The Exclusive Arms Race: 2009 Update (Special) @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on January 21, 2009

Special: Our 2009 analysis of the exclusive titles for each console.

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Wii (56)

Arc Rise Fantasia

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars*#

The Conduit

Crayola Colorful World

Cursed Mountain

Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Grooves

Deadly Creatures

Disaster: Day of Crisis

Dragonology

EA Sports Active

EA Tennis 2009

Endless Ocean 2

Fatal Frame IV

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time

Fishing Master: World Tour

Fragile

Grey's Anatomy

Help Wanted

House of the Dead: Overkill

Klonoa#

Little King's Story

MadWorld

Major Minor's Majestic March

Marble Saga: Kororinpa

Martian Panic

Medieval Games

Monster Hunter 3

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

MySims Party

MySims Racing

NASCAR Kart Racing

Neighborhood Games

Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers

Our House

Overlord: Dark Legend

Pikmin 3

Pirateology

Punch-Out!!

Ready 2 Rumble Revolution

Red Steel 2

Runaway: The Dream of the Turtle*

Rune Factory: Frontier

Rygar: The Battle of Argus#

Sam & Max: Season Two*

Secret Files: Tunguska*

SimAnimals

Sin & Punishment 2

Sonic and the Black Knight

Spore*

Spyborgs

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4-Player Fighter

Tenchu: Stealth Assassins

We Ski and Snowboard

Wii Sports Resort

Wizardology

The Conduit, Punch-Out!!

Unsurprisingly, the Wii will see the most exclusive releases in 2009. This is understandable as there will be plenty of games available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 that won't be on the Wii (anti-exclusives, you could say). But that's not to say the Wii's large quantity of exclusives comes from castoffs and shovelware (it's important to note this list does not include any of the shovelware that's been announced for the Wii). Instead, I say 2009 is the year that third parties finally get a handle on the Wii and start producing good games that even hardcore gamers can't ignore. Just look at some of the titles that are coming...

With a storyline inspired by The Running Man and a visual style that looks like Sin City on steroids, MadWorld looks like it will break the M For Mature barrier in a way that Manhunt 2 could only dream of. But first, it will have to fend off two other Sega releases, House of the Dead: Overkill (the first original HOTD console game ever) and High Voltage Software's first person shooter The Conduit.

There is also a trio of titles coming from distinctly Japanese developers including Square-Enix's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (the company also assures us that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers is still in production), Namco Bandai's Fragile and Fatal Frame IV. I know Fatal Frame IV doesn't have an American release date yet, but one analyst who wishes to remain nameless has said that the game will be released in the US in 2009.

Even the games that don't seem like they'd be much more than quick cash-ins could hold some promise. For example, what would you say to a Smash Bros.-style game starring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Yawn. Now how about a Smash Bros.-style games starring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that's being developed by former members of the Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Dead or Alive teams? Where do I pre-order?

Nintendo also has plenty of games to augment the third party releases and they weren't kidding when they said they had several hardcore titles in development. The Punch-Out!! series will return for the first time in over a decade. Treasure has been tasked with making Sin & Punishment 2, a sequel to one of the greatest rail shooters ever. Shigeru Miyamoto has put the productivity software of Wii Fit and Wii Music behind him to start work on Pikmin 3. And that's not even counting the New Play Control! Wiimakes and the new Mario and Zelda games that are in production. They don't have release dates yet, but the smart money says a new Zelda game will be released in 2009.

Final Thoughts
So that's where we stand today, but that's not to say that things won't change between now and December 31. Between the Game Developer's Conference, E3, Comic-Con, the Penny Arcade Expo and the Tokyo Game Show, there's still a lot of time for more exclusives to be announced. Beyond Halo, Microsoft has kept their 2009 cards pretty close to the chest. It stands to reason that something else will be announced. Rumors abound that Nintendo has a few other games in secret development as well.

Whatever happens, the Wii is unlikely to be dethroned as the undisputed king of exclusive titles anytime soon.