We were recently sifting through the latest list of forthcoming Wii releases, when it struck us: for Wii owners, the opening three months of 2008 are looking surprisingly healthy. As anybody who is familiar with this industry will know, the first quarter of any given year is usually a drought for quality games, a period for wallets to gain some respite from the Christmas bombardment of releases.
Things seem different this year, however. We've already enjoyed No More Heroes (which, don't forget, you can win in our latest Fanswag) and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, and still have Baroque, Okami, Opoona, and Worms: A Space Oddity to come. Oh yeah, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Even though Mario Kart seems to have slipped to not-Q1, that's a tasty line-up for what is traditionally the quietest time of the year. Are you similarly impressed by this unexpected onslaught, or are we getting over-excited?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-27-2008 @ 10:56AM
Roto13 said...
I didn't know Opoona was coming out this quarter. Cool. That's four must-get games for me. xP The Wii's first year was kind of slow, but the same can be said for the Xbox 360 and PS3. I'm glad things are picking up.
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1-27-2008 @ 11:02AM
Tom said...
Personally, I never really care about Q1 of any year. I'm usually busy playing all the games that come out around the holidays to even notice. But, this year's Q1 lineup is pretty good. No More Heroes, Okami, and Brawl will be the games I'm getting. Plus, Days of Ruin came out for the DS. Probably my favorite DS game ever.
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1-27-2008 @ 11:04AM
ssuk said...
You wouldn't be saying this if you were in Europe. I'm beginning to really regret getting a PAL Wii.
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1-27-2008 @ 11:07AM
ESK said...
No More Heroes and Brawl are really all you needed to list. Okami and Baroque are PS2 ports, Worms is crippled and Harvey Birdman was awful as a game. Opoona looks like it could be cool though.
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1-27-2008 @ 11:30AM
Max Headroom said...
I thought the Q1 lineup was pretty nice looking. In addition to the titles already mentioned, isn't "Bully" coming in March? I also had at least a passing interest in "And Then There Were None," "Endless Ocean," "Alone in the Dark," "Obscure," and "Destroy All Humans." Even if they aren't exactly AAA titles, it seems like there's enough there to keep me entertained for a good long while.
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1-27-2008 @ 11:42AM
BazookaMack said...
Get No More Heroes. Its worth its weight in gold. Capcom releases a true Wii game
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1-27-2008 @ 1:13PM
Mr Khan said...
Capcom?
Capcom published Killer 7 (iirc), but Ubisoft (NA), Spike (JP), and Rising Star (PAL) published this
1-27-2008 @ 2:51PM
flameofdoom666 said...
I was shocked it wasnt a Capcom published game too!
Capcom publushed: Viewtiful Joe 1 and 2, Okami, Killer 7 and even Godhand.
Capcom publishs works of art usually- so Ubisoft publishing No More Heroes is strange to me.
1-27-2008 @ 2:51PM
flameofdoom666 said...
They made and published Zack and Wiki too! Damn thats a good game.
1-27-2008 @ 10:09PM
TheOverlord#2 said...
Don't forget Resident Evil 4 :)
1-27-2008 @ 11:46AM
Zack W. said...
...added props for No More Heroes. I just started it yesterday. I got it at launch, but I decided to play a bit more of Galaxy first. Holy cow it is......it's neat.
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1-27-2008 @ 12:02PM
eone said...
Ummm... you are kidding right? Best q1 ever?
I think some are glorifying rather mediocre games because there really isn't anything else to rave about. Brawl looks very promising, other than that all others seem ok to good to me.
I think the wii is a great system, but lets face it, they are lacking some consistent quality games and totally lacking good 3rd party games. Anything else is just smoke and mirrors to blind fanatics.
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1-27-2008 @ 1:17PM
Mr Khan said...
Must have different standards of "mediocre"
NMH, Okami, and Brawl are definitely universally praiseworthy, Dragon Quest Swords, Endless Ocean, Oopoona, and Baroque are definitely "good" games up to any standard
The rest is mediocre, i'll give that, but this is certainly a far above-average Q1, and that goes for all 3 consoles, btw
1-27-2008 @ 3:32PM
raindog469 said...
It is a pretty strong first quarter. I think those who are claiming it isn't the best first quarter ever for game release should provide some counterexamples.
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1-27-2008 @ 3:36PM
Dante Diablo said...
No More Heroes rules. Gave Dr. Peace the business end of my sabre last night.
Brawl and Okami? Just too much to look forward to.
NMH has wet my appetite for beat-'em-ups. How do get Godhand on the Wii?
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1-27-2008 @ 4:46PM
Mr Khan said...
Have fun with Shinobu :)
1-27-2008 @ 9:48PM
used cisco said...
Welcome to the new world order, where the Wii starts getting good games on a regular basis, including from third parties. I can't wait for Opoona, Baroque, and Okami. NMH is fantastic. The Wii is really building up some quality titles.
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1-27-2008 @ 10:03PM
Ethan said...
It's a tasty line-up because they were all supposed to come at christmas!
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1-28-2008 @ 1:04AM
tiamat1990 said...
What about Q2 though? That's looking to be terrible as usual.
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1-28-2008 @ 11:19AM
Gonzo said...
I'm curious about Opoona, disappointed by No More Heroes (or at least the half of the game I was sold), and looking forward to Bully.
It looks like the best third party games are still the ports.
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1-28-2008 @ 11:50AM
Shad0wguy said...
My shopping list for the next 3 months includes Destroy All Humans!, Smash Bros. Brawl, and Baroque. My wallet is going to take a strain in these coming months.
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1-28-2008 @ 11:48PM
simon said...
we use S's instead of Z's in australia. obviously replacing all of the Z's when converting american english to "rest of the world" english takes some time, hence why we had to wait about 3 months for metroid, still waiting for no more heros..
of course, i could just get a mod chip and download the games. but i swore i wouldnt. but when i go to the store to buy no more heros and im told its not coming out for another month or two, well, I seriously consider getting the chip. That and selling my Wii. AFAIC in australia its pretty much an expensive paperweight.
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