Pokémon Platinum Tops Nintendo’s Diverse Game Lineup for Early 2009
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Continuing its commitment to create fun and engaging experiences for everyone, Nintendo of America Inc. today unleashes a broad list of exciting new games for the first quarter of 2009. Topping the list is Pokémon™ Platinum version for Nintendo DS™, a remarkable new entry in the beloved Pokémon series, slated for a March 22 launch across North America. Nintendo’s roster of more than 100 new games includes an impressive array of challenges and experiences for new players and loyalists, as well as everyone in between. Notable titles include the enhanced New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™ and New Play Control! Pikmin™ for Wii™, and Fire Emblem™: Shadow Dragon, Personal Trainer™: Math and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Nintendo DS.
“Our fans expect a diverse selection of entertainment options, and we’re eager to deliver exactly that,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We’re building on the momentum of a strong holiday season by offering new and experienced players an even greater library of game titles in 2009.”
Pokémon fans in particular will have plenty to cheer about as Pokémon Platinum is readied for its U.S. debut. Following the vast popularity of Pokémon® Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Platinum is the newest in the core series of Pokémon games. Pokémon Platinum features a new story full of adventure, never-before-seen forms of powerful Pokémon – including the legendary Giratina’s Origin Forme – and the Distortion World, a mysterious new world that suddenly appears in the Sinnoh region. In addition, with Pokémon Platinum up to 20 players can interact with other Pokémon fans from around the world in the new Wi-Fi Plaza, featuring mini-games and activities. Players can also enjoy the new features in the Global Terminal, such as posting battle videos using the new “Vs. Recorder.” In addition, Pokémon Platinum features a new Battle Frontier, where the toughest Trainers can test their skills in new ways. Pokémon Platinum already has broken previous Nintendo DS sales records in Japan, selling more than 1 million copies in its first two days of release.
For the portable Nintendo DS, Personal Trainer: Math builds on the new Personal Trainer™ series, which launched with Personal Trainer™: Cooking, now extending its reach beyond the stomach to the brain. Personal Trainer: Math introduces 40 fast-paced exercises to give players a fun way to improve their arithmetic skills. The Personal Trainer series is designed to help users enrich their lives and learn new skills in fun and interesting ways. Also for Nintendo DS, fans of the Fire Emblem franchise will enjoy the arrival of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, a revamped and re-imagined version of the NES™ classic, featuring touch-screen controls. Players with a broadband Internet connection can enjoy worldwide battles over Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo’s online gaming service.
Meanwhile, for the Wii console, Nintendo is offering up two classic Nintendo GameCube™ games: New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin enhanced for play using the Wii Remote™ controller. The enhanced New Play Control! Pikmin game lets players point the Wii Remote controller at the screen and use it as a cursor, making it easy to select either a single Pikmin or an entire army. When a player tosses Pikmin, they fly wherever the cursor is pointing. New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis lets players enjoy an afternoon on the court as their favorite characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, complete with motion-controlled serves and swings. With Wii controls, players can swing the Wii Remote controller to hit forehands and backhands and to apply spin. Experienced gamers can also attach a Nunchuk™ controller for additional precision. Both games are scheduled to launch next March.
Third-party publishers continue to bring diverse, creative games like FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Echoes of Time™ from Square-Enix for Wii and Nintendo DS. These games offer unique features that allow users to play multiplayer across Nintendo platforms. MADWORLD™ from Sega will be available exclusively for Wii, and the highly acclaimed franchise Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars from Rockstar Games will be available for Nintendo DS.
Below is a partial list of upcoming games for Wii and Nintendo DS. Note that game titles and launch dates are subject to change.
