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Nintendo, Best Buy partner to bring E3 games to stores

Games that historically have been playable only at the E3 show will be offered at over 100 Best Buy stores on June 12 and again on June 15.

Don Reisinger
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Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime talking Wii U in 2012.
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime talking Wii U in 2012. Sarah Tew/CNET

Nintendo is doing something quite different to build up excitement for its E3 game lineup.

The company announced today that it has signed a deal with Best Buy to make a select list of its E3 games playable at 110 Best Buy locations across North America. Nintendo didn't say which games will be playable, but there will be a short time frame in which the titles will be available: between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time on Wednesday, June 12, and between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time on Saturday, June 15. The E3 conference runs from June 11 to June 13.

Nintendo's move is an interesting one. Historically, E3 is where game makers allow industry insiders to try out titles before they're made ready for public launch. Nintendo is trying to change that dynamic by bringing some of its games to the public for a couple of days to bring them in on the E3 action. Hardcore gamers who follow E3 will probably like that quite a bit.

Nintendo has released the full list of Best Buy locations where the games will be played. Click here to see if a store in your city will be carrying its titles.