Fall 2005: What is Nintendo bringing you?

August 23, 2005

As the big season for video game rollout begins, Nintendo has announced a slew of titles that will be available between now and early 2006. All told, nearly 170 games will be available for the various Nintendo gaming platforms, leaving GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Micro (!) owners with plenty of gaming fun to buy.

Of course, along with the good news, came some bad. A few anxiously awaited titles have had their release dates shifted back. One notable delay is Metroid Prime: Hunters for the DS. Originally targeted to ship in October, the game's release has been moved to first quarter of 2006. Metroid fans will have to make due with the October 24th release of Metroid Pinball which will come bundled with the new DS Rumble Pak.

Handheld Mario Kart fans will have to wait a little longer than expected. Mario Kart DS has been delayed until November 14th. Age of Empires: The Age of Kings for the DS has been pushed back to January as have DS titles Bust-A-Move and Guilty Gear Dust Strikers.

Upcoming GameCube Releases

The GameCube is going to have quite a bit to offer this fall with releases including:

• Bratz: Rock Angels (October 4)

• Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball MAX'D (October/18)

• SeaWorld: Shamu's Big Adventure (November 1).

• Mario and Friends (November 7)

• American Chopper Full Throttle (November 8)

• Super Mario Strikers (December 5)

Upcoming Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Micro Releases

Game Boy players will have lots of options to choose from as multitude of titles hits the shelves. The best surprise is that several previously unannounced titles top the list!

September

• Lego Bionicle: Maze of Shadows (September 13)
• Whac-A-Mole (September 22)
• Rayman Classics (September)

October

• Ford Racing 3 (October 4)
• SRS: Street Racing Syndicate (October 4)
• Fairly OddParents: Clash with the Anti-World (October 17)
• Chicken Shoot 1 (October 18)
• Snood 2: On Vacation (October18)
• Backyard Skateboarding 2006 (October)
• Duel Masters: Shadow of the Code (October)
• Zatch Bell! (October)

November

• SeaWorld: Shamu's Big Adventure (November 1)
• Chicken Shoot 2 (November 8)
• Totally Spies (November)

December

• Dr. Mario/Puzzle League (December 5)
• Backyard Football 2006 (Holiday 2005)

Upcoming Nintendo DS Releases

October

• Real Time Conflict: Shogun Empires (October24)

November

• SeaWorld: Shamu's Big Adventure (November 1)
• Pac-Man World 3 (November)
• SBK: Snowboard Kids DS (November)

December

• Animal Crossing DS (December 5)
• Golden Nugget Casino (December)
• Ultimate Card Games (December)

January 2006 and Beyond

• Age of Empires: The Age of Kings (January)
• ''Texas Hold 'Em Poker (January)
• Bust-A-Move (January)
• Guilty Gear Dust Strikers (January)
• Ultimate Brain Games (Q1 2006)
• Nicktoons Unite! (early 2006)

This list of great titles should come as no surprise since most video games are released into the market in preparation for Christmas. Now all that remains to be seen is what games people really want to buy and play in the frenzy of this year's video game holiday selling season!