Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Fire Emblem: Awakening set for first half 2013

Nintendo let the fanfare soar for the Nintendo 3DS in its most recent live streamed direct presentation, giving handheld gamers a lot to be excited about in the coming months. While we already knew about many of the items, the 3DS pep rally brought new info and trailers for anticipated games like Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Fire Emblem: Awakening.

The next game in the Animal Crossing series of village-life-and-mortgage-repayment simulator, New Leaf will put players in the customizable shoes of a new town mayor in the first half of 2013. Players can decorate and guide the growth of their town to a greater extent than previous titles, or just break it down to some dance hall beats courtesy of DJ K.K.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said tactical RPG fans can expect Fire Emblem: Awakening to land on American shores "in a few more months." Awakening will follow the tale of Chrom as he leads his nation's army, and duels somebody who looks an awful lot like Marth. It will be another of Nintendo's first games to feature paid DLC--speaking of which, two new paid map packs are available for New Super Mario Bros. 2 right now.

For more on upcoming 3DS games including Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, check out Nintendo's sizzle reel of new footage below.