REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leaves won’t be the only things turning gold this fall as Nintendo prepares to launch an extraordinary lineup of games for its Wii™, Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ game systems. At a recent meeting of GameStop retail store managers from across the United States, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing Scott Moffitt revealed new details about upcoming releases for several fan-favorite franchises:

A special limited-edition The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword bundle containing the game and a gold* Wii Remote™ Plus controller will be available when the game launches on Nov. 20.

Also for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, every copy in the initial production of the game will come packaged with a special music CD featuring orchestral arrangements of select songs that will be performed at The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert.

Nintendo will launch the upcoming Tetris®: Axis game for Nintendo 3DS systems on Oct. 2.

The Professor Layton and the Last Specter™ game for the Nintendo DS family of systems will launch Oct. 17.

“Nintendo has something for you this fall, no matter what type of gamer you are, no matter what Nintendo system you’re playing,” said Moffitt. “Whether you’re looking for a world-spanning epic like The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the pick-up-and-play puzzle fun of Tetris: Axis or the mind-bending adventure of Professor Layton and the Last Specter, we’ve got you covered.”

The limited-edition gold controller bundle for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be offered at a suggested retail price of $69.99. The game will also be sold separately at a suggested retail price of $49.99, though the gold controller will only be available as part of the special bundle. As an additional 25th anniversary treat for fans who purchase the game early, every copy in the initial production, whether sold by itself or as a part of the limited-edition bundle, will come with a free CD featuring select orchestral arrangements of iconic music spanning the history of the franchise which will be performed at The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert performances in October 2011. For more information about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, visit http://www.zelda.com/skywardsword.

The original portable Tetris® game was a smash hit on the Game Boy™ system. The new Tetris: Axis game lets players use the magic of the Nintendo 3DS system to jump into the action in 3D without the need for special glasses. The game includes more than 20 different modes – some familiar, some new. Up to eight players can compete in wireless multiplayer battles, even if only one player has a game card**. Tetris: Axis also makes use of the augmented-reality and SpotPass™ features of Nintendo 3DS. Tetris: Axis is part of a stirring fall lineup for Nintendo 3DS that also includes Pokémon™ Rumble Blast (launching Oct. 24), Super Mario 3D Land™ (November) and Mario Kart™ 7 (December).

Professor Layton and the Last Specter for the Nintendo DS family of systems is the fourth installment in the Professor Layton puzzle adventure series. It begins a new trilogy that is a prequel to the original games, set three years before the events in Professor Layton and the Curious Village™. The game contains more puzzles than any in the series to date. As a North American exclusive to the overall Professor Layton and the Last Specter package, a bonus role-playing game called Professor Layton’s London Life™ containing more than 100 hours of additional content will be available to players from the start of the game.

Remember that Wii and Nintendo 3DS feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wii or http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.

* Note that the gold controller will simply be gold in color and will not contain any actual precious metals.

** Multiplayer mode requires multiple Nintendo 3DS systems, each sold separately.BILinkHTML