. They’re innovative when it comes to the level design, have beautiful artwork, and most importantly, they’re really fun to play. With NSMB 2, you get to enjoy all this, but not in a way that can be termed as consistently good. There are holes in Nintendo’s money making machine, and while it will still continue making lots of money, the quality has slightly gone down.

This game is all about collecting coins, and a lot of them. If you do manage to hit 1 million coins–which is regularly tracked based on whatever you do in the game–you can unlock some cool things. I won’t say what it is, in fact, even I don’t know what it is, and probably never well, since I managed to hit 20k after beating the game which is a paltry amount surely. There are a lot of ways one can obtain coins here. The game is designed such that in-game power-ups can have some weird effects, which oozes with Nintendo’s design sensibilities.

For example, coins spouting out of Mario’s head, or turning whatever he touches into gold coins. It can be really amazing to collect coins this way, and this is where you get to appreciate the work put into the game. The levels aren’t that unique compared to its predecessor which launched in 2006, however, it is functional and has a lot of surprises and hidden collectibles.

That’s what you want ultimately in a Mario game, right? Lot’s of things to do, and just goofing around trying to get good scores, while enjoying the platforming goodness and boss fights. This game is a bit derivative and nothing like the Galaxy games when it comes to pure innovation and a plethora of ideas. What I think the problem is that Nintendo churned this out quickly to match 3DS LL’s release.

Of course, people are going to talk about this because they expect a certain quality from Nintendo, especially when it comes to one of their biggest franchises. That said, the game will offer a lot of fun and a true 2D Mario experience if you keep your expectations in check. Not much to be said here, but there’s a Coin Rush and co-op mode which will enable you to earn a lot of coins for that 1 million mark.

Co-op mode is local only which requires you to play with a friend in the same room, but the coin payout is immense with Mario and Luigi piling on the magic. New Super Mario Bros. 2 lacks some of the charm that you would normally expect from 2D Mario games, but ultimately it’s something that is still worth your time.

This game was reviewed on the 3DS.

Nintendo has released a new TV ad, most likely in the wake of GamesCom 2012. And it features the lovely Ms. Penelope Cruz playing the game, along with her sister Monica. However, Penelope loses to her sister and…yeah, I can’t believe what I saw either.

The ad, bizarrely surreal as it is, achieves it’s goals. One, make New Super Mario Bros. 2 look good. Two, make Penelope and Monica look good (which wasn’t too difficult).

Three, to showcase the new Nintendo 3DS XL. And four, Penelope in a Mario outfit. Because…seriously, what?

Source: AllGamesBeta

The game has been critically well received and is out in Japan.

Description: Bowser has once again kidnapped Princess Peach, but this time, Mario has another objective. The Mushroom Kingdom is bursting with more gold coins than before. Each level is littered with gold as coins rain down from overhead pipes, trails of coins are left behind special gold enemies and gold pipes transport Mario into coin-filled caverns. It’s up to players to collect as many coins as possible throughout their adventure.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 will be available on Nintendo 3DS from August 17th. Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Seems Mario’s jacked in his life of a Princess hunter for the quiet southern dignity of being an old-timey prospector, darn tootin’.

New Super Mario Bros 2 comes European 3DS’ on 17th August.

This time around however, Nintendo is offering collectable solid gold coin cases for those who pre-order copies of New Super Mario Bros 2. It’s a one-off thing, however, so don’t expect to find these available separately after release.

And it actually is a fully functional case which can carry various small objects, including the New Super Mario Bros 2 game card. It would make an indelible piece of swag, though.

Those interested in rocking this coin case, plumber-style, can pre-order the game via Game or Gamestation. We take no responsibility in members of the opposite sex swooning over you after obtaining it, of course.

New Super Marios 2 will be available for the Nintendo 3DS on August 17th.