After a less-than-informative E3 showing, this morning Nintendo finally announced all of the Wii U details we’ve been waiting to hear. We’re still partially in the dark when it comes to detailing Nintendo’s online network for the Wii U, but at least we know the games coming in the console’s launch!
Over 50 games will be made available during the Wii U’s launch window, an a very large time frame beginning with the system’s North American launch on November 18th, 2012 and and ending March 31st, 2013. The majority of the titles are planned to be retail releases, while others like Runner 2 will be available digitally through the as of yet unnamed online store.
The list itself is comprised of first party games like New Super Mario Bros U and Pikmin 3 and third party exclusives including Bayonetta 2, ZombiU and Rayman Legends. These are supplemented by PS3/Xbox 360 games that have been ported to the Wii U.
Check out the full list of games below:
505 Games
- Funky Barn
2K Sports
- NBA 2K13
Activision
- 007 Legends
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
- Transformers Prime
- Wipeout 3
- Skylanders Giants
- Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2013
- Rapala Pro Bass Fishing
Capcom
- Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
D3Publisher
- Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game
- Ben 10: Omniverse
- Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade
Disney Interactive
- Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Electronic Arts
- Mass Effect 3
- Madden NFL 13
- FIFA 13
Frozenbyte
- Trine 2: Director’s Cut
Gaijin Game
- Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
Majesco Entertainment
- Zumba 2 Fitness Core
Maximum Games
- Jet Tailfin
Namco Bandai
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition
- TANK! TANK! TANK!
Nintendo
- Nintendo Land
- New Super Mario Bros U
- Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
- SiNG Party
- Lego City: Undercover
- Wii Fit U
- Game & Wario
- Pikmin 3
- The Wonderful 101 (formerly Project P-100)
Sega
- Aliens: Colonial Marines
- Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Shin’en
- Nano Assault Neo
Temco Koei
- Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
THQ
- Darksiders 2
- Wheel of Fortune
- Jeopardy
Two Tribes
- Toki Tori 2
Ubisoft
- Assassin’s Creed 3
- Just Dance 4
- Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth
- Rabbids Land
- Sports Connection
- Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
- ZombiU
- Rayman Legends
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- Scribblenauts Unlimited
- Game Party Champions
- Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
Reaction from the gaming community appears to be mixed, especially with the lack of strong, first party games. Pikmin 3 and New Super Mario Bros. U are sure to be popular, but we’re still waiting on information regarding a 3D Mario game, the new Smash Bros. and/or another entry in the Metroid franchise. While there is stronger third party support compared to the Wii, many of the currently announced games are ports of currently available PS3/360 games with added Wii U functionality.
However, the most glaring issue appears to be the lack of digital titles. Nintendo has yet to make their mark in the online space, and while WiiWare and the eShop host a variety of games, they’re lacking significantly in content compared to competing networks. That being said, there are plenty of retail releases to look forward to. Lego City: Undercover and the Wonderful 101 are my personal standouts; what games are you looking forward to?
The Wii U releases on November 18th in North America, November 30th in Europe and December 8th in Japan.
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Hmm, nothing here really catches my eye. Definitely nothing that would justify buy the Wii U on launch day.
buying* There’s no edit button!
The good games I already have and/or preordered. Others are for children or just not interesting.
Well this system will hopefully be the death of Nintendo. They have truly run out of any good ideas.
Death of Nintendo? Hell the only interesting games to date for other consoles have a number at the end of the title. All consoles are suffering from sequelitis. It’s not just Nintendo that has ran out of ideas. The industry itself has.
“Well this system will hopefully be the death of Nintendo.”
Why would you hope for that? Seriously. Just don’t buy it. Without competition the industry will fail.
I know it always warms my heart when a centenarian company that employs thousands of people shuts down. It just feels right.
How is a launch window 5 months?
I know right?
The Wii U is truly a wonderful device but sadly I’m more interested in what Microsoft has.
i want resident evil mercenaries bio ops to wii u. i want to know something over that topic .
Games I want very much and definitely will buy if I get a Wii U:
Rayman Legends
ZombiU
Assassin’s Creed 3 (assuming I don’t get it on PS3 or PC first)
Pikmin 3
Games I want but might not get:
007 Legends
Epic Mickey 2
Lego City
Colonial Marines
Nintendo Land
Wonderful 101
Sonic Racing Transformed (it actually looked surprisingly fun)
Arkham City
Other games I’d get if I had limitless money:
Black Ops 2
Transformers Prime
Trine 2 DC
Mass Effect 3
NSMBU
Darksiders 2
Avengers
Scribblenauts
Runner2
Trine 2 and Mass Effect 3 would be higher if I didn’t already own them in lesser forms. Anyway, I think Nintendo made a mistake doing a NSMB title for launch instead of one of their more interesting IPs. I’m sure it’ll be a good game, but great side-scrollers are all over the place these days, so releasing one as a flagship launch title that’ll probably cost $60 is just dumb, I think. A new 3D Mario, Metroid, or Smash Bros. would’ve been smarter. Maybe Star Fox.
Nuts… my comment got eaten. Probably put too many line breaks in. Condensed version:
I really want AC3, Rayman Legends, ZombiU, and Pikmin 3, and I’ll definitely be getting those if I get a Wii U. I also want, but might end up passing on: Epic Mickey 2, Nintendo Land, Lego City, Wonderful 101, and Sonic Racing Transformed (surprisingly, it looks pretty fun).
And there are a few more games I’d get if I had infinite money, or after a price drop. But there’s an awful lot of shovelware in that lineup. In no universe is it a good idea to include a game called “Funky Barn” in your big launch window list. Also, NSMBU wasn’t a good idea for a launch title. Great side-scrollers are everywhere these days, and none of them costs anywhere near $60. I’m sure it’ll be a good game, but not to the extent that someone who buys NSMBU along with Trine 2 is likely to feel like they got their money’s worth on the former. Shoulda put those resources into a new 3D Mario or Metroid or Star Fox or something.
Argh, it got un-eaten. Regurgitated if you will. Sorry for the double-post, guys.