Nintendo Reveals Q1 Lineup

Nintendo has released a list of mostly approximate release dates, for games scheduled to come out in the first quarter of 2009. Notable titles include Pokémon: Platinum for Nintendo DS, a new title that uses the general Diamond/Pearl engine; features include a new story, new Pokémon evolutionary forms, a new Wi-Fi Plaza where up to20 players can interact, a "Vs. Recorder" that lets you record and post videos of your battles, and the new, challenging "Battle Frontier".

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is also slated to come out during the "Winter" portion of early 2009, and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Personal Trainer: Math are not too far behind. On the Wii side of things, two older titles are seeing new life, as Nintendo releases New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin, two Gamecube games enhanced by Wii motion controls.

Other notable releases include Little King’s Story, The House of the Dead: Overkill, Tenchu: Shadow Assassins, Madworld and Sonic and the Black Knight on Wii, as well as Moon, Legacy of Ys: Books I & II, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time and Suikoden Tierkreis on the DS. Bafflingly, American Popstar – Road to Celebrity for Nintendo DS appears on the list twice, under two different publishers and dates.

Wii

Neighborhood Games (THQ) – January 5
Paws & Claws Pet Resort (THQ) – January 5
Fishing Master World Tour (Hudson) – January 6
Deer Drive (Mastiff) – January 20
SimAnimals (Electronic Arts) – January 27
Coraline (D3Publisher) – January
Escape the Museum (Majesco) – January
WordJong Party (Destineer) – January

NASCAR Kart Racing (Electronic Arts) – February 10
Brave: a Warrior’s Tale (Southpeak) – February 17
Little King’s Story (Marvelous) – February 17
Roogoo Twisted Towers (Southpeak) – February 17
Battle Rage (Destineer) – February
Cradle of Rome (Destineer) – February
Crayola Colorful World (Crave) – February
The House of the Dead: Overkill (Sega) – February
Onechanbara Bikini Zombie Slayers (D3Publisher) – February
Puzzle Challenges and More! (Crave) – February
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (Ubisoft) – February

Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball (Southpeak) – March 17
Monsters vs. Aliens (Activision) – March 24
Broken Sword: Shadows of the Templars (Director’s Cut) (Ubisoft) – March
Burger Island (Destineer) – March
Cate West: the Vanishing Files (Destineer) – March
Dance Dance Revolution Disney Grooves (Konami) – March
Madworld (Sega) – March
Major Minor’s Majestic March (Majesco) – March
Monster Pals (Crave) – March
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis (Nintendo) – March
New Play Control! Pikmin (Nintendo) – March
Play the World (DreamCatcher) – March
Rune Factory: Frontier (Marvelous) – March
Sonic and the Black Knight (Sega) – March
We Ski and Snowboard (Namco Bandai) – March

Disney Sing It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney Interactive) – Winter
Trivial Pursuit (Electronic Arts) – Early spring
Marble Saga Kororinpa (Hudson) – Spring
Super PickUps (XS) – Q1

Nintendo DS

Paws & Claws Pampered Pets (THQ) – January 5
Big Bang Mini (Southpeak) – January 6
Retro Game Challenge (XS) – January 6
Personal Trainer: Math (Nintendo) – January 12
Moon (Mastiff) – January 13
World Championship Games (Game Factory) – January 19
SimAnimals (Electronic Arts) – January 27
Coraline (D3Publisher) – January
Drivers’ Ed Portable (DreamCatcher) – January
Inkheart (DreamCatcher) – January
Jake Power Fireman (Ubisoft) – January
Jake Power Policeman (Ubisoft) – January
Learn Math (DreamCatcher) – January
Monster Band (DreamCatcher) – January
Powerbike (Majesco) – January
USA Today Puzzle Craze (Destineer) – January
WonderWorld Amusement Park (Majesco) – January

My World, My Way (Atlus) – February 3
Legacy of Ys: Books I & II (Atlus) – February 10
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Nintendo) – February 16
Brave: Shaman’s Challenge (Southpeak) – February 17
Jagged Alliance (Empire) – February 17
My Fashion Show Paris Collection (Ubisoft) – February 17
Roogoo Attack (Southpeak) – February 17
Avalon Code (Marvelous) – February
Imagine Cheerleader (Ubisoft) – February
Imagine Family Doctor (Ubisoft) – February
JoJo’s Fashion Show (Ubisoft) – February
Music Star: Pop Star (DreamCatcher) – February
My DoItAll (TOMY) – February
My Personal Diary (DreamCatcher) – February
Petz Horseshoe Ranch (Ubisoft) – February
Zoo Quest (DreamCatcher) – February

American Popstar – Road to Celebrity (Gameloft) – March 9
Animal Planet (Activision) – March 10
Chicken Hunter Star Karts (MumboJumbo) – March 10
Trackmania DS (Atlus) – March 17
Pokémon: Platinum (Nintendo) – March 22
American Popstar – Road to Celebrity (Ubisoft) – March 24
Monsters vs. Aliens (Activision) – March 24
Pimp My Ride (Activision) – March 24
Broken Sword: Shadows of the Templars (Director’s Cut) (Ubisoft) – March
DinoPets (Destineer) – March
Dreamer: Top Model (DreamCatcher) – March
Flower, Sun and Rain (Marvelous) – March
Hot ‘n’ Cold (Majesco) – March
Imagine Ice Champions (Ubisoft) – March
Jake Power Handyman (Ubisoft) – March
Learn Chess (DreamCatcher) – March
Matchstick (DreamCatcher) – March
Monster Pals (Crave) – March
Paint by DS (DreamCatcher) – March
Sarah – Keeper of the Unicorn (DreamCatcher) – March
Zubo (Electronic Arts) – March

Dragon Master (DreamCatcher) – April

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Rockstar) – Winter
Phineas and Ferb (Disney Interactive) – Winter
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (Square Enix) – Spring
Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero (Konami) – Q1
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (Electronic Arts) – Q1
Little Magician’s Magic Adventure (Konami) – Q1
Our House (Majesco) – Q1
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (D3Publisher) – Q1
Suikoden Tierkreis (Konami) – Q1

I think I’ll be picking up some of those DS titles; I’m a sucker for fun games that get "portable-ized". I may even get the new Pikmin remake, as that was always one of my favorite Gamecube titles.