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Nintendo announced a summer slate of games fewer bounty hunters, elf warriors, and plumbers than we expected. Find out why that may be the company's finest move in months.

1UP.com just posted a concise wrap-up of Nintendo's recent media summit. The following was the crux of their argument:

So while the absence of the latest Zelda and Mario games was a sore point among many of the enthusiast press at the event, it's a significant sign of Nintendo's intents. Microsoft and Sony are struggling to make their next-gen ventures profitable as they sell powerful hardware at a loss and help developers and publishers come to terms with the enormous expenses of developing in high-definition, while Nintendo seems content to weather the ridicule of gamers and the enthusiast press as they rake in obscene profits. It's a discouraging trend for most long-time Nintendo enthusiasts, but it's hard to imagine that the competition won't be following suit soon as well.

While the roundup was well done, I don't know if I necessarily agree with the above statement. While Metroid and Mario Strikers are on track for summer releases, what I think Nintendo is doing is employing a different, much smarter tactic for the normally slow summer gaming months. Think about it; with games like Big Brain Academy on the Wii, and Drawn to Life and Jam Session on the DS, Nintendo has found games that require little in the way of development costs. They're also games that encourage learning and creativity, which usually atrophy during summer months--imagine the ways these games could be marketed to parents! Finally, the company seems to be offering these games as a hook to snare casual gamers before offering up its key franchises in the form of Super Mario Galaxy and Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass this holiday season. It looks like the company's learned the key to winning the holiday season comes by preparing the gamers for it properly. That's the real smart move.

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Blackbolt

Posted at: 05/25/07 at 4:47 PM PST

It is a real smart move. What do you expect from the "King of Innovation"? Nintendo is now appealing to a whole new audience. Who would have thought that you could make a great game on learning? That's what Nintendo is doing. Who was really expecting Galaxy and Brawl to be announced at the Summit? Two of the biggest games being announced at the Summit? I don't think so. Nintendo reinforced what games were coming for the summer that are very unique and creative. Corruption is enough for the near end of Summer and to hook them (I guess Nintendo enthusiasts) back in with Mario and Brawl announcement at E3 or TGS. That would be a great plan. With a slew of 125 (DS/Wii) games by themselves, why announce it all at once? It keeps gamers focus on games they are playing now and when they are finished, they have more games to look forward too. They focus on what is currently being released which a great strategy instead of looking far into the next year. Okay, with my rant done, I didn't get into Big Brain Academy, but I really got into Brain Age. Maybe BBA: Wii Degree will be different. I am excited about Brain Age 2 and Jam Sessions.

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