Nintendo Q1 Software Lineup

[Evil Avatar]

Nintendo sends along a Press Release announcing their First Quarter 2006 Software Lineup, including titles like Electroplankton (DS), Metroid Prime Hunters (DS) and Tales of Phantasia (GBA).

Click on the Headline for the Full Press Release.

[Evil Avatar]

Nintendo's Q1 Software Lineup Lets Users Make Music and Become a Robot

Even after the holidays are over, Nintendo will give you something to celebrate. The first quarter of 2006 will see the arrival of much-anticipated games like Metroid Prime Hunters, as well as only-from-Nintendo experiences like Electroplankton and Odama. Everyone should find something on the list below to help them chase away the winter blues.

Nintendo DS

Jan. 9: Electroplankton -- Make beautiful music with this artistic tune generator. Ten different modes keep the music humming in endless combinations.

Jan. 23: True Swing Golf -- Players swipe the touch screen to stroke the most realistic golf swings ever possible. Just like out on the links, if their swing is off, they're in the rough.

Feb. 27: Super Princess Peach -- After kidnapping Peach for years and years, Bowser finally wised up and kidnapped Mario instead. Now it's Peach to the rescue, pink parasol and all.

March 20: Metroid Prime Hunters -- This Wi-Fi-enabled adventure will have friends near and far blasting away for hours on end.

Nintendo GameCube

Feb. 6: Chibi-Robo -- The hero is a 3-inch-tall robot who desires only to bring happiness to his human family. Players explore a huge house and help Chibi-Robo complete chores and fend off enemies while maintaining his energy level.

March 6: Odama -- This wild game wowed crowds at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It's the best microphone-controlled Japanese feudal warrior pinball game you'll ever play.

Game Boy Advance SP/Game Boy Micro

Feb. 6: Drill Dozer -- Pilot a destructive Drill Dozer robot to recover a stolen red diamond. Players demolish everything in their path. What could be more fun?

March 6: Tales of Phantasia -- In this classic RPG with a real-time battle system, players take on the role of Cress, a young swordsman who must set out on a fantastic quest when his village is destroyed in mysterious circumstances.

[The Iron Weasel]

Where the HELL is Zelda?

[Major Scud]

I'm betting any day now we'll hear about how its now a launch title for the revolution. Remember when Nintendo kept promising Mario 128 would be for gamecube and released soon...ya revolution title now.

[kathode]

Zelda is Q2, pretty sure.

[outontheporch]

i heard twilight princess isn't even going to be a video game anymore, but a board game. and it will cost $249.

[jBusy]

I'm betting any day now we'll hear about how its now a launch title for the revolution. Remember when Nintendo kept promising Mario 128 would be for gamecube and released soon...ya revolution title now.

Except With Mario 128, they never showed any screenshots, trailers, and never gave a release date for it.

[mister_slim]

Zelda is Q2, pretty sure.
Yeah. After March 1st is all we know. I really doubt that it will be pushed to the Rev though. Miyamoto understands interface design better than just about anyone, and I think he realizes the gameplay would have to be completely redesigned for the controller. It would make more sense to finish TP for the Cube and start another Zelda game around the Rev controller. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a Rev-optimized version though, maybe packed with the shell controller.

[The Iron Weasel]

Except With Mario 128, they never showed any screenshots, trailers, and never gave a release date for it.

Nor was it playable at E3.

[screwtape]

March 6: Odama -- It's the best microphone-controlled Japanese feudal warrior pinball game you'll ever play.
I've played some pretty damn good microphone-controlled Japanese feudal warrior pinball games in my time... I hope they have the balls to back up such a claim.

[see colon]

I'm betting any day now we'll hear about how its now a launch title for the revolution. Remember when Nintendo kept promising Mario 128 would be for gamecube and released soon...ya revolution title now.
mario 128 was never a gamecube title, it was a tech demo that people assumed would become a game. much like the "mature link" that everone was drooling over but never materialized until people threw a fit over wind waker.

[Nessus]

I'm really looking forward to Chibi-Robo. Everything I've heard about it sounds great.

And if they've fleshed out Odama at all since E3 I might get that.

And of course Metroid Prime Hunters comes out the day before my birthday, and it just keeps looking better and better with each subsequent video, and they've apparently added an invert y axis option for the controls. If the single player is longer than 4 hours I'll be very happy.

