Topic: RE: Nintendo's Upcoming Schedule

[NewsBot]

Nintendo's plans to take over the world... I mean games industry.

NINTENDO UNVEILS PLANS TO GAIN INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP New Forms of Game Play, New Partnerships, New Hits Unleashed For E3

 LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2003 – With the world's hottest-selling hardware system, Game Boy® Advance SP, and three current best-selling Nintendo GameCube™ and Game Boy® Advance games, Nintendo today unveils its strategy to continue to grow its industry leadership with a multi-tiered offensive of Nintendo exclusives.  Nintendo also reveals vastly expanded partnerships with independent publishers, and introduces bold new forms of connected-play, linking Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance—innovations that only Nintendo can offer.

On the eve of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Nintendo outlines its plan by:

    * Increasing its third-party product lineup with multiple new and exclusive games from world-class independent publishers, such as Metal Gear Solid®: The Twin Snakes from Konami and Star Wars® Rogue Squadron® III: Rebel Strike™ from LucasArts.  Dozens more games continue to multiply with the widest offerings from companies like Electronic Arts, Capcom, Namco, Sega and Square-Enix, Co. Ltd., broadly expanding the Nintendo GameCube portfolio to more than 320 titles by year's end.

    * Offering unique and distinguished connected-play between console and hand-held systems, unlocking special features and extending normal game play for franchise legends including Pac-Man, Final Fantasy®: Crystal Chronicles™, Nintendo Puzzle Collection™, and two new Zelda titles—The Legend of Zelda®: Four Swords™ and The Legend of Zelda®: Tetra's Trackers™.

    * Allowing players to race the futuristic F-Zero® circuit, co-developed by Sega, in parallel at-home or commercial arcades.  Players will be able to race a home-built, custom machine in the arcade or using a memory card, transfer additional pilots, and all kinds of custom parts from the arcade to the Nintendo GameCube.

    * Continuing to evolve its celebrated franchise characters in all-new adventures for Nintendo GameCube with games such as Mario Kart®: Double Dash!! ™ Kirby™ Air Ride, PokĂ©mon Colosseum™, Mario Party® 5 and Mario Golf™: Toadstool Tour.  Also introducing new adventures including the exclusive, first-person shooter Geist™, from n-Space, Inc.

    * Pulling the action from the small screen and placing it on the big TV screen with the Nintendo GameCube™ Game Boy® Player, which will have players revisiting more than 1,000 classic Game Boy games like never before.  

    * Unveiling 120 new Game Boy Advance titles this year, including Super Mario® Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3™, Donkey Kong Country™, PokĂ©mon® Pinball, Final Fantasy Tactics® Advance, Mario and Luigi™, Fire Emblem™, and Sword of Mana™.  

"Thanks to our tremendous contributions from our third-party partners and increasing library of connectivity titles, we're delivering more entertainment and diversity to Nintendo fans than any time since we launched our first home console 20 years ago," explains Satoru Iwata, president, Nintendo Co., Ltd.  

"Since the beginning of the year, Nintendo has taken an additional 11 market share points from its competitors," explains Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America Inc.  "The collection of games built specifically for our systems continue a tradition of quality and value, and the momentum is in our corner."

[BlkPaladin]

Zelda Tetra's Trackers? Pokemon Colosseum, I think the Four Swords is the Triforce Gods title. So it looks like there are still a little more surprises to come.

[Ian Sane]

Two Zelda games?  This isn't Mario.  I mean I'm a big Zelda fan and it's cool to get some more Zelda games but I don't want Nintendo to start milking the franchise.  It starts with a few Zelda mulitplayer games and the next thing you know you got Zelda Kart.  The Zelda series has always seemed above spinoff games and I think it will lose a lot of it's appeal if it starts becoming another Mario or Pokemon.

GamesAreFun has info and screens of the two Zelda titles.  They're both multiplayer games that require GBAs to be used as controllers.  Personally I don't see why they couldn't have made it all one game.  Along with Crytal Chronicles I don't think there's any reason to have THREE multiplayer-only titles that require GBAs.  The appeal of such titles is going to be limited by the massive hardware requirements.  In order to play one of these games I would have to use my GBA and GB Player, my brother's GBA, and my friend's GBA and Gamecube, plus a second TV (for the GB Player) AND everyone has to have a link cable.

Plus how long can these titles be if they require four players?  I don't want to buy two different Zelda games (presumably at full price) that can be beaten in an afternoon.  At the very least put both games together.

[DevilishDude]

I hope more games are announced. I am not very impressed with those two zelda titles. Like Ian said its becoming a mario, but i think its more of a pokemon. Pokemon was a good game, then they start coming out with bad side games like pinball and puzzle, thats what i fear is happening to zelda

[Djunknown]

Yay! Fire Emblem is hitting stateside. Don't know too much about it though, save that it never ever came on this side of the world legally.

Looks like there's going to be more news than you shake a stick at. Wonder what other bombs Nintendo will drop?

[BlkPaladin]

Don't get you hopes up yet. The same thing happened with the last Fire Emblem, and nothing appeared.