Mario vs. Donkey Kong return exclusively to DSiWare

LOS ANGELES--Nintendo used today’s E3 press conference to drive home the fact that despite the seemingly odd move of competing directly with its own products by selling both the 100 million strong DS Lite and new DSi hardware side by side, consumers are clearly voting with their wallets. Nintendo today confirmed its new DSi handheld had sold more than 1 million units in Europe since going on sale just eight weeks ago, outselling its now seemingly obsolete brother by more than double the number of units in the same period.

Nintendo highlighted user-generated content as being a significant contributor to unit sales, as well as a feature it will heavily support with the introduction of social networking features and services through the game machine. The company also announced the planned release of Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again exclusively for the Nintendo DSi through its DSiWare download service.

The title marks the third installment in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong franchise, which first appeared on the GameBoy Advance. It also represents the first DSiWare game to feature user-generated level creation from the ground up, allowing you to pick and choose the placement of power-ups, traps, and enemies before either playing the levels locally or sharing them with friends using a wireless Internet connection.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again will be available from the DSi Shop from June 8 and will cost 800 Nintendo DSi points. Nintendo has confirmed the game will be playable on the show floor, so stay tuned for our full impressions once we can get our hands on it.