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Nintendo Sets Release Dates for Q1 for 3DS/Wii U

My Wii u is officially a glorified Netflix box for the next few months. Perhaps we'll all be 'ambassadors' before too long and will get some free games out of this
 
I find it impossible to even care about MonHun 3G when 4 is lining up for release presumably just a few months later in Japan.

Considering Rayman Legends appears to have been delayed fully finished just as a favour to pad out the Wii U's release calendar, the situation looks like it couldnt BE more fucked. What on earth have they been up to for 2-3 years!?
 
I'm getting all those eShop specific titles for Wii U with exception of Ken's Rage because I don't know what that's about. But Toki Tori 2 and especially Runner 2 save Q1 Wii U for me. I can't wait for Runner 2!!!

As for the 3ds I saw Tokyo Crash Mobs up on NA this morning but can't buy it yet. And there's still a few titles I have to catch up with for the 3DS eshop, but where in the world is HarmoKnight? I thought it was coming out Q1? ):
 
GMN said:
is Q2 actually outside of Nintendo's "launch window"? it's always a mile wide
Click to expand...

Launch window ends along with March. Pikmin et al. were definitely delayed.

I'm actually glad TW101 is still apparently in the first half of the year. I was ready to write it off till summer.
 
So my Wii U is going to gather dust until March 18th then. Great.

Started off well, ZombiU, NintendoLand, Mario and Sonic Racing. Completed ZombiU and Mario, NintendoLand became tiresome and Sonic Racing isn't something that keeps me hooked.

Still, Zombi U was a great blast and I hope Lego City is a good game too. Walking Dead will be crap most likely but might be worth a rent....if anywhere rents Wii U games.
 
What the hell

They were supposed to give us an awesome Nintendo Direct to reveal they actually had more stuff coming soon, not some quick announcement that everything we know about is getting pushed back for later!

Rahhhh I want my Pikmin alreadyyy. Big Nintendo fan, but I'm really getting annoyed here.
 
GMN said:
is Q2 actually outside of Nintendo's "launch window"? it's always a mile wide
Click to expand...

Yes, it's outside launch window. All of Nintendos excuses have fallen apart at this point.
They must have really messed up Wii U development if the goddamn Wii Pikmin and Wario/Wii Fit cash ins have to fill the gaps later. Even if they get their shit together until E3, you aint gonna buy the results before autumn.
 
Question should be why is Pikmin 3 delayed. They've had years to work on it already. It seemed to be following the same formula as the past games. What the hell could they be doing to it. It certainly isn't to add online. I really doubt they're trying to up the graphical quality of the game. I wonder if they're just sitting on it hoping the user base of the system will increase before releasing it.
 
Seems like a fucking bad year for Wii-U owners like me.

I guess somewhere this year Pikmin 3 and some game at christmas.....
No way there will be a Metroid or Zelda this year.

I'm starting to think they might actually be doomed this gen. But i'll buy whatever first party greatness they'll give me.
 
metalslimer said:
Wii U below 100k confirmed by March. Also how the hell is Wii Fit U and Game and Wario not even coming out?
Click to expand...
I forgot about those two games! How are they not ready by now? They're both so basic looking and simplistic with not too much content as far as I can tell. Seriously, how the fuck does Nintendo think it's reasonable to release zero internally developed games for their brand new system for the first 6 months it's out (apart from the 2 launch titles, a mini game collection and a 2D platformer full of reused assets). As a launch day owner I am fucking pissed. It's absolutely pathetic.

How did Nintendo fuck up their launch this bad? They fucked up at 2 E3's trying to show off the console and now there's no games for the damn thing now that it's out. HD game development must have hit them hard or something.
 
Effect said:
Question should be why is Pikmin 3 delayed. They've had years to work on it already. It seemed to be following the same formula as the past games. What the hell could they be doing to it. It certainly isn't to add online. I really doubt they're trying to up the graphical quality of the game. I wonder if they're just sitting on it hoping the user base of the system will increase before releasing it.
Click to expand...

I'd guess there was a major "tea-table upending" at some point during development.
 
Jesus. I still might investigate buying a Wii U again in April or something, but the absence of Wonderful 101 from Q1 hurts those prospects badly.
 
Always-honest said:
Seems like a fucking bad year for Wii-U owners like me.
Click to expand...

And it isn't exactly providing a promising future. They abandoned the Wii at the end of 2010 for the most part, so we should swim in proper game announcements. Now, instead they can't even get all of their cheap stuff ready in this promised launch window BS.

Well, I'll get my value out of this thing through Monster Hunter, but I also want my Nintendo consoles to be good. Right now, it looks like they can not properly handle a GCN-level handheld alongside a HD console this gen.
 
I will gladly hug my
gaming PC
after seeing this list.

Wii U? Not so much. I wonder how bad the sales will be when the other next-gen consoles will release if the lists keep looking that bad.
 
The awesome 3DS lineup is sadly tempered by how woefully sparse the Wii U lineup is turning out to be for Q1; they seriously only know dates for only one of the eShop titles? LEGO City Undercover is all they have from a publishing standpoint, and absolutely nothing from their internal studios? It's totally ridiculous.
 
