Nintendo European 3DS preview event (liveblog)

Today at 2pm GMT (3pm CET), Nintendo will be unveiling the 3DS in Europe for the first time (bar the other time, when it was an informal affair in London), under the gaze of thousands, if not millions, of expectant gamers around the world.

What can we expect from the event in Amsterdam? Well, hopefully we’ll finally be told the European release date, which is still not confirmed despite plenty of rumours, and the RRP of the device.

There should also be an announcement of the launch titles to accompany the console, if the Japanese Nintendo World event is anything to go by. Here’s hoping we get a few more killer titles than that one though, as the previous lineup wasn’t completely overwhelming.

Some of the biggest publishers in consoleville will be present at the event, including Konami, Capcom, and Tecmo, so it's likely we'll see a little more of Metal Gear, Street Fighter, and virtual boobies (Dead or Alive) respectively.

If you’ve lost track of what we know, what we don’t know, and what we know we don’t know, then you can always check our handy guide of a similar name prior to the start of proceedings.

In any case, I expect you all back here at 2pm sharpish.

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15:15 - Well, that's it folks. I hope you all put up with me switching off when someone talked about 'innovation' 'evolution' or 'next generation', and my lame jokes.

I'll see you all outside the Cambridge Game shop on March the 25th, then!

15:11 - 25 games out between then and June. Price will be...price will...not be announced. Set by Retailers. Bah! 15:10 - Release date will be March 25th across Europe! That wasn't so hard, was it? 15:08 - Running through a vid showing games announced for the system so far. Nothing we haven't heard of before, as you'd expect, given it's the final round-up 15:06 - There's an E-Store with GBC and GBA titles to download. C'mon, this is getting silly now. 15:05 - Nope, not yet. Now we're hearing about Face Raiders, a pre-installed game that uses the camera to create targets to shoot. Stop teasing us and get to the release date! 15:04 - I think the big news (date of release and price) is about to land. Hold on to your money hats, folks 15:03 - Eh? He just went 'Oh yeah, there's Ocarina of Time as well' then moved straight on to Kid Icarus (I paraphrase, but it was quick). Oh great - it's another unrealistically white video in which we see a smug lady using the in-built software like the 3D camera and Mii creator 15:01 - Steel Diver is new though, based off a DS demo. It works in conjunction with the gyroscope for the periscope 15:00 - Fischer is back on stage to talk about Nintendo games on show. Pilotwings Resort, Nintendogs + Cats (he's blitzing through these, although to be fair, we saw these at the London show and at E3) 14:58 - Looks like that was the last developer on stage, as Wossy is leading a round of applause. 14:57 - 'We have implemented new communication features' - touchscreen controls for cheating your way through the special moves, basically.

There's also the full gamut of Internet, Local, StreetPass, and Co-op play for multiplayer

