Nintendo developing 124 games

One of the more widely used nicknames for Nintendo is the "Mario Factory." The moniker is certainly well-deserved. The Kyoto-based publisher is famous for its robust catalog of first-party games, which feature franchises such as the Legend of Zelda and iconic characters such as the aforementioned diminutive plumber.

So far, though, 2007 has seen Nintendo's flow of self-made games taper off in the wake of the Wii launch lineup. Not counting virtual console releases, less than a dozen first-party Wii games have been released this year, including Super Paper Mario, Wii Play, and WarioWare: Smooth Moves. Nintendo-made DS games have also been a fairly rare animal, with the class of 2007 being led by the less than acclaimed Wario: Master of Disguise and Diddy Kong Racing DS.

Luckily, though, the Mario Factory will soon be churning out Wii and DS games at a steady clip. Speaking today at a Tokyo press conference following Nintendo's recent earnings report, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said that his company currently has no less than 124 games in development. Of those, 45 are for the Wii and 79 are for the DS.

While comforted by knowing so many games are in the pipeline, owners of either platform still want to know when the next wave of DS and Wii games is due. According to the Bloomberg news service, Iwata said the next batch of first-party games is due out at the end of summer--and just before one of the more crowded fourth-quarter release slates in years. No specific titles were mentioned as being part of the batch.