Nintendo unveils tons of dates and a few new games

by Justin McElroy { Feb 26th 2009 at 8:57AM }

Just moments ago, you heard about the impending release of Punch-Out!!, but Nintendo wasn't done with the dates by a long shot. In fact, you'll find a whole list of games and their accompanying release windows after the break, including can't-miss gems and ... well, other stuff.

Of the latter category, our favorite right now is Garfield's Pet Force, but watch out! Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans is nipping at his lasagna-swollen heels! Check out the whole list right after the break.

Wii

2K Sports
Major League Baseball® 2K9 - March 3
Don King Boxing - March 31

Activision
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May
Ice Age 3 - June 30
Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen - June

Aksys Games
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus - May 12

Atari
Ready 2 Rumble Revolution - March 17
Backyard Baseball 10 - March 31

Capcom Entertainment Inc.
MotoGP™ - Spring

Codemasters Inc
Overlord Dark Legend - Summer

Conspiracy Games
Real Heroes: Firefighter - April

Deep Silver, Inc.
Professor Heinz Wolff's Gravity - April
Fritz Chess - May

Disney Interactive Studios
Hannah Montana The Movie - April

Electronic Arts
TRIVIAL PURSUIT™ - March
MySims™ Party - March
EA SPORTS Active™ - May 19
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 10 - June
BOOM BLOX™ Bash Party - Spring
MySims™ Racing - Summer
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ - Summer
G.I. JOE™ The Rise of Cobra - Summer
EA SPORTS Tennis (working title) - Summer

Hudson Entertainment
Help Wanted - Summer

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
DanceDanceRevolution® Disney Grooves - April 2
Yu-Gi-Oh! ™ 5D's Wheelie Breakers - May 19

LucasArts
Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ - Late Spring

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
Klonoa® - Q2

Nintendo
New Play Control! Pikmin™ - March 9
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™ - March 9
Excitebots: Trick Racing - April 20
New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - May 4
Punch-Out!! - May 18

SEGA of America
Virtua Tennis™ 2009 - May
The Conduit™ - June
Let's Tap™ - June

Southpeak Interactive
Roogoo Twisted Towers™ - April 7
Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball™ - April 21

Zoo Games, Inc.
M&M's Beach Party - March 10
Puzzle Kingdoms - March 31
Garfield Gets Real - April 7
Pennzoil's Build-N-Race: "Speed Demons" - April 14
Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans - April 21
Smiley World Island Challenge - April 28
Garfield's Pet Force - June 9

Nintendo DS

2K Sports
MLB® 2K9 Fantasy All-Stars - March 3
Don King Boxing - March 31

Activision
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May
Ice Age 3 - June 30
Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen - June

Activision/RedOctane
Guitar Hero® On Tour: Modern Hits - June

Aksys Games
Jake Hunter Detective Chronicles: Memories of the Past - May 26
Rockin' Pretty - June 23

Aspyr Media, Inc.
Treasure World™ - June

Atari
Backyard Baseball '10 - March 31
My Horse and Me Riding For Gold - March 31

Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
TrackMania® DS - March 17
Tokyo Beat Down™ - March 31
The Dark Spire™ - April 14
Dokapon Journey™ - April 14
Steal Princess™ - April 21
101 in 1 Explosive Megamix - April 21
Super Robot Taisen® OG Saga:Endless Frontier™ - April 28
Knights in the Nightmare™ - June 2
Shin Megami Tensei®: Devil Survivor™ - June 23

Capcom
Mega Man Starforce 3 Black Ace - June
Mega Man Starforce 3 Red Joker - June

Codemasters Inc
Overlord Minions - Summer

Deep Silver, Inc.
Pet Vet: Down Under - March
Professor Heinz Wolff's Gravity - April
Elite Forces: Unit 77 - April
DJ Star - May
Fritz Chess - May
The Humans - May
Horoscope DS - May

Disney Interactive Studios
Hannah Montana The Movie - April

DreamCatcher
Dreamer: Shop Owner - April 21
Dreamer: Babysitter - April 21
Dreamer: Teacher - April 21
Prank'd - May 19

Electronic Arts
Zubo™ - March 10
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure™ - March 17
MySims™ Party - March
SCRABBLE™ - March
LITTLEST PET SHOP Spring™ - March
MySims™ Racing - Summer
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ - Summer

