Yes, I know that E3 ended a few weeks ago so writing about it this year’s show would be a bit irrelevant. That’s why I’m going to be REALLY irrelevant and take a look back at the last sixteen years of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, focusing specifically on all the games and hardware shown off by Nintendo. So let’s pretend that Pluto is still a planet and that Sonic is still popular as we travel back in time to the mid 90’s…
WiiWare
And Yet It Moves – Recommended
Art Style: light trax – Recommended
Bejeweled 2 – Hmmm…
Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex – Grumble Grumble
Blood Beach – Grumble Grumble
Dive: The Medes Islands Secret – Recommended
Chess Challenge! – Hmmm…
Manic Monkey Mayhem – Hmmm…
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations – Recommended
Robocalypse: Beaver Defense – Hmmm…
Viral Survivor – Recommended
Voodoo Dice – Hmmm…
VC
Kirby Super Star – Recommended
Wild Guns – Recommended
DSiWare
Advanced Circuits – Hmmm…
Chess Challenge! – Grumble Grumble
Earthworm Jim – Hmmm…
Frogger Returns – Recommended
Looksley’s Line Up – Grumble Grumble
Hero of Sparta – Recommended
Metal Torrent – Hmmm…
Real Crimes: Jack the Ripper – Hmmm…
Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro – Recommended
A Topsy Turvy Life: Turvy Drops – Hmmm…
A Topsy Turvy Life: The Turvys Strike Back – Hmmm…
World Poker Tour Texas Hold ‘Em – Recommended
X-Scape – Recommended
This information comes from Ghost Trick director Shu Takumi…
“[Laughs] Well, we’ll see about [Ghost Trick] two, three and four, but that depends on how well this game is received. We’ll wait and see on that one, but we definitely hope that people will enjoy the game enough. Maybe we will make a two, three and four.”
In terms of critical reception, I’m sure Ghost Trick will be received well. It’s just the sales I’m worrying about! In Japan, the title has performed decently so far, though I’m not sure how things will pan out in North America and Europe.
1. Red Dead Redemption (Take Two)
2. 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (EA)
3. Lost Planet 2 (Capcom)
4. Battlefield:?Bad Company 2 (EA)
5. Call of Duty:?Modern Warfare 2 (Activision)
6. Alan Wake (Microsoft)
7. UFC 2010: Undisputed (THQ)
8. Skate 3 (EA)
9. Super Street Fighter IV (Capcom)
10. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (Take Two)
11. Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix)
12. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction (Ubisoft)
13. Split/Second (Disney Interactive)
14. Just Cause 2 (Square Enix)
15. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Ubisoft)
16. Modnation Racers (Sony)
17. Iron Man 2 (Sega)
18. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Nintendo)
19. Sonic &?Sega All-Stars Racing (Sega)
20. FIFA 10 (EA)
21. Pokémon Soulsilver (Nintendo)
22. Pokémon Heartgold (Nintendo)
23. Aliens vs Predator (Sega)
24. God of War III (Sony)
25. Forza Motorsport 3 (Microsoft)
26. Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft)
27. Halo 3: ODST (Microsoft)
28. New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo)
29. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
30. Warioware DIY (Nintendo)
31. Mario & Sonic at Olympic Winter Games (Sega)
32. Alpha Protocol (Sega)
33. BioShock 2 (Take Two)
34. Monster Hunter Tri (Capcom)
35. Football Manager 2010 (Sega)
36. Blur (Activision)
37. Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box (Nintendo)
38. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision)
39. Jewel Quest Mysteries: Emerald Tear (GSP/Avanquest)
40. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)
41. Nier (Square Enix)
42. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010 (THQ)
43. The Sims 3 (EA)
44. Heavy Rain (Sony)
45. Peppa Pig: Fun and Games (Ubisoft)
46. Dante’s Inferno (EA)
47. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo)
48. Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo)
49. Mass Effect 2 (EA)
50. Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks (Namco Bandai)
Because Nintendo has, more or less, addressed Wii storage issues by further supporting the SD card, I wouldn’t expect a hard drive any time soon. However, there have been reports of similar technology provided to certain locations. You may remember thatwe told you about a hard drive-enabled Wii that was sent to a hospital back in 2008.
1. Red Dead Redemption (360) – 945.9K
2. Red Dead Redemption (PS3) – 567.1K
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 – 563.9K
4. UFC 2010 Undisputed (360) – 221.1K
5. UFC 2010 Undisputed (PS3) – 192.3K
6. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
7. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
8. Alan Wake (360)
9. Pokemon SoulSilver (DS)
10. Skate 3 (360)
11. Lost Planet 2 (360)
12. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
13. Pokemon HeartGold (DS)
14. God of War III (PS3)
15. Just Dance (Wii)
16. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
17. Super Street Fighter IV (PS3)
18. Modnation Racers (PS3)
19. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360)
20. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
The image above is supposedly beta art from the new Pokemon anime, but it’s legitamacy hasn’t been confirmed 100%. In the picture, a new bat Pokemon called Koromori (besides Jessie), the evolution of Tsutaja and Mijumaru, and a new Pokemon next to Iris are shown. That’s the only information we have now, though if it’s true, these Pokemon will probably be showing up in Black/White.
“Wii software sales were down 19% year-over-year and DS software sales were down 13%, while PS3 software sales were up 58% and Xbox 360 software sales were up 29%. We think this is remarkable, given growth in the Wii hardware installed base of 44% and growth in the DS installed base of 33% over the last 12 months. In contrast, the PS3 installed base is up 60% and the Xbox 360 installed base is up 32% over the same period. Software sales growth mirrored hardware unit growth for both the PS3 and Xbox 360, but sorely lagged hardware unit growth for the Wii and DS. In our view, this indicates that Nintendo’s customers either are not finding enough software to satisfy their needs, or need less software than the typical Sony or Microsoft customer…software attach rates for the Wii continue to decline, and publishers appear to be reluctant to support the console as broadly as the other two, notwithstanding its huge lead in installed base. We think that Nintendo will continue to dominate sales on its console, with its first-rate lineup of games, but fear that other publishers have prematurely abandoned the very large Wii audience, and see further year-over-year software sales declines for the Wii for the next several months. These declines will make year-over-year industry sales growth difficult to achieve.” – Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter
Right now, it’s tough being a third-party publisher that is looking to support the Wii. The fact of the matter is, a lot of titles just aren’t selling well. This year, for instance, only one third-party game – Just Dance – has made it into the top 10 in NPD sales.
