NEWS

Nintendo's Early '09 North American Roster

Kris Graft's picture

By Kris Graft

December 17, 2008

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Nintendo of America on Wednesday confirmed its first- and third-party software roster for Nintendo Wii and DS, a list abounding with mass market software titles.

Core Wii titles include Sega-published House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld, while D3's Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers is also slated for launch.

But a wide array of family-friendly games populates the rest of the Wii list, in line with Nintendo's mass market strategy.

The biggest overall Nintendo Q1 release is most likely the first-party DS title Pokemon Platinum, which has sold 2 million copies in Japan since its mid-September launch in the country. The game hits North America on March 22.

Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is another high-profile DS title.

Nintendo's full North American Q1 list is below.

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

Axel16's picture

I agree with you, there's for everyone!!
Saddly the core mature games are low, I hope we see more hardcore games the rest of the year!!
All the Sega's core lineup is a must be for me!!

Ishaan's picture

Why does your article sound like the mass market titles automatically means the line-up is bad? Overall, I think that's a fantastic Q1 line-up for core gamers as well.

Tenchu 4, House of the Dead, Sonic & the Black Knight, Rune Factory, MadWorld, Little King's Story, GTA, Fire Emblem, Echoes of Time, My World My Way, Suikoden, Trackmania and Broken Sword...there's something for everyone.

AVA's picture

I think so too.
I can't possibly afford to buy all the games I want off the list, (which in a way is good thing!)

Cool , Broken sword - with wii-mote!!!
Maybe the Monkey Island games will get the wii-treatment sometime soon?
Gahhh, where's Fatal frame 4 ???

I wonder what the big Nintendo games for 09 are going to be?
I'm hoping Pilot wings is one of them , and I hope they give it the same fanservice treatment that Smash Bros got! If they let you jet around in Samus's ship , or fly around the mushroom kingdom - that'd be great!

Ishaan's picture

I think Nintendo's 09 line-up will probably include Sin & Punishment 2, Punch-Out, Fatal Frame 4 (all of which we already know about) and maybe a couple surprises for Q3 and Q4 at E3. Overall, I'm very pleased with the Wii line-up this year. It's great to be able to rely on third-party support for once.

AVA's picture

The House of the Dead Overkill trailer is really good - it's funny, reminds me of the movie Planet Terror!

Sonic BK looks good too!