Launch Lineup Reflections

The launch lineup is important to the success of every console. How have the consoles of the past fared during their first days of life? We learned about the launch lineup of the Wii this morning, and it's looking pretty strong, if a little familiar. We've decided to take a look back at the launch lineups of the past and reflect on their success. We're planning on updating this story with launches of the past, so keep an eye out.

Sega Saturn – May 11, 1995

The Sega Saturn launched with Virtua Fighter and Panzer Dragoon, two highly revered games. Daytona USA was a huge hit as well. The other two games, Clockwork Knight and Bug! have disappeared into obscurity.

• Virtua Fighter
• Panzer Dragoon
• Clockwork Knight
• Bug!
• Daytona USA

Sony PlayStation – September 9, 1995

Looking at PlayStation’s launch lineup, it makes you wonder why the PlayStation was the huge success that it was. Battle Arena Toshinden impressed at launch, but after some scrutiny, you could see that it was a fairly shallow fighter. The other choice for fighting fans was Street Fighter: The Movie. The less said about that game the better. There are some good games of course, like Rayman and Ridge Racer, but most of its launch games were disappointing. For example, what is Kileak – the DNA Imperative?

• Air Combat
• Battle Arena Toshinden
• ESPN Extreme Games
• Kileak – the DNA Imperative
• NBA Jam Tournament Edition
• Power Serve 3D Tennis
• Rayman
• Ridge Racer
• Street Fighter: The Movie
• The Raiden Project
• Total Eclipse Turbo

Nintendo 64 – September 9, 1996

The Nintendo 64 had the most pitiful launch library possibly ever, but you know what? I have two words and two numbers for you: Super, Mario, six, and four.

• Pilotwings 64
• Super Mario 64

Sega Dreamcast – September 9, 1999

The Dreamcast offers a cautious lesson as to why, perhaps, launch lineups aren’t as important as we originally thought. There are some forgotten duds in the lineup like Blue Stinger, but then there are absolute gems like Soul Calibur, Power Stone, Hydro Thunder, and Sonic Adventure. One of those titles hasn’t aged quite as well as the others. I won’t name names, but when the mystery game released, running down a dock as it was destroyed by a killer whale was absolutely mind-blowing.

• Aerowings
• AirForce Delta
• Blue Stinger
• Expendable
• Flag to Flag
• The House of the Dead 2
• Hydro Thunder
• Monaco Grand Prix
• Mortal Kombat Gold
• NFL 2K
• NFL Blitz 2000
• Pen Pen TriIcelon
• Power Stone
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
• Sonic Adventure
• Soulcalibur
• TNN Motorsports Hardcore Heat
• Tokyo Xtreme Racer
• TrickStyle

Read on to read our reflections on the launch of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and more.

Sony PlayStation 2 – Launched October 26, 2000

The PlayStation 2 had an excellent mix of genres available on day one with fighters, shooters, racers, sports, and random things like Fantavision. With the exception of SSX, Midnight Club, and TimeSplitters, however, none of the games that debuted on launch day have left behind much of a legacy. They all disappeared shortly after release, or had unsuccessful sequels.

• Armored Core 2
• DOA2: Hardcore
• Dynasty Warriors 2
• ESPN International Track & Field
• ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding
• Eternal Ring
• Evergrace
• Fantavision
• Gungriffon Blaze
• Kessen
• Madden NFL 2001
• Midnight Club: Street Racing
• NHL 2001
• Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
• Q-Ball: Billiards Master
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
• Ridge Racer V
• Silent ScopeSmuggler's Run
• SSX
• Street Fighter EX3
• Summoner
• Surfing H3O
• Swing Away Golf
• Tekken Tag Tournament
• TimeSplitters
• Unreal Tournament
• Wild Wild Racing
• X-Squad

Microsoft Xbox – November 15, 2001

I think an argument can be made for Halo as one of the best launch games for any console, period. Even if you don’t like the Halo series, you can’t deny how integral it has been to the success of Xbox. Nobody bought an Xbox to play Fuzion Frenzy, but many made the investment in order to system link in Blood Gulch. Oddword was the other highly advertised Xbox exclusive, but it proved to mostly be a disappointment. We scored Halo with a 9.5 when it released in 2001, and it changed console shooters forever.

