Nintendo reveals early 2009 releases, Pokémon Platinum on March 22
by Justin McElroy 
{ Dec 17th 2008 at 8:50AM }
So look for Personal Trainer: Math on Jan. 12, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Feb. 16 and Pokémon Platinum on March 22. Big N's only Wii releases for the quarter will be New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin, both in March.
Looks like the third parties are the ones bringing the heat this quarter. Square drops Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time in the spring, Sega's stepping up with The House of The Dead: Overkill in February and Madworld in March. February also marks the release of Onechanbara Bikini Zombie Slayers. We didn't think it possible, but we now have yet another reason to be thankful for swimwear-clad girls defending us from the undead. We've got the full list for you after the jump.
Wii
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
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
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Archon @ Dec 17th 2008 9:01AM
I didn't like the two new Pokemon games, but I might try Platinum anyway. Those games are like crack, Crystal being the purest, the new ones... more like crack mixed with washing powder - they're crap, but you can't stop playing anyway.
Lee @ Dec 17th 2008 9:04AM
The new ones aren't crap.
Might get this but only for the exclusive stuff. At 398 pokemans on Pearl.
jonaswan1 @ Dec 17th 2008 9:06AM
I hope that Ubisoft understands why Nintendo gamers hate them so. All I see is decade old games being ported and their crappy casual series. Thank Ubi!
Young_Nastyman @ Dec 17th 2008 9:51AM
You're crazy, I am so pumped for Imagine: Ice Champions
tmacairjordan87 @ Dec 17th 2008 10:02AM
Hey now, IGN likes them.
http://wii.ign.com/articles/936/936573p1.html
Then again after playing nothing worthwhile for a year, I would imagine anything seems good.
Mr Khan @ Dec 17th 2008 12:32PM
Or, just perhaps, Imagine Babiez had its own merits if it was judged for what it was, instead of just trashing it to appease the internet twats
tmacairjordan87 @ Dec 17th 2008 3:37PM
Well it wasn't judged as a piece of shit, so no it wasn't judged for what it's supposed to be.
time @ Dec 17th 2008 3:55PM
"Well it wasn't judged as a piece of shit, so no it wasn't judged for what it's supposed to be."
That must be the most closed minded comment I've ever read in my life. You need help.
soviet chick @ Dec 17th 2008 9:12AM
Broken Sword Director's Cut? Sweet!
John Z @ Dec 17th 2008 9:14AM
Come on, no love for Major Minor?
Young_Nastyman @ Dec 17th 2008 10:12AM
Everyone is too busy loving General Specific
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Dec 17th 2008 3:10PM
I miss Sheep in the Big City.
BAAAAA.
Young_Nastyman @ Dec 17th 2008 4:56PM
Someone finally got it!!! :)
zkey14 @ Dec 17th 2008 9:15AM
Might get Jagged Alliance for the DS.
Other than that, the list is the very definition of "meh".
Dirty @ Dec 17th 2008 9:18AM
When is the new motion plus thing coming? For some reason I thought that was early 09.
Mr Khan @ Dec 17th 2008 12:41PM
Rumored to be May, i believe, as The Conduit is compatible and is itself rumored to be released in that time
Nigeria @ Dec 17th 2008 9:20AM
Retro Game Challenge finally has a concrete release date, or maybe it already had one. Those smaller games always fall off my radar.
MNC Dover @ Dec 17th 2008 9:32AM
JoJo's Fashion show for the DS. Am I the only one who imagined something like this:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g293/bosshogx/jojofashion.jpg
Forgive the horrible attempt at Photoshop. If you got better PS skills, then feel free to make it look better.
Snowblind @ Dec 17th 2008 9:45AM
Diamond and Pearl were easily the best of the Pokemon games, even topping Gold and Silver. It brought back a lot of the best features like the clock, and the main story was well over 40 hours long.
The only thing that really hurt it was the variety.. 490 Pokemon and you see the same six for most of the game. The radar thing really ruined it, and there was no reason to make you use the old games.
hvnlysoldr @ Dec 17th 2008 2:06PM
The Poke Radar is actually to chain and catch shinies much more easily. It was still hard to do requiring finding the same Pokemon more than 40 times, but it still beats 1 in some 6500
Nook @ Dec 17th 2008 9:53AM
Yawn. I sure hope my gut is correct in telling me that the wife got me a PS3 for xmas.
There is nothing in this list that is for me.
MNC Dover @ Dec 17th 2008 10:12AM
Not even House of the Dead or Madworld? Just wondering, not trying to start somethin'.
Temidien @ Dec 17th 2008 10:05AM
Platinum will be 2009 GOTY, fyi. Yes, I'm calling it early..
Jerk Face [GT:xJERKFACEx] @ Dec 17th 2008 2:26PM
*scoff*
Temidien @ Dec 17th 2008 10:08AM
Having to own the older games was the big bummer for me. The last Pokemon game I played before Diamond was Silver so having to pick up the GBA games ust to fill out my collection got pricey... I think the shouldve made it possible to catch the old ones, just tougher (thus encouraging sales of the old games without stopping frugal gamers from catching em all)
SKI @ Dec 17th 2008 10:41AM
Trade in the GTS
Blank-Mage @ Dec 17th 2008 10:11AM
Pokemon got scary when I wasn't looking, 'cause that bugger looks like something out of Resident Evil. Kill it with fire! (It's not very effective...)
religiousjedi @ Dec 17th 2008 11:24AM
Considering that thing--Giratina--is a Ghost/Dragon...yup, fire won't kill it!
