Nintendo reveals US release schedule for early 2005

A new release line-up from Nintendo of America has given a clear picture of the firm's plans for the GBA, Cube and DS in the first half of 2005 - with almost all of its major franchises due for an outing during the period.

While the list doesn't contain many surprises, it does feature a couple of titles which hadn't previously been confirmed for launch during the period - most notably the new Legend of Zelda title on the GameCube, which could appear in Q2.

In fact, Q2 is looking like the strongest quarter in quite some time for the GameCube, with Legend of Zelda potentially appearing alongside supernatural FPS title Geist, Donkey Konga 2 and RPG title Fire Emblem, while the first quarter will see the likes of Capcom's Resident Evil 4, Sega's Virtua Quest and Namco's Star Fox: Assault turning up.

The GBA, meanwhile, will see new Legend of Zelda title The Minish Cap appearing in early January (almost two months after its European launch, in a peculiar move from the company) with titles including Namco's Ace Combat and Klonoa 2 games, WarioWare Twisted, Mario Party Advance, Fire Emblem 2 and, of course, Pokemon Emerald, appearing before the half is through.

The line-up for the new arrival, Nintendo DS, is somewhat thinner; fans of the franchise will be disappointed to learn that Metroid Prime Hunters isn't due until Q2, with the highlights of the early half of the year being WarioWare Touched! in mid-February and Pokemon Dash in mid-march.

You can find a full launch list below. As yet, few of these titles (Minish Cap being a notable exception) have European launch dates.

Nintendo DS

• WarioWare Touched! - February 14th
• Pokîmon Dash - March 14th
• Yoshi's Touch & Go - March
• Atari Classics - March
• Pac Pix - March
• Need for Speed Underground 2 - Q1
• Metroid Prime Hunters - Q2
• Ultimate Card Games - May
• Ultimate Brain Games - June

GameCube

• Resident Evil 4 - January
• Virtua Quest - January
• NBA Street Vol.3 - February 8th
• Star Fox: Assault - February 14th
• Winnie the Pooh - February
• Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - March 14th
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory - March
• Dragon Ball Z Sagas - March
• Mortal Kombat: Deception - Q1
• Donkey Konga 2 - Q2
• Fire Emblem - Q2
• Geist - Q2
• The Legend of Zelda - Q2

Game Boy Advance

• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - January 10th
• Banjo Pilot - January
• Rave Master: Special Attack Force - February
• Shaman King: Legacy of Spirits - Soaring Hawk - February
• Ace Combat - February
• Klonoa 2 - February
• Winnie the Pooh - February
• WarioWare Twisted! - March 21st
• Mario Party Advance - March
• Backyard Baseball - March
• Pac Pinball - March
• Pokîmon Emerald - April
• Fire Emblem 2 - Q2
• Ultimate Pocket Games - Q2