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."

Comments

No worries!

[pyrrhonist]

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.

Well

[FidelCatsro]

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

Rewarding Those Who Wait?

[wilbz]

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?

Re:Rewarding Those Who Wait?

[FidelCatsro]

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.

Delays are usually forgotten

[cgenman]

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.

You're Complaining?

[Digital Vomit]

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"