Hudson Entertainment
Miami Law - Summer

KOEI
Monster Racers™ - June

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times™ - May 5
Yu-Gi-Oh!™ 5D's Stardust Accelerators World Championship 2009 - May 19

LucasArts
Indiana Jones® and the Staff of Kings™ - Late Spring

Majesco Entertainment
Puffins: Island Adventure - April 14
Powerbike - April 28
Drama Queens - May
Marker Man Adventures - May
Hot 'n' Cold - May
Dawn of Heroes - June

MumboJumbo
Crazy Chicken Star Karts - March 31
Crazy Chicken Atlantis Quest - April 28
Crazy Chicken The Pharaoh's Treasure - June 2
7 Wonders II - June 30

Nintendo
Rhythm Heaven - April 5
Personal Trainer: Walking - May 25
The Legendary Starfy - June 8

PopCap Games, Inc.
Peggle™ Dual Shot - March 3

Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - March 17

Southpeak Interactive
Roogoo Attack™ - April 7

THQ
Desktop Tower Defense - April 29

Ubisoft
Imagine® Makeup Artist - May 5
Imagine® Music Fest - May 5
Imagine® Boutique Owner - May 26
My Healthy Cooking Coach - June 2
Petz® Fashion: Dogz and Catz - June 9
Jake Power Soccer Club - June 16

Valcon Games
History Channel: Great Empires: Rome - March 17

Zoo Games, Inc.
Yamaha Supercross - March 10
Hands On!: Tangrams - March 24
Puzzle Kingdoms - March 31
Garfield Gets Real - April 7
Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans - April 21
Smiley World Island Challenge - April 28
Garfield's Pet Force - June 9

Tags: release-date

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Mr Khan @ Feb 26th 2009 9:06AM

The Legendary Starfy - June 8

!!!!

Densetsu no Stafy finally comes to America! Glory to all!

Also the Monster Games game, a new entry in the Excite franchise. Hope to see some screens and such for that

McWeen @ Feb 26th 2009 9:35AM

Wow I didn't think they would ever come here. I imported the 2nd one on the GBA it was pretty fun.

Squatch181 @ Feb 26th 2009 9:44AM

Wow! Didn't ever expect to see Stafy here in the states. I think this trumps the entire Atlus lineup, at least for me.

John Z @ Feb 26th 2009 9:48AM

Yeah, I picked up the fourth one last year. Fun enough but it's definitely a kids' game.

Let's see... Klonoa, SRT, and Rhythm Heaven are probably tops on my list so far. Maybe once the new Boom Blox is out I'll pick up the first one.

BlackDS @ Feb 26th 2009 11:52AM

My comments in the Club Nintendo game registration surveys were NOT in vain.

Densetsu no Stafy in June!

Thank you Nintendo.

Now everyone has to buy a copy, so Nintendo will localize all the Stafy games for North America.

:)

baby sea tuna @ Feb 26th 2009 9:07AM

Huh, Overlord, Peggle, and GTA for DS might be cool. Otherwise, that list is looking pretty anemic.

Insight @ Feb 26th 2009 9:08AM

Yeah. There's a few standouts, but (especially for the Wii side) that list is looking weak. Thank god that ain't the full list.

Insight @ Feb 26th 2009 9:07AM

If Excitebots isn't a sequel to Excite Truck, I will be most displeased.

If it is, I will be a happy man.

Insight @ Feb 26th 2009 9:12AM

"Excitebots: Trick Racing has elements that make it one of the more unique racing games on the market. It launches April 20 and lets everyone in the family use the Wii Wheel accessory in unique and changing environments, play fun minigames and perform crazy tricks in a game that builds on the Excitebike and Excite Truck franchises"

Fuck yeah.

Why bots, though? I would've been more than happy with just trucks, or some mixture of different vehicles ala Motorstorm.

rov947 @ Feb 26th 2009 9:13AM

Doubtful, but excitetruck was underrated i thought.

Insight @ Feb 26th 2009 9:14AM

Definitely underrated.

mongoos32 @ Feb 26th 2009 4:14PM

I just want more bikes. Excitebike 64 was, and still is, one of my favorite racing games of all time. To be honest, I'd rather have a successor to it than to Excite Truck, but that's just me.

ronEbear @ Feb 26th 2009 9:08AM

Wow, there`s only one game that i`m looking forward to in the entire list, Punchout!

