Not content to let Sony show off all the games they’re putting out for their own under-nourished system, Nintendo today announced dates for some of the more exciting Wii and DS titles. There’s not a whole lot to be excited about but there are hints of greatness that stick out here and there, much like pieces of corn in a pile of poo.
The biggest and most anticipated by far is the new Punch-Out!! It will hit stores on May 18th and continue Little Mac’s adventure through boxers both new and old to win that Championship Belt. It really should be a no-brainer for the company, let’s just hope they don’t muck it up with the motion controls too much.
Another entry in the Excitebike/truck series is on its way as well, entitled Excitebots: Trick Racing that “lets everyone in the family use the Wii Wheel accessory in unique and changing environments, play fun minigames and perform crazy tricks”.
They’ve also got another in their New Play Control! series of modified Gamecube games (such as Pikmin and Mario Tennis) coming, with an updated version of the underrated Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. It will of course have new motion controls, which might make the experience completely different. You controlled the original game with the bongo controller, after all, and that’s what made what was a fairly standard platformer new and interesting.
WiiWare is being pumped out, with some brand-new titles being developed for the downloadable service.
• BIT.TRIP BEAT, developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games: BIT.TRIP BEAT is what you get when you mix classic video gaming with modern gaming sensibilities. What may seem like a simple “paddle” game turns into a psychedelic trip down memory lane which has you hitting “beats” in rhythm to Chiptune style music. While the game can be difficult, if you crank up the tunes and get in the zone, you’ll have a great time. Performing perfectly isn’t required to experience all the game’s content, but the extra challenge will keep score-hunters coming back in search of each level’s elusive “PERFECT” score.
• Eduardo the Samurai Toaster, developed and published by Semnat Studios LLC: Fight your way through 13 diverse locations on your own or with up to three friends in this frenetic and stylish side-scrolling action game. Play as Eduardo and his fellow toaster buddies as you fire an assortment of pastries at all kinds of dastardly food products. Hop onto laser-mounted scooters and fly across the screen in rocket packs, and learn to cooperate with your teammates or simply annoy each other in an awesomely fun way by throwing each other around the screen. The choice is up to you.
• Night Game, developed and published by Nicalis: Exclusively for WiiWare, Night Game (working title) is part action game and part puzzler. It invites players into a beautifully atmospheric world, where they must use real physics to maneuver a mysterious, glowing sphere through vastly different locales. Night Game pushes the boundaries of design with its unique art style, and professionally produced music score. This title is a 2009 Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Award nominee and from the same developers responsible for Cave Story on Wii.
• Swords & Soldiers, developed and published by Ronimo Games: Swords & Soldiers is a side-scrolling real-time strategy game, in which three distinct factions battle for the powers of the gods. The goal is to destroy the enemies’ castle on the other end of the level, while protecting your own. This can be done by training powerful units or casting devastating spells. The game will feature a single-player campaign and a competitive split-screen multiplayer mode as well as several other game modes.
They also released the full list of all of the Wii and DS titles on the way. It’s still a pretty skimpy list, but I’ve bolded the ones you should be excited about.
Wii
2K Sports
Major League Baseball® 2K9 – March 3
Don King Boxing – March 31
Activision
X-Men Origins: Wolverine – May
Ice Age 3 – June 30
Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen – June
Aksys Games
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus – May 12
Atari
Ready 2 Rumble Revolution – March 17
Backyard Baseball 10 – March 31
Capcom Entertainment Inc.
MotoGP™ – Spring
Codemasters Inc
Overlord Dark Legend – Summer
Conspiracy Games
Real Heroes: Firefighter – April
Deep Silver, Inc.
Professor Heinz Wolff’s Gravity – April
Fritz Chess – May
Disney Interactive Studios
Hannah Montana The Movie – April
Electronic Arts
TRIVIAL PURSUIT™ – March
MySims™ Party – March
EA SPORTS Active™ – May 19
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 10 – June
BOOM BLOX™ Bash Party – Spring
MySims™ Racing – Summer
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ – Summer
G.I. JOE™ The Rise of Cobra – Summer
EA SPORTS Tennis (working title) – Summer
Hudson Entertainment
Help Wanted – Summer
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
DanceDanceRevolution® Disney Grooves – April 2
Yu-Gi-Oh! ™ 5D’s Wheelie Breakers – May 19
LucasArts
Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ – Late Spring
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
Klonoa® – Q2
Nintendo
New Play Control! Pikmin™ – March 9
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™ – March 9
Excitebots: Trick Racing – April 20
New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat – May 4
Punch-Out!! – May 18
SEGA of America
Virtua Tennis™ 2009 – May
The Conduit™ – June
Let’s Tap™ – June
Southpeak Interactive
Roogoo Twisted Towers™ – April 7
Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball™ – April 21
Zoo Games, Inc.
