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Nintendo Moves Back, Shuffles Release Dates

Press the Buttons has commentary and release dates, now that Nintendo has released their Fall release plans. Frustratingly Metroid Prime Hunters, Mario Kart DS, and Animal Crossing DS have all had their release dates moved back. From the article: " Q1 2006: Metroid Prime Hunters from Nintendo. Bad Nintendo, bad! This game has slipped down the calendar so many times it isn't even amusing anymore. First it fell from a June 2005 release down to August, then to October, and now it's dropped into next year. Here's hoping they're using this extra time to add online multiplayer support, because if not a lot of people are going to be even more disappointed."

57 comments

  1. No worries! by pyrrhonist · · Score: 4, Funny
    This game has slipped down the calendar so many times it isn't even amusing anymore. First it fell from a June 2005 release down to August, then to October, and now it's dropped into next year.

    I just hope they don't release it too close to the release of Duke Nukem Forever.

    That game is supposed to be amazing, and I'd hate to see Nintendo get scooped.

    --
    Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
    1. Re:No worries! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How in the name of all that's holy are people still modding DNF jokes as funny? There's at least three people who need their mod privileges revoked for this one.

  2. Well by FidelCatsro · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I would rather they pushed them back to improve them than release a buggy piece of crap (Battlefield 2).
    The real people at fault are the marketing department for setting silly goals , Thankfully nintendo has the sense to push things back .
    I don't think there will be any kind of Duke Nukem farce , nintendo do have a long history of shuffling release dates and it normally turns out for the better

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    1. Re:Well by cowscows · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Exactly. I'd rather play a good game later than a rushed game now. I mean, unless you own a games store, how does Nintendo delaying a game affect your life in any meaningful way? I'm sure you can find something else to do to kill some time while you wait.

      Although, to be honest, I got bored of the metroid demo after about five minutes. If you're looking for some gameplay to keep you busy, go pick up the Advance Wars game that dropped yesterday. I've had the GBA Advance Wars2 game for well over a year, and I still play it at least every other day.

      --

      One time I threw a brick at a duck.

    2. Re:Well by FidelCatsro · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually it's Igne Natura Renovatur Integra , which means "nature renewed by fire made whole ."
      or "By fire nature is given new life "
      Its a Masonic reference .

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    3. Re:Well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      omg masonz their teh coolezt!!1!1

      Or rather they were 200 years ago.

  3. Trying to kill the DS by Blurredplacebo · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    does anyone else think nintendo is trying to kill the DS just by continually pushing back the AAA titles? mario kart and metriod prime hunters are probally the most antcipated titles for the system yet its next year before they feel the stylus, why are they so intent on hurting themselves?

    1. Re:Trying to kill the DS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think Nintendo's essentially made the same mistake with the DS that Sony made with the PSP. They had their launch titles and they had a number of other AAA titles that were allegedly close to release. Of course, it now turns out that they were being, shall we say, economical with the truth over how close to release these AAA titles were. The result of this is fairly predictable; strong initial sales on the basis of these predictions, followed by a backlash now.

      The PSP is finally released in Europe (traditionally a rather Sony-friendly-Nintendo-hostile) territory on Thursday. The DS has a fair old lead over the PSP at the moment, but it will be very interesting to see what effect the European PSP release has had by Christmas. If Sony can actually get the PSP releases of a few AAA titles (such as a Grand Theft Auto game) out by Christmas, the positions could reverse real fast.

    2. Re:Trying to kill the DS by Thag · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I have no doubts that the GTA3 game will do well with PSP owners.

      That said, Nintendo released both Advance Wars: Dual Strike and thee flavors of Nintendogs yesterday, and I bought myself a DS and both games. Stores are selling out of both games and the DS itself.

      I have no plans to buy a PSP ever. Hopefully the GTA3 game will get emulated.

      Jon Acheson

      --
      All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
    3. Re:Trying to kill the DS by gabebear · · Score: 1

      Mario Kart is still coming out in November of this year. Metroid could be good, but I don't see it being great, but the game I'm really jonesing for is the Zelda for DS which should be out sometime in 2006.

    4. Re:Trying to kill the DS by cornface · · Score: 1

      How do you like Advance Wars? Is it different enough from second one for the GBA to get? The main reason I was thinking of buying it is so I can utilize the DS's sleep mode.

