Shippin' Out Dec. 31-Jan. 4: Wii discount games, Metal Slug 3 XBLA
Retailers get a chance to spend the week restocking hits and cashing out gift cards as a thin release lineup of offerings hits stores.
The first half of 2008 looks to be a big one full of anticipated games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Grand Theft Auto IV, but the first week of the new year shows little to suggest the coming storm.
In fact, only Nintendo's Wii is expected to see any retail releases at all this week. Destineer has a handful of budget titles on tap for Nintendo's newest console. Kidz Sports: Basketball and Myth Makers: Orbs of Doom join a trio of motor-minded offerings in Kawasaki Quad Bikes, Rig Racer 2, and Monster Trux Offroad in new release aisles this week. On the downloadable front, the Wii Virtual Console welcomes the NES version of arcade classic Bubble Bobble (500 Wii points, $5), the Genesis action role-playing game Light Crusader (800 Wii points, $8), and the NeoGeo side-scrolling action game Top Hunter (900 Wii points, $9).
In a smidgen of non-Wii-related release news, Microsoft is adding SNK Playmore's Metal Slug 3 to the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft points ($10). [UPDATE: The game includes local or online multiplayer for up to two players, not four or six as indicated by Xbox Live director of programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb.]
This week's new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information--actual dates may vary).
DECEMBER 31, 2007
Kawasaki 4X4 Quad Bikes (Wii)
JANUARY 2, 2008
Metal Slug 3 (Xbox Live Arcade)
Classic British Motor Racing (Wii)
Kidz Sports Basketball (Wii)
Monster Trux: Offroad (Wii)
Myth Makers: Orbs of Doom (Wii)
Rig Racer 2 (Wii)
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