Nintendo Gives the Lowdown on Stuffed Q1 2009 Wii, DS Lineup

With 2008 winding down, it’s time to begin looking forward to 2009. I know, even with Christmas almost upon us it still seems way too early to do that with the mass of games we’re all still playing and in many instances have yet to play, but that’s the nature of this business. If you own a Wii and/or DS, you’ll be both excited and overwhelmed by the 100+ game first and third-party game roster Nintendo has lined up for the first few months of the new year.

“Our fans expect a diverse selection of entertainment options, and we’re eager to deliver exactly that,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We’re building on the momentum of a strong holiday season by offering new and experienced players an even greater library of game titles in 2009.”

The complete partial list Nintendo provided this morning is below, but let me point out some of the highlights real quick. On the DS side, newly announced Pokémon Platinum is the headliner simply because it’s a new Pokémon and will sell like mad no matter how good it is. Other notables for me include Legacy of Ys: Books I & II, Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero, Avalon Code, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (which will also be on Wii), Big Bang Mini, and of course GTA: Chinatown Wars. Nintendo’s list does not mention two big RPGs from Square Enix — Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume — which are coming out on the 17th of February and March respectively. I’m looking forward to those more than any of the others to be honest.

Mixed in with the usual shovelware garbage, there are a few quality Wii titles on tap for early 2009. Games like Little King’s Story, MadWorld, The House of the Dead: Overkill, and Nintendo’s New Play Control! Wii-makes of Mario Power Tennis and Pikmin. Basically they are ports of the GameCube games with motion controls added on. Nothing brand new, but those are two games that should benefit greatly from motion controls.

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