It's all about Nintendo mascots on the eShop this week. First and foremost, we've got Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, the delightful 3DS port of the challenging Wii game from 2010. Next up, Kirby gets three, count 'em, three new games on the Wii U Virtual Console: Kirby Super Star, Kirby's DreamLand 3 and Kirby's Dream Course. The Kirby games are $7.99 apiece or, from now until May 30, if you buy two you'll get the third game free.

Also running until May 30, you can grab the 3DS eShop game The Denpa Men: They Came by Wave for 20 percent off.

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Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two charges onto Vita in a few weeks time. SCE America announced a release date of June 18 this morning. The Vita port of the co-op game is also confirmed for Europe, although that remains undated for now.

SCE America says the Vita version, being handled by Blitz Game Studios, features ad hoc network support. Lots of the additions center on the touchscreen, including being able to control paint, thinner, and the electric beam of Oswald (the one that's not Mickey). The touchscreen can also be used to command AI and navigate the user interface, among a number of other actions.

Disney closed original developer Junction Point earlier this year. The game sold 529,000 units in the US across November and December 2012, having launched for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and Wii on November 18.

The E3 Nintendo direct is scheduled for June 11 at 7AM Pacific (10AM Eastern, 3PM UK). The new installment will "provide updates about future Wii U games," according to Nintendo. Nintendo Europe has also announced a direct for the same time. In keeping with tradition, it'll likely be the same general information with region-specific details.

Need for Speed Rivals – the franchise's first turn into the new world of next-gen consoles – is also coming to the PC. In crafting the PC version, Ghost Games executive producer Marcus Nilsson promises "Need for Speed Rivals will look easily as good on PC as next-generation consoles."

The original press release for Need for Speed Rivals made no mention of a PC version; however, the PR has since been amended revealing the PC version will arrive on November 19 alongside the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. Xbox One and PS4 versions will launch "later this year."

Other than differences in graphical fidelity and online player count, Rivals features differences in its new marquee feature "AllDrive" across current- and next-gen systems. AllDrive is the ability for the game to "seamlessly" adapt to player interaction as they cross paths in the open-world space. On next-gen consoles, players will have unspecified exclusive ways to interact with the game using other devices.

Nilsson would not detail if the PC version's feature-set would be based on the current- or next-gen platform versions.

Expanding on how AllDrive would work, Nilsson offered an example of how the game would react to friends in the same world engaged in separate chases that come across each other. With the new feature, Need for Speed Rivals would recognize player proximity and any current missions and automatically shift objectives and scoring to that of a traditional co-op encounter. Players can enter and exit each other's worlds to race and interact "on-the-fly." The core features of AllDrive will be available on all platforms.

For more on Need for Speed Rivals, read our reveal post with additional comments from the game's executive producer.

[Ed. Note: This post was updated to reflect changes to the announcement press release.]

Recently renamed developer Ghost Games and the fellow racing fanatics at Criterion Games have banded together for Need for Speed Rivals: a new game that represents the franchise's first drift into the next-gen console world (which is not to be confused with the 2005 handheld spinoff).

Powered by Frostbite 3, Rivals aims to utilize the power of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 to give players "the freedom to seamlessly go from single player to co-op to multiplayer" when it releases "later this year." [Update: This story has been updated for accuracy, removing mention of a release window for the next-gen versions from an outdated release draft.]

Need for Speed Rivals transports players to the fictitious Redview County, an open-world environment where players can take on the role as either street racer or police officer. Like Most Wanted before it, racers aim to become the most infamous person behind the wheel, while cops attempt to work together to drive the area's high-risk inhabitants off the road. Players can personalize the experience with custom license plates, paint, liveries decals and rims, and performance upgrades.

Current-generation consoles will also join the rivalry – powered by its own version of Frostbite 3 – on November 19. A PC version is also in the works.

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As of today, you can join Sam, Ash, Brock, Claptrap, and dealer GLaDOS at the table via iPads and iPhones. Telltale Games launched Poker Night at the Inventory 2 on iOS this morning, where it's priced $4.99. Just don't bring anything less than an iPhone 4 or iPad 2, 'cos it ain't getting through the door.

Techland is keeping its zombie vendetta going in Dying Light, a new first-person action game coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2014, care of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

The ruined-world game hinges on a realistic day/night cycle, as well as the agility and Parkour skills of the protagonist turned traceur. Day is pitched as a preparation phase, in which you scavenge a warmly lit urban wasteland for supplies and craft weapons to fend off undead walkers. The night requires a stealthier approach, if not a swift homeward retreat from deadlier monsters.