[Achilles]

mario 128 was never a gamecube title, it was a tech demo that people assumed would become a game. much like the "mature link" that everone was drooling over but never materialized until people threw a fit over wind waker.Exactly, and yet nearly every interviewer has asked that as a question ever since that demo. It's like fans have a mental block and refuse to accept that Mario 128 was only meant to show off how many Marios could be on screen.

[Rirath]

Same deal is going on with the FF7 tech demo... fans want what fans want.
These companies love to tease, they certainly want to keep the gossip going.

[cjrizzo]

I think that this pretty much confirms that Nintendo feels Zelda is a better Revolution seller than a title to ride the GC into the sunset. And you know what? This is the smartest move they could make. You aren't going to get many people to buy a GC at this stage in the game for Zelda, but you sure as hell will get them to buy in for the Revolution.

[cjrizzo]

Nor was it playable at E3.
And this is why he will push it to the Revolution. Because the control scheme is, in some way, backward compatible to all generation of Nintendo's systems. It's a gap-bridging game - here's the great Zelda game play you know and love and here's a new way to enjoy it. Miyamoto is a master at this type of spin.

[Last of the Red Hot Mamas]

I think that this pretty much confirms that Nintendo feels Zelda is a better Revolution seller than a title to ride the GC into the sunset.

How does this confirm that? All this confirms is that it won't be a Q1 title, which we've known for awhile now.

[jBusy]

And this is why he will push it to the Revolution. Because the control scheme is, in some way, backward compatible to all generation of Nintendo's systems. It's a gap-bridging game - here's the great Zelda game play you know and love and here's a new way to enjoy it. Miyamoto is a master at this type of spin.

Too bad the only evidence for this is in your head.

[Nessus]

Personally I'd rather they release it on GameCube and then start a new one built from the ground up to use the new controller.

[cjrizzo]

How many more GC's do you think Nintendo will sell if Zelda appears in Q2 after the 360 is out for six months and people are two months away from an E3 that will theoretically feature the Revolution and a game lineup that is months away from hitting retail? Probably not many, but since backward compatibility is a significant feature, why not release with Revolution to drive Rev sales?

[fushi]

blah blah blah Zelda TP on the Rev blah blah blahRead this (http://ds.ign.com/articles/664/664482p5.html):
Q: The new Zelda. Still to Cube even though the Revolution is so close?

A: Mr. Miyamoto and Iwata have said repeatedly that they want it out on Game Cube, and since I take my orders directly from them I would have to say it is going to be on Game Cube.
And yes, Reggie once actually promised that Mario 128 will be coming out on the Cube, but as others have pointed out, we had nothing on that game, so he had to break that promise. Zelda is different though.

And Nintendo usually takes care of its fans, more than other companies.

[see colon]

And yes, Reggie once actually promised that Mario 128 will be coming out on the Cube, but as others have pointed out, we had nothing on that game, so he had to break that promise. Zelda is different though.

And Nintendo usually takes care of its fans, more than other companies.
this is kind ouf out of context. mario 128 was a tech demo to show off the GC. mario sunshine was the only mario game planed for the system. fan disechantment and disapointment led to the development (or begining development) of a new title. people asked about mario 128 since the begining. so one day, an interviewer saks reggie "what about mario 128" and he says, "we've got something, and we'll show you soon enough" or something to that effect. people always assumed there would be another mario platformer on the cube, and the name mario 128 kept coming up, so this new mario game is kind of branded with that name now.

How many more GC's do you think Nintendo will sell if Zelda appears in Q2 after the 360 is out for six months and people are two months away from an E3 that will theoretically feature the Revolution and a game lineup that is months away from hitting retail?
4

[Bydo_Empire]

Odama and Electroplankton both look really fun.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Okay guys, let's clear something up here:

Mario 128 did indeed start out as just a tech demo. BUT, it did become a game, and it was going to come out on Gamecube. Miyamoto mentioned this several times in many interviews. He kept saying that they would show it soon, which they never did. Now it is going to be a Revolution launch title (most likely, either way it's coming on Rev). It might get a name change, but it is the spirtual successor to Mario 64.

The game does exist, it is not just a tech demo.