UPDATE: Nintendo of Europe has said it’s “too early” for its own Q2 list. Expect that at some point in March, probably in two or three weeks.
NOA has released an uncharacteristically early list of titles which will be released in the second quarter of this year, including a date for Punch-Out!!, the announcement of an Excite Truck spin-off and the news that popular Japanese character Starfy will finally be making his western debut this May.
The big surprise – shocking in a where-the-hell-did-that-come-from kind of way – is Excitebots: Trick Racing. Apparently building on the Excitebike and Excite Truck franchises, it “lets everyone in the family use the Wii Wheel accessory in unique and changing environments, play fun minigames and perform crazy tricks”. In other words, it’s about as hardcore as Scouting For Girls, but hopefully not quite so fist-chewingly hateful.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat gets a five-months-late localisation in the New Play Control range on May 4th, while Punch-Out!! is out two weeks later, and has some rather spiffy boxart, as you can see above.
Pleasingly, Nintendo has made a bit of a fuss about a few titles coming to WiiWare – Bit.Trip Beat and Eduardo the Samurai Toaster joined on the official press release by Swords and Soldiers and a new title named Night Game from the makers of Cave Story – the latter also coming to WiiWare soon.
The launch of Rhythm Heaven alongside DSi is confirmed, while Personal Trainer: Walking is a handheld accompaniment to Wii Fit which includes two pedometers, and the first use of Miis on the DS. Meanwhile, The Legendary Starfy will be released on June 8th – nice to see it arrive, but it’s nothing to get massively excited about. One for the kids, definitely.
It is, of course, a partial list, so best not to get too irate about any omissions, both non-surprising (Another Code, Fatal Frame) and faintly worrying (Wii Sports Resort). With MotionPlus guaranteed to launch before May, the latter is probably pencilled in for an April release – the gap between the New Play Control pairing of Mario Tennis and Pikmin (March 9th) and Excitebots (April 20th) surely a bit of free space for a first-party biggie. One cry-making absentee – Mario and Luigi RPG 3. Let’s hope that one’s just waiting on a concrete date.
Elsewhere, there’s little on the third-party list that’s too surprising, though I’m heartened to see giganto-quiff detective Jake Hunter make a reappearance in a new adventure named Memories of the Past. The first one was pretty naff – albeit charmingly so – but definitely had promise. An improved sequel would go down like a sack of potatoes, to paraphrase a line from the original.
The full list can be found after the jump. Nintendo of Europe, your move.
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
