Nintendo 3DS to launch with 18 games

CEBU, Philippines -  If you're planning to pick up a Nintendo 3DS when it goes on sale March 27, you'll have a solid 18 games to choose from for your starter collection -- but they're going to cost a bit more than regular DS titles.

Nintendo has unveiled its launch day line-up for the handheld gaming system as well as a $40 price tag for games -- $5 more than titles for the existing DS platform.

The 3DS won't launch with the support of a heavyweight Nintendo icon like Mario or Zelda, but external publishing partners will pick up the day-one slack with some very familiar names, including Super Street Fighter, The Sims, Star Wars, Rayman, and Madden. The system will also come with built-in titles Face Raiders, AR Games and a Mii Maker application.

Nintendo itself will contribute nintendogs + cats, a sequel to its popular pet simulator, along with submarine simulator Steel Diver and Pilotwings Resort. The company seems to be saving its big guns for a little later in the year when there are more 3DS systems in people's hands and the holidays are drawing near. Before the year is out, the company says it plans to release The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Kid Icarus: Uprising and a new installment in the Mario Kart series.

Nintendo plans to expand the total number of games available for the 3DS from 18 to more than 30 by mid-June. To drive demand for the system, the company is planning an extensive promotional campaign, with over 5,000 units in stores and people demonstrating mobile units on the streets of major cities.

The $5 premium for titles wasn't unexpected, but could still make things challenging for the company. While Nintendo has pretty much owned the handheld gaming space for generations, it faces dramatically increased competition from Apple these days, as players have flocked to the iOS devices, where game prices almost never top $10.

Granted, no iPhone offers glasses-free stereoscopic 3D, but analysts question if that effect will, in the long run, be worth an extra $30-$35 to players for games like Madden and LEGO Star Wars.

To help you assemble your shopping list, here are the titles that will be available at launch (plus the two built-in games):

Pilotwings Resort (Nintendo)

Steel Diver (Nintendo)

nintendogs + cats (Nintendo)

Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (Capcom)

The Sims 3 (EA)

Madden NFL Football (EA)

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D (Konami)

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (LucasArts)

Ridge Racer 3D (Namco Bandai)

Super Monkey Ball 3D (Sega)

Bust-a-Move Universe (Square-Enix)

Samurai Warriors: Chronicles (Tecmo Koei America)

Asphalt 3D (Ubisoft)

Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D (Ubisoft)

Rayman 3D (Ubisoft)

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars (Ubisoft) (FREEMAN)