In the beginning, Comic-Con was about comics. As it has evolved, its focus has shifted from the humble pen sketch to the not-so-humble hustle and bustle of Hollywood and, most recently, the video game industry. As the latter medium’s founding fathers, Nintendo will be taking their talents to San Diego for Comic-Con 2012 with the recently announced Nintendo 3DS XL and a handful of titles from both the past and future of the company’s software library in what the publisher is calling the Nintendo Gaming Lounge.

Headlining Nintendo’s showing in San Diego will be New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Luigi’s Mansion 2: Dark Moon, two first-party exclusives that were heavily showcased in the company’s briefing last month at E3 2012. Elsewhere in the Nintendo Gaming Lounge, attendees will be able to get their hands on Heroes of Ruin, Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, three major third-party releases planned for the 3DS this year. All of these enthralling products will likely be overshadowed (literally) by the Nintendo 3DS XL, the larger-than-life iteration of the publisher’s current portable hardware line.

The rest of Nintendo’s showing amounts to previously-released games, a lineup that includes Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Kid Icarus: Uprising, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, and Pokemon Conquest, and two upcoming titles launching this fall for the Nintendo Wii in Kirby’s Dream Collection: Special Edition and Just Dance 4. Nintendo will be at booth #5135, but all items mentioned above will be open to the public in the San Diego Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis & Marina located next to the San Diego Convention Center.