THRILLHO @ Feb 26th 2009 9:08AM

What happened to Wii Sports Resort? Is this their way of saying its delayed?

Mr Khan @ Feb 26th 2009 9:14AM

Hard to say. We know that The Conduit is using it, or is supposed to be, and The Conduit is marked for June 9th (not on this list, but SEGA themselves have verified as such)

Like i said elsewhere, they may be waiting for a bigger venue to announce that game. Just have to wait and see

Insight @ Feb 26th 2009 9:15AM

They confirmed a while ago that WiiMotion+ support has been nixed from Conduit.

Mr Khan @ Feb 26th 2009 9:24AM

Huh, nixed? I must've missed that

Still, i would think Tiger Woods 2010 would be using it also. I really don't think it's delayed, but we haven't heard anything about it one way or another since E3

SKI @ Feb 26th 2009 10:44AM

I believe they need to wait for the go ahead from Japan. NOA can't launch these kind of things when they want to.

SuburbGuerrilla @ Feb 26th 2009 10:54AM

@Mr. Khan:

Tiger '10 will have Wii motionplus support.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/955/955151p1.html

Russ Carroll @ Feb 26th 2009 11:25AM

I'd say that Tiger Woods in June would suggest Wii Sports Resort in June (notably Nintendo's own schedule stops in May). Also of note, E3 is the first week of June (2-4).
Here is betting that Nintendo will use E3 to create a lot of buzz and then release WiiSports Resort one week after that show. With Tiger also being released the same week.

Resort + 3 extra motion plus adapters + Tiger = time to start saving up

sea @ Feb 26th 2009 9:10AM

Not a bad list, all in all, but it's too bad there still aren't many triple-A titles coming out for the console. The only things there that really interest me are The Conduit, MadWorld, and maybe Overlord, but I only have so much time and so much money to spend on games... Nintendo needs to really up the ante to get my gaming dollar these days. Sure, I'll still buy anything with Mario in it, but my Wii hasn't seen much use since Galaxy game out.

acefondu @ Feb 26th 2009 9:11AM

Galaxy is the greatest game I've played in a decade, and I'm not just saying that.

Insight @ Feb 26th 2009 9:13AM

Galaxy is one of my favorite games this generation, too. Mostly for its music, that shit was incredible.

They need to follow it up, though. I was playing SM64 the other day and thinking to myself, "How awesome would a direct sequel to this game be?"

sea @ Feb 26th 2009 9:18AM

Oh, I agree, Galaxy is an absolutely incredible game, even if I miss the freedom Sunshine and Mario 64 have a little bit. Nintendo has still got it. The problem is that third parties just can't match the quality of Nintendo's titles - or don't want to bother trying - and as a result, even with the huge number of releases for the Wii, Nintendo fans are still left with the exact same droughts that they had during the GameCube days. I've grown used to it, and I'm primarily a PC gamer anyway, but it still makes me sad to see that nothing has really changed in the industry after all these years. Even as market leader, nobody wants to take a gamble on Nintendo.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Feb 26th 2009 9:35AM

i liked Galaxy, it certainly felt like a typical Mario title but it was just missing something so i cant say i absolutely loved it. i think it was WAY too easy compared to other Mario games i've played in the past. Super Mario 64 took me forever to beat but i beat Galaxy in about 3 sittings. none-the-less, i was still entertained and i still want more so i guess it did accomplish it's goal but just not as well as some of the older Mario titles did back in the day. Nintendo certainly still has it.

acefondu @ Feb 26th 2009 10:10AM

Too easy? To beat yes, to master hell no. Some of those stars took me hours to get and I loved absolutely every minute of it. Did you do them all? You can't tell me that the one where you're only allowed to get hit once while racing up the volcano is easy. Or the one where you have to collect all the coins on the spinning Luigi and then come back to the start without dying. Good times.

sea @ Feb 26th 2009 12:09PM

Yeah, the difficulty, especially in getting the first 60 stars, is definitely pretty tolerable, even low at times. You'll definitely die plenty, but it doesn't become all that challenging until you hit the 50 star mark or so. Some of the later challenges are insane, though, especially the time trials and purple coin runs.

