Original Feature
Wii Realistic Release Dates [UPDATED 2007 July 2]
This is my take on the most realistic US release schedule for the Wii. This is based on research, educated guessing, and speculation. Actual release dates may (and probably will) vary. I will continue to update this list as new information becomes available (newest information is in bold).
[UPDATED 2007 July 2] Added game info about Dragon Blade, Red Steel 2. Added a delay to Manhunt 2 because of the AO rating fiasco. Changed Metroid Prime's date as per a Nintendo press release (they kind of sneaked the one week delay in there).
Previous update notes are listed at the bottom.
Big Wii Titles
| Title | Realistic Release Date | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition | June 19 | Let's hope that they put all their efforts into making the Wii controls great, and this will be a sure hit...again. |
| The Sims 2 Pets | June 19 | Official date from EA. |
| Pokemon Battle Revolution | June 25 | Official Date from Nintendo at GDC 2007. Reggie recently said that Pokemon Battle Revolution would be the first online title for the Wii in the US and it would launch a 'few months' after the launch of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl DS (April). |
| Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix | June 25 | IGN recently played the Wii version and said it is actually good and uses the Wiimote well. |
| Mario Strikers Charged | July 30 | Official Date from Nintendo's press release on May 21. My prediction was Summer 2007. |
| Madden NFL '08 | August 14 | Official Date from Nintendo's press release on May 21. |
| High School Musical | August 14 | Official Date from Nintendo's press release on May 21. |
| Metroid Prime 3: Corruption | August 27 | I was quite incorrect when I believed this title would be pushed back until 2008. However, I do now understand their strategy. MP2 got lost in the mix when they released it during the holiday season, on the other hand so few games usually come out in August, so MP3 will probably be the biggest title that month for any system. (besides Madden, depending on who you talk to) |
| Battalion Wars 2 | September 2007 | Official Date from Nintendo's press release on May 21. My prediction was Summer 2007. |
| Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire | September 2007 | Action adventure exclusively for Wii that could be very cool. |
| The BIGS | Q3 2007 | Recently announced Q3 release time-frame. |
| Wii Music | Fall 2007 | Nintendo recently confirmed this title at a Japanese new conference. They said it would come out during the summer in Japan, so I feel this game would come out in the Fall in the US. |
| Simpsons | Fall 2007 | Recently confirmed by EA, this Simpsons game is suppose to coincide with the release of the movie on DVD. The Wii version will extra content (extra mini-games, etc.) |
| Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 | Fall 2007 | Recently announced (and expected). 60 Brand new mini games. 4 player multiplayer. |
| WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 | Fall 2007 | This was shown a while back, and already the controls and graphics were looking very good. This game is on target for a fall release. |
| Carnival Games | Q4 2007 | Wii exclusive from Take-two. Another mini game compilation just in time for the holidays. |
| Super Smash Bros Brawl | November 2007 | Recent remarks by Iwata that it is coming this year and Kojima who said the game was "Very Complete" has enhanced my belief that we will see Brawl this holiday. This will be the huge holiday title for the Wii. It will be the showcase title for the online multiplayer on the Wii. |
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympics | November 2007 | This was recently announced, and will be developed by Sega, but you know the Big N is deep partnership with them if they are using Mario. |
| My Sims | November 2007 | Sure to be a big seller for EA, this game is perfect for their holiday 2007 line-up. |
| Tomb Raider: Anniversary | November 2007 | This is a remake of the original, which was to be on PS2 and PC only, but they have since added it to the Wii roster. Hopefully it won't just have tacked on motion controls. |
| Guitar Hero 3 | November 2007 | Red Octane finally announced a release date for the Wii edition and announced that it will have online play (excellent). |
| Ghost Squad | November 2007 | 'Light gun' game by Sega that has a four player mode and online play. |
| Tony Hawk's Proving Ground | November 2007 | Recently announced. Tony Hawk games almost always make it for the holiday release, so November seems a safe bet. Hopefully a full fledged Tony Hawk will be better than last year's Downhill Jam. |
| DK Jet | November 2007 | This will be a good holiday title for the non-hardcore crowd. |
| Red Steel 2 | November 2007 | Ubisoft recently officially...but, unofficially announced this obvious sequel. |
| Manhunt 2 | Holiday 2007 | The recent AO rating has essentially required Rockstar to change the game to lower the rating to Mature. This will obviously delay the game, hopefully to this holiday, but possibly into next year. IGN recently played the Wii version and said it is awesome and the Wii version is the one you'll want to get, not the PS2 version. Take-two recently announced a Q3 release time-frame. |
| Wii Health (still a tentative title) | 2008 | Rumblings inside Nintendo have said that this title has been delayed until sometime in 2008. |
| Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles | 2008 | They announced a vague late 2007 release, but let's be realistic, this game will probably be later in 2008. (Remember how many times Resident Evil 4 for Gamecube was delayed?) |
| No More Heroes | 2008 | While they did announce a Summer release date for Japan, I don't feel they will rush it over to America too quickly. Although, I do feel there is a slim chance for this game to come out in the US during Holiday 2007. If I feel that chance improving, I will change my prediction. |
| NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Sega) | Winter 2008 | Recent announcement from Sonic Team USA. This was announced as a Holiday 2007 title, but with a vague date like that, and as big as the title could be, I see it slipping until 2008. |
| Wii Motorstorm | 2008 | Not sure exactly what this will have, but I have a feeling it will be a compilation, such as Wii Sports, that has Wii Airplane and other 'motor' games. |
| Fire Emblem | 2008 | Recent reports out of Nintendo are pointing to a delay and that they are in no rush to bring this title to the US. This title was never even confirmed for a US release. I assume they will eventually bring it out here, but not in 2007. |
| Soul Calibur Legends | 2008 | Recently confirmed by Famitzu, this Soul Calibur is an adventure title. |
| Chocobo's Dungeon | 2008 | Square Enix recently announced this title. It probably will not reach US shores until later in 2008. |
| Dragon Quest Swords | 2008 | This Square Enix game that was originally suppose to be a launch title has been declared a 2008 release for the US. |
| Project Rygar | 2008 | Tecmo's action adventure Wii exclusive. |
| Super Mario Galaxy | 2008 | I know Iwata said the game is coming this year, but remember, he was speaking in Japan...to stockholders. Mario may have a slight chance of coming out in Japan this year, but his statement hasn't changed my stance that the US won't see it released until 2008. Sorry, but this is a Miyamoto game, which will be delayed until it is perfection and they already have Brawl as their big game for the holiday season. |
| Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles | 2008 | Square Enix finally showed off a gameplay video, which means it will probably arrive in the US in 2008. |
| Animal Crossing | 2008 | It would be insanely wishful thinking if you thought this would come out in 2007. |
| Pikmin 3 | 2008 | Recent rumblings lead me to believe this game is expected in 2008. |
| Wii Sports 2 | 2008 | This one is an obvious sequel. Look for Wii Sports 2 in 2008. |
| Project H.A.M.M.E.R. | 2008 | Very little has been shown on this title, I don't expect it anytime this year. |
| Forever Blue | 2008 | Very little has been shown on this title, I don't expect it anytime this year. |
| Mario Kart Wii | Holiday 2008 | Sure to be an online title, it looks as if Nintendo plans this to be the big holiday title for 2008. |
| The Legend of Zelda Wii | 2009 | The next Zelda, which Nintendo is building from the ground-up for the Wii, looks to be coming out in 2009. However, don't be surprised if this title slips into 2010. |
Extra Thoughts
- Nintendo recently announced that they are currently developing 45 Wii games. While this news is very exciting, remember a good number of these games are probably a year or two away.
- All these titles actually end up being one of the biggest console years for Nintendo, but they know they need to start out the Wii's life cycle strong. However, don't be surprised if some of these titles (maybe even big ones) get delayed until 2008.
- Even if some of these games are delayed until 2008, there are still too many compared to Nintendo's usual 1 game per month average. We may see more than one per month by Nintendo, possibly non-competing combo (such as a Wii Sports-like title and a hardcore gamers title in the same month).
- Industry insiders keep hinting that Nintendo has some surprises this year (new IP's and such). Without any information on these ghost titles, I cannot even guess when they will arrive.
- Remember that Nintendo is a corporation looking for profit. Often Nintendo published titles are finished months before release for marketing reasons. Although gamers want the game as soon as it is finished, this is not the case in the real world.
Let me know what you think of my dates and reasons.
Previous Updates
[UPDATED 2007 June 12] Added game info about Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, WWE Smackdown vs Raw, The BIGS, Carnival Games, Pikmin 3, Wii Sports 2. Updated info on Manhunt 2 and Wii Health.
[UPDATED 2007 May 22] Nintendo just released a press release with a lot of new date information. Added date information for Metroid Prime 3, Mario Strikers Charged, Battalion Wars 2, Resident Evil 4, Manhunt 2,High School Musical, and Madden NFL '08.
[UPDATED 2007 May 15] Lots of game announcements lately, probably because this was the time of year the the old E3 used to be. Added game info and date speculation for the following: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Tomb Raider Anniversary, Dragon Quest Swords, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, Ghost Squad, Chocobo's Dungeon, Project Rygar, and Mortal Kombat Amageddon.
[UPDATED 2007 May 10] Added game info and date speculation about the Simpsons game. Added game info and date speculation about Soul Calibur Legends.
[UPDATED 2007 Apr 30] Added good news about my belief that Brawl is coming this holiday. Added not so good news about Galaxy. Added news about Nintendo developing 45 Wii titles under 'Extra Thoughts'. Added game info on The Sims 2 Pets. Changed DK Bongo Blast to its new title: DK Jet.
[UPDATED 2007 Apr 16] Added game info on My Sims, Guitar Hero 3, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles.
[UPDATED 2007 Apr 13] Added game info on The Legend of Zelda Wii, Mario Kart Wii, and Wii Motorstorm.
[UPDATED 2007 Apr 12] Added game info on Spiderman 3, Wii Music, No More Heroes. Changed my analysis of Nights.
[UPDATED 2007 Apr 2] I am now going to start adding big titles by 3rd party publishers (mostly exclusives, but there may be some multiplatform titles worth mentioning). Added game info on Mario & Sonic at the Olympics and NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. Changed my expected release date for Metroid Prime 3 to 2008. Changed the expected release date for Fire Emblem to 2008.
Last updated: 2007-07-02 15:32:04