June, 2004

6/24 Update

Ten Nintendo DS Titles Revealed!

    In some recent interviews, Electronic Gaming Monthly was able to find out about a large number of Nintendo DS games that are in development, but haven't been officially announced yet.  The full list is as follows:

• Super Monkey Ball: Toshihiro Nagoshi-san, of Sega's Amusement Vision team, said Nintendo suggested they make a Super Monkey Ball game for the DS. No confirmation yet, but according to EGM Nagoshi-san wants to make the game.
• Baten Kaitos: Shinji Noguchi-san from Namco went on the record saying he'd want to make a Baten Kaitos game for the console if there's interest. He noted that the system would be great for card-based games (obviously because of the touch screen-stylus input scheme).
• Castlevania: Koji Igarashi-san confirmed that the RPG-based Castlevania series (that had its start with Symphony of the Night on PSOne and found a great following with three GBA iterations) would continue on the DS, confirming a Castlevania game's development.
• Unknown Team Ninja Project: Tecmo has their own DS title in the works according to Tomonobu Itagaki-san. Recall that this is the same company that shot down both PS2 and GameCube this generation in favor of the foreign Xbox because of its greater technical horsepower. In spite of that precedent, Itagaki-san has stated an odd position, one favoring the technically less-powerful hardware of the DS over the PSP.
• Yu-Gi-Oh!: Following the same card game logic that has Namco convinced, EGM mentioned Konami had a Yu-Gi-Oh! title in the works.
• Silent Hill: Silent Hill's director expressed interested in making a Silent Hill title for the DS, but citing the difficulty of creating a "scary" environment on a handheld platform, he claimed the game would be more focused on shooting and action than its console counterparts.
• Chu-Chu Rocket and "Project RUB": From Sonic Team's Yuji Naka-san, a team that's been very good to Nintendo consoles in the past few years, dropped word that Nintendo recommended they develop a Chu-Chu Rocket title (a well-received puzzle game originally conceived for the Dreamcast that would probably benefit from the touch screen). Additionally, he mentioned "Project RUB," an unnanounced title that might point to a control scheme that relies on the player literally rubbing the touch screen. A Sonic the Hedgehog title has already been announced and was on the show floor at E3.
• Pending Square-Enix Support: Yasumi Matsuno from Square-Enix, said that he's interested in producing titles for the DS as soon as he figures out how to take advantage of its features.
• Pending Konami Support: Contra's director's comments on the DS mirrored that of Square-Enix, that he might be interested in developing games for the portable.

Source: Nintendojo

6/20 Update

Gamecube Zelda Release Date!

    IGN has updated their release dates list to include the new, realistic Zelda game for Gamecube that was shown at E3 last month.  The planned release date is March 15, 2005, so barring any delays, the game will be out in about 9 months.  Ganon's Tower will continue to bring you all the latest information on the new Zelda announced for Gamecube.

Source: IGN

GBA Successor Planned!

Nintendo has announced plans for the successor to Gameboy Advance, and it is not the Nintendo DS.  The release of the system will depend on how DS does on the market, and if the PSP starts to eat into the market share that GBA and DS have, the system will be launched as early as 2006, otherwise the release date is currently planned for 2007.  Ganon's Tower will continue to provide you with the latest information on the successor to Gameboy Advance, and all the next-generation systems.

Source: The Magic Box

6/16 Update

Zelda DS Confirmed!

   Gamespy conducted an interview with Eiji Aonuma, and he confirmed that Zelda DS is in development. 

    This proves the game is on the way, although there is really no information available on it right now.  There is no information on how the game will make sure of the two screens, although a good guess would be that one screen would be for playing, and the 2nd could be used as a map, but nothing is confirmed yet.  Ganon's Tower will have more information as it becomes available.

Source: Gamespy