2004 has been rather uneventful for GameCube gamers. It's no big secret that publishers like Midway and Eidos are no longer porting PlayStation 2 and Xbox projects over to the 'Cube. This might not sound all that important, but just think about the volume of games that could, but aren't ever going to be released. Personally, I'd be rather pleased to get the chance to play Hitman: Contracts or The Suffering on my GameCube.

As such, the month of April sees a scant three or four games come to the 'Cube. Sure, Nintendo's WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$ is a cool multiplayer game, and Ignition's Pool Paradise makes for a decent game of pool (if you can find the game in stores) but ultimately, something's wrong.

PlayStation 2 and Xbox owners aren't in the same boat. By comparison, April holds some 16 games for PS2 (including Capcom's Onimusha 3 Demon Siege) while Xbox gamers get to choose from around seven or eight games including Rockstar's cool-looking Red Dead Revolver. So what do GameCube fans have to look forward to? E3 is only a few weeks away, so here's a look at Nintendo's first-party line-up for the rest of the year. There's more than a few big names here, and we're even going to speculate on a few surprise names too!

We're coming back!

  • Custom Robo (more screens) -- 05/10/04
  • The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures -- 6/07/04
  • Pikmin 2 (more screens) -- 08/04/04
  • Donkey Konga -- 09/04/04
  • Geist -- Q4 2004
  • Mario Party 6 -- Q4 2004
  • Mario Tennis -- Q4 2004
  • Metroid Prime 2 -- Q4 2004
  • Paper Mario 2 -- Q4 2004
  • Star Fox 2 (more screens) -- Q4 2004

    These are the confirmed Nintendo first-party releases for the U.S., but we're expecting a little more news and excitement from E3. So what else might be making an appearance this year?

  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker 2
  • Mario 128
  • F-Zero GX 2
  • Pokémon GameCube

    A little speculation never hurt anyone! We'll certainly find out the scoop on Wind Waker 2 and anything else is a bonus. GBA gamers can look forward to more first-party titles than GameCube owners, but aren't they one and the same these days? GameSpy will be gathering the definitive line-up of games for all platforms a little closer to E3. Stay tuned for more.