      If I close my DS in the middle of a game on the GBA one it just keeps chugging away.

    5. Re:Trying to kill the DS by Gogo0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think it is backwards here:

      The PSP launched with some strong games like Lumines, Wipeout, Twisted Metal, Ridge Racer, DarkStalkers, and MGS Ac!d. Those and emulators have practically carried the system up until today.

      The DS on the other hand, had quite a lackluster launch. Mario64DS was marred with strange controls (Mario64 is one of my favorite games ever, but I just cant play the DS ver), and Ridge Racer was a bust when compared to its PSP brother.
      I had no reason to own a DS until the Mario64 bundle came out, but then the deluge of quality titles started to hit.
      Kirby Canvas Curse, Meteos, Yoshi Touch and Go, Nintendogs, Advance Wars DS, Nanostray, and Ouendan (import title). Coming soon is Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Mario Kart DS, Viewtiful Joe DS, and more.

      The PSP started strong, but has what I believe to be a lackluster future library (from what has been announced, and GTA does not interest me). The DS started poorly but has quickly ramped up AAA-title releases since Kirby hit.

    6. Re:Trying to kill the DS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a few people have mentioned, many of the games referred to as "delayed" in this story didn't actually have scheduled release dates until recently. Some of them didn't even have quarter estimates at launch. As far as I can tell, all the games have been released in their planned quarters with one notable exception: Metroid. Do you seriously want me to believe that one game is the reason that everyone bought their systems? (If there is one big system seller, it's Nintendogs, which had a correct release date on the web for months.)

      There's a big difference between lying about the release date and just not saying anything. Which would you rather have?

  4. Don't Forget... by Luigi30 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Half-Life was scheduled to be released mid-1996 but was delayed a year because the devs realized it sucked and they had to rewrite it...

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  5. Rewarding Those Who Wait? by wilbz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe it's just me, but isn't this just adding more encouragement to those who (like me) have been waiting to buy the DS until there are more AAA titles available? What are the odds that the price on the DS is going to drop between now and when these games are released (especially MP:Hunters)?

    It will be real interesting to see if the two recent releases (Advance Wars and Nintendogs) are going to push hardware sales enough for Nintendo to lay off any cost cutting measures. Certainly there are going to be some pressures from Sony around the holidays, and I don't know if the DS lineup is strong enough to carry the system without a price cut. Will Nintendo try to lo-ball Sony with their older (and arguably inferior) but significantly cheaper system?

    1. Re:Rewarding Those Who Wait? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      They just announced a price drop to $129 a few days ago...

    2. Re:Rewarding Those Who Wait? by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 1
      What are the odds that the price on the DS is going to drop between now and when these games are released (especially MP:Hunters)?

      I just read somewhere that the price is going to be dropped from $150 to $130.

    3. Re:Rewarding Those Who Wait? by FidelCatsro · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nintendo's Ace in the sleeve is the GBA compatibility , Now its a shame they didn't add emulation for the GB and GBC .. but its a small quibble .
      The PSP has a few good titles (though i have regretted buying one as by a few i mean about 3 , hopefully that will change before Christmas ) but the DS can survive a drought because it has a back compatibility list in the thousands with new titles released regularly for the GBA .

      Backwards compatibility can aid a new console immeasurably .. for example the PS2 when it was released had an awful line up , but there were some high quality PSX games that were just released (not forgetting the 5 or so of titles before that) .I would say that was fairly instrumental in securing the PS 2s place in the market.

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    4. Re:Rewarding Those Who Wait? by Zediker · · Score: 0

      Its already happened... the DS is 129.99 now.

      --
      I love to slaughter the english language.
    5. Re:Rewarding Those Who Wait? by PhoenixFlare · · Score: 2, Informative

      I just read somewhere that the price is going to be dropped from $150 to $130.

      It already has been. Gotta love how Nintendo stories around here seem to have a mysterious effect stopping people from doing any pre-post fact-checking.

    6. Re:Rewarding Those Who Wait? by Castar · · Score: 1

      As far as AAA-titles go, this fall seems to be the time still. Mario Kart, Trauma Center, Black & White, Animal Crossing, and maybe even the new Super Mario Bros. are going to be released before Christmas, plus Nintendogs.

      The price cut already happened, by the way :-) The DS price dropped 20 dollars on August 21st.

