Nintendo Announces U.S. Fall Release Schedule

Nintendo has announced its North American release schedule from August to early 2006 for the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. The schedule outlines Nintendo's plans for the 2005 holiday season now that Zelda: Twilight Princess, its previous flagship title, has been delayed until 2006. On the Nintendo DS, both Nintendogs and Advance Wars: Dual Strike are shipping this week. Trace Memory will follow on September 26, Metroid Prime Pinball (with included DS Rumble Pak that fits into the GBA slot) on October 24, and Mario Kart DS, the company's first online title, on November 14. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the sequel to its GBA RPG Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is due out on November 28th, and Animal Crossing rounds out the 2005 lineup on December 2nd. The Game Boy Advance will receive a new hardware revision on September 19 with the ultra-small Game Boy Micro. Software releases from the company are sparser than third-party games, but a few still remain for the venerable handheld. August 29 brings Dynasty Warriors Advance, while Donkey Kong: King of Swing comes out on September 19 and SNES port Donkey Kong Country 3 is released on November 7. Nintendo's last 2005 releases for the platform will be Dr. Mario & Puzzle League and Mario Tennis: Power Tour, both on December 5th. Company mascot Mario will appear in virtually every genre save his native platformer on the GameCube: Mario Superstar Baseball will hit on August 29th, Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix is scheduled for October 24th, Mario Party 7 will be released on November 7th, and soccer title Super Mario Strikers will be out on December 5th. Non-Mario GameCube games include Battalion Wars on September 19th, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness on October 3rd, and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance on October 17th. Joining Zelda with a delay into 2006 is Metroid Prime Hunters, a demo of which was included with the Nintendo DS' launch in 2004, but has taken a remarkably long time to reach shelves. One reason for the delay may be the negative reaction to the announcement that the title will not feature Internet play through the DS's wi-fi capabilities.