Nintendo of America Announces Upcoming Releases

Nintendo of America has released the list of first party software titles that it expects to release between now and the end of October for the GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS platforms. The list shows added emphasis on support for the popular DS console, in light of the upcoming U.S. release of the redesigned Nintendo DS Lite handheld on June 11. Nintendo itself will release ten new titles for the Nintendo DS in North America throughout the second and into the third quarter in 2006. Of these, four will be released in June, including Big Brain Academy and Magnetica on June 5 and Sudoku Gridmaster on June 26, all of which also serve as the premier titles for Nintendo's recently announced Touch Generations brand of casual games. Nintendo also confirmed that Star Fox Command will ship for the Nintendo DS on August 28, followed by Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team on September 18, a title that will ship day and date alongside a version for the Game Boy Advance called Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team. Puzzle game sequel Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis is scheduled to ship for the Nintendo DS on September 25. October will see a pair of Nintendo DS titles released with Clubhouse Games on October 9, and Square Enix's Children of Mana, the sequel to Sword of Mana, on October 30. By way of comparison, the second and third quarters will see very little support for the GameCube coming from Nintendo, with only two first party releases currently scheduled - not surprising, with the current console generation winding down and the Wii due out in the fourth quarter. Nintendo will publish Namco Bandai's Baten Kaitos Origins, the sequel to the 2004 GameCube RPG release Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, on September 25, as well as Super Paper Mario on October 9.