During the company’s E3 Press Conference today, Nintendo addressed their loyalty to their hardcore fanbase. While WiiFit will capture the attention of casual gamers throughout 2008, the Big N reminded us that their most anticipated games are right around the corner.
Both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Brothers Brawl were given release dates that fall into this year’s fourth quarter. Galaxy has been slated for a November 13th release while Brawl was given a slightly later date at December 3rd, despite not being playable or the little information given at this year’s show.
Nintendo has a lot invested in these two titles, as the duo and next month’s Metroid Prime 3 are the only true games directed towards the company’s hardcore fanbase.
While Galaxy and Metroid both showed off some great gameplay footage during the presentation, the little details given regarding Brawl worries me a bit.
Nintendo has been following the belief of "A delayed game is eventually good, but a bad game is always bad" since the days of Ocarina of Time, so if SSBB is not ready to live up to the hype that has been placed on its shoulders, expect this game to be delayed.
Perhaps pushing the game back can benefit the company in the long run, as a quality experience is needed from Brawl even more than any other Wii game to win back the hardcore gaming crowd that the Wii has been missing.
