The country's biggest gaming chain is directing gamers to a June 2 release. Read more...

Nintendo has released a long list of games slated for the Wii and DS for the first three months of 2009. And I've annotated it, hopefully in a manner that's helpful to you.

How do we feel