Clear path for Mario

Apr 26, 2010 09:43 GMT  ·  By

A lot of people were surprised earlier in the year about the big titles, like Metroid and Super Mario Galaxy 2, which Nintendo planned to launch towards the beginning of summer. Now, the Japanese hardware maker and videogame creator has announced that two of the big releases, Metroid: Other M and Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, will be delayed, clearing the way for the new Mario-powered title to be the big launch for the company for the coming three months.

Metroid: Other M was initially set to come out on June 27 for the Nintendo Wii and the fresh date for it is August 31. The videogame is being created by Team Ninja and mixes and matches a wide array of concepts familiar to fans of the series.

The entire experience is delivered in full 3D, just like in the Prime spinoff, but at certain points, like when rockets are fired, the perspective shifts from third person to first person to show off the new Wii graphics and the effect of the salvo. Team Ninja and Nintendo are also promising more narrative elements than in other Metroid titles, with the focus squarely on Samus' past.

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is the game that takes up the place left open by Metroid, delayed to June 27 from its original date closer to the beginning of the month. The game is being delivered by developer Treasure and takes inspiration from a Nintendo 64 original, which came out in 2000 on the Japanese market and only arrived in the West in 2007.

Star Successor is an on-rails shooter that emphasizes cooperative play and throws hundreds of enemies at the player before introducing huge end level bosses that take time to defeat.

Nintendo also confirmed a slew of WiiWare and DSiWare titles, including Photo Dojo for May 10, free for the first month, with a 200 DSiPoints price tag attached after that.