To be honest though, I did find it a bit lacking in some respects to Sunshine, if only because Sunshine is ridiculously hard. I haven';t got 120 shines in it yet after all these years, and that's not for lack of trying. The blue coins are especially tough to find, and some of the bonus/hidden levels are just nuts. That was really a game made for the hardcore Mario players, designed to test and even punish them, and I think a lot of people were too hard on it for deviating from the usual Mario setting.

Andy @ Feb 26th 2009 10:24PM

And the problem with Nintendo's games is that the vast majority don't event interest me. It's great that they're targeting the casual gamer, but they're leaving the core audience in the dust. At least 3rd parties are starting to try to get something going on the Wii, but it's still pretty sad overall atm.

acefondu @ Feb 26th 2009 9:10AM

I haven't seen this much garbage since the PS2 heyday. I'll wait to hear their fall line-up, which hopefully consists of more than Animal Crossing Rehash #3.

CJLopez @ Feb 26th 2009 11:07AM

Jajajajaa, my though exactly. So much fast cash in titles and crpaware. No wonder for its reputation.

Still, there are many good titles and some are much unknown for us. Like Excite Bots. Already looking forward to that game

And seems like you touched a pretty sensible bone here

acefondu @ Feb 26th 2009 12:02PM

You always get voted down on Joystiq for saying you don't like something despite how accurate your statements may be. Granted it's all opinion, but this list is one of the worst I've seen from Nintendo. It's actually very surprising people defend this onslaught of garbage though. I still enjoy my Wii right now since the first year and a half were flat out awesome for the system. But it's been stale ever since Mario Kart came out, and the future is bleak.

tmacairjordan87 @ Feb 26th 2009 2:55PM

Dont worry, it's just nintendo fanboys voting you down most likely because I know there's enough sensible people on here to realize that list (specially the wii side) is trash. Not quite as bad as last year granted, but still pretty terrible.

Mr Khan @ Feb 26th 2009 6:35PM

Or the sensible people could outnumber the jaded elitists who think that anything that's stylized or doesn't try to be super serious is garbage

dronesensor @ Feb 26th 2009 7:03PM

@ CJLopez

You would know about "touching sensitive bones".

acefondu @ Feb 27th 2009 8:31AM

Or the games are, you know, just crap.

samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Feb 26th 2009 9:13AM

Holy crap! Starfy is on that list?? Awesome. Definitely picking that up.

Also buying Tokyo Beat Down, Rhythm Heaven, Punch-Out, Klonoa, Tiger Woods and Boom Blox.
...kinda wondering where Wii Sports Resort is, though...

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Feb 26th 2009 9:28AM

what is this Starfy you speak of. i did instantly stick out of the list to me cause it just didnt sound like another shovelware title. i'll have to look it up i guess. other than that, Punchout! is pretty much the only thing on there that even slightly interest me. i need another Mario or Zelda game bad.

Mr Khan @ Feb 26th 2009 9:34AM

Starfy is a quite charming platformer, relatively similar to Kirby, which has for decades now been confined to Japan.

As for Mario and Zelda, you've already had both of those on Wii, it could be some time before more is seen. Zelda far more likely than Mario, in any event

mmxzero @ Feb 26th 2009 10:01AM

We also have to wait until the second half of the year for Mario & Luigi 3 . =/ Quite a bit of good stuff on the list I'll be getting though.

rov947 @ Feb 26th 2009 9:14AM

I keep boom blox, and you can have the rest

Mischa @ Feb 26th 2009 4:46PM

As long as I get my smiley world island challenge, mysims racing, and ice age 3 I'll be fine.

TracerBullet @ Feb 26th 2009 9:17AM

A couple of classic-in-the-making, mandatory titles here:

- “Personal Trainer: Walking” – for those who forget the fine art of putting a foot in front of the other.
- “101 in 1 Explosive megamix”! – wow. Not only we’ll have more than 100 minigames, but they are also explosive. And in a megamix.
- “Crazy Chicken Star Karts” – because there’s not enough kart games on the Wii. Well, at least, not with chickens.

Now, serious, there's plenty of good titles there, but I can see why people complain about the quantity of shovelware on this system.