Nintendo Is Releasing A New Pokémon!
... And Some Other Games
Nintendo just released a whole big long massive list of release dates for its 2009 lineup for Wii and DS, but they made a big show of touting the new Pokémon Platinum for the dual-screened handheld. It doesn't sound a whole lot different than the last DS Pokémon game, but it broke sales records in Japan, so what do I know. I mean, I would've thought the whole Pokémon craze would be well past its sell-by date by now. The Big N is also pushing Personal Trainer: Math as well as the DS remake of the never-released-in-the-US NES classic Fire Emblem, now titled Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.
Over on the Wii, they're emphasizing the GameCube remakes of Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis. Because they're now adjusting the controls to make full use of the motion-sensitive Wiimote, Nintendo is calling them New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin. Really? That's the best you could do? New Play Control!? That's just unfortunate.
There's also third party games like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, Madworld and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on their way, so Nintendo isn't doing all the heavy lifting. I've got a whole press release after the jump with details on these games, plus an extensive list of games broken down by console, then developer. Keep in mind, only a handful have actual release dates at this point -- most of these are pretty tentative. Well, except for Chinatown Wars, because apparently Nintendo isn't aware that Rockstar already set a release date. Oh, and pardon my formatting.
Pokémon Platinum Tops Nintendo's Diverse Game Lineup for Early 2009
New Releases Also Include New Play Control! Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis for Wii, Fire Emblem for Nintendo DS
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Continuing its commitment to create fun and engaging experiences for everyone, Nintendo of America Inc. today unleashes a broad list of exciting new games for the first quarter of 2009. Topping the list is Pokémon™ Platinum version for Nintendo DS™, a remarkable new entry in the beloved Pokémon series, slated for a March 22 launch across North America. Nintendo's roster of more than 100 new games includes an impressive array of challenges and experiences for new players and loyalists, as well as everyone in between. Notable titles include the enhanced New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™ and New Play Control! Pikmin™ for Wii™, and Fire Emblem™: Shadow Dragon, Personal Trainer™: Math and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Nintendo DS.
"Our fans expect a diverse selection of entertainment options, and we're eager to deliver exactly that," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We're building on the momentum of a strong holiday season by offering new and experienced players an even greater library of game titles in 2009."
Pokémon fans in particular will have plenty to cheer about as Pokémon Platinum is readied for its U.S. debut. Following the vast popularity of Pokémon® Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Platinum is the newest in the core series of Pokémon games. Pokémon Platinum features a new story full of adventure, never-before-seen forms of powerful Pokémon - including the legendary Giratina's Origin Forme - and the Distortion World, a mysterious new world that suddenly appears in the Sinnoh region. In addition, with Pokémon Platinum up to 20 players can interact with other Pokémon fans from around the world in the new Wi-Fi Plaza, featuring mini-games and activities. Players can also enjoy the new features in the Global Terminal, such as posting battle videos using the new "Vs. Recorder." In addition, Pokémon Platinum features a new Battle Frontier, where the toughest Trainers can test their skills in new ways. Pokémon Platinum already has broken previous Nintendo DS sales records in Japan, selling more than 1 million copies in its first two days of release.
For the portable Nintendo DS, Personal Trainer: Math builds on the new Personal Trainer™ series, which launched with Personal Trainer™: Cooking, now extending its reach beyond the stomach to the brain. Personal Trainer: Math introduces 40 fast-paced exercises to give players a fun way to improve their arithmetic skills. The Personal Trainer series is designed to help users enrich their lives and learn new skills in fun and interesting ways. Also for Nintendo DS, fans of the Fire Emblem franchise will enjoy the arrival of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, a revamped and re-imagined version of the NES™ classic, featuring touch-screen controls. Players with a broadband Internet connection can enjoy worldwide battles over Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's online gaming service.
