It was announced quite a while ago that Metroid Prime 1 and 2 would be getting the New Play Control treatment. What we didn’t know, however, was that the end result would be extra awesome. Instead of releasing both New Play Control Metroid Prime games separately, all three Metroid Prime games (yes, including the Wii exclusive Metroid Prime 3) will be available on one disc. The collection is being put together by Retro Studios, the same studio famous for developing the games in the first place. The whole collection will share one large pool of unlockables, and will, of course, feature the updated Wii controls that work so well in Metroid Prime 3.

Metroid Prime Trilogy is set for release on August 24th for $49.99.

THREE INCREDIBLE GAMES JUST GOT MORE AWESOME: METROID PRIME TRILOGY HEADS TO WII

All Three Critically Acclaimed Games Now Feature Wii Remote Controls with Enhanced Presentation and In-Game Rewards

REDMOND, Wash., May 22, 2009 - Metroid™ Prime 3: Corruption set a new standard for first-person motion controls in video games. Now it’s bringing those controls to the rest of the celebrated series, allowing players to experience the entire Metroid Prime story arc with the peerless precision of the Wii Remote™. Nintendo announces Metroid Prime Trilogy, a new premium three-game collection for the Wii™ console that bundles all three landmark Metroid Prime games onto one disc and revamps the first two installments with intuitive Wii Remote controls, wide-screen presentation and other enhancements. Metroid Prime Trilogy will be available exclusively for Wii on Aug. 24 at a suggested retail price of $49.99.

Each game maintains its original storyline and settings, but now Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes let players use their Wii Remote to aim with precision as heroine Samus Aran. Based on the breakthrough control system that debuted in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, these new Wii controls bring an entirely new level of immersion and freedom to these milestone games.

“Metroid Prime Trilogy puts the best first-person adventures all in one place, with a host of new additions that make these three timeless titles more engaging than ever,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “A great deal of care and detail has gone into Metroid Prime Trilogy, providing longtime fans with new ways to experience the games they love.”

All three games now reside on a single disc. Players can access the game they want from a unified main menu that ties together all three adventures. Through a new unlockables system, players can gain access to in-game rewards such as music and artwork by accomplishing objectives across all three games.

Metroid Prime Trilogy was developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo, the same developers that created the original games for the Nintendo GameCube™ and Wii systems.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

For more information about Metroid Prime Trilogy, visit www.Metroid.com.

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In one of the more interesting publicity stunts in a while, Nintendo has sent tiny potted plants to select members of the press, along with a letter from Captain Olimar:

Greetings! Here is a specimen I gathered on my interplanetary travels. I’ve been busy repairing my sleek ship, the Dolphin, after crashing onto a strange world. Through my many encounters, I’ve learned that commanding Pikmin with a simple point and click is a much more efficient and effective means of exploration. It will come in handy should I encounter any hostile life forms….

Additionally, my observations suggest that stimulating the specimen sample I’ve sent with water and sunlight over just a few short days should result in surprisingly rapid maturation!

Signed,

Captain Olimar

It almost definitely has something to do with New Play Control Pikmin, the enhanced Wii port of the original GameCube Pikmin. Apparently the plants are supposed to mature in 7 to 14 days, at which point a message will be revealed. What kind of horrifying, genetically-modified monster plants are these? I’d probably be a bit nervous to water mine (if I had actually been sent one) on the off chance of that message being “FEED ME” à la Little Shop of Horrors. 

GoNintendo

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If there’s one great thing about these New Play Control! games, it’s not the awful box art frame or the title extension. It’s that Nintendo is releasing to the larger Wii audience some of last generation’s gems that unfortunately never saw commercial success due to the failure of the GameCube. We’re already getting Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis here in North America, and it looks like we may be getting the even rarer sequel, Pikmin 2.

It also makes you wonder how far along Miyamoto and his team is on Pikmin 3. With the first Pikmin being re-released in the States and Canada by March, and Pikmin 2 already rated by the ESRB, sure Nintendo’s priming us for the inevitable second sequel. Are we already gearing up for Holiday ’09?

Siliconera

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You don’t see Capcom making it painfully obvious that they’re releasing “Wii-makes” of Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 0, or Resident Evil, nor can any passer-by tell that Sega’s The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return contains a game from 1998, except with added Wii controls. Even Nintendo’s own The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii doesn’t tout the difference. So picky me would be hesitant to buy (or repurchase, in this case) Pikmin for the Wii if North America’s packaging looks like its horrid PAL cover you see here. Is there a reason we can’t just get nice, clean, attractive box art?

Luckily, there’s that one CD Covers website, and I’ve got a color printer and some glossy paper to use. Those slip covers come right out.

BlogNintendo

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