2006 is now officially over- but before we move move on, the N-Europe team team take a look at some of the biggest Nintendo-related events of the year. It can't be denied that the past twelve months has seen an important new chapter in Nintendo's history written. Two new consoles (the DS Lite and Wii) as well as a plethora of important new games saw the light of day in 2006. But did Nintendo do enough, or did they come up short against the competition? Here's what we think.

How was 2006 for you- have Nintendo delivered?

Iun:

The Wii is just... breathtaking -and not only because I'm totally unfit and neeed to spend more time playing Tennis and Boxing. Seriously though, the machine blew me away in a manner that only the DS, N64 and SNES had done in the past. My apologies to the Gamecube, but there just weren't enough new concepts being put forward. In many ways, it was the antithesis of the Wii: a graphical improvement, nothing more.

Initially, I was not sold on the Wii -when other companies were touting bigger and better graphical processing power, my heart sunk. Not simply for myself, but for Nintendo as well. How could they hope to compete in a market dominated by big players with gorgeous graphics? The first bite is with the eye and the Wii just didn't cut it graphically.

But, as the truth dawned on me, so too the mass media started to pick up on the potential of the Wii and how it could change the image of gaming from that of a sweaty geek in a locked bedroom to a fitness and lifestyle accessory. Bonza.

Also, it's been a good year for the DS too -if you live in America and Japan, that is. Classics such as Metroid Prime Hunters, Big Brain Academy and Brain Training spearheaded the DS revolution in other parts of the world, and as usual we in Europe have to wait and wait for our translated copies. Just great. This hasn't stopped the DS becoming a runaway success in our territory though, as casual gamers and ladies Europe-wide pick up Nintendogs and the Touch Generations games. The DS is succeeding despite Nintendo in many ways.

So what of the future? Let's hope that the good games keep flowing for the Wii and DS. There is a small part of me that is beginning to worry that we won't see enough Wii games here in the first half of 2007 and this is confirmed by the spartan release list. We do have a number of excellent games from day one, on the other hand, and I think that gamers have only themselves to blame if they "power game" through all the available titles, knowing full well that there are no replacements any time soon.

Fierce_Link:

This year has far exceeded my expectations. I think we've seen the birth of a new era with Nintendo. Titles such as Brain Training and Wii Sports have really changed the way games are perceived and played. The Wii has given gaming a new lease of life- Whether it be for the multiplayer aspect of Wii Sports, or for the personal adventure one seeks in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. With just these two titles alone, Nintendo have rebuilt themselves from their disturbing times with the Gamecube. My personal highlights:

1. Finally getting involved in online gaming. Going online with Metroid Prime: Hunters and Mario Kart DS was just something out of this world.

2. Booting up Twilight Princess, and realising that we have waited years for this. Boy, has it been worth the wait!

3. All my worries about the future were quashed at E3 when Nintendo revealed more games and about the direction they were taking.

The future can not come sooner.

Justin:

The year 2006 was an amazing year for Nintendo, and even more so for us gamers. While the Gamecube gradually slipped out of sight, and the Wii took over, the DS reigned the handheld sector, handily eclipsing the PSP.

The DS had a great year. It is hard to believe that at the beginning of 2006, we didn't even know about the DS Lite; six Months in, we all had one. I got a nice black one in July, of which I love dearly. Many awesome games have come around to be played on it. We have seen Metroid, New Super Mario Bros, Clubhouse Games, Elite Beat Agents, and many others. It has been an exciting year that sure has kept that touch screen busy.

Overall, great year. Can't wait to see what Nintendo have in store for us in the years to come.

Domstercool:

2006 was certainly an interesting year for Nintendo and their fans. On one side you had the Gamecube, flopping around like a dead seal as the list of games coming for it slowly disappeared from radar.

The DS though was kicking serious arse all over the place. It had some fantastic games over the year. Greats like Elite Beat Agents, Metroid Prime: Hunters, New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi's Island 2 and Final Fantasy III are just some to name. To be honest the GBA even had some great titles that arrived, although not in the UK. Rhythm Tengoku from the Wario Ware team was a great spin on the music genre. Strategy RPG fans also had Super Robot Taisen: Original Generations 1 and 2 to play. It's a futuristic game featuring Mechs that plays like Fire Emblem.

The Wii finally arrived this year; bringing Nintendo's both bad and great year to an end. The Wii was very important to Nintendo and so far has sold out everywhere, but that is what happened with the Gamecube. That system broke sales records and all sorts, and then just went quiet. We will have to wait a good year to see just how big of an impact the Wii has had on the market. Just like with the DS I'm sure it will break through, but never count your chickens before they hatch.