:l
Anyways...House of the Dead and Mad World are at the top of the list. Platinum is a no factor, as I continuously play Diamond.
samfish @ Dec 17th 2008 10:36AM
Aside from MadWorld, I think I'm most excited for Kororinpa 2 in that list. I LOOOOOOVED the first one and the second one looks like they're really going all out on it.
Apparently it's crazy hard to find now and costs a fortune, but if anyone can get their hands on the first Kororinpa, I highly recommend it.
frozengod @ Dec 20th 2008 7:39AM
Indeed, 1:1 motion sensing was what made this game incredible.
I tried everything else I could find, but no other games were that simple and good.
Mercury meltdown, dewi's, etc.. All had limited motion, which was a huge turn down.
mr nimblewick @ Dec 17th 2008 10:57AM
These are ones to watch:
Marvelous Entertainment USA
Little King's Story - Feb. 17
Rune Factory: Frontier - March
mr nimblewick @ Dec 17th 2008 10:58AM
Uh... what happened to my profile?
WiNG LifeInAGame.com @ Dec 17th 2008 11:09AM
The winner on this list is House of the Dead Overkill.
Gonzo @ Dec 17th 2008 11:14AM
I'm looking forward to Onechanbara, MadWorld, & Overkill but since I played No More Heroes, I try not to get my hopes up for mature wii titles.
MadWorld looks like it's the most promising but I'll be renting these three before buying anything.
MowDownJoe @ Dec 17th 2008 11:49AM
No release period besides Q1 for Henry Hatsworth? That's the one that I am REALLY looking forward to.
shamon @ Dec 17th 2008 11:52AM
I think that pretty cool you can always count on nintendo to make good fun games for everyone .
CJC @ Dec 17th 2008 12:11PM
It's true! Now where did Private Public go...
CJC @ Dec 17th 2008 12:13PM
This was going to be a reply to the Major Minor/General Specific comment a few posts above.
You make a fool of me for the last time, Joystiq! (Not likely.)
Josh @ Dec 17th 2008 12:11PM
Why is it that seeing that boxart gets me all giddy and excited? I already have the Japanese version of Platinum, and after giving up trying to read the text, I just gave up on the game iself... Pokémon needs a new battle system.
Also, I might have to buy all those Nintendo-published games (even Platinum again...) just for the Club Nintendo Coins. Let's see:
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis
New Play Control! Pikmin
Personal Trainer: Math
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Pokémon Platinum version
Damn it, they're all remakes or new versions of the same old games, except for the math thing. So I don't really want any of them, except kinda Fire Emblem.
But damn! THE COINS!!!!! :'-(
Flame @ Dec 17th 2008 12:21PM
Release the new Pokemon expansion in the U.S. with a bundle with DSi = Sold... (I'll miss you GBA slot T_T)
Donald @ Dec 17th 2008 1:55PM
Considering the Pokemon games make extensive use of the GBA slot, there's no way in hell they'd bundle Platinum with the DSi.
Mr Khan @ Dec 17th 2008 2:39PM
But that's how you import your pokemons from the GBA games, straight through the slot...
Roto13 @ Dec 17th 2008 12:22PM
"New Play Control!"
Oh, really?
I may pick up Pokemon Platinum, since I have all of the event-only legendaries in Pearl and I'm not restarting that file ever. >_>
Of course, MadWorld is from my beloved Clover studio reborn, so that's a must-buy.
Mr Khan @ Dec 17th 2008 12:39PM
Pikmin the same month as MadWorld? Sonic in that month too?
Fuck. Runs everything i want right together. MadWorld will take precedent. Sonic for April, Pikmin for June (as The Conduit is now rumored to be May)
ScottG13 @ Dec 17th 2008 12:44PM
If you thought 2008 was slim pickens... welcome to 2009!
Mr Khan @ Dec 17th 2008 12:55PM
If all you're after is Nintendo games, yeah. Literally nothing on that except Personal Trainer Math is an original game
But the SEGA games make up for it, more or less
ScottG13 @ Dec 17th 2008 2:55PM
Man, I hope those Sega titles sell, too. I worry about our old buddy sometimes when they push out crap like Sonic Unleashed.
Josh @ Dec 17th 2008 11:24PM
Unfortunately, I really think MadWorld is not going to sell well. Not only because of No More Heroes' precedent, but also because I myself am just not feeling the game. =/
It sucks that I really have very little or no interest in all the "mature" titles on Wii so far, because I really don't want to see them go away. =/
Comet @ Dec 17th 2008 2:09PM
Uggg Sonic and the Black Knight is gonna suck. Sonic must be sore after SEGA milked him dry and beat him with a stick.
j @ Dec 17th 2008 2:09PM
Or, perhaps, if people should start ignoring IGN for giving God Hand such a low score