News: US Nintendo Media Summit Details Page 2

US Nintendo Media Summit Details

24.02.2010

US Nintendo Media Summit Details on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

Whilst readers await the European Nintendo Media Summit, the US event is currently taking place. Want to know the details? Read on...Those of you expecting to find out more about the end of year line-up may be disappointed due to the fact that the US Media Summit is focusing on the first half of 2010.

However, as Cammie Dunaway claims, there is plenty to keep gamers happy. There will be 15 Wii and 8 Nintendo DS games on show, all of which are due to land in the first half of this year.

DSi XL - 28th March, US$189.99

To start with, Cammie reiterated how almost 25 million Wii games were sold in December 2009 alone. She then confirmed that the Nintendo DSi XL will land in the US on 28th March for US$189.99. Nintendo has big plans for the system, using it to fill in the gaps left in the market that have yet to be properly infiltrated. So far the approach has worked in Japan, but the major test is how Western markets will respond to the system, with its 4.2-inch screens. One of the games being pushed alongside the updated DS system is America's Test Kitchen, which works rather like Cooking Guide in that the product narrates cooking instructions to the user, notes can be input on the touch-screen and trading can take place amongst friends. 100 Classic Book Collection is finally heading across the pond as well, after being out in the UK since December 2008, under the new name of 100 Classic Books.

Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sin & Punishment

Big news on the Wii front: Super Mario Galaxy 2 is set to launch in the US on 23rd May! It also looks like Nintendo is taking a leaf out of New Super Mario Bros.' book by including some 2D platform sections including Yoshi. Treasure's Sin & Punishment: Star Successor will launch on 7th June, complete with international leaderboards where high scores can be posted online. FlingSmash (a renamed Span Smasher, perhaps?) for Wii will launch in the summer, whilst Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver on DS will hit on 14th March, Picross 3D on 3rd May, and WarioWare: DIY on 28th March (alongside its WiiWare companion title, WarioWare: DIY Showcase).

WiiWare & DSiWare Offerings

11 of the games on offer at the US Media Summit are coming out on DSiWare and WiiWare. Dan Adelman, Manager of Business Development, confirmed that there are currently 347 Virtual Console releases on the US retro download service, as well as 189 games on WiiWare and 127 on DSiWare. A remake of bit Generations: Dot Stream from the GBA is heading to DSiWare in the form of Art Style: Light Trax and Art Style: Rotozoa is heading to WiiWare. Mega Man 10 will land on WiiWare on 21st March, Max & the Magic Marker is coming on 8th March, Cave Story will finally launch on 22nd March, whilst Super Meat Boy plus And Yet It Moves both still have a vague 'summer' window, with the latter game supposedly coming to retail as well.

Other games mentioned include Rage of the Gladiator, Metal Torrent, X-Scape and Photo Dojo (the US name for Photo Fighter X), all coming in Spring.

First & Third Party Million Sellers

Following the barrage of 2010 confirmed games, Nintendo has confirmed that 22 First Party games have passed the million sales mark around the world, whilst a further 54 from Third Party developers have also achieved that same feat on Wii. As for the Nintendo DS, 45 First Party and 63 Third Party games have managed to cross the same sales goal.

Wii Exclusive Prince of Persia Treat

Moving back to some new releases, it has been announced that a nice little exclusive treat will be included in Prince of Persia for Wii, with the original 1992 classic being available to play. Ghostwire: Link to the Paranormal is heading to Nintendo DSi, courtesy of Majesco Entertainment as well, with the title using the in-built camera to insert ghostly imagery right into the game itself. Disney's Guilty Party is coming to Wii, with four-player action where the Wii Remote can be used to interrogate people or search for hidden clues. This Disney title is actually coming in the second half of the year on Wii.

Monster Hunter 3 Bundle

Monster Hunter 3 is to be bundled with the Classic Controller PRO when it arrives on 20th April, be compatible with the Wii Speak peripheral and offer free online play (with text chat for those without Wii Speak). On top of that, a demo of the game can be played from GameStop stores from 8th March onwards. In an effort to convince as many people to buy the game as possible, the demo disc playable at GameStop stores will include two quests to tryout. Additionally, those that jump in with early pre-orders will get a special treat - a Monster Hunter 3 card that contains a code for 500 Nintendo Points, which can be redeemed for anything on the WiiWare or DSiWare services!

Nintendo Publishing Dragon Quest IX in the US

More massive news: Remember how Nintendo said it would help Square Enix will the publishing of Dragon Quest IX in the West? Well, Nintendo of America is actually set to publish Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies on DS over in the US!