M&M’s Beach Party – March 10
Puzzle Kingdoms – March 31
Garfield Gets Real – April 7
Pennzoil’s Build-N-Race: “Speed Demons” – April 14
Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans – April 21
Smiley World Island Challenge – April 28
Garfield’s Pet Force – June 9
Nintendo DS
2K Sports
MLB® 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars – March 3
Don King Boxing – March 31
Activision
X-Men Origins: Wolverine – May
Ice Age 3 – June 30
Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen – June
Activision/RedOctane
Guitar Hero® On Tour: Modern Hits – June
Aksys Games
Jake Hunter Detective Chronicles: Memories of the Past – May 26
Rockin’ Pretty – June 23
Aspyr Media, Inc.
Treasure World™ – June
Atari
Backyard Baseball ’10 – March 31
My Horse and Me Riding For Gold – March 31
Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
TrackMania® DS – March 17
Tokyo Beat Down™ – March 31
The Dark Spire™ – April 14
Dokapon Journey™ – April 14
Steal Princess™ – April 21
101 in 1 Explosive Megamix – April 21
Super Robot Taisen® OG Saga:Endless Frontier™ – April 28
Knights in the Nightmare™ – June 2
Shin Megami Tensei®: Devil Survivor™ – June 23
Capcom
Mega Man Starforce 3 Black Ace – June
Mega Man Starforce 3 Red Joker – June
Codemasters Inc
Overlord Minions – Summer
Deep Silver, Inc.
Pet Vet: Down Under – March
Professor Heinz Wolff’s Gravity – April
Elite Forces: Unit 77 – April
DJ Star – May
Fritz Chess – May
The Humans – May
Horoscope DS – May
Disney Interactive Studios
Hannah Montana The Movie – April
DreamCatcher
Dreamer: Shop Owner – April 21
Dreamer: Babysitter – April 21
Dreamer: Teacher – April 21
Prank’d – May 19
Electronic Arts
Zubo™ – March 10
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure™ – March 17
MySims™ Party – March
SCRABBLE™ – March
LITTLEST PET SHOP Spring™ – March
MySims™ Racing – Summer
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ – Summer
Hudson Entertainment
Miami Law – Summer
KOEI
Monster Racers™ – June
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Magician’s Quest: Mysterious Times™ – May 5
Yu-Gi-Oh!™ 5D’s Stardust Accelerators World Championship 2009 – May 19
LucasArts
Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ – Late Spring
Majesco Entertainment
Puffins: Island Adventure – April 14
Powerbike – April 28
Drama Queens – May
Marker Man Adventures – May
Hot ‘n’ Cold – May
Dawn of Heroes – June
MumboJumbo
Crazy Chicken Star Karts – March 31
Crazy Chicken Atlantis Quest – April 28
Crazy Chicken The Pharaoh’s Treasure – June 2
7 Wonders II – June 30
Nintendo
Rhythm Heaven – April 5
Personal Trainer: Walking – May 25
The Legendary Starfy – June 8
PopCap Games, Inc.
Peggle™ Dual Shot – March 3
Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – March 17
Southpeak Interactive
Roogoo Attack™ – April 7
THQ
Desktop Tower Defense – April 29
Ubisoft
Imagine® Makeup Artist – May 5
Imagine® Music Fest – May 5
Imagine® Boutique Owner – May 26
My Healthy Cooking Coach – June 2
Petz® Fashion: Dogz and Catz – June 9
Jake Power Soccer Club – June 16
Valcon Games
History Channel: Great Empires: Rome – March 17
Zoo Games, Inc.
Yamaha Supercross – March 10
Hands On!: Tangrams – March 24
Puzzle Kingdoms – March 31
Garfield Gets Real – April 7
Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans – April 21
Smiley World Island Challenge – April 28
Garfield’s Pet Force – June 9