It's made a good impact on me though. I've enjoyed the release games I've managed to get hold off (Damn you Gameplay for messing up my Rayman order! I WANNA PLAY WITH RABBIDS!) I still do wish that the Wii had some what more power than it has shown off so far. The release games aren't exactly the best looking things you've seen. Zelda is nice like but you can't help but think, well, it's already on the Gamecube, looking pretty much the same. Maybe as time goes on and the developers are doing fancy things with the technology that games will start to look pretty swanky. It happened on the Cube, so why not the Wii?

In the end I've enjoyed what Nintendo has offered me for the DS and The Wii. I look forward to 2007 with eyes gleaming.

Tphi:

Nintendo came into the year with a lot of promise, and they delivered. The DS has built on its already large fanbase to become the undisputed king of the handhelds worldwide. And the Wii has been launched worldwide, with units flying off the shelves and pre-orders still to be fufilled (although that's partly down to Nintendo not shipping as many units as promised, something for which they really need to be criticised for).

At E3 Nintendo put on an awesome show. For me, watching their media presentation, I sensed one emotion above all others - confidence. Here was a company with a product they knew was going to be big. And they weren't wrong. They took a big gamble by turning their back on the hardware arms race, and with the PS3 still to launch world-over (and with no real killer apps yet to be released) it may not be as clear-cut a success for Nintendo as it currently appears. But what better start could any Nintendo fan hope for? From the first journos pelting like mad school-children across the E3 show floor to myself running like mad to the shop counter on the Wii's launch day, the world really has gone Wii mad.

Software-wise, well I don't know what it was about this year for me, but the amount of time I spent gaming seriously dropped. For me, the DS had some shining games - New Super Mario Bros. and Animal Crossing were triumphs, and both kept me busy for a good long time. It was on the home console front that I found myself severely lacking anything new and decent to play. I felt the GameCube had nothing worth buying literally all year, and it was sad to see it fade away... And yet December came, and Nintendo seem to be leading the holiday sales worldwide. The DS goes from strength to strength and the Wii seems to impressing everybody worldwide. If only Nintendo could get away from all the negative press coming from people over-stressing their wrist straps...

But Nintendo have excelled themselves by launching the system with two games which cover each of their important consumer bases: Zelda - an astonishingly polished game which true Nintendo fans have unsuprisingly lapped up, and Wii Sports - possibly the best title to launch a system with ever, just because for non-gamers, or those not yet sold by the Wii's promise, it offers such a fun introduction to the system.

Lets just hope Nintendo can carry this momentum on through 2007.

Mark:

Did Nintendo deliver in 2006?

There's no such thing as a perfect year, but there's no doubt in my mind that 2006 has been a remarkable year for Nintendo on a number of fronts. 2006 was the year that the DS really took off. The launch of the slick DS Lite has been an unqualified success- sales are up massively on last year, with Nintendo managing to open up a gap over the PSP that many say is unassailable. Some of the other guys have mentioned some of the astonishing pieces of software that the DS has played host to over the last twelve months. Metroid, Yoshi's Island DS, Trauma Centre and New Mario Bros. were just a handful of the big N's own offerings. The launch of the Touch Generations series also goes down as a milestone. Brain Training generated (and continues to generate) obscene amounts of column inches and television airtime, and has evidently made some remarkable strides in promoting Nintendo's new philosophy of 'something for everyone' as well as bringing gaming to the masses. I could wax lyrical about the DS' achievements this year- Animal Crossing, released 9 months ago, continues to sell like hotcakes, whilst the joys of courtroom battles were brought to Europe in the form of Phoenix Wright.

And then there's the Wii. Nintendo's revolutionary new system has had a remarkable start. It's clear from looking at anyone's face upon first striking a ball with the Wii Remote in Wii Sports Tennis that this system, and this controller has caught the public imagination. Wii Sports and Zelda has turned out to be a killer combination of launch titles. The former successfully ditched decades of control conventions with a tantalising and effortlessly entertaining sports compilation. The latter was the real meat for the hardcore- a frequently breathtaking adventure honed to the nth degree, that disappointed few.

Nintendo, in 2006, did some extraordinary things. In our usual rush to criticise and to condemn, let us not forget the huge contribution they have made to the reputation of gaming this year. Now, roll on Mario and Metroid.

Ok, so us amateur hacks have had our say- but how was 2006 for you? Did Nintendo's brave new direction impress you? Is Nintendo on track with the Wii, or have they really gone off the rails this time? Let's see your comments below...