While many criticized Nintendo's E3 2015 presentation, the Big N still has quite the upcoming lineup of games for both the Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS. These games include entries in the company's long-proven franchises such as The Legend of Zelda and Star Fox, as well as exciting newer IP like the localization of Yo-Kai Watch.
With so few concrete plans for the holiday shopping season, it seemed like Nintendo may have thrown up the white flag with its current console. To help reassure fans, Nintendo has now revealed the release dates for all of these upcoming games, which includes five 3DS first-party offerings and seven first-party titles for the Wii U.
First off, these are when 3DS owners can expect the big Nintendo first-party titles over the next few months:
- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer - September 25th
- Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash - October 9th
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes - October 23rd
- Yo-Kai Watch - November 6th
- Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon - November 20th
The 3DS is Nintendo's most popular eighth generation system, and has been massively successful in the handheld market. Expect the momentum to continue with this spattering of upcoming releases, with Zelda and Yo-Kai Watch (potentially the next phenomenon on the level of Pokemon, if Nintendo has anything to say about it) being the highlights. Combine these quality releases with the recent price cut of the Nintendo 2DS, and Nintendo is gearing up for a highly profitable holiday season in 2015.
Next, here are the games Wii U owners have to look forward to:
- Super Mario Maker - September 11th
- New Super Mario Bros. U/New Super Luigi U Combo - October 16th
- Yoshi's Woolly World - October 18th
- Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (Digital Only) - October 22nd
- Star Fox Zero - November 20th
- Xenoblade Chronicles X - December 4th
- Devil's Third - December 11th
To be frank, the Wii U will likely never recover from its sales slump. It only just recently surpassed 10 million units sold, and with the Nintendo NX on the horizon, it looks like the Wii U's life is over prematurely. This is despite the fact that the Wii U's upcoming lineup is looking quite strong, and has a nice amount of variety, with the third-person shooter, survival-horror, JRPG, and platforming genres all represented.
Perhaps the Wii U can get a second wind with this lineup if it's coupled with a steep price drop or new version of the system. In fact, Nintendo has recently patented a game console that lacks a disc drive, and while initial speculation would suggest that the patent is for the NX, it's possible it could be a redesigned Wii U. By releasing a cheaper version of the Wii U with no disc drive and a lot of memory, Nintendo could potentially turn the console's ill fortunes around in its twilight hours.
During the last few years, Nintendo has typically released information such as these release dates in their popular Nintendo Direct video series. However, the usual host for the Nintendo Directs has been Satoru Iwata, who tragically passed away last month, and it seems that due to Iwata's absence, Nintendo has decided to forego a Nintendo Direct. Since Iwata was such a significant part of the Nintendo Direct presentations in general, it's possible that Nintendo may decide to use a different format for delivering information to their fans in the future altogether, but for now, consider this a one time thing.
Judging by the lists, Nintendo has a pretty strong first-party lineup for both the Wii U and the 3DS for the rest of 2015. Which games do you plan on picking up? Let us know which Nintendo titles will consume your gaming hours for the rest of 2015 in the comments below!
Source: Game Informer