      --
      I yearn for you tragically. A. T. Tappman, Chaplain, U.S. Army.
  6. Also don't forget... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Daikatana was released years after it was initially scheduled to come out. And it was still horrible. Delays don't always mean a better game.

    1. Re:Also don't forget... by Luigi30 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Yes, but any game where the entire marketing scheme is based around hype is doomed to failure.

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    2. Re:Also don't forget... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haha.
      You made a funney...

      Talking about "doomed" in a Daikatana thread.

      Besides, I don't think that, by design, they based the marketing scheme on hype. The programming/design deam just failed to deliver.

  7. Delays are usually forgotten by cgenman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Remember how the SNES Zelda shipped late? Or how FF3 slipped and slipped? Remember how late the original Metroid was? Or how late Warcraft 3 shipped? The Sims?

    Once it's released, people will forget the delay. As long as the game is good and doesn't ship like buggy junk, bygones will be bygones. Nintendo has a solid track record in this respects, so more than likely in 6 months we will be cooing about how awesome the new Metroid is, and will have forgotten the delays. It's better to have a legendary title tomorrow than a half-baked good game today.

    1. Re:Delays are usually forgotten by xenocide2 · · Score: 1

      I think Miyamato himself said, people forget about late games once they're put out, but sucky is forever.

      --
      I Browse at +4 Flamebait

      Open Source Sysadmin

  8. Short wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bah, I waited for Gran Turismo 4... and again... and again... and again.. and again... what 3 years of delays?

    Then I was greeted by one of the worst UI's ever.

    Bad things happen to games that delay.

  9. Damn it. by virid · · Score: 1

    The Animal Crossing delay really ticks me off. It leaves me wondering why I rushed to get the DS last year. Nintendo still hasn't managed to produce any good games for it.

    I've always been a die hard Nintendo fanboy, but if things don't turn around they're gonna lose me. The turn around for new games is simply unacceptable...

    --
    "The world only exists in your eyes. You can make it as big or as small as you want." - F Scott Fitzgerald
    1. Re:Damn it. by blueskatz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Seriously, chill out. At least they're doing better than the PSP. I felt the same as you until the last couple of months. But I think with the combination of WarioWare, Kirby, Advance Wars, and Nintendogs, the purchase was well worth it to me. Then you have the other interesting, but not "must buys", like Meteos, Pac-n-roll, and Pac-Pix that round out the system pretty well.

      And looking to the near future, next month we have Lost in Blue and Trace Memory, which both look promising. And by the end of the year, we'll have Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Castlevania, Mario and Luigi, Viewtiful Joe, and weird surgery and lawyer games. This is really a very exciting time for DS fans.

      I can't imagine they would postpone Metroid that long without giving it an online component. I always thought it was dumb to not include that feature from the beginning. When it finally comes out, we'll have a great title to play, but in the meantime, there will be plenty of great titles to play.

    2. Re:Damn it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you tried Wario Ware Touched?

      It's a freaking blast man! It's full of random and often hilarious minigames that will test reflexes you didn't even know you had. You'll spin, slice, and you'll even have to 'blow' (using the built in mic) to beat the clock.

      "No good games..." sheesh!

    3. Re:Damn it. by cdneng2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The DS did seem rushed to get it out before the PSP. However, look at the lineup of the PSP games versus the DS games. There's a lot more fun games for the DS then the PSP. I'd take the DS anyday.

    4. Re:Damn it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      However, look at the lineup of the PSP games versus the DS games. There's a lot more fun games for the DS then the PSP

      No, there isnt. Which is why I bought a PSP now, and am waiting for decent games to come out for the DS. Cause right now, it has none that I want.

      That's right, DS has exactly 0 games I want, and this will continue for a long time

      Oh look, I can have an opinion too.

    5. Re:Damn it. by DeadMilkman · · Score: 1

      I guess you want "adult" rehash ports over Fun original "kiddy" games.

      Seriously, the DS games are outselling PSP hand over fist, Sony really needs to bring out some good release gunes...and if one of them falters (ex: GTA) it won't be pretty.

      Amazon has only 1 PSP game in its top 100
      (5+ DS several in top 10)
      Ebgames top 4 list was destroyed by only DS games
      (nintendogs + Advance Wars)

      You are really doing yourself a disservice assuming games that don't fit your image are unworthy...your missing a lot of fun doing it.