3DS is killing it, Wii U is just dying.

shinra-bansho said:
They're outsourcing one of their major properties (Super Smash Bros).
They're publishing other third party titles to pad the launch window.

Ergo all they'll manage to churn out from their own studios between then and June 30th are:
  • New Super Mario Bros U
  • Nintendo Land
  • Game & Wario
  • Pikmin 3
  • Wii Fit U
None of which appear to be technically complex titles as far as I'm aware. Some of which, if I recall correctly, are essentially up-ports from the Wii. And even then they're seeing delays.

That speaks to me of issues with internal development.
It's presumably intended to sell on the license rather than the quality, since it lacks the latter.
Click to expand...
Technically they also have Karaoke Wii Joysound U and Wii U Panorama View for internally produced stuff, but they're eShop only. But yeah. :/

For comparison, here's what they (and competitors) had last gen in the same window:

Xbox 360
-Hexic HD (XBLA)
-Kameo: Elements of Power
-Perfect Dark Zero
-UNO (XBLA)

PlayStation 3
-Gran Turismo HD Concept (PSN)
-NBA 07
-Formula One Championship Edition
-Calling All Cars (PSN)
-MLB 07: The Show
-a couple PSone Classics (PSN)

-Wii
-The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
-Wii Sports
-Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
-Wii Play
-Pokémon Coloseum
-Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
-Super Paper Mario
-Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
-ass loads of Virtual Console games (VC)
-a couple Wii Channels (WiiWare)


As ill prepared as Nintendo seems to be for the HD transition, Microsoft and Sony both came off even less prepared and much more reliant on contracted stuff. Also, Smash Bros was contracted out last gen (to Game Arts) so that arguably has little relevance on things. The only real difference this gen is Nintendo hired a higher pedigree dev (Namco).
 
gamergirly said:
Well at least one thing is confirmed looking at that list. E3 is going to. Be big. Quite obvious lol
Click to expand...

The lineup is so bad, I'm not even sure about this anymore. My expectations died when even Pikmin and Wario fell outside launch window. Now I wouldn't be surprised if they just rehype Bayonetta at E3, shit out some cheap ,,panic mode'' Mario Kart and celebrate that they at least get a Call of Duty port. Then Reggie is again going to insult launch buyers, I mean ,,insatiable fans''.
 
Wii U line up looks baaaad...

but it's ok with me. Ni no Kuni, Fire Emblem, MGSR REvengence, Rayman Legends and Mon Hun U will need more time than I have the coming months...


But from a business perspective this is a disaster. What are they doing?
 
So just Rayman in the next three months

maaaaaaaybe Lego City. Maybe.

5 month launch window and ya'll aint got shit to show for leaving the Wii dead for all of 2012(and most of 2011, Skyward Sword aside).

That Feb. Nintendo Direct better be something
 
Effect said:
Question should be why is Pikmin 3 delayed. They've had years to work on it already. It seemed to be following the same formula as the past games. What the hell could they be doing to it. It certainly isn't to add online. I really doubt they're trying to up the graphical quality of the game. I wonder if they're just sitting on it hoping the user base of the system will increase before releasing it.
Click to expand...

Because those years were thrown out (that's assuming there was even significant progress made). They probably kept some of it but if you think it was just a quick port job you're a bit delusional.

For the rest it seems like Iwata gave them all an extra 3 months to clean their launch title jank, maybe add some features, I'm sure every team was requesting it. If they all got delayed to March (end of launch window as promised) then the obvious solution is to push back farther to spread out which is what I think happened.
 
ViewtifulJC said:
That Feb. Nintendo Direct better be something
Click to expand...

Also, investor meeting is upcoming, no? They gotta show some goods to restore minor trust at least. If they don't answer the bomba tendencies with at least one ,,big'' teaser, it might be safe to assume that they simply have nothing to show off even if they wanted to.
Their ,,new announcement policy'', just like all this launch window talk, has already been devalued by announcing Bayonetta and Pokemon early, so there's really no excuses left.
 
dates for Luigi 2 and SMT are awesome to see, following FE i should have plenty going on 3DS...absence of Animal Crossing sucks balls though

honestly, i'm gonna sleep on MHU for a while so there's nothing for me on WU until...after the summer? jesus, 101 and Pikmin 3 have no excuse at this point, shit's tragic

guess i'll be working on my Wii backlog for a bit

thefro said:
Pikmin and W101 will probably be delayed to be the big Holiday games for 2013 at this rate :|
Click to expand...

...god, i know year 1 is usually slow for most consoles but that's...i mean that feels like how i remember the N64 schedule

thomasmahler said:
Hey Nintendo,

Why don't you fill these sad gaps between bigger releases with great virtual console titles?
Click to expand...

fuckin' THIS

Spieler Eins said:
Their ,,new announcement policy'', just like all this launch window talk, has already been devalued by announcing Bayonetta and Pokemon early, so there's really no excuses left.
Click to expand...

also quoted for truth
 
ViewtifulJC said:
That Feb. Nintendo Direct better be something
Click to expand...
Optimistic scenario: Release dates for all previously announced titles, tons of Q3 Wii U games announced. Wii U VC for all games (with free upgrades for Wii VC users) to fill in the empty release schedule, bunch of eShop titles coming soon.

