By Andrew ShinSo far gaming in 2010 has been a plethora of excitement for the Xbox 360 and PS3. With hot new releases and exclusives gracing both consoles early this year, it seemed as though the Wii was quietly sitting back and watching from the sidelines. Well not anymore. Yesterday, Nintendo of America announced some significant releases for the first half of 2010. The announcement covers both new hardware and software releases.
Here's a rundown of the list:
The new Nintendo DSi XL hand-held system launches March 28 at a suggested retail price of $199.95. The screens of the Nintendo DSi XL are 93 per cent larger than those of the Nintendo DS Lite and also feature a wider viewing angle. The Nintendo DSi XL comes loaded with pre-installed games Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock, as well as two free applications: the Nintendo DSi Browser and Flipnote Studio.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 launches May 23rd for the Wii.
Metroid: Other M is the new Metroid game developed for Wii by Nintendo and Team Ninja. The game launches June 27.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies arrives in summer 2010.
Monster Hunter Tri from Capcom launches April 20th.
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor a new shooter game for Wii from developer Treasure will launch on June 7.
FlingSmash for the Wii and playable only with the Wii MotionPlus accessory, will launch this summer.
Picross 3D for the Nintendo DS handhelds releases May 3.
100 Classic Books for the Nintendo DS handhelds launches on June 14 with 100 literary works from authors such as William Shakespeare, Jules Verne, Jane Austen, Mark Twain and more.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands from Ubisoft will launch May 18 on both the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms.
Disney Guilty Party is a fun and hilarious mystery party game set for release in the second half of 2010 exclusively for Wii.
Ghostwire: Link for the Nintendo DSi uses augmented reality technology through the Nintendo DSi Camera. Launching this October, the game lets players become a ghost hunter as they interact with the paranormal.
Nintendo also announced a variety of games for download directly to the Wii console via the WiiWare service and for the Nintendo DS via the DSi Shop and DSiWare services.
For WiiWare:
Mega Man 10 launches March 1 with a completely new adventure rendered in classic 8-bit style.
Max & the Magic Marker launches March 8 from Press Play and turns the Wii Remote into an orange magic marker that’s literally magic. Players draw lines and objects to help Max reach objects and his ultimate goal.
Cave Story comes to WiiWare with new game play, artwork and music enhancements on March 22.
WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase is a standalone product exclusive to the WiiWare service and available only from the Wii Shop Channel. The game launches March 29.
Art Style: light trax puts players in charge of a white beam of light as it engages in a surreal race against other beams across a dark track. The game launches this spring.
Art Style: Rotozoa will have you absorbing tiny organisms that match the colours of your tentacles. Art Style: Rotozoa launches this spring.
Rage of the Gladiator from Ghostfire Games is an intense fighting game set for launch this spring. The game is compatible with the Wii MotionPlus accessory.
And Yet It Moves from Broken Rules requires players to rotate the world to help their line-drawn protagonist progress. Launch is this spring.
Super Meat Boy from Team Meat and the Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Finalist is scheduled for release this summer.
For Nintendo DSiWare:
Photo Dojo launches this spring. The game asks players to pose for 13 pictures and input 10 sound effects. Then the player becomes the main character in a side-scrolling fighting game. This game is for the Nintendo DSi or Nintendo DSi XL system.
Metal Torrent launches this spring and delivers a frantic barrage of gunfire on the screen. The goal is to try to convert opponents’ bullets into cubes that, when collected, increase their score and fill an energy meter that powers special weapons.
X-Scape from Nintendo and also launching this spring and immerses players in an exploratory adventure involving more than 20 planets. Players will pilot their tank through 3-D tunnels and battle ancient weapons that resemble giant robots.