Nintendo has formally announced its launch titles for the new Nintendo 3DS handheld game system, and that list leaves me with one question: does Nintendo even care?
First of all, here are the first party launch titles:
- Pilotwings Resort: an aerial adventure featuring airplanes, hang gliders, and rocket belts. Players soar above tropical Wuhu Island in 3D as they complete missions or snap pictures
- Steel Diver: a submarine game that involves strategy and combat. The 3D visuals give players the sensation that they are looking into a miniature aquarium as they control the sub’s speed, depth and pitch, and fire torpedoes.
- nintendogs+cats: a game that lets players interact with realistic puppies – and kittens – in a variety of fun ways. There are three versions of the software, each with different starting breeds: French bulldog, toy poodle and golden retriever. But in each version players can unlock and enjoy more than 20 different breeds.
Really, Nintendo? THAT’s what you decided on? I won’t deny the popularity of the Nintendogs franchise, but it seems to me that a little more effort could have been expended to bring at least ONE of your core gamer franchises to market at launch but no, it’s all casual drivel from the home front. Well, maybe there’s something more promised for later this year…
First party titles slated for 2011:
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
- Star Fox 64 3D,
- Kid Icarus: Uprising
- new installment of the Mario Kart series
…So let me get this straight… The best you could muster for “sometime this year” is two remakes, one new game, and one promise of “something”. Are you guys even trying anymore? What the hell happened that you guys couldn’t pull off a proper launch with a NEW game from one of your main franchises? Don’t get me wrong, a new Kid Icarus game prompted me to go back and play the original, and I’m certainly looking forward to Uprising, but you expect me to rebuy an old Zelda game I’ve purchased for two different systems now (skipped the Wii emulation version because my GameCube disc still works great)?
You quit trying. That’s the only thing I can come up with.
At least there’s a variety of third party launch titles:
- Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (CAPCOM)
- The Sims 3 (EA)
- Madden NFL Football (EA SPORTS)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D (Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc)
- LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (LucasArts)
- RIDGE RACER 3D (NAMCO BANDAI Games America, Inc)
- Super Monkey Ball 3D (SEGA)
- BUST-A-MOVE UNIVERSE (Square-Enix, Inc)
- SAMURAI WARRIORS: Chronicles (TECMO KOEI AMERICA Corp)
- Asphalt 3D (UBISOFT)
- Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D (UBISOFT)
- Rayman 3D (UBISOFT)
- Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Shadow Wars (UBISOFT)
See Nintendo? Only one remake in the list (Rayman 3D is actually Rayman 2: The Great Escape). Most of those titles look like they’d be enjoyable. Yes, many of them are sequels, but at least they don’t appear to be nothing more than a nostalgia-invoking money grab or low level-of-effort attempt to entice gamers into buying your newest handheld.
Maybe you’re holding back for some bombshell of a surprise, something like a new Metroid or Super Mario title, or even an entirely new IP that would really show off the power and 3D technology you’re about to release. But I doubt it.
</rant>
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