Combat in Dying Light appears to be largely based on upgradeable melee weaponry (eg. an electrified machete), with bone-breaking blows triggering an x-ray visual effect. Zombies can also be pushed into spiked walls with a jump-kick to the chest.

The frequency of fighting drops once night arrives and faster, more powerful creatures emerge. These can be detected via an on-screen pulse – one of the abilities you have by virtue of being an infected human yourself. When the monsters of the night do give chase, the camera can quickly flip 180 degrees to show their proximity, even while you dash and vault in the opposite direction. Movement certainly appears to be more fluid than in Techland's Dead Island, with which Dying Light shares a theme of smashing zombies in the tropical sun.

The openness of the environment, overall game structure and the true nature of nightfall, the publisher says, are details left for another day.

Grand Theft Auto 5 will try to beat a couple extra bucks out of you with its "special edition" and "collector's edition," which were announced for pre-order this morning by Rockstar Games.

The $79.99 special edition includes the game, artbook, blueprint map, in-game special ability boost for the playable characters, stunt plane trials, bonus outfits and additional weapons. The $149.99 collector's edition includes everything already listed in the special edition, with the addition of security deposit bag and logo key, cap, classic characters for GTA online and "unique vehicles and garage property."

All pre-orders of the game will receive the Atomic Blimp in-game vehicle. Yes, a blimp. Grand Theft Auto 5 will deliver its goodyear goodies on September 17.

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In formality news, developer Infinity Ward took to Twitter to confirm Call of Duty: Ghosts for the PS4, in addition to the PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. In related news, the death of announcements featuring the phrase "next-generation platforms" is blissfully upon us.

At the Xbox One event, Activision revealed it's continuing its exclusivity agreement with Microsoft on Call of Duty DLC. So, the one missing link regards Ghosts remains the Wii U, which Activision is staying quiet about.

At first glance Shelter looks kind of cuddly; you play a badger mother looking after her cubs in some pleasant looking greenery. Pid developer Might & Delight is billing its next game as anything but. As this early footage shows, you'll have to hunt other animals for food, and avoid becoming prey yourself. That inferno at the end isn't too cuddly either.

Shelter, announced earlier this year, is still foraging on Steam Greenlight. Might & Delight's plans are to release it into the wilds of PC and Mac towards the end of this summer.

Atari Inc., the US branch of French parent company Atari S.A., filed for court approval this week to auction its assets in July. Those assets include the Atari logo, as well as the Test Drive, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Asteroids, and Pong franchises among others.

As Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reports, Atari Inc., which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year in a bid to sell its assets and separate itself from Atari S.A., has failed to secure a "stalking horse" or lead bidder since then. Atari Inc. approached more than 180 parties about purchasing assets, but only 15 came back with preliminary bids. Atari Inc. didn't deem a single bid acceptable to set the minimum price for the division's clearout.

As it is, Atari Inc.'s own listed minimum bids for the July auction total "nearly $22.2 million." They include $15 million for the Atari brand, $3.5 million for the Rollercoaster Tycoon franchise, $1.5 million for Test Drive, and RTS franchise Total Annihilation at just $250,000. Atari Inc. has already secured $5 million through debtor-in-possession financing. While the auction is still pending court approval, Atari Inc aims to hold it between July 16 and July 19.

While the Atari name is synonymous with the arcade's pioneering years, Atari Inc. traces its roots to a company called GT Interactive, founded in 1993. GT Interactive was eventually acquired by French company Infogrames Entertainment, and in 2001 Infogrames seized Atari Corporation and its Atari properties through the purchase of Hasbro Interactive. In 2009, Infrogrames renamed itself as Atari S.A., with what was GT Interactive by then renamed as Atari Inc.

After some forty or so years that have seen the Atari brand transfer across several entities, if things go to plan then in two months time it'll find itself at a new home once more. What the ramifications of that sale would be for Atari S.A., financially and nominally, are unclear.

In a financial statement published on May 15, Atari S.A. said, "Faced with the uncertainties relating to the proceedings that are underway in the US, where the Group's strategic assets and most of its business are located, the outcome of the Chapter 11 proceedings in the US will be decisive for all the stakeholders." The statement also reveals Atari S.A. recently sold the ownership of its Outcast franchise for a "nominal amount," and negotiations are underway at similar prices for its Desperados and Silver franchises.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Ultimate Edition is now available for download via the PlayStation Store. This edition bundles the Platinum and Kojima-developed game with five character skins, additional VR Missions and two DLC side-stories that focus on Raiden rivals Jetstream and Blade Wolf.

