Nintendo's president, Satoru Iwata, has said that the company has 124 new titles in development.
45 of those games will be for the Wii, while 79 will be for the DS. No names or release dates have been given, but Iwata did say that the next batch of titles will be out in “summer,” according to Bloomberg.
If 124 games seems like a colossal figure to you, you're not alone. SPOnG put in a quick call to Nintendo to clarify and was told that the figure includes first and second party titles. In other words, expect Nintendo IP, but not every game will have been created by Nintendo development teams.
Still, that's a healthy figure. Since the Wii's release, in particular, all the best releases have had Nintendo's stamp on them. There has been criticism from some quarters that the platform has lacked a strong software line-up.
With no dates being disclosed, however, we shouldn't start jumping for joy just yet. Many of the titles could still be in the very early stages in development and quite a while away. In particular, Iwata's statement that the next wave of titles will hit this “summer” is pretty unhelpful.
Iwata recently gave us all quite a scare with his comments about the Wii's current abnormality. SPOnG, for one, thinks it's nice that he's been able to deliver some better news.
For a full list of Nintendo platform releases until the end of June click here.
45 of those games will be for the Wii, while 79 will be for the DS. No names or release dates have been given, but Iwata did say that the next batch of titles will be out in “summer,” according to Bloomberg.
If 124 games seems like a colossal figure to you, you're not alone. SPOnG put in a quick call to Nintendo to clarify and was told that the figure includes first and second party titles. In other words, expect Nintendo IP, but not every game will have been created by Nintendo development teams.
Still, that's a healthy figure. Since the Wii's release, in particular, all the best releases have had Nintendo's stamp on them. There has been criticism from some quarters that the platform has lacked a strong software line-up.
With no dates being disclosed, however, we shouldn't start jumping for joy just yet. Many of the titles could still be in the very early stages in development and quite a while away. In particular, Iwata's statement that the next wave of titles will hit this “summer” is pretty unhelpful.
Iwata recently gave us all quite a scare with his comments about the Wii's current abnormality. SPOnG, for one, thinks it's nice that he's been able to deliver some better news.
For a full list of Nintendo platform releases until the end of June click here.
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Comments
James 30 Apr 2007 14:11
1/6
I just want 1 game worth buying for my Wii (dont mention zelda)
45 games in production does sound alot, but perhaps Nintendo realise that for the Wii to suceeed in the area that Nintendo want it to succeed they can't rely on third party developers continuing to ruin the console with cheap ports and tacked on motion controls.
nintendo has given developers a great and innovative tool to work with but they are still releasing the same old crap. who here bought their wii to play call of duty or heroes??
45 games in production does sound alot, but perhaps Nintendo realise that for the Wii to suceeed in the area that Nintendo want it to succeed they can't rely on third party developers continuing to ruin the console with cheap ports and tacked on motion controls.
nintendo has given developers a great and innovative tool to work with but they are still releasing the same old crap. who here bought their wii to play call of duty or heroes??
Absinthe-Review.net 30 Apr 2007 17:37
2/6
I'm crossing my fingers that Treasure will be handling one of their properties! Just look at what they did with Sega for the GBA Astro Boy and Gunstar Super Heros! Treasure developing a Nintendo branded DS game would be awesome...
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Dreadknux 30 Apr 2007 18:10
3/6
James wrote:
nintendo has given developers a great and innovative tool to work with but they are still releasing the same old crap. who here bought their wii to play call of duty or heroes??
I agree in general, but I really hope you were joking about nobody wanting Heroes. Hardly what I would call 'same old crap port' material.
Joji 30 Apr 2007 19:34
4/6
Suda 51's Heroes (or whatever it's called now) looks great. One to look out for on Wii.
Nintendo have the tools for the games, but if a lot of publishers and developers out there don't have the will to create the games for Wii, that's where the problem stems from.
This kind of apathy is strange, considering that when Sony entered the market with PS1, everyone and his/her grandma, wanted to make games for it and the same casual audience Nintendo is now attracting.
Perhaps the Wii controller is scaring them all, like a junkie jumping at shadows, they find it hard to go cold turkey from years getting high and fat off PS1/PS2 games. Nintendo have expressed that its optional to use Wii controls, as many feel forced to when they shouldn't.
In return apathy is also strangely present in japan to western games (and MS's 360), but I honestly believe 360 is slowly changing that perception, like no console before it.
Nintendo have the tools for the games, but if a lot of publishers and developers out there don't have the will to create the games for Wii, that's where the problem stems from.
This kind of apathy is strange, considering that when Sony entered the market with PS1, everyone and his/her grandma, wanted to make games for it and the same casual audience Nintendo is now attracting.
Perhaps the Wii controller is scaring them all, like a junkie jumping at shadows, they find it hard to go cold turkey from years getting high and fat off PS1/PS2 games. Nintendo have expressed that its optional to use Wii controls, as many feel forced to when they shouldn't.
In return apathy is also strangely present in japan to western games (and MS's 360), but I honestly believe 360 is slowly changing that perception, like no console before it.
DoctorDee 30 Apr 2007 19:52
5/6
Joji wrote:
This kind of apathy is strange, considering that when Sony entered the market with PS1, everyone and his/her grandma, wanted to make games for it and the same casual audience Nintendo is now attracting.
I appreciate what you are saying. But I don't think the situations are directly comparable. When PSX was in development, Sony didn't know it could create the mainstream game market. They just wanted "all" the people who had bought Mega Drive or SNES - the people who had bought 2600 and Colecovision.
But what they offered developers was the biggest generational jump we've ever seen (probably the biggest we ever will see)... and that's why everyone wanted to develop for it... WIthout any creativity whatsoever, they could breathe new life into tired old franchises. They could turn Sensible Soccer into FIFA...
With Wii, Nintendo is asking developers used to pushing graphical boundaries to be creative and innovative. And frankly, it's not easy.
realvictory 1 May 2007 19:04
6/6
DoctorDee wrote:
With Wii, Nintendo is asking developers used to pushing graphical boundaries to be creative and innovative. And frankly, it's not easy.
No, but if they find it difficult, maybe they're in the wrong job. What we need is a better reality, which doesn't suck.