Puffy, great read. But I must agree with Onyxmeth in a sales point of view the big sellers so far will be SMG2 and Wii Vitality. But I doubt Zelda is 2010, that's why I'm so bitter at Nintendo for releasing 2 DS games in 2 years and no Wii games for 5 years if it indeed comes in 2011.

But I'm predicting an huge megaton for the Wii, a true Pokemon game for next year. Yes, I believe it will happen. Game Freak is pretty much done with the DS. If you look closely, you will see that GameFreak always releases a new iteration of Pokemon that comes with 2 versions simultaneously (Diamon/Pearl this gen), then later they release a third game which is an enhancement to the previous 2 (Platinum this gen) and finally remakes from the Pokemon games of 2 gen before (Gold/Silver this gen from the GBC era).

So GameFreak will be totally free after September, and unless Nintendo is planning on releasing a new handheld by next year, they will have enough time to work on a Wii game, that IMO they have already started working in alongside HAL. Yeah, GameFreak and HAL are making a Pokemon game that will launch next year. HAL has been very quiet and Kirby seems to be a game that is taking too long, so it's not their main focus right now, GameFreak will be free by September and won't make a new installation of Pokemon handheld games until Nintendo's next Portable Console launches, which will not happen next year considering the DS is still selling 30 million units/year.

If Pokemon does arrive next year, it will be the best seller no matter what, unless it's a Stadium one, but I believe this time around it will be a fully fledged Pokemon game. The Wii is due in for a Pokemon game since 2007, and lately it has been getting smaller WiiWare games, suggesting they are building up hype for something big.

That's my theory.

@Kenryoku_Maxis: Intelligent Systems is not working with SE anymore. That was a mistranslation from the guy that read the Famitsu article. That "6" was for "June", the date when the game was coming out. Intelligent Systems has been free since May, when they released Made in Ore for the DS. This small DSiWare game obviously didn't take them much time.

Also, Zelda: OoT was released in November 21, 1998. The N64 was launched in June 23, 1996.

That's less than 2 and a half years, not 4 and a half like you imply.

2010 its gonna be a huge year for Wii owners!

Interesting theory, Trestres. If Zelda isn't next year, then a console Pokemon RPG would be fantastic.

Also, great thread Puffy, obviously a lot of thought went into this. I've spent all day on Majora's Mask and speculating (in my head) on timeline possibilities for Zelda as well as wondering if Zelda Wii will be a 2010 title.

The thought of Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M and Zelda Wii in the same year has me very excited. Metroid and Galaxy 2 alone are enough for me, but I do desperately want another console Zelda soon. With the game being in development for nearly 3 years now, and 4 years by next year, I think it is possible the fans' Holy Trinity will make it out. Like you said, Zelda is the weakest link-no in-game footage has been shown and Miyamoto hasn't committed to a 2010 release.

However, with Nintendo's policy of announcing a game 6-12 months from release, the official unveiling of Zelda could take place anytime between Q4 this year and E3 2010, and the title could be ready for release in 2010. Like you said, with Metroid and Galaxy 2 announced this year it's highly likely both will be out by next E3. I think Metroid will be out in the US and PAL regions by next E3(March/April time, I think) and Galaxy 2 will be a late June/July title. If Zelda was coming out, it would be Nintendo's big core offering for Christmas.

These guesstimated release dates would also fit into Nintendo's preferred method of staggering big releases throughout the year. And with all the other titles hitting Wii next year, the Holy Trinity really could top off a magnificent year.

Firstly thanks mate, secondly yes I know we're seeing the big three sales wise this year :P

I must say, that is a helluva theory.. A Wii Pokemon title developed by Game Freak and HAL.. I too saw that pattern of pokemon games and 
Wii is due for a Pokemon title.. I'm not sure if I support your theory or not yet.. It's true that HAL has been unusually quiet though and that the Kirby title isn't coming along very well if it hasn't been shelved.. Intriguing :P

@Smoked: Gamefreak has always followed that pattern on Nintendo portables. Main game, enhancement and remake. Remake only when there was a jump in technology in the portables, because GB to GBC was actually the same HW, but going from GBC to GBA, the hardware was totally different.

GB: Pokemon Blue/Red/Green (Green is Japan only) ---> Pokemon Yellow.

GBC: Pokemon Gold/Silver ---> Pokemon Crystal.

GBA (New Hardware Tech): Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire ---> Pokemon Red/Green remakes ---> Pokemon Emerald.

NDS (New HW Tech): Pokemon Diamond/Pearl ---> Pokemon Platinum ---> Pokemon Gold/Silver remakes.

NDS2 (?): Pokemon Uranium/Plutonium (lol) ---> Pokemon Titanium ---> Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire remakes.

And I still believe the Wii is due in for a serious Pokemon game, not garbage like Battle Revolution which was a failure for most fans. May sound like a wet dream, but it's possible it may happen.

Gold and Silver were GBC enchanced, both could be played on the GB and GBC.

Game Freak's Junichi Masudo as said time and time again that the trading aspect of Pokemon has made the series best suited for handhelds so don't be expecting anything beyond a Battle Revolution sequel.  Also Battle Revolution is still being played by fans for Wi-Fi Battles and it's hard to call a title that has sold 1.38 million units a failure.

Also PokemonTopaz.com has a redirect to Nintendo.com so the fifth generation may very well be Opal/Topaz.

as much as i want Zelda to come out next year. i am thinking this might be a '11 title

Those names were just random, Opal/Topaz seem reasonable.

About G/S being GBS enhanced, doesn't matter too much, since they were actually available for GBC which was my point. The pattern stands and you can't don much about it. BTW many people consider PBR a failure, no matter if it sold 1.38 million.

HAL has made the previous Stadium games, so they may very well be working on a Wii Pokemon game. Doesn't need to be a Stadium game, and GameFreak could be lending them a hand with the game mechanics. Of course GameFreak will be developing the next handheld Pokemon simultaneously, but they can easily help HAL with a console Pokemon.

Wii is online enabled, so that trading aspect you are referring to would be easily implemented. The truth is that the Wii is capable of handling a Pokemon RPG and it will happen.