Right before the deluge of back-to-school season, Nintendo’s North American and European branches have confirmed a few release dates for upcoming major releases. Capcom’s Monster Hunter Stories will hit North America on September 8, with a demo going up next week on August 10. Meanwhile, Level-5’s third version of Yo-Kai Watch 2 (Psychic Specters) will launch on September 29th. Both of these third party games will be published worldwide by Nintendo itself.

In addition, North America will be receiving a new Nintendo 2DS (the original) bundle that includes a pre-installed copy of New Super Mario Bros. 2 and all its DLC for $79.99 USD. The color of the included unit, red and white, was released in Europe when the 2DS originally launched in October 2013 and will have taken nearly four years to come to North America.

These announcements top off a busy fall for the 3DS, which already has release dates for Metroid: Samus Returns  on September 15, and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon on November 18. Nintendo further bolstered the handheld’s momentum with the newly-launched New 2DS XL, the more advanced counterpart to the 2DS with the features of the New 3DS systems.

Alex Irish
When he's not writing about games, Alex Irish is an illustrator and animation expert. His favorite gaming franchise is Pokémon, full-stop, but his favorite game of all time is Resident Evil 4. He attended the first-ever IGN House Party and is a five-time attendee of the Ottowa International Animation Festival.