At this week's media summit, Nintendo unveiled many screenshots, trailers, and — most important — release dates for upcoming games. The two titles that overshadow all others on their schedule are Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M, coming May 23 and June 27, respectively. As thrilled as I am with these dates (my copies were reserved shortly after the announcement), I also find them surprising for several reasons.

First, Nintendo tends to hold back its most recognizable franchises until later in the year, when they are more likely to capitalize on holiday sales: Metroid Prime 3 was released on August 27, 2007, with Super Mario Galaxy a few months later, on November 12. With their sequels, Nintendo seems to want to instead give their audience a summer of fun. These two titles being released almost within a month of each other leaves Nintendo with what this Christmas? A new Zelda game, perhaps?

Second, New Super Mario Bros. Wii was released just this past November and sold gangbusters. Although technically a different series from Super Mario Galaxy, it's still unlike Nintendo to release games starring the same character in rapid succession. Is it too much too soon, or are they capturing the NSMBW market before the frenzy dies off?

Finally, both releases are on Sundays, which cruelly relegates the rest of the weekend to "the days when there's nothing to do but wait for Nintendo's new game, which I'll be able to play for only a day before going back to work/school on Monday." So a Sunday release didn't diminish sales of the Wii, but I'd dedicated that day to Nintendo months in advance, whereas the new Mario and Metroid games conflict with my girlfriend's and mother's birthdays. What's a guy to do?

Regardless, I'm excited that these games are coming out sooner rather than later. Super Mario Galaxy was fun, if overrated, and Metroid: Other M looks to be a welcome innovation from the Metroid Prime series (itself a successful deviation from the franchise's roots). Having never played a modern Ninja Gaiden game, though, I dread that Team Ninja's take on Samus Aran may strain my battle skills. We'll know soon enough! In the meantime, here are some trailers.

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For years, the console wars raged on the front of technical superiority, each platform one-upping the other in technical specs such as bits and polygons. But graphics can evolve only so far; faced with diminishing returns, software developers have hit an elastic barrier that has them shifting their focus from presentation to gameplay in a variety of new classics.

Though A-list publishers have capitalized on this trend — Konami's "Rebirth" line has seen new iterations in the Contra, Castlevania, and Gradius series, while Capcom's Mega Man 9 (soon to be followed by Mega Man 10) was considered one of the best platform games of the year — the "neo-retro" genre also represents an opportunity for independent developers who do not have the resources to produce a big-budget game.

One such title is VVVVVV, a Mac and PC game that features only a single action button, one that reverses the main character's gravity. Though this device has been seen in unique stages of other games, it is VVVVVV's distinguishing characteristic. With some wickedly challenging stages crafted around this mechanic, the game offers plenty of fun and replay value for only $15.

VVVVVV's nfinite lives and frequent save points help alleviate frustration that could otherwise result from the inevitable and multiple deaths players will encounter. It's a refreshing change from modern, beautiful games that are a cakewalk.

Another new release promises a similar challenge, though the first may be in acquiring the rare product. Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril, like Mega Man 9, looks and plays like an old-school NES game — except instead of being a downloadable WiiWare game, Battle Kid is an NES game. A limited quantity of NES cartridges, compatible with authentic and clone Nintendo Entertainment System consoles, were released this week for $30. It's a tempting purchase, not only for the gameplay but for the experience of buying a new NES game in 2010, fifteen years after the last such release (and who knows how many until the next one?).

It's not unprecedented for a "dead" console to continue seeing new software: despite the Dreamcast console being officially cancelled by Sega in 2001, independent releases continued as recently as 2009 and are still available. But Battle Kid sets a new standard for pairing classic challenge with its original environment.

(Hat tips to Joystiq and Slashdot)

The Super Bowl is about to begin, which once upon a time would not have shown as so much of a blip on gamers' radars. But as webcomic Penny Arcade once observed, the jocks who used to stuff geeks into lockers now have their own testosterone-ridden electronic entertainment, from which they'll be diverting to attend this evening's 11 minutes of actual gameplay.

I don't know if this evening's lineup has any gaming-related content to attract true geeks, but there is historical precedent. Computerworld is running a gallery of favorite IT commercials from Super Bowls past. Ten of them are particularly good, but the gallery also includes two terrible ones. One from 1982 is courtesy Atari:

As far back as thirty years ago, games were seen as an immature pastime, so I can understand Atari's desire to broaden their customer base to adults — but was lowering the maturity of adults really a better choice than raising the appeal of the games?

Of course, Atari wasn't the only company with infamously cringe-worthy commercials. Though it didn't air during the Super Bowl, the advertisement for the debut of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda franchise doubtless has historians scratching their heads:

What are some of your most memorable video game commercials, whether or not they be from Super Bowls past or present?