with nintendo releasing zelda last year, metroid, smash, and galaxy this year, and animal crossing and mario kart rumored for a release of 2008, what other big games are left for 2009 and beyond? I suppose they can make a kirby and starfox game, but those series haven't been doing to well lately. The only big franchise they have left (that i can think of) is Pikmin. the first two games were good, but i don't think a 3rd game would do too well (it gets repetitive as it is)

- B-MANN

You're right. There are a huge number of big Nintendo games coming out in the next months. Especially this year, with Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Super Smash Bros. Brawl all coming out within the span of months. Any one of those games would normally be enough to carry Nintendo through a holiday, but we're getting all three this year. That is unprecedented. It's obvious that Nintendo isn't kidding around when it says it's serious about pulling in serious gamers, and it's making sure that the Wii will stay in demand through at least this holiday.

But what will come after that? Mario Kart and Animal Crossing are definitely on their way, more than likely for 2008. Those are two pretty big guns—even bigger when you consider online possibilities (AC especially). Just having those two games next year wouldn't be so bad, and there will be plenty of other mid-grade Nintendo releases to fill in the gaps. Don't forget about the 47 or so Wii games that Nintendo is currently developing. There's no way all of those games are brain trainers or franchise sequels. It's got some original IPs in the works, too. Maybe we'll start seeing those released next year?

Hey Bag,

I'm a huge fan of the metroid series...I've owned all the games for it at one point or another. I was wondering, due to the success of the Metroid Prime games do you think there is a chance that we could see a new 2-D Metroid Game on the DS perhaps? It could be similar in graphical style to the New Super Mario Bros. game...2-D side-scrolling with 3D graphics. I think it would be incredible to have a bigger and better Super Metroid Style game for my DS. Thanks!!

- timmAy
Frankfort, IL

There should have been already. The long-rumored Metroid Dread was supposed to be the kick-ass remake of the original for the DS, but it apparently never got off the ground. It actually may have never existed, but I guess we'll never know now.

Metroid on the handhelds is at a crossroads, I think. New Super Mario Bros. is proof that 2D games can flourish on the DS. Metroid would probably work just as well if Samus was given the same treatment at Mario. However, Metroid Prime Hunters is a sign that a 3D Metroid game can work pretty damn well on the DS. I really don't know if the first real Metroid DS game will be a 2D side-scroller. Though I'm sure we'll get one of those eventually, I would not be surprised if Metroid DS was another first-person game. Let's hope we hear something more about it at E3.

When it was first announced that Wii would be online, I think I remember hearing that Nintendo would not charge for the Wii to be online (as far as channels go) or to play Nintendo games online...but that it was up to third parties to decide if they wanted to charge for their games to be online or not.

So now that online play is approaching and the Wii is out, will ALL online games be free to play online?

And that brings me deeper online-related question: who foots the bill for the servers? I don't know how that works, but with something like XBOX Live, it would seem that a portion of the subscription fee would go to the publishers that have online games. Making an online game for Wii would certainly give consumers another reason to buy it, but would the extra purchases make up for the cost of servers?

- j_moose
Michigan

For the most part, yes, all online games will be free to play online. What Nintendo meant by its statement is that it won't charge a recurring fee for the privilege, as Xbox 360 owners need to do if they want to play games online. However, that doesn't mean that third parties can't charge people to play their games. For instance, Phantasy Star Online I&II on the GameCube required a $15 a month access fee to play. If there were a game of a similar make and model that came to the Wii, there could be a monthly bill for that particular game only. Final Fantasy XI on the 360 requires players to pay the monthly charge on top of what Microsoft is asking for, which just goes to show that third party online games are pretty much independent of the first party online structure.

So, server costs. They aren't something that is paid for on a one-to-one basis. It's not like Microsoft is breaking even on Xbox Live server administration via subscriptions and microtransactions alone. The online aspect of a console are merely another feature a game console has that attracts people to buy the hardware and the games that take advantage of the online functionality. In other words, Nintendo is making a lot more money off of Wii hardware and software sales than it is losing on server costs. After all, Nintendo's profits and stock prices are at an all-time high. The small price it pays to connect Wii and DS systems across the globe is worth the extra revenue is generates because of the interest in the online features of the games.

Any idea if Nintendo will be releasing any of the 2 screen game and watches compiled on a ds cart since there is 2 screens. I have been waiting and waiting, and think that it would be great for them to do so. I have all other 4 game and watch galleries and go back to them all the time since they are classics!

- fw0ggie
Pennsylvania

It already did, sort of. Game & Watch Collection was a special Japan-only DS game that featured Oil Panic, Donkey Kong and Green House in a true-to-the-original dual screen setup. It's a rare item, and will probably not come to America in that form. Nintendo may have had enough of the original G&W series, already releasing the lot of them on the GBA. I don't think we'll see them again, though the DS is the perfect system for it. I think Nintendo would do better to completely reinvent the concept and tailor it specifically for the handheld instead of re-releasing all of those very, very old games.

So is it me, or is the Wii being overlooked when it comes to mainstream franchises. I think it's great we are getting Soul Calibur Legends, and it sounds like it may have some potential. Lets face it though, we need Soul Calibur IV on Wii. Why do you think Namco has opted to only place it on 360 and the dying PS3?

- Smithers 2.0

I love the Soul Calibur series, and if there's anyone that would like to see Soul Calibur IV come to the Wii, it's me. This announcement, however, did not surprise me in the slightest. The fighting series has always been about control precision and pretty graphics. The Wii can't do those as well as the 360 or PS3.

So why didn't Namco bring it to the Wii? I think the controller isn't good for fighting games. I've spent a lot of time with the Wii version Mortal Kombat: Armageddon in the past few days (check back later this week for our review) and can honestly say that traditional fighters don't control well on Wii. (Before you send in the hate mail, Super Smash Bros. is hardly a traditional fighting game.) There aren't enough buttons, and remote swipes don't make adequate button replacements in fighting games because they are nowhere near as responsive or consistent. Though I can envision a possible Wii control setup for it to work on Wii—and what I'm thinking of will probably wind up in SC Legends—Namco is probably thinking it won't live up to the very high standards of the franchise.

It's tough luck that Wii isn't getting SCIV, look at this from the other angle. The other systems aren't getting SC Legends. Wii owners may think they're getting the short end of the stick, but we don't know how good either game will be. We'll need to wait and see how this split works out for all parties involved.

Hello again to NWR!

I live in Belgrade, Serbia and am planning on buying a Wii in the near future. A friend of mine has owned a Wii for a while now. He tried to use the Wii-Connect 24 and Wii Shop Channel, but it seems they aren't supported in our region. Is this really the case? And what about online multiplayer? I was really looking forward to playing games like Mario Strikers Charged online. Will I have the pleasure or not? Please help!

- Rodimus Prime

If the Wii Shop Channel (and therefore, Virtual Console) isn't supported in your country, that's because the rights to the various classic games on VC haven't been finalized for that region. That, or they never existed in the first place. Outlining rights to release old games again is tricky business (refer to The Answer for more on that), and is even more so in Europe because of the different countries involved. You can't sell a game in a country unless someone has the legal rights to do so. As such, don't expect VC games to appear in Serbia until the rights issues are resolved. That will probably take a lot of time.

In the meanwhile, have you tried changing the country setting in your Wii options? It may be worth a shot to change it over to the U.K. or Germany or some other major country, if such an option exists. You could get access that way.