I'm baaaaaaaaack

Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know this, and some of the rest of you likely figured it out for other reasons, but for everyone else: I just returned from a two-week vacation that took me and my husband from Seattle to Aruba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, Panama and back again (via the "Island Princess" cruise ship).

Don't worry, I'm not trying to brag. I'm only bringing it up because I'm guessing a portion of you guys and gals noticed that things were a bit "off" around here during the last two weeks (I rarely Tweeted, I didn't comment on any recent announcements, etc.) and I wanted to make sure you know things will get back to normal as of today.

I also wanted to touch on a few of the aforementioned announcements that I typically would have talked about had I not been sleeping in, stuffing my face and otherwise chillaxing aboard the Internet-challenged Island Princess. Speaking of which, here are the gaming-related announcements that have caught my eye since we returned home on Friday evening:

* Animal Crossing's 3DS sequel finally gets a North American subtitle: "New Leaf"--Well, it's certainly better than "Jump Out," isn't it? Still, it sounds a bit odd. Not that I really care; I would have pre-ordered it even if Nintendo had decided to call it Animal Crossing 3DS.

* Daigasso! Band Brothers to make a triumphant return in 2013--During the latest Japanese Nintendo Direct broadcast, Satoru Iwata (with a little help from Barbara the Bat) revealed that another entry in this series of portable music games is being prepped for the 3DS and will see the light of day (in Japan) sometime next year. Which means I have to get off my butt and buy a Japanese 3DS pronto.

* The Denpa Men 2 is coming to North America, too--Unfortunately, the folks at Genius Sonority have yet to say when me and my countrymen (and countrywomen) will be getting our grubby little hands on this follow-up to the 3DS eShop title that has attracted more than 40 hours of my attention so far, but that's OK. After all, they haven't even released the original in Europe yet. Still, I hope The Denpa Men 2 earns a spot in our region's eShop sooner rather than later.

* Dragon Quest VII remake 3DS-bound--And not only that, but it'll be released in February. In Japan only for the moment, of course. Not much information has been released about this effort thus far, but what has been released suggests it will be a full, polygonal remake of Square Enix's two-disc PlayStation RPG. Anyway, here's hoping this Dragon Quest title doesn't get stuck in Japan like Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D and Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 did.

* The pink-and-white 3DS XL will see a stateside release in a few weeks--Can you believe it? I honestly thought Nintendo of America would wait until February (you know, for Valentine's Day) to bring this beauty of a system to our shores. Does this mean I'm getting one? I guess you'll have to wait and see. (Gilt.com seems to be the only place you can purchase this system right now, by the way.)

So, did I miss anything? If so, please let me know. Also, let me know what you think of any or all of the tidbits discussed above.

The Nichiest Podcast Ever: Take 003

Got a few minutes (OK, more like 110) to spare? If so, you may want to head on over to morningproject.com and listen to the latest, greatest episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever.

What do Anne, shidoshi and I chat about this time? The blurb that shidoshi conjured up describes it pretty well, I think: "Nintendo announces shidoshi’s perfect 3DS XL (and some other models), all about the Wii U, a whole lot of talk about Tokyo Game Show 2012, follow-up about the Gaymercom name, Dead or Alive fans love big breasts, Cheerleading (Tokyo Jungle, The "Denpa" Men), and Nichiest of Them All."

I have to add, of course, that "shidoshi's perfect 3DS XL" (aka the "PINK x WHITE" model I've mentioned far too many times since it was announced just over a month ago) is my perfect 3DS XL, too--although the Animal Crossing-branded 3DS XL (or, rather, LL) that's also discussed during this podcast may soon push it out of that top spot (in my brain at least).

Should you decide to check out this episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, would you do me, shidoshi and Anne a favor? Would you let us know your thoughts about it--good, bad or otherwise? Feel free to do so in the comments section below or aim a tweet at any or all of us (Anne can be found at @apricotsushi, shidoshi at @pikoeri and I'm at @thegaygamer).

See also: Previous posts about The Nichiest Podcast Ever

In the flesh: PINK x WHITE 3DS LL

I wish I could say I filmed the unboxing video seen below (and here), but, alas, I didn't. Who knows, though, maybe I'll be able to make my own before the year is over?

The question is: Will my unboxing video focus on a Japanese or a North American pink-and-white 3DS XL/LL?



Actually, after the pair of "Chotto Nintendo Direct" presentations (this one announced a trio of new 3DS LL color variations, while this one revealed that a number of previously released retail games will be added to the Japanese eShop on Nov. 1) that were broadcast last night, an even better question might be:

Will my unboxing video focus on the aforementioned pink-and-white XL/LL or the just-announced Animal Crossing-branded LL that'll hit store shelves in Japan on Nov. 8?

See also: 'Welp, it seems I'll be buying a 3DS XL a bit sooner than I initially thought I would'