Meanwhile, for the Wii console, Nintendo is offering up two classic Nintendo GameCube™ games: New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin enhanced for play using the Wii Remote™ controller. The enhanced New Play Control! Pikmin game lets players point the Wii Remote controller at the screen and use it as a cursor, making it easy to select either a single Pikmin or an entire army. When a player tosses Pikmin, they fly wherever the cursor is pointing. New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis lets players enjoy an afternoon on the court as their favorite characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, complete with motion-controlled serves and swings. With Wii controls, players can swing the Wii Remote controller to hit forehands and backhands and to apply spin. Experienced gamers can also attach a Nunchuk™ controller for additional precision. Both games are scheduled to launch next March.
Third-party publishers continue to bring diverse, creative games like FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Echoes of Time™ from Square-Enix for Wii and Nintendo DS. These games offer unique features that allow users to play multiplayer across Nintendo platforms. MADWORLD™ from Sega will be available exclusively for Wii, and the highly acclaimed franchise Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars from Rockstar Games will be available for Nintendo DS.
Below is a partial list of upcoming games for Wii and Nintendo DS. Note that game titles and launch dates are subject to change.
Wii
Activision
Monsters vs. Aliens March 24
Crave Entertainment
Monster Pals™ March
Solitaire & Mahjong February
Puzzle Challenges and More! February
Crayola Colorful World March
D3Publisher
Onechanbara™ Bikini Zombie Slayers™ February
Coraline January
Destineer
WordJong Party January
Battle Rage February
Cradle of Rome February
Cate West: The Vanishing Files March
Burger Island March
Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Sing It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year Winter
DreamCatcher
Play the World March
Electronic Arts
NASCAR® Kart Racing Feb. 10
SimAnimals™ Jan. 27
TRIVIAL PURSUIT Early spring
Hudson Entertainment
FISHING MASTER WORLD TOUR Jan. 6
Marble Saga Kororinpa™ Spring
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
DanceDanceRevolution® Disney Grooves March
Majesco Entertainment
Escape the Museum January
Major Minor's Majestic March March
Marvelous Entertainment USA
Little King's Story Feb. 17
Rune Factory: Frontier March
Mastiff
Deer Drive™ Jan. 20
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
We Ski™ and Snowboard March
Nintendo
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™ March
New Play Control! Pikmin™ March
Sega
The House of The Dead: Overkill™ February
SONIC™ and the Black Knight March
MADWORLD™ March
Southpeak Interactive
Roogoo Twisted Towers™ Feb. 17
Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball™ March 17
Brave: A Warrior's Tale™ Feb. 17
THQ
Paws & Claws Pet Resort Jan. 5
Neighborhood Games Jan. 5
Ubisoft
Tenchu™: Shadow Assassins February
Broken Sword™: Shadows of the Templars (Director's Cut) March
XS Games
Super PickUps™ Q1
Nintendo DS
Activision
Monsters vs. Aliens March 24
Pimp My Ride 2™ March 24
Animal Planet™ March 10
Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
My World, My Way™ Feb. 3
Legacy of Ys™: Books I & II Feb. 10
Trackmania™ DS March 17
Crave Entertainment
Monster Pals ™ March
D3Publisher of America
Puzzle Quest™: Galactrix™ Q1
Coraline January
Destineer
USA TODAY Puzzle Craze January
DinoPets March
Disney Interactive Studios
Phineas and Ferb Winter
DreamCatcher
Inkheart January
Learn Math January
Drivers' Ed Portable January
Monster Band January
Zoo Quest February
My Personal Diary February
Music Star: Pop Star February
Paint by DS March
Matchstick March
Dreamer: Top Model March
Sarah - Keeper of the Unicorn March
Learn Chess March
Dragon Master April
Electronic Arts
Zubo™ March
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure™ Q1
SimAnimals™ Jan. 27
Empire Interactive
Jagged Alliance Feb. 17
Gameloft
American Popstar - Road to Celebrity March 9
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero™ Q1
Suikoden Tierkreis Q1
Little Magician's Magic Adventure™ Q1
Majesco Entertainment
WonderWorld Amusement Park™ January
Powerbike January
Our House™ Q1
Hot 'n' Cold March
Marvelous Entertainment USA
Avalon Code February
Flower, Sun, and Rain March
Mastiff
Moon™ Jan. 13
MumboJumbo
Chicken Hunter Star Karts March 10
Nintendo
Personal Trainer™: Math Jan. 12
Fire Emblem™: Shadow Dragon Feb. 16
Pokémon™ Platinum version March 22
ROCKSTAR GAMES
Grand Theft Auto™: Chinatown Wars Winter
Southpeak Interactive
Big Bang Mini® Jan. 6
Roogoo Attack™ Feb. 17
Brave: Shaman's Challenge™ Feb. 17
Square Enix, Inc.
FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Echoes of Time™ Spring
THE GAME FACTORY
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES™ Jan. 19
THQ
Paws & Claws Pampered Pets Jan. 5
TOMY Corporation
My DoItAll™ February
Ubisoft
Jake Power Fireman January
Jake Power Policeman January
Imagine™ Cheerleader February
JoJo's Fashion Show February
Petz® Horseshoe Ranch February
Imagine™ Family Doctor February
Imagine™ Ice Champions March
Jake Power Handyman March
My Fashion Studio Paris Collection Feb. 17
American Popstar - Road to Celebrity March 24
Broken Sword™: Shadows of the Templars (Director's Cut) March
XSEED Games
Retro Game Challenge Jan. 6
Wootini
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 17 December 2008
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: ds, nintendo, release dates, wii
I noticed that under Square/Enix's line up that Dragon Quest V isn't on the list. It's release date was Feb 17, I hope it wasn't pushed back.
Where's everyone defending support of the Wii right now?, isn't this exactly what me and others said is guaranteed to happen in the new year?
Where is the quality, I cannot see a single game there with the potential to be anything other than poor-average at absolute best.
People support the Wii, but they're doing it in a cynically great way, just cashing in on the casuals while ignoring gamers, albeit they're just following Nintendo edicts.
@Neo
What do you mean by "quality"? I think what you mean is, "where is the game that I want to play"? Just becuase the games don't appeal to you, doesn't mean they aren't quality titles. At the very least, GHI School Musical 3 will be a triple-a game, just not targeted for you. But if you play it, I doubt you'll be able to find much to complain about. In fact, you might be surprised at how good it is.
I'm not saying every game is going to have the production and polish of a disney game. Of course not. But this is the reality: more wii owners have interest in games like high school musical 3 than whatever game you would call "quality".
Agreed slightly, but for different reasons.
High School Musical is popular for the same reason birth defects are popular.
Quality isn't as subjective as people would like to think it is, there are standards that everything must meet, for example I loathe Warcraft but it's done something right and is constantly in the top 20 for 5 years or more, it's a quality title whether I like it or not, which I don't.
HSM games aren't quality, Mario Tennis and Pikmin, two not even really good games from the Gamecube with 'fantastic' Wii wafting controls aren't either.
So it needs to be selling well for years to come for it to be a quality game in your opinion?
I really enjoyed both Mario Power Tennis and Pikmin, and I can't wait for them to be rereleased with Wii controls. If Sonic Team gets their act together and realizes what they did right and what they did wrong in Sonic Unleashed, Sonic and the Black Knight could end up being a lot of fun. MADWORLD has looked pretty interesting ever since it was first announced. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars was a great game, and for people who haven't played it yet it is definitely a quality release. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes in Time looks like Square finally realized what people liked in the original FFCC and are making it better, so that should end up being at the very least, a fun little game to play online.
Quality IS subjective. Many people would not agree with that list.
Although personally I'm more excited for the awesome DS games coming out. :D
These are the ones I'm looking forward to:
- Onechanbara™ Bikini Zombie Slayers™
- Little King's Story
- Rune Factory: Frontier
- Fire Emblem™: Shadow Dragon
- FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Echoes of Time™
I probably will only end up getting one or two of them if they're good (with Fire Emblem definitely being one of those, unless they completely screw it up) but there's just not nearly enough time for me to play all the games that come out that I'd like to play.