Zen Studios has finally given Zen Pinball 3D a final release date for North America. It’s due out next week on the eShop for $6.99.

You can find the full press release about the news below.

"Zen Pinball 3D for Nintendo 3DS TM Releasing January 12, 2012 in North America for the Nintendo eShop!

Nintendo 3DS owners will be able to download Zen Studios critically acclaimed pinball game starting January 12, 2012 for $6.99. Featuring four original, beautifully crafted pinball tables, Zen Pinball is now playable in stunning stereoscopic 3D!

Zen Pinball 3D is packed full of great features including online leaderboards, hot seat multiplayer, multiple view points and rewards for playing and accomplishing table specific missions.

Zen Pinball 3D Table Line-Up
Earth Defense pits the player against hordes of hostile aliens as they try to take the planet by storm! As the captain of the Earth Defense Special Forces, it is your mission to rally the defenses and protect planet Earth.
Players will experience life as a novice sorcerer who must master the trade of summoning spectacular natural phenomena in Shaman.
Travel back to the middle ages to the Kingdom of Camelot and become a Knight of the Round Table in Excalibur.
Experience the unexplored jungles of Eldorado as you hunt for hidden treasures and uncover the mysteries of ancient civilization.
Zen Studios will support Zen Pinball 3D with additional DLC, stay tuned for more announcements!"

Japanese magazine Nikkei Trendy has reported on two new rumors today. One of them pertains to the 3DS.

The site reports that Nintendo is in the process of creating a “follow-up” of sorts to the 3DS. Specifically, it seems as though Nintendo is working on a 3DS Lite. The new system would feature an enhanced battery and would be thinner than the current 3DS.

If Nintendo is going in this direction, it wouldn’t be at all surprising. Both the Game Boy Advance and the DS saw numerous iterations that improved on initial hardware.

For now, this report should be treated as a rumor. Having said that, Nikkei has known to be quite accurate in the past. Personally I don't really like to post up on rumors but a lot of sites were reporting this as well. 

The votes show the obvious! The Winner is the Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword!!!

Honorable 2nd place belongs Mario Kart 7 and finally 3rd was Super Mario 3D Land. Thanks to everyone who participated!