Nintendo of Europe Announces Spring Releases

Nintendo of Europe has released the list of first-party software titles that they expect to publish in Europe between April and June for the GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and DS platforms. As has become the unfortunate norm with European releases from Nintendo, most of these titles are seeing retail releases weeks, and in some cases months after the North American market. Nintendo DS owners will be able to pick up eagerly anticipated releases such as Tetris DS in April and Metroid Prime: Hunters in May, both of which take advantage of Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection online service in order to allow for play against other players on the worldwide network. Both of these titles were released in North America in March to high acclaim. Other DS releases on the list, such as May's Super Princess Peach and the hotly anticipated New Super Mario. Bros. in June promise a return to Nintendo's roots with classic 2D side-scrolling action. Other releases for the DS, including Brain Training in June, which has proven to be incredibly popular in Japan, as well as the medical drama Trauma Centre in April only further emphasize Nintendo's commitment to the DS platform. GameCube owners in Europe have little to look forward in the coming months as far as first-party releases, as the quirky Chibi-Robo sits as the lone title on the list set to be shipped in May. The Game Boy Advance fares a bit better with two releases scheduled to ship within the April to June time frame. Polarium Advance, a title not yet announced for North America, is scheduled to ship in mid-April with three new types of tiles not found in the original DS version. Finally, Final Fantasy IV brings Square Enix's classic 16-bit masterpiece to the GBA in June, and while it is being released nearly six months after the title was shipped in North America, the popularity of this franchise is sure to please European players.