Nintendo Drops Dates For DSi XL, Metroid, Super Mario Galaxy 2, And More

Nintendo held an event in San Francisco today to show off some upcoming games and talk specifics about its releases for the first half of 2010. This means we've got new dates for games like Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M. It also means we've got some new announcements, both from Nintendo and some third-party publishers.

Of course, I also played a good chunk of that stuff, but the juiciest bits of my Wednesday will have to wait until 9PM (that's less than four hours away, in case you're not in our time zone). That's actually a good thing, because I need some time to collect my thoughts on one game in particular. Let's get these dates out of the way first, cool?

The bigger-screened DSi XL will launch in North America on March 28 at a price of $189.99. It'll be available in two colors at launch, burgundy and bronze.Additionally, it'll come preloaded with Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math, Photo Clock, Flipnote Studio, and the DSi's Opera-powered web browser. If you're looking for percentages and love numbers, Nintendo's stated that the XL's screens are 93 percent bigger than the DS Lite's viewing areas. That's a lot of percent.

- Super Mario Galaxy 2 will hit on May 23. In it, you play as Mario, who is some sort of plumber-man?

- Metroid: Other M, the game that Team Ninja is working on along with Nintendo, will come to North America on June 27. There are some bits in the press release that are worth reading, if you haven't already, and expect to hear more from me about how these bits work later tonight:

The game looks at the classic franchise from a new perspective: While much of the game is reminiscent of 2-D side-scrollers, players can switch the perspective into 3-D at any time as they explore the twisting passages of a derelict space station and delve deep into a cinematic, never-before-told story of bounty hunter Samus Aran's past. This new approach uses a new control scheme in which players use the Wii Remote™ controller held sideways to battle enemies and navigate the expansive, gorgeous environments in classic Metroid fashion, then aim at the screen with the Wii Remote pointer to blast foes in first-person and hunt the world for clues and hidden passages.

- Nintendo will publish Square-Enix's Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies here in North America. It'll hit for the DS this Summer.

- In a separate announcement that was also confirmed at Nintendo's event, Capcom confirmed that Monster Hunter Tri will be released on April 20. The US version of the game will allow players to play online for free, and it will also have WiiSpeak support for four-player voice chat in-game. I have already made my lame 4/20 reference elsewhere, so let's just move on, shall we?

- Sin and Punishment 2 has been renamed to Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. It'll have online leaderboards that cover all regions and is scheduled for North American release on June 7.

- FlingSmash is a summer release that requires the Wii MotionPlus and combines "the precision of racket sports with the unpredictable fun of pinball." I'll have more to say about this one later.

- Yo, do you like Picross? I know I do. I'll dig out my copy of Mario's Picross if you want me to prove it. That's sort of beside the point, anyway. Nintendo is bringing Picross 3D to the DS on May 3. It'll have over 350 puzzles, with more coming via online download after release.

- Would you read a book on your DS? How about 100 books? What if I told you that they were all "classics?" 100 Classic Books is coming to the DS and will contain works by William "The Knife" Shakespeare, Jules Verne, Jane Austen, and Mark Twain, among others. While I can't see myself reading a book on my DS screen (regardless of its size), I... well, now that I think about it, I barely see myself reading a book when it's, you know, a book. But this will be $19.99 and blasts off on June 14.

- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is due on both Wii and DS on May 18. The Wii version will contain two-player co-op and an emulated Super Nintendo version of the original Prince of Persia.

- Disney Guilty Party is billed as a "mystery party game" due in the second half of 2010. Wideload Games is working on it. Hey, wait, I thought all this stuff was supposed to be first half. Cheaters!

- Ghostwire: Link to the Paranormal is out on DSi this October. It's an "augmented reality" game that uses the DSi camera, so if you haven't upgraded to a DSi or DSi XL by then, well... you're boned. Majesco is publishing it.

The company also took the time to lay out some of its release plans for WiiWare and DSiWare. Everyone knows that the DSi's shop music is far superior to the Wii's shop music, by the way.

WiiWare:

• Mega Man 10 - March 1
• Max & the Magic Marker - March 8
• Cave Story - March 22
• WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase - March 29
• Art Style: light trax - Spring
• Art Style: Rotozoa - Spring
• Rage of the Gladiator - Spring
• And Yet It Moves - Spring
• Super Meat Boy - Summer

DSiWare

• Photo Dojo - Spring (Note: This is the US version of Shashin de Kakutou! Photo Fighter X)
• Metal Torrent - Spring
• X-Scape - Spring

OK, that just about does it for the newsy sort of stuff from today's event. I'll get writing, and let's reconvene in a few hours, when I'll have some stories to tell and trailers to show.