    6. Re:Damn it. by Jonny_eh · · Score: 2, Informative

      How is it that you can consider Warioware a must buy but not Meteos. I own both and can easily say that Meteos is one of the best handheld game released in the past 12 months.

      I got bored of warioware after a week. I bought Meteos last month, and still play it almost daily. Meteos is the best puzzle game I've played since Tetris, IMHO of course.

    7. Re:Damn it. by MilenCent · · Score: 1

      It depends on which WarioWare you mean. The original and Twisted are pure joy, and last an amazingly long time (especially Twisted, which has a surreal number of unlockables). The DS-specific WarioWare, Touched, is the worst of the lot, although there are still cool things about it.

    8. Re:Damn it. by SetupWeasel · · Score: 1

      All we DS owners can hope for is a port of "Smart Bomb" or "Coded Arms."

    9. Re:Damn it. by rAiNsT0rm · · Score: 1

      Umm, lemme get this straight... you rushed out and bought a DS knowing full well what the launch titles were and then get angry because a single game is getting delayed a year down the road?

      This is the problem with all early adopters of new gear. Eventually learn that the problem is not on the companies side, it is in fact your rush to have the latest and greatest with high expectations that have no basis in reality. I'm guessing you are younger as with time you will soon learn that having the latest "cool" gadget generally leads to long waits and hopes dashed.

      The normal person waits it out and picks up the unit at a bit of a discount as well as a few solid titles from launch and first/second wave releases. It seems cool to have the newest thing as soon as possible but it really is pointless.

      Lesson learned, it is not Nintendo's fault... look at Sony and the PSP, what prey-tell would be sooo much better if you had snagged one of those right off the bat? You'd have paid more money, played Lumines, waited and waited, then waited some more, then get the big "update" to give you a web browser... woo-boy! that's even more fun than a DS.

      --
      http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
    10. Re:Damn it. by blueskatz · · Score: 1

      I think I may be in the minority, but I got tired of Meteos pretty quickly. I don't know why - I just didn't get into it. I've enjoyed all of the Wario Ware games though, and still play them.

      Glad we agree on Tetris. Though I think the best puzzle game since then was Super Puzzle Fighter Turbo.

  10. Good for the games by grumbel · · Score: 1

    Looking back at the past games from Nintendo over the last years many of them felt rushed, not up to the quality that one was used from Nintendo, be it MarioSunshine, ZeldaWindwaker, Pikmin or WarioWareTouched. So while a delay might be annoying, I strongly prefer a delayed game over a rushed one, especially on a console where you will be stuck with that game forever, on the PC at least a rushed game can with a bunch of patches be brought to the quality that it should have had from the begining.

    1. Re:Good for the games by MilenCent · · Score: 1

      I disagree on Pikmin, which through successive replays shows that it's actually very well put together, and designed around the idea of playing time attacks. (The game can be won in nine days....)

      Pikmin 2 seems more rushed than Pikmin 1, because of the somewhat-cheaty dungeon design. It's still cool, though.

  11. You're Complaining? by Digital+Vomit · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Bad Nintendo, bad! This game has slipped down the calendar so many times it isn't even amusing anymore.

    This is exactly the kind of behavior we should be encouraging, not disparaging. How many times have we seen games released too early for no reason other than that was the stated release date, or simply because the Christmas season neared, only to have a buggy piece of crap?

    Sure I'm dismayed that the game I'm looking forward to (New Super Mario Bros) continues to be delayed, but I'd rather wait and have a better, longer game than get it now and be less satisfied. I think we could all do with a little less of this "I want it now!" attitude that has become so prevalent in today's high-tech age. Take your time, Nintendo. I know it will be worth it.

    In the words of Shigeru Miyamoto: "A delayed game may eventually be good, but a bad game is bad forever"

    --
    Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
    1. Re:You're Complaining? by Jonny_eh · · Score: 1

      While everything you said is absolutely true, if these games don't come out during the fall, what are we going to be playing then? Metroid pinball? (hey, if it's good?)

      It would suck if all the games then come out during the second week of January all at the same time. Let's space these games out a bit!

    2. Re:You're Complaining? by Digital+Vomit · · Score: 1
      While everything you said is absolutely true, if these games don't come out during the fall, what are we going to be playing then?

