Looking at the list, Iwata obviously didn’t just pluck ten random GBA titles from the pile when he was knocking up the Ambassador programme for 3DS.
Yoshi’s Island (Mario Advance 3)
Zelda: The Minish Cap
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Metroid Fusion
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
WarioWare, Inc. Minigame Mania
Wario Land 4
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
By my count the top five now have sequels/instalments available or in development for 3DS. Now Mario Kart and Zelda on every Nintendo console are a given, but the other three are more obscure and were chosen to introduce owners to the franchises/gameplay. The Sacred Swords was my first Fire Emblem and without having it in the Ambassador selection I would never have got round to playing the series. As a direct result (and because of the localisation by 8-4 – check out their great podcast) I’m picking up Awakening over the weekend. Minis March Again is coming and Yoshi’s Island has just been announced.
So – speculation time! – are the remaining games a sign of what’s to come at E3? I think F-Zero in 3D could be pretty special (maybe an Ocarina/Star Fox 64-style 3D update of X?) and Metroid is surely in the offing (my money’s on a huge Retro developed Wii U/3DS crossover). Wario’s stirring on the Wii U but Kirby’s been quiet since Yoshi pushed him out of Patch Land...
I don't know, it seems to me like they just picked ten games from their biggest franchises. Fire Emblem may not be as popular as some of their other games, but it still receives a new installment on all of their consoles. But maybe there is some master plan behind it all.
Or they simply gave people an F-Zero game because they couldn't give them a new one. Following that trend - it seems like they just chose 10 good games, I don't think it's hinting at future releases. The release of a new game in a Nintendo franchise also doesn't really prove that this is correct.
Eh, maybe if we get new Wario Land, side-scrolling Metroid and F-Zero games I'll start believing that there may have been a greater strategy behind their specific choices for the Ambassador program, but I think it's more likely that Nintendo just happened to choose 10 GBA titles from a wide variety of franchises and that Nintendo also just happens to be good at releasing sequels for most of their franchises, particularly when it comes to their portables.
Mario Kart, Zelda, Fire Emblem (if only for the Japanese market) and Mario vs. Donkey Kong were always going to happen, and Kirby and WarioWare will definitely show up at some point during the 3DS's lifespan. The only game from the 5 so far that surprises me is the new Yoshi's Island, but even that series had an entry on the DS.
The idea has some merit, although I wonder why Superstar Saga wasn't on the Ambassador list - seeing as Dream Team is bound for release soon. A new Warioware would be nice though
always thought I'd change to Gyarados after I turned 20 but hey, this is more fitting I guess. (also somebody registered under the original Magikarp name and I can't get back to it anymore orz)
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