Realistic scenario: Release dates for Pikmin 3, Game & Wario, Wii Fit U. The Wonderful 101 gets pushed back to Q3. Bayonetta 2 ignored entirely or at best given a Q4 release date. Animal Crossing: New Leaf coming in May/June. Now come look at a 10 minute walkthrough of Lego City Stories and a 10 minute walkthrough of *insert already announced game here*.
 
Wtf was nintendo doing all those years that the Wii was on life support??? Wii u launch was really rushed it seems. Thank god i never finished skyward sword!
 
Spieler Eins said:
The lineup is so bad, I'm not even sure about this anymore. My expectations died when even Pikmin and Wario fell outside launch window. Now I wouldn't be surprised if they just rehype Bayonetta at E3, shit out some cheap ,,panic mode'' Mario Kart and celebrate that they at least get a Call of Duty port. Then Reggie is again going to insult launch buyers, I mean ,,insatiable fans''.
Click to expand...

Or maybe they won't.

If they are able to push out all of the delayed launch window games in Q2, I'm hopeful that Nintendo will still be able to deliver some great things for the end of the year. Though, I do expect that W101 and maybe Wii Fit will be pushed back to Q3... In case of Wii Fit I wouldn't even be surprised it they use it as a christmas release.

I think there's a good chance that Bayonetta 2 will make it out this year and I kinda count on Retro's next game being part of the holiday line-up too together with something Mario-ish and maybe the new Monolith game for Japan.

Right now, it's just too early to tell. If they start delaying stuff to Q3, I'm ready to say that they are stuck in HD development hell and just don't get their stuff ready in time. In that case, this year might be a fiasco.

However, I don't expect why someone would expect something like a new Zelda this year anyway. Skyward Sword is barely a year old, we'll see a new one next year at the earliest.
 
other than rayman I don't think I want any other wii u games. I really gotta stop buying consoles at launch.

Nintendo better be making a fuck ton of games to have massive blow out at e3 before they get lost in 720/ps4 hype.
 
Doc Holliday said:
Wtf was nintendo doing all those years that the Wii was on life support??? Wii u launch was really rushed it seems. Thank god i never finished skyward sword!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I excused all the slowness on the Wii because I figured they were just making some awesome Wii U games. What the heck is going on here Nintendo? They must have some pretty freakin' awesome games coming out this Summer/Fall that they haven't told us about.
 
Game & Wario™, The Wonderful 101™, Pikmin™ 3 and Wii Fit™ U will arrive in the first half of the year. Additional information about launch timing for these games will be announced at a later date.
Click to expand...

Probably the April-June "line-up" right there, along with whatever third party downports thrown this way.

"lol"
 
Yaceka said:
Optimistic scenario: Release dates for all previously announced titles, tons of Q3 Wii U games announced. Wii U VC for all games (with free upgrades for Wii VC users) to fill in the empty release schedule, bunch of eShop titles coming soon.

Realistic scenario: Release dates for Pikmin 3, Game & Wario, Wii Fit U. The Wonderful 101 gets pushed back to Q3. Bayonetta 2 ignored entirely or at best given a Q4 release date. Animal Crossing: New Leaf coming in May/June. Now come look at a 10 minute walkthrough of Lego City Stories and a 10 minute walkthrough of *insert already announced game here*.
Click to expand...

VC really would have helped, a little bit at least. Can't believe the eshop hasn't seen any new games since... well, first launch week?
 
I think this is proof enough Nintendo rushed the Wii U to market. It seems like they weren't 100% ready for launch. Honestly, having not a single first party title in the first quarter is pretty bad for the Wii U. I was expecting Pikmin 3 at the least, considering it's probably been completed for a while now. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate seems like the main highlight of Q1 2013 for the Wii U.

That being said, the 3DS line up is fucking solid. Fire Emblem: Awakening, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Soul Hackers and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate will definitely hold me off until Q2 releases.
 
Rayman and MonHun are a definite purchase but there will have been too long a gap between the console release and these games.

If the Wii U is your only console then it's going to be a long a long wait but in all honestly who here only owns a Wii U and no other console or handheld?
 
Well, March will be fun for me and my Wii U. But really, Jan and Feb pretty much devoid of anything I want... so sad that my new console gets so little play :/ Maybe I should consider it a blessing? I'll probably be too busy playing Ni No Kuni and Fire Emblem anyway.

3DS looking very strong. It's a very good year to be an owner; hope more fence sitters jump on.
 
Doc Holliday said:
Wtf was nintendo doing all those years that the Wii was on life support??? Wii u launch was really rushed it seems. Thank god i never finished skyward sword!
Click to expand...

I remember when the GCN was dropped like a rock, but then at least the first year of the Wii was packed with games. Now it's just... baffling. Worriome, even. With no promising announcements anytime soon, even the 1st party output on Wii U might shrink significantly compared to their other consoles.
 
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