In what has to be Nintendo’s most abysmal first quarter line up in the entirety of their life span, the company plans to release only two new Wii titles, and a handful of DS titles, relying on their first quarter profits from the still hot Wii console and a new Pokemon game. The catch is, these Wii games aren’t actually new, and are simply rebranded Gamecube titles under the “New Play Control” moniker. The two games are Shigeru Miyamoto’s pet project, Pikmin, and Camelot Software’s Mario Power Tennis, and they’re going to retail for 30 bucks a pop. It’s painfully obvious that these two games aren’t intended for the Nintendo faithful, instead aiming to attract some of the new crowd the Wii has ushered in, but the real question is, are you going to buy them anyway?

It is true that this new line is essentially a cash in, but I don’t feel it is any disrespect or slight to the Wii audience. You are not being told to buy these games, and if you really wanted to, you could buy these games used for around 10 dollars each. There is a certain outcry in the game community that is damning these rereleases, but lets face it, rereleases aren’t anything new, but I guess there’s a certain sting about it when Nintendo blatantly double dips (not that they never did before).

While I’m personally not overly excited for either Mario Power Tennis (it’s fun, but whatever) or Pikmin (I adore Pikmin and already played it to death) I won’t exactly rule these rereleases out. After all, Capcom earned my money all over again with Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, which if anything was ahead of the curve as far as repackaging and rebranding a Gamecube release is concerned. The thing is though, I love RE4: Wii, I personally believe it is the definitive version of the game offering better control, wide screen support, and the content missing from the Gamecube release but added into the PS2 version. From what I hear, Pikmin controls like a dream (and Miyamoto himself said that Pikmin would lend itself incredibly well to the Wii’s then mysterious controller), and Nintendo has also added in true wide screen support, along with a retooled save system. While I’m not clear on what additions are being made to Power Tennis, I’m sure they’re along the same lines as the bells and whistles added to Pikmin. I may not buy Pikmin, but I don’t own Pikmin 2 and could totally see myself plunking down 30 dollars for it, especially since the Gamecube original fetches for more than that price.

While I might not bite on the Metroid Prime 1 and 2 rereleases, if Nintendo sold them as a collection complete with the pristine play control from Prime 3, it would be really hard to resist. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, another Cube title I missed, also seems rather promising. They are going to remove the “drumming” gimmick from the original game, and are apparently going back and rebalancing the design as a result. In case you missed it, Jungle Beat is the first game by Nintendo’s Tokyo studio, and those guys went on to do the fabulous Super Mario Galaxy. Even though I can drive over to Gamestop and buy a copy of it used for around 10 dollars, the Wii release sounds rather attractive. And if Nintendo did Wind Waker this way? Geez, you don’t even have to ask me.

I do understand the frustration devote Wii owners must feel, as they most likely already played these games and want something new, but as stated before, these releases aren’t really for the Nintendo faithful. For everyone who hasn’t played them though, some of these titles are worth a look, especially the Pikmin games. What do you think? Going to pass on these releases, or do you show genuine interest? Let us know!