The announcement of Club Nintendo’s availability in North America, although overdue, was also startling. If you remember, just a little less than a year ago, good ‘ol Perrin Kaplan stated that it would be very expensive to run such a service in North America. Even with the encouraging news, a possibility remained that Club Nintendo in North America could end up offering nothing more than desktop wallpapers and paper cooking hats. Don’t worry, though – New information has come to light that may alleviate some concerns about Club Nintendo in North America.
The big N seems very adamant in providing a smooth and successful program. The company is actually looking to hire a “Nintendo Club Specialist” for North America, under a contract job. Responsibilities include determining and selecting “all aspects of Club Nintendo incentive program ranging from promotion of program, selection and procurement of premium rewards, updating of catalog online, and formulating new initiatives and campaigns.”
Other duties include coordinating “with NCL on initiatives such as acquiring assets, coordinating schedules, procuring product, and adjusting online research questionnaires” in addition to coordinating “the release of add-on content both for WiiWare games as well as disc-based games.”
To conclude, Club Nintendo doesn’t seem like it’ll be a useless program when it arrives later this year. NCL will be somewhat involved and add-on content is a possible focus for the service. At the very least, expect more than desktop wallpapers.
Nintendo Wii
North America:
1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)
2. Wii Fit (Nintendo)
3. Wii Play (Nintendo)
4. Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Bandai Namco)
5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts)
Japan:
1. Wii Fit (Nintendo)
2. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Nintendo)
3. One Piece Unlimited Cruise: Episode 1 – Nami ni Yureru Hihou (Bandai)
4. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 5. Wii Sports (Nintendo)
UK:
1. Wii Play (Nintendo)
2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play (EA Sports)
3. Wii Fit (Nintendo)
4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts)
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision)
Nintendo DS
North America:
1. Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo)
2. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision)
3. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)
4. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (Nintendo)
5. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.)
Japan:
1. Pocket Monsters Platinum (Nintendo)
2. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo)
3. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive)
4. World Destruction: Michibi Kareshi Ishi (Sega)
5. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo)
UK:
1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo)
2. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)
3. More Brain Training (Nintendo)
4. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo)
5. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision)
Nintendo was almost on a roll, but no more surprising announcements were revealed by the company at the second part of their North American autumn press conference. On the bright side, World of Goo was given an official release date – October 13 – in addition to the confirmation that Tetris Party will be launching “very soon” and will be a global release. Boingz, from Real Networks, was the only other title shown.
So no 2D Zelda WiiWare game or any first-party Nintendo title based on an established franchise. However, these past two days have been filled with ton of exciting information. It was much better than E3, if you ask me!
-Earthworm Jim (Virtual Console)
-Shining Force II (Virtual Console)
Interesting. While Nintendo has published Fatal Frame IV in Japan, that doesn’t seem to be the case for North America – that is if the game ever even reaches the states. When pressed about Fatal Frame IV, Reggie Fils-Aime replied, “you’re going to have to contact the publisher for questions on that.” So, Nintendo isn’t handling Fatal Frame IV in North America? Or is the game simply doomed for a Japan-only release? Hopefully more specific answers will be found in the near future.
The latest EGM review scores are follows:
Wario Land: Shake It! – C+, A-, C+
de Blob – B
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – B+, B-, B
Mega Man 9 – B+
Silent Hill: Homecoming – B, C+, B-
Fracture – C-
Midnight Club: Los Angeles – B
NBA Live 09 – B
NBA 2K9 – A-
FIFA 09 – B+
Infinite Undiscovery – B, B, C+
Rock Band 2 – A-, A-, A
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood – A GOTM
The Legend of Kage 2 – B-
Away: Shuffle Dungeon – B-
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia – A-
Kirby: Super Star Ultra – A-
Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise – B+
Star Ocean: The First Departure – B+
Spore – B
