Note: This blogger is now in the middle of a 1000+ mile move to Dallas, Texas. When you'll be reading this, I'll be on a plane (with a wife, child, and two cats!). So, until I get back and operating again, enjoy some "end of year" retrospective pieces, cooked up for your reading pleasure!

Nintendo: A Year In Review 2007 Part 1: The Overview

2007 was a banner year for Nintendo. The Wii had already seen enormous holiday season success, having beaten all expectations and becoming the hot story. Those not "betting" on Nintendo's success with Wii were out in the cold, literally, at 4 AM, waiting for stores to open!

The DS continued to cement itself as the dominant handheld, with its rival, the PSP, struggling to find itself; was it a multimedia device or a gaming platform?

2007 began as a great drought. Those of us who "game" know this well: the usual drop in game releases, as the industry recovers from Christmas madness.


Image from IGN.com.

That said, SSX Blur was a strong exclusive release. As everyone knows now, this blogger loved it and still plays the game regulalry. Wario Ware was Nintendo's sole first party release, and while it was zany fun, it lacked robust multiplayer, an odd design choice.

On the DS side, John Carmack of Id Software made news by announcing that Orcs and Elves could perhaps come to DS. This would be the first support from Id Software to the Big N in a very long time, possibly going back to the ill-fated Doom port on the SNES!


Image from IGN.com.

And, as it turned out, Carmack was serious: Orcs and Elves was released for the DS on November 20th, and was highly reviewed.