Rewards for Club Nintendo Fans

Nintendo has not forgotten about the Club Nintendo scheme either, with a selection of new Mario posters set to be put up on offer, plus the Game & Watch DS Collection from Japan, and Grill-Off with Ultra Hand, a localised version of the game offered to Japanese Wii owners.

Team Ninja's Metroid Due June

But wait, there is more! Metroid: Other M, the joint project between Nintendo and Tecmo's Team Ninja, will hit US soil on 27th June. Who said we could not have three big hitters in a year? The Legend of Zelda could indeed be a Winter 2010 release after all.

[ Thanks to IGN for the updates ]

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meeto_0 25.02.2010#26

Sonic_13 said:
Lyra said:
Yay, let's make it casual by having it play with as few buttons as possible, rather than opting for controls that actually work comfortably. Switching the way I hold a controller every few seconds? No thanks.
Why do people always assume stuff like that is done for the casual crowd. This game is being made 100% not for the casual crowd. Blaming the casual crowd is really just becoming a lame excuse for people to criticize features they might not like.
"I found the game too easy. Obviously it was dumbed down for casual gamers"
"I don't like the controls. Obviously they were meant for casual gamers."
"The graphics aren't how I pictured they would be. Obviously this game is meant for casual gamers."
"Where's my guns, explosions, and gallons of blood splattered everywhere? Obviously this game is a casual game."

Well there is loads of examples that fit with this mentality. Too many infact that it would be naive to think other wise. Why has capcom and EA released core franchises as onrail games when they are originally third person titles? Is it not easier to just point then have to manage two input devices?

Why did square strip away so many mechanics that fans enjoy of their RPG and turn one the worlds biggest RPGs into a limited adventure game littered with mini games. 'Even grama can play' is a genuine quote from a worker of Square.

The mentality seems to be: We cant trust enough veterans to pick this up on wii so lets try and entice some newbies by making the game simpler.

Other M might work a treat, I havent played it and dont want to be negative - its going to be a great yr for games. But since the analogue works just fine for 2D platforming leaving the remote pointed at the screen I have to wonder why the team felt shifting how you hold the remote during play would be better then my suggested set up.

( Edited 24.02.2010 20:32 by meeto_0 )

JoshSL 25.02.2010#27

Sonic_13 said:
Anyone else notice there appears to be two cursors in this screenshot of Metroid: Other M?
http://wii.ign.com/dor/objects/14354733/metroid-other-m/images/metroid-other-m-20090602111600392.html?page=mediaFull

Lol Galaxy CoOp.
I swear every game uses that nowadays. We may as well stop giving games proper CoOp or multiplayer.

EDIT: That screen is from last year!? o.0;
It's probably just a lock on kinda thing!

( Edited 24.02.2010 20:35 by Lyra )

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Guest 25.02.2010#28

Sonic_13 said:
Anyone else notice there appears to be two cursors in this screenshot of Metroid: Other M?
http://wii.ign.com/dor/objects/14354733/metroid-other-m/images/metroid-other-m-20090602111600392.html?page=mediaFull

Smilie
That looks amazing!

WP-Final 25.02.2010#29

Wii remote sideways? My anticipation for this game just plummeted. Hopefully when the hands-on reports arrive my doubts will be squashed but I can't really see how the game can be played, at least to the level of Super Metroid, with just the Wii remote.

I hate the tiny d-pad on the Wii remote and I have small hands/fingers. Smilie

( Edited 24.02.2010 20:41 by wAyNe )

Phoenom 25.02.2010#30

wAyNe said:
I hate the tiny d-pad on the Wii remote and I have small hands/fingers.

A Nyko Wand should help in that case.

Personally my interest in Other M has just skyrocketed; I've long wanted a game that could switch from Horizontal to Pointer for a full game, and having classic Metroid sidescrolling together with established Prime mechanics is just the icing on the cake. Smilie

Echoes221 25.02.2010#31

My interest in other M just stepped up a notch as I was wondering how it could work. Also don't doubt the controls, they will probably be brilliant, I have yet to play a Nintendo game where I dislike the controls. Switching between perspectives should be pretty awesome though!

Sonic_13 25.02.2010#32

wAyNe said:
Wii remote sideways? My anticipation for this game just plummeted. Hopefully when the hands-on reports arrive my doubts will be squashed but I can't really see how the game can be played, at least to the level of Super Metroid, with just the Wii remote.

But it's not like Super Metroid used really utilized more buttons than the Wii Remote has. The shoulder buttons did the same as D-Pad up/down and B was dash/run which can simply be down with a double tap of D-Pad. Other than that, nothing else is really different.