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'More than 50 games' launching alongside Wii U this November
When Nintendo's Wii U launches this November in the US and EU, it's bringing "more than 50" launch window games -- what that "launch window" means, exactly, is another question altogether. Nintendo's leading the lineup with a variety of its own games, though publishers Activision and Ubisoft are certainly leading the charge in terms of sheer number of games. A variety of high-profile cross platform ports are heading to the Wii U, from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 to Madden NFL 13. And yes, Nintendo's bringing plenty of its stalwart franchises to the launch, including New Super Mario Bros. Head past the break for the full list shown during today's New York City press conference.
Rumor: 3DS to launch in Japan with around 10 games
It's likely we'll find out for sure what the launch lineup for the Japanese 3DS release will be tomorrow, during the Nintendo World 2011 event. However, Inside-Games claims to know the number of titles launching with the handheld on February 26: approximately 10. According to Andriasang's translation of the rumor post, third parties have "a large number" of games ready for the launch window, to be distributed throughout February and March. But as for day-one, between Nintendo and third parties, it'll be about 10 games. Expect them all to come from the 15 playable titles at the Nintendo World event. The site also claims that pricing for 3DS games will run around 1,000 yen ($12) more than the standard 4,800 ($57) yen DS game price, with more expensive games (your Square Enix stuff) running 2,000 yen higher. It's hard to tell how that will translate to American prices, considering the difference in base price between America and Japan.
North American Kinect launch window games rounded up
When you get your shiny new Kinect, what games will you get with it? Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has provided a handy guide to the full Kinect launch lineup -- including launch day games and those arriving soon after. If you wagered there would be four sports minigame collections (Kinect Sports, Deca Sports Freedom, Game Party In Motion and MotionSports), you win! The seventeen-game lineup also includes three dancing games (Dance Central, Zumba Fitness, and DanceMasters), four exercise games (Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout, EA Sports Active 2.0, and the aforementioned Zumba Fitness), and two 'boarding games (Adrenalin Misfits and Sonic Free Riders). See the full list after the break. Major Nelson notes that the Xbox 360 launched in North America with 18 games, just one more than Kinect is launching with -- bearing out Shane Kim's comment that Microsoft would treat the Kinect launch like a new system. Or, it would, if this list didn't count the Kinect games coming out weeks after the Kinect release date as "launch games" vs. the 360's 18-game launch day. In any case, the Kinect has a lot of choices, even if they're all within a few categories.
Console launch lineup scores compared
1UP compiled a list of the best and worst games of modern console launches, including an average review score of each system's launch titles. This post updates a similar Next Gen article with just-released Wii and PS3 scores. The verdict? The Wii has the worst recent launch lineup, the PlayStation holds the all-time worst record, and the PS3 lands only two slots above the Wii.While we had fun browsing the best and worst games, we'll keep in mind that this list means little. (1UP and Next Gen even have marginally different numbers.) All of the 1UP launch scores average in the 70-80 percent range, so none clearly represents the success or failure of a console; the Dreamcast comfortably sits in third place, with Soul Calibur as the highest ranked launch title for any system.See also: Next-gen launch reviews projected[Thanks, Embassy]