Wii
Publisher Game Available
Activision Monsters vs. Aliens March 24
Crave Entertainment Monster Pals™ March
Solitaire & Mahjong February
Puzzle Challenges and More! February
Crayola Colorful World March
D3Publisher Onechanbara™ Bikini Zombie Slayers™ February
Coraline January
Destineer WordJong Party January
Battle Rage February
Cradle of Rome February
Cate West: The Vanishing Files March
Burger Island March
Disney Interactive Studios Disney Sing It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year Winter
DreamCatcher Play the World March
Electronic Arts NASCAR® Kart Racing Feb. 10
SimAnimals™ Jan. 27
TRIVIAL PURSUIT Early spring
Hudson Entertainment FISHING MASTER WORLD TOUR Jan. 6
Marble Saga Kororinpa™ Spring
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
DanceDanceRevolution® Disney Grooves March
Majesco Entertainment Escape the Museum January
Major Minor’s Majestic March March
Marvelous Entertainment USA Little King’s Story Feb. 17Rune Factory: Frontier March
Mastiff Deer Drive™ Jan. 20
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. We Ski™ and Snowboard March
Nintendo New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis™ March
New Play Control! Pikmin™ March
Sega The House of The Dead: Overkill™ February
SONIC™ and the Black Knight March
MADWORLD™ March
Southpeak Interactive Roogoo Twisted Towers™ Feb. 17
Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball™ March 17
Brave: A Warrior’s Tale™ Feb. 17
THQ Paws & Claws Pet Resort Jan. 5
Neighborhood Games Jan. 5
Ubisoft Tenchu™: Shadow Assassins February
Broken Sword™: Shadows of the Templars (Director’s Cut) March
XS Games Super PickUps™ Q1Nintendo DS
Publisher Game Available
Activision Monsters vs. Aliens March 24Pimp My Ride 2™ March 24
Animal Planet™ March 10
Atlus U.S.A., Inc. My World, My Way™ Feb. 3
Legacy of Ys™: Books I & II Feb. 10
Trackmania™ DS March 17Crave Entertainment Monster Pals ™ March
D3Publisher of America Puzzle Quest™: Galactrix™ Q1Coraline January
Destineer USA TODAY Puzzle Craze January
DinoPets March
Disney Interactive Studios Phineas and Ferb Winter
DreamCatcher Inkheart January
Learn Math January
Drivers’ Ed Portable January
Monster Band January
Zoo Quest February
My Personal Diary February
Music Star: Pop Star February
Paint by DS March
Matchstick March
Dreamer: Top Model March
Sarah – Keeper of the Unicorn March
Learn Chess March
Dragon Master April
Electronic Arts Zubo™ March
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure™ Q1
SimAnimals™ Jan. 27
Empire Interactive Jagged Alliance Feb. 17
Gameloft American Popstar – Road to Celebrity March 9Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero™ Q1
Suikoden Tierkreis Q1
Little Magician’s Magic Adventure™ Q1
Majesco Entertainment WonderWorld Amusement Park™ January
Powerbike January
Our House™ Q1
Hot ’n’ Cold March
Marvelous Entertainment USA Avalon Code February
Flower, Sun, and Rain March
Mastiff Moon™ Jan. 13
MumboJumbo
Chicken Hunter Star Karts March 10Nintendo Personal Trainer™: Math Jan. 12
Fire Emblem™: Shadow Dragon Feb. 16
Pokémon™ Platinum version March 22ROCKSTAR GAMES Grand Theft Auto™: Chinatown Wars Winter
Southpeak Interactive Big Bang Mini® Jan. 6
Roogoo Attack™ Feb. 17
Brave: Shaman’s Challenge™ Feb. 17
Square Enix, Inc. FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Echoes of Time™ Spring
THE GAME FACTORY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES™ Jan. 19
THQ Paws & Claws Pampered Pets Jan. 5
TOMY Corporation My DoItAll™ February
Ubisoft Jake Power Fireman January
Jake Power Policeman January
Imagine™ Cheerleader February
JoJo’s Fashion Show February
Petz® Horseshoe Ranch February
Imagine™ Family Doctor February
Imagine™ Ice Champions March
Jake Power Handyman March
My Fashion Studio Paris Collection Feb. 17
American Popstar – Road to Celebrity March 24Broken Sword™: Shadows of the Templars (Director’s Cut) March
XSEED Games Retro Game Challenge Jan. 6For more information about Nintendo games, visit www.Nintendo.com.
About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.8 billion video games and more than 480 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii and Nintendo DS, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.
