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Nintendo's Iwata Confirms Big Games This Year
1up has comments from Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata, as he spoke to investors earlier this week. When asked about the possibility of hardcore games coming to the Wii before the end of 2007, Nintendo's president assured gamers and moneymen that Mario and Metroid are coming this year. "It will be from around the end of this summer to the end of this year. We will then launch a new title of Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption although the last one is primarily for the [American and European] markets. These will be the key titles for the period ranging from the summer until the holiday sales season of this year, and I think we will be able to cater to the specific needs you mentioned."
Because nearly 7 million Wiis are already sold?
Let's see... Mario Sunshine, Mario Strikers: Charged (w/online play), Metroid 3, Super Smash Brothers: Brawl, and Super Paper Mario is already out (I'm almost finished, great game). The Wii is looking better and better. Combine that with as the Wii ages 3rd parties will get better and better at utilizing the controls (for something other than a mini-game fest). I can't wait until we start getting good sports games with Wii controls (like Wii play but fleshed out controls and game play). Tennis especially. If they can get reading the racket right it should be great. How will they handle the next Madden? The last one got good reviews, now that they have a game or two under their belt let's see what it's like!
Meanwhile, the 360 and PS3 have games here and there that look interesting, but neither seems to have nearly as many games that I'm looking forward to. And most of those (God of War III, Bioshock, etc) are not exactly breaking new ground in controls, they are just refinement of some of the games we have had for a long time (beat-'em ups, FPSes).
The DS also produced some really quirky and fun games (like Yoshi's Touch and Go, for example). I can't wait to see more of that kind of stuff on the Wii. How about porting the new Sam & Max games or other adventure games? How about a Phoenix Wright title?
The Wii continues to be a very interesting system, and as it hits its stride better (remember the first year or two of the PS2?) things will only get better.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Nintendo's usual strategy is to dribble out games slooooowly, so that there are never too many hits in the marketplace at one time consuming each other's oxygen. That makes sense--usually. But right now is a completely different case. Nintendo needs to maintain its sales rate advantage if it's going to overtake the 360 in the US and maintain its lead over the PS3 in Japan. A slow second half of 2007 could cause the Wii to lose momentum and fall at a time when it's crucial to reach escape velocity. If by December 2007 the Wii is still in the lead, developers are going to start moving all their new projects to the Wii. Once that happens, if you want the game you need the system, and Nintendo has it made. If the Wii juggernaut slows in the second half of 2007, then the developers will split. US devs will follow the 360, and Japanese devs will follow the PS3. If that happens, Wii is going to be stuck in the middle and (while doing quite well) won't dominate. Thus, the pressure is on for Nintendo to churn out as much as possible as soon as possible. We'll see how that works out for them...