For a limited time, the package will cleave $64 from your wallet. The deal has some more chops for PlayStation Plus users, who can get it for just under $45.

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The screenplay for Rovio's in-house Angry Birds film is being written by Jon Vitti, the Finnish developer has announced. A writer and producer, Vitti has worked on the screenplay for The Simpsons Movie and both 3D Alvin and the Chipmunks films, as well as two episodes of The Office, 25 episodes of The Simpsons and 20 episodes of late-80s Saturday Night Live.

Vitti's tenue on The Simpsons spanned 1990 through 2004, with his creative mark left on landmark episodes such as "When Flanders Failed," "Cape Feare" and "Mr. Plow," among others. As we learned last week, Angry Birds will be distributed by Sony Pictures and will arrive in theaters on July 1, 2016.

Spellirium – the graphic-adventure, wordsmithing puzzler from Ponycorn overseer Ryan Creighton – successfully raised $10,000 through a pre-order fundraiser that he describes as a "Kickender." Pre-orders at all tiers – $15 to $1,000 – get into the Spellirium alpha for PC and Mac. The game is almost done, and all funds go toward finishing the final cut scenes and adding sounds and polish.

"That was the hardest ten grand I've ever made. And I was a paperboy," Creighton tweeted.

Pre-orders are still open, and the Kickender is now on goal two, which is "Act 3, Adequately Animated." Check out Creighton's pre-order pitch video on the Spellirium site, but be warned – once you open the page, it auto-plays some intense medieval folk music.

Spellirium is also up for a run on Steam via Greenlight.

Forget everything you know about Tearaway and focus on this one fact: It has an in-game, rideable pig. This little piggy is only accessible through pre-orders at participating retailers, Media Molecule Community Manager James Spafford writes on the PlayStation Blog.

Pre-orders in the US get a slew of swine-related and assorted goodies: the Tearaway soundtrack with a bonus song, iota and atoi costumes for LittleBigPlanet, a Vita wallpaper, iota and atoi avatars for use on PSN, and a skin for a rideable pig and matching, real-life printable papercraft.

These pre-order perks sound suspiciously similar to those announced for Europe, but those were split into two packs; one with the soundtrack but without the pig, and the other with the pig but no tunes.

Blacksmith and propmaster Tony Swatton documents the creation of a replica Final Fantasy VII Buster Sword in the latest episode of the Man at Arms web series. Cloud Strife himself would be proud of the results.

This isn't some cardboard-and-foil job that you'd see at an anime convention; the finished product weighs around 80 pounds, and Swatton burned up three portable drills during its assembly. Swatton proves the sword's impracticality by "wrecking" his back and arm while attempting to wield it, but stick around until the end to see the blade taste the flesh of unsuspecting soda bottles and fresh produce.

Swatton previously produced replicas of Minecraft's diamond sword and the Kingdom Hearts keyblade, among other bladed bits of nerdery.

It's not that there are too many indie games; it's that there aren't enough hours in a day to play all of them. The Joystiq Indie Pitch curates the best indies to play now and watch out for in the future.

What's your game called and what's it about?

Our game is called Jamsouls. We took inspiration from the famous tale of Pandora's Box to create crazy battles between naughty evil creatures in a vivid and colourful arena!

How have sales and visibility been on XBLIG? Is $1 a good price point for Jamsouls?

XBLIG has poor visibility compared to other games featured on the Xbox Marketplace. We feel that the platform is dying slowly, and that Microsoft is not really interested in this indie scene anymore, which is a shame.

We chose the price of $1 because we wanted the game to have maximum exposure. The price of 80 points is very reasonable for anyone wanting to try the game out.

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The NFL will receive $400 million from Microsoft over the next five years, according to an Associated Press source. The partnership was announced during Microsoft's Xbox One unveiling yesterday and will see NFL content coming to Microsoft's next-generation console.

As for the NFL side, fans will see Microsoft branding on-field during live games starting this upcoming season. Coaches and other team officials will be provided Microsoft Surface tablets, with the possibility of further technological innovations coming from Microsoft throughout the longevity of the deal.

The Xbox One will have interactive features integrated during broadcasts, including SmartGlass, group Skype calling and fantasy stats available during live NFL games. Recently, Amazon announced a limited edition version of Madden NFL 25 bundled with a free DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket subscription.