      Maybe that would be a great time to start pursuing other past times, like reading, board/card games, and sports?

      I don't mean to be snide or harp on you in particular, but are we so dependent on video games that we start worrying when there's a slight drought in newly released games?

      --
      Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
  12. X-Com / LSN ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Sept. 6: Rebelstar Tactical Command from Namco

    Great. This is Laser Squad Nemesis for GBA, from the folk that did the awsome Laser Squad Nemesis.

    Great, great, great.

    1. Re:X-Com / LSN ! by Pxtl · · Score: 1

      Sweet zombie jesus, that kicks ass. The only thing better would be StarCraft on it.

    2. Re:X-Com / LSN ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Errr. I meant:

      "This is Laser Squad Nemesis for GBA, from the folk that did the awsome Laser Squad Nemesis AND X-Com".

      Now, if only they could also do DS wireless enabled version for multiplayer...

  13. Don't be a fanboy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't be a damn fanboy then.

  14. Flamebait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is this modded flamebait? It's a reasonable point made in a civil fashion. If you don't agree, try to refute it logically, don't mod it down.

    Remember, Nintendo will NOT send you cookies through the post just because you mod down all posts critical of their business strategy.

  15. Mario Kart and Animal Crossing aren't delayed. by webrunner · · Score: 3, Informative

    A lot of the games people are calling "delays" aren't. Animal Crossing DS and Mario Kart DS did not have offical release dates until now, now they do (within the Q4 2005 timeframe that Nintendo offically stated)

    Any other release date you heard were just wild guesses (some of them were even in September and January which aren't Q4 2005)

    --
    ADVENTURERS! - ANTIHERO FOR HIRE - CARDMASTER CONFLICT
  16. Bad endings on articles by Cabriel · · Score: 1

    It seems to me that it's lines like the last one from the article that generate unhealthy hype. I'm sure a lot of people would be happy with the game whether it had multiplayer or no, but if everyone gets this bad idea that multiplayer is the only thing that will save the game, then it's failure is certain.

  17. *sighs* by RyoShin · · Score: 2, Funny

    This plus the fact that they pushed back The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (did that even get a slashdot cover?) to spring 2006 makes me a very sad Nintendo user right now. I even preordered Zelda.

    I think I'll go make some soup so I can cry into it.

  18. Long development time != a good game by DoctaWatson · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It amazes me how people buy into the rationale that says the longer a game's release is delayed, the better, more finished it will be on release. Pretty much every +5 on this story is patting Nintendo on the back for "taking their time to make a great game".

    Does it ever occur to anyone that these delays might negatively affect the production quality of the title? Or perhaps delays have more to do with marketing than development?

    Sure, releasing early is a bad idea. But that doesn't mean releasing later guarantees a good game. (Nor does having the word Nintendo on the box)

    1. Re:Long development time != a good game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congratulations, you've noticed slashdot's most persistent, serious and long-running area of moderation abuse; Nintendo fanboydom.

      You are, of course, absolutely right. As a few of the low-modded posts above point out, plenty of games have been delayed and turned out to be disappointments, or even downright bad. Reasons behind delays can include marketing ("we already have one big release that season, so let's sit on this one for a few months"), an unworkable original concept ("ok guys, this isn't working. Let's announce a delay and rewrite a generic piece of rubbish from scratch), creative disagreements ("yes, I know we were doing a sci-fi themed horror last week. But we've decided that the whole medieval look is just more us"), serious and critical bug-fixes ("What do you mean, jumping 3 times in a row crashes the game and wipes the memory card! We're supposed to go gold next week!") and plain old office politics ("The art guys have resigned en masse. Again. Better head down the local market and find some more").

      Personally, I find a developer inspires most confidence when they can name a realistic release window at a relatively early stage (and yes, if this is years away, then that's fine) and can stick to it. Delays, whatever the reason, imply bad project management at the very lest.

  19. Good DS games finally arriving by Muramasa · · Score: 0

    With Nintendogs and Advance Wars two weeks ago and Castlevania and Another Code at the end of September. The library of AAA titles for the DS is getting to a decent size. Meteos and Kirby are also great purchases. Zoo Keeper is a great puzzle game but is hard to fully recomend due to the price (it's a flash game after all).

    The delay on Animal Crossing is distressing though. I've already waited so long.