• 4x4 EVO 2
• AirForce Delta Storm
• Arctic Thunder
• Cel Damage
• Dead or Alive 3
• Fuzion Frenzy
• Halo: Combat Evolved
• Mad Dash Racing
• NFL Fever 2002
• Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee
• Project Gotham Racing
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X

Nintendo GameCube – November 18, 2001

The GameCube was the first Nintendo system to launch without a core Mario platformer in tow. Instead of relying on Mario for the Cube’s unveiling, Nintendo decided to highlight the other brother, Luigi. The game reviewed well (we gave it a 9), but it is not revered like Super Mario 64 or Super Mario World. GameCube’s other exclusives Star Wars and Super Monkey Ball were both excellent. Wave Race was an interesting technology demo on the Nintendo 64, but the formula grew tired by the time the GameCube released.

• All-Star Baseball
• Batman Vengeance
• Crazy Taxi
• Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2
• Disney's Tarzan Untamed
• Luigi's Mansion
• Madden NFL 2002
• NHL Hitz 20-02
• Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
• Super Monkey Ball
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
• Wave Race: Blue Storm

Read on to read our reflections on the launch of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii.

Nintendo Wii – Launched November 19, 2006

For all the negativity surrounding the Wii in the hardcore gaming community, a handful of launch games made the system exciting. Say what you will about Wii Sports, but if you were lucky enough to snag a console in 2006, you probably logged some serious, possibly embarrassing, hours into Wii Sports. It showed off the new console perfectly. Bowling allowed multiple people to become enamored with this new video game technology with only one Wii Remote. After you kicked your friends out of your home, you were able to boot up a brand new Zelda game – the one you had been waiting for since its original announcement in 2004. Everything else was pretty rough, but who cares? You had Zelda and bowling.

• Call of Duty 3
• Excite Truck
• GT Pro Series
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Madden NFL 07
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
• Monster 4x4: World Circuit
• Need for Speed: Carbon
• Rampage: Total Destruction
• Rayman Raving Rabbids
• Red Steel
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
• Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
• Trauma Center: Second Opinion
• Wii Sports

Licensed launch games that were mostly terrible: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Cars, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Happy Feet, and SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab.

Microsoft Xbox 360 – Launched November 22, 2005

On paper, the Xbox 360 came out of the gate with an impressive lineup, even if most of the games didn't achieve critical acclaim. Kameo was charming, but short and mostly forgettable. Condemned had some impressive graphics and lighting, but did little to inspire a fan base. Peter Jackson's King Kong also ended up being a highlight, especially considering licensed games are typically terrible. Perfect Dark Zero was the reason I bought an Xbox 360, but I was thankful the system was backwards compatible with Halo 2 after a few hours. Call of Duty 2 ended up being Xbox 360’s most popular release, and that may be why the franchise is the juggernaut it is today. Call of Duty 2 became the showpiece for the system, and was impressive even to people who didn’t normally play games.

• Amped 3
• Call of Duty 2
• Condemned: Criminal Origins
• FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
• Gun
• Kameo: Elements of Power
• Madden NFL 06
• NBA 2K6
• NBA Live 06
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted
• NHL 2K6
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
• Project Gotham Racing 3
• Quake 4
• Ridge Racer 6
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06
• Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

Sony PlayStation 3 – Launched November 17, 2006

The PlayStation 3 had arguably one of the worst launch lineups in history. The console was incredibly expensive, and the only release game even worth a second glance was Resistance: Fall of Man. The rest were mostly sports titles that had already released on the Xbox 360 a few months prior.

And then there was Gundam: Crossfire. We gave Crossfire a 3.75 in our review and said, “Every aspect of gameplay that Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire touches turns to ash and poison.” There is someone out there who spent tons of money on a PlayStation 3, bought the game with the giant robots on the cover, and cried themselves to sleep. Thanks Sony.

• Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
• Call of Duty 3
• Genji: Days of the Blade
• Madden NFL 07
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
• NBA 2K7
• NHL 2K7
• Resistance: Fall of Man
• Ridge Racer 7
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
• Tony Hawk's Project 8

We’ve taken a look at the previous generation of launch games above, but we will add to this feature by looking further back into the history of console launch lineups. Keep an eye out for a reflection on the Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2 era soon.