3DS Launch Lineup Confirmed

The launch of Nintendo's newest handheld (March 27th) is just around the corner and the launch lineup has officially been set in stone! There's an official list, just made available by Nintendo, that details all 18 games that will absolutely, no foolin', be out on day 1.

There actually may be a few more depending on what you read or who you talk to though. But either way- click through the jump for the definites-


First party stuff:

• Pilotwings Resort^™, an aerial adventure featuring airplanes, hang gliders and rocket belts. Players soar above tropical Wuhu Island in 3D as they complete missions or snap pictures.
• Steel Diver^™, a submarine game that involves strategy and combat. The 3D visuals give players the sensation that they are looking into a miniature aquarium as they control the sub’s speed, depth and pitch, and fire torpedoes.
• nintendogs^™ + cats, a game that lets players interact with realistic puppies – and kittens – in a variety of fun ways. There are three versions of the software, each with different starting breeds: French bulldog, toy poodle and golden retriever. But in each version players can unlock and enjoy more than 20 different breeds.

 All of these will be $39.99- on to the third party entries:

• Super Street Fighter^® IV 3D Edition from CAPCOM
• The Sims^™ 3 from EA
• Madden NFL Football from EA SPORTS
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D from Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
• LEGO^® Star Wars^® III: The Clone Wars^™ from LucasArts^™
• RIDGE RACER^® 3D from NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
• Super Monkey Ball^™ 3D from SEGA
• BUST-A-MOVE UNIVERSE^™ from Square-Enix, Inc.
• SAMURAI WARRIORS^®: Chronicles from TECMO KOEI AMERICA Corp.
• Asphalt^™ 3D from UBISOFT
• Combat of Giants^™: Dinosaurs 3D from UBISOFT
• Rayman^® 3D from UBISOFT
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon^® Shadow Wars from UBISOFT 

hmmmmm, you say, didn't you say there were 18 games available at launch? I only count 16.

Well, we snap back, there are 18 games available! Sort of...

The 3DS comes with Face Raiders built in and there's a set of AR (augmented reality) cards in the box. So... two for free plus the 16 listed above equals 18. We never said you'd want all 18 did we?

All kidding aside, those AR's look pretty cool and that's a very solid lineup that will hopefully get the 3DS off on the right foot. There's also a bunch of really cool stuff coming during the rest of the year from Nintendo themselves-

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Paper Mario
• Mario Kart
• Kid Icarus Uprising
• Star Fox 64

Big names all around right there.