Nintendo unveils American Q1 2009 American Wii and DS lineup. Pokemon Platinum release date is March 22

19 December 2008

Leave A Comment

Posted by:Josh

Nintendo has revealed it’s American release list for the first quarter of 2009 for Wii and DS. There are a number of big titles from Nintendo and a few from third-parties, but either way you slice is Nintendo is still limiting their first quarter Wii releases to only two titles for the entire first-quarter, both of which are GameCube updates and are both scheduled for release in March.

Among the biggest titles releasing early next year are:

Pokemon Platinum (DS – March 22): Pokemon Platinum is the latest game in the Pokemon series and is an updated version of the previously released Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl (as is the tradition since Pokemon Yellow in 1999 which was an update of Pokemon Red & Pokemon Blue and was followed by Pokemon Crystal and Pokemon Emerald). Like Pearl and Diamond there are 100 new Pokemon for players to catch and train along with a new story and some all-new, never-before-seen Pokemon such as the legendary Giratina’s Origin Form.

There’s also a new dimension to play in known as Distortion World, which suddenly opens in the Sinnoh region. Other new features include a Wi-Fi Plaza where up to 20 players can all interact with each other and take part in mini-games and activities, new features for the Global Terminal including a new “VS Recorder” that allows players to record their battles and post them as videos, and a new Battle Frontier where players can test their mettle against the toughest Trainers. The Japanese version of the game was a massive hit, selling over 1 million copies within days of its release.

Personal Trainer: Math (DS – January 12th): The follow-up to Nintendo’s previous game, Personal Trainer: Cooking, Math extends the franchise from 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.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS – February 16th): North American Nintendo fans will have their first chance of playing the first Fire Emblem title with Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon which is a remake of Fire Emblem 1, a game that was released for the Japanese Famicon (the Japanese NES) but never released outside of Japan. Revamped and re-imagined, this version contains all-new touch-screen controls in addition to upgraded graphics, an English translation and online play for worldwide battles over Nintendo Wi-fi Connection.

New Play Control! Pikmin (Wii – March): This quirky, life-under-the-microscope title delivers a unique experience like few before it with a blend of real-time strategy, adventure, and puzzle elements. Taking advantage of the GameCube’s graphics power, Pikmin sports lush texture work that brings to life a microscopic fantasy world. Players control Captain Olimar, a lovable little astronaut (who made an appearance as a playable character along with his Pikmin in Super Smash Bros. Brawl), who crash landed on a planet inhabited by even more lovable little plant creatures known as Pikmin. Olimar can command these creatures RTS-style, assign them tasks, make them attack foes, and gather resources. The ultimate task is to rebuild Olimar’s space ship before a 30-day time window elapses.

This upgraded Wii port of the Nintendo GameCube classic Pikmin, adds new Wii-a-fied controls to the best-selling original game. You can now use the Wii Remote as a pointer to control you Pikmin, making it much easier to simply point-and-click to move them around, build bridges, destroy enemies and carry stuff back to base. You can even toss Pikmin to wherever you are pointing the Wii Remote’s cursor on the screen. Additional upgrades include a Save system that saves your progress day-by-day and allows you to continue from there and there is reportedly an all-new level for players to tackle.

New Play Control! Mario Tennis (Wii – March): 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.

Big third-party titles include Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time for Wii and DS (a game that lets players play with others from either version), Sega’s M-rated, blood-soaked black and white beat-em’ up MadWorld for Wii and Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for DS.

Here is the full list of games for Wii and DS, separated by publisher.

WII RELEASE CALENDER

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 RELEASE CALENDER

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