For those of us that bought a Nintendo DS on launch day, there were six measly titles available to buy at the same time…only two of which were really worth buying. Well, the best titles are on the way this month or next, right?
Wrong. As far as the most wanted games are concerned (namely those from Nintendo itself), check out the release dates:
- Wario Ware DS – 2/14/2005
- Yoshi’s Touch & Go – 3/14/2005
- Metroid Prime: Hunters – 5/8/2005
- Super Mario Kart DS – 9/12/2005
- Animal Crossing DS – 9/12/2005
- Advance Wars DS – 10/9/2005
That’s right…you’ll be waiting almost a year for some of the most anticipated titles for the DS. This is quite a slap in the face to Nintendo’s fans. It’s no secret that the DS was created and rushed out to beat the PSP to the punch; it’s beating the US launch by a few months, but the Japanese launch only by a few scant weeks. If Nintendo really wants to keep their hold on the handheld market, those top-tier games should be out no later than the spring, not next fall. Honestly, for most gamers, there’s no real reason to even buy a DS until next summer! This could be quite damaging to Nintendo in the long run; the DS has sold above and beyond expectations for now (leading Nintendo to raise their sales forecast once again), but who knows what the future may hold. Better titles need to come out fast. We’ve got a few luminaries coming out before Xmas, which is good, but after that…stellar games may be few and far between.