14:55 - Dead or Alive Dimensions contains the highlights for the series, and is kind of the 'Best of' version of Dead or Alive' 14:55 - Looks very much like a 'proper' DOA game from the trailer 14:54 - He's doing a 'George Lucas' in claiming the tech wasn't there to do their ideas justice before. Although, to be fair, he is talking about handhelds, not CGI muppets 14:52 - Going through the history of Dead or Alive now. 'Past 5 years, we've been silent' (except those beach volleyball games and that creepy voyeur one, eh?) 14:51 - Tecmo KOEI Team Ninja are up. Time for softcore 3D titilation (and fighting). DOA producer Yosuke Hayashi is up on stage 14:48 - There is a Player View though, that was last seen in Actua Soccer 2 if memory serves me rightly. I don't see it being used again for another 15 years after this, going on my previous experience 14:47 - '3D enabled us to express depth and improve realism, so gamers can feel as if they're watching matches from the stadium'. What - I feel like I'm half a mile away and have to guess which player is which? 14:44 - This teaser trailer looks Messi. Ahaha! See what I did there? The player models aren't exactly neat and tidy close up, mind. 14:43 - They're talking about how excited they are, which is amusing given how dour they look. PES 3D confirmed, in any case (although, to be fair, we already knew its Japanese version - Winning Eleven - is confirmed for their launch, so it's not much of a surprise) 14:42 - They don't look very happy to be there. Bring Ono back on stage! 14:41 - Konami up next. Exec Producer and producer of PES - Mr Enomoto and Mr Hatsumi are up on stage (they don't reveal first names on the slides, in case you were wondering) 14:40 - Launch 'period' I hasten to add 14:39 - '8 games for launch of machine' - Rayman 3D, Splinter Cell 3D, Asphalt 3D, Dinosaurs 3D, Rabbids (3D), Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (without '3D'), Hollywood Crimes, Driver Renegade 14:38 - President of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot, is up on stage. 14:37 - Lots of marketing spiel so far. I'll let you know when something interesting starts 14:35 - It's time for Mr Shibata, President of NOE, to step up on stage 14:33 - 35 fighters confirmed. Eat that, iPhone version! 14:32 - There's a new mode, that allows others to join in and watch fights between other players - Channel Live 14:31 - Internet play is also included if you'd rather actually take control of your fighter 14:29 - You get figurines as you fight in the game that can be added to Street Pass and used to fight others' figurines as you walk around an amazingly white street, stalking a woman. 14:28 - Ono is describing the Street Pass functionality of the 3DS in relation to Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition.'Allows you to fight anywhere against anyone immediately' 14:25 - Hah, he just called Laurent the 'boring version of George Clooney'. I like this guy. A Nintendo executive somewhere in Europe looks on nervously. 14:24 - He just cracked a joke about the 3DS being the Virtual Boy 2. A Nintendo executive somewhere in Japan looks on nervously. 14:23 - Here comes Yoshinori Ono from Capcom on stage, speaking through a translator 14:22 - Ahh, friend codes are back. They're no longer software dependant, and you only need one. Huzzah! (sort of) 14:21 - 'No such transfer will occur unless you want them too.' Good. *switches off mode instantly after buying 14:21 - 'If you put you DS into sleep mode, your Mii character will be exchanged' 14:20 - We're being shown a lovely video of Street Pass, in which two innocent people are exchanging data between 3DS' as they walk through an improbably white set 14:18 - We're being shown clips from the most recent series now. Man, that theme tune always annoys me for some reason. 14:17 - Shaun the Sheep will be jumping his way onto the 3DS via an exclusive series of one minute shorts. I know - this is big. 14:15 - Looks like 'Hardman' will be working in partnership with Nintendo for the 3DS. 'Innovation is in our DNA, this partnership with Nintendo is very much about innovation...' 14:14 - David Sproxton, Exec Chairman of Aardman has walked on stage. He pronounces it 'Hardman', hilariously 14:13 - They have Eurosport on board to provide sports content to the 3DS via Spotpass, and our in conversation with BSkyB. 14:12 - It can also be used at home. Hopefully they don't require you to use a flipping WEP key this time. 14:11 - 'Spotpass will revolutionise the way you recieve content on the move'. They're in conversation with a number of wifi hotspot places in Europe to get this working, including BT in the UK 14:10 - They're having a nicely staged conversation about the various features on the console. 3D slider! Nub! Home button! 14:06 - 'The 3DS is set to change gaming again'. Not again! 14:06 - The vid's running through all the features of the device, like the two cameras, 3D slider, nub, home button. Usual stuff. Nice lighting, though 14:05 - 'Full 3D in the palm of your hand', he says, before promptly handing over duties to a video showing a happy man and woman 'experiencing' such a thing 14:03 -NOE's MD Laurent Fischer has stepped up on stage to describe what the 3DS is like (it's possibly like a 3D handheld, but I may be wrong) 14:02 - ...and promptly drops a clanger of a joke 14:02 - Up steps Wossy to kick off proceedings 14:00 - Ahh, 'Casual Jazz' - the waiting music of choice 13:53 - The cat won this time, but will Nintendo win over the hearts and minds of demanding European pocket gamers? We'll find out in approximately seven minutes. 13:50 - In case you are wondering why I'm not commenting on the crowd or name-dropping some famous celebrity that I met on the way in, it's because I'm currently sitting in Cambridge, quietly sipping some orange squash and trying to type while attempting to out-stare the neighbour's cat. 13:44 - As with all our liveblogs, comments from you delightful readers at home are positively encouraged. However, if they don't start with 'I love you, Will!' they will be deleted. 13:38 - Right! I'm all prepped. Now all that's left to do is wait for the presentation to start. This page won't refresh automatically because we're not using any fancy blogging technology, so I've inserted a handy 'Refresh page' button at the top. Handy!