From Nintendo With Love

Hey gang,

So it's been 24 hours since the Media Summit. How are we all feeling?

I'm very happy with what we heard yesterday. I didn't really expect any blockbuster announcements (Kid Icarus Wii! I will never give up hope! I will find you! Give me back my son!!!) *ahem* ... but I think what we got was as good as we could have hoped for.

So what did we get?

Peace of Mind
We now know for certain when the big Nintendo-related titles will be out this year. (See release dates to the right). But beyond that, I think we learned that the future is bright for at least two reasons:

1. If Mario/Metroid/S+P are coming out this summer. Nintendo must have enough up their sleeve to keep the Holiday season merry. The new Zelda? That seems like a good candidate. And don't forget, NSMBWii was announced mere months before hitting market and being (arguably) the biggest game of the Holiday season. So I'm thinking Zelda + [unannounced title] = Nintendo Holiday 2010.

2. Cammy Dunaway was quoted saying their won't be a Wii successor "anytime soon." This is something we hear all the time, from every company, no matter what. Why would they spoil current potential sales and announce something they can't buy yet?

But the part that tells me we really get to enjoy the Wii for a while (and not have to shell out another heap of cash in the near future) is this: "Even though our install base is, at this point, five million households larger than the PS2 install base was at the same point in its life cycle, it still has a lot of room to grow. If you think PS2, there's been about 50 million sold -- Wii close to 28 million sold -- so it says to me there's still a big audience out there that we can access with Wii ... We'll have it ready when we think the time is right."

In other words, when sales of the Wii become unacceptable. Which, in case you haven't heard, they are not.


Metroid
I'm loving, loving, loving what we're seeing from the new Metroid. I am all about story. This game looks to really focus on Samus' character - I hope they are rewarded with a successful response from the gamer.

Also, the fact that you can switch between side-view and first person at any time, just by pointing the wiimote, sounds like another truly innovative, truly awesome, implementation of the Wii's technological advantages.


Mario
Different enough to be new, similar enough to be fun. Galaxy 2 will be purchased, it will be enjoyed. What more do I need to say?

Though, I do have one gripe: The Bee-suit is one of my favorite power-ups of all time. Instead of holding a drill, they should have given Mario a Mole-suit.
[like this one (lower right)]

But hey! Ya-ya-yoshi! Buggabugoo!! (those are my impressions of Yoshi sounds.)

Sin & Punishment
I think Liz Lemon said it best: "I want to go to there."

Monster Hunter Tri
Free online? And now you have my business, Capcom.

Cave Story
It's alive!! It's aliiiiiiiiive!! ... and that makes me happy ^_^

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It's a good time to be a Wii owner.

And hey, GDC is coming up soon, right? Will there be more surprises in store?

Leave a comment or talk it up on the forums.