Shameless bump: I've added some general information about the Software and Planning Groups, the former R&D1 and R&D2 teams into the second post.
For those who haven't worked out yet, Nintendo likes to hold games back and space them out over time. Especially now that Wii has a shit load of momentum with few releases and of course third parties are finally stepping up to the plate.
Another reason is that Nintendo may be starting to think about launch titles for their next handheld and they will divert resources to those projects a year or so before launch.. To accomadate for the removal of resources from Wii and DS (moreso DS but Wii will be hit too) they hold games back and release them in a lull so it seems like there is a constant stream of games.
For those reasons I think the following will happen:
1. Zelda will be released this year - just not on Wii
2. Retro Studios next title won't be released this year - they're working on 2 games so expect one in 2010 and the other in 2011, after which, their focus will turn to the launch of the next Nintendo console
3. I'm not sure whether Nintendo will relese a WarioWare AND Mario Party in the same year and may not bother with WarioWare on Wii any more since Mario Party 8 had many more sales than Smooth Moves did.
4. NST were making Project H.A.M.M.E.R last and the last games they released were Metroid Prime Hunters and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: MotM back in 2006. They are due for a release this year. Will we see one? Maybe.
5. A new platformer by EAD 4 will be released this year for DS - Most likely New Super Mario Bros. 2
6. 2010 will be the biggest year for first part releases on Wii as Mario, Zelda and many other strong efforts are released throughout the year.
7. The DS2 will take some wind out of the Wii's sales in it's first year but it'll be well covered up by third party efforts which have become massive - games like GTA will call Wii its home
Finally a little theory I have: Wii MotionPlus integration into games was not the reason for the delay but the effect of it.
