The Nintendo
DS, having p•••ed a sales milestone, is looking to carry its momentum into the fall season with a number of recently released titles. Nintendo recently commented on the success of the system worldwide, moving millions of units in less than two years.
The
DS launched on November 21, 2004, and has since sold 21 million units worldwide -- a rate Nintendo equates to nearly one system sold every two seconds. Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications George Harrison further added the Nintendo
DS was “North America’s top-selling video game system of any type in June.”
With the
DS approaching its third year on the market and with the launch of the re-designed Nintendo
DS Lite, a number of first-party titles are still on the menu, including a mix of old and new franchises.
Star Fox Command is slated to launch on August 28, according to
Nintendo's website, and will support eight-player dogfighting locally with four-player support over Wi-Fi. In this adventure, the touch screen will allow players to draw their own routes for the mission as they take over bases and advance through the stages. As always, the branching storyline of missions is still intact in the franchise.
Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis has a tenative date of September 25 and looks to take a new spin on the original format. Players will take control of the robotic Mario minis and try to guide them toward an exit --
Lemmings anyone? A custom level creation will allow players to trade and even post on Wi-Fi.
Touch Generations, the developer behind the likes of
Brain Age and
Nintendogs, will lead the fall lineup with
Clubhouse Games to be launched on October 9. The family-friendly cart will feature more than 20 cl•••ic board, card, and party games and will feature multiplayer and Wi-Fi connectivity. Checkers, darts, billiards, and card games are among the number of activities included in
Clubhouse Games.
Nintendogs will hit the system once again on October 16 with its newest iteration,
Nintendogs: Dalmatian. The new version will allow players to select the previously-hidden dalmatian straight from the start and will eventually allow about 20 breeds to be selected after unlocks.
On October 23,
Magical Starsign will hit the dual-screened system. Originally titled
Magical Vacation, the game will host up to six players in a science-fantasy adventure based on the power of magic. A player will be able to link with five other players to explore dungeons together in RPG format.
October 30 will launch two new spin-offs of existing franchises. The
Pokemon universe expands with the release of
Pokemon Ranger. In this adventure,
Pokemon trainers are substituted with ranchers -- l•••os are thrown at wild
Pokemon and by encircling them with the touch-screen, they become tamed and aid you in battle.
Also on October 30, the story of
Mana will unfold even more in
Children of Mana for the
DS. The Mana Tree needs help once again in this action-RPG.
Children not only features the standard single-player quest but also cooperative or competitive gameplay for up to four players.
The offbeat Japanese release
Osu! Tatakae! Ouenden! will finally find a home in the U.S. under the name
Elite Beat Agents on November 6. The rhythm game features secret agents who •••ist people in need through song, whether it be helping a student with homework or guiding a lost dog home.
Following the success of
New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi will get his turn in the spotlight once again with
Yoshi’s Island 2 on November 13. Based off the crayon, paper format of the SNES title, part two adds Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong into the 2-D platforming mix. By switching between the infant characters, new abilities are bestowed upon the player. As of the time this article was written, there was no indication of whether multiplayer will be added or not.
The
DS will become a rock ‘em, sock ‘em arena on December 4 with the release of
Custom Robo Arena. The portable version of
Robo allows players to customize their own robot to do battle in “the sport of tomorrow.” Multiplayer and Wi-Fi connection will allow players to match up their custom creations against a friend or online.December 4 will also launch another Nintendo mascot, as the puffy, pink hero Kirby will star in
Kirby Squeak Squad. Straying from the
Canvas Curse format, Kirby returns to the traditional directional pad gameplay in this 2-D platformer. The touch screen acts as Kirby’s stomach in this new adventure, allowing players to drag eaten enemies and items together and mix up all new powers. The game will also feature multiplayer for up to four people locally for the sub-game modes.
Gamers with a Nintendo
DS will also be pleased to know
Final Fantasy will be hitting the Game Boy Advance yet again on November 6. Through the
DS’s backwards compatibility, those with the system will be able to pick up and play
Final Fantasy V Advance. Nintendo is promising new job cl•••es, new dungeons and new enhanced features in the portable re-release.
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