IGN Wii 2009 Preview
We look ahead to a year that's guaranteed to be big.
by IGN Nintendo Team
January 21, 2009 - In case you haven't realized it, Nintendo has the number one videogame console and the number one videogame handheld in North America. That's a pretty significant place to be: systems sold equals gamers to cater to, and Nintendo's got tens of million gamers to make happy in 2009.

Of course, you've got the most basic of videogame formulas: the more systems that are out there, the more games that will be released. And unless you're following the market as focused as we are, you're going to have a hard time knowing which titles are truly worth getting excited about. Here's the deal: on both the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, you've got a few dozen games that you really should be keeping an eye on, and we're writing this feature to help you along with your research. You're welcome.

The next few pages are chock full of games we absolutely know are hitting in 2009 because the companies responsible have announced them officially. But for the next few paragraphs, join us as we gaze into our Nintendo specific crystal ball and give you our biggest predictions for what we'll see in the next 12 months in the Nintendo console and handheld categories.

No Price Drop for Wii
Sorry guys, when you've got a system so popular that it's a rarity when you see one in the wild, even in its third year of release, it doesn't do a good job convincing the company that they should make it cheaper for consumers. 249.99 seems to be the "just right" price for the Wii, and unless Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 start undercutting Nintendo and outselling the company doing so, don't expect a lower price tag on the Nintendo system.

Bootable SD Card Game this Spring
One of the most irritating aspects of the Nintendo Wii is its limited storage space: any user who's accessed the Virtual Console and WiiWare download sections on the Wii Shop channel has no doubt run into the frustration of doing the "Refrigerator Shuffle," the act of deleting downloaded Wii games and save files just to make room for new titles to buy. Nintendo will, without warning, push a brand new system update that will enable the ability to not just download games straight to an SD card for increased storage, but those downloaded-to-SD card games will be playable straight from the card slot. No shuffle necessary. Expect this update by March, if not sooner.
Nintendo DSi in April
Last October, Nintendo released the DSi system in Japan. The DSi, for those not quite in the know, is an updated system that omits the Game Boy Advance slot, but adds new functionality: built-in cameras, SD card slot, internal flash memory, and larger screens. The insane popularity of the Nintendo DS Lite in the US bought the company some time to bulk up supplies of the new hardware, but watch out: we're anticipating that this April the system will hit US shelves, but for a premium. Both the DS Lite and DSi systems will coexist at different pricepoints, but the attraction of the added DSi functionality might draw consumers to the more expensive DSi system.

Nintendo DS/DSi Hybrid Software by Summer
Gamers will scarf up the Nintendo DSi system by the hundreds of thousands when it releases in the US, but there are still tens of million of Nintendo DS owners to cater to. Still, it'll be hard to resist the call to put some sort of DSi functionality into existing DS games. Standalone DSi games won't hit retail for a while yet (they'll be limited to the DSiWare download store) Developers are already looking at how they can incorporate the camera and rewriteable media into their Nintendo DS games without alienating that huge number of DS and DS Lite gamers out there, and we'll probably see the first DS games to have a "uses Nintendo DSi capabilities" bulletpoint in July or August.

Pikmin a Top Wii Announcement at E3
In early 2009, Nintendo will make an attempt to relaunch the Pikmin franchise with New Play Control: Pikmin, a Wii conversion of the original GameCube game using brand new Wii Remote controls that really, really work well for the property. We're predicting that this release is being pushed in anticipation of the much-awaited Pikmin 3, the Wii-exclusive sequel that Shigeru Miyamoto himself has revealed is in development at Nintendo. We're expecting that this will be one of Nintendo's "biggie" titles revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this June.

Red Steel 2 at E3
Another game we're expecting to get the "big push" at this year's big E3 Expo is the sequel to Ubisoft's Wii launch title, Red Steel. The original game was spotlighted at Nintendo's press conference in 2006 as the system's first First Person Shooter. The game was released to mixed criticism, but now that the development team has had two more years of experience with the Wii Remote's capabilities, we're expecting big things for this follow-up. Plus, with Wii Motion Plus on the horizon and the original game's sword fighting focus, we're predicting that the team is anxious to finally put 1:1 weapon combat in its design.

Mature Franchise from Electronic Arts
While the casual market's getting much of the Wii attention from Electronic Arts, the company isn't going to shy away from the hardcore gamer. Yes, the company will still focus on the "All Play" line of sports games as well as cater to the Wii Fit crowd with its upcoming fitness franchise, but watch out for a huge push to the hardcore -- we're expecting EA will reveal a few titles that'll please gamers who aren't looking for wimpy games on the Nintendo console. Gritty games aren't just for the Xbox and PS3 crowd, and EA will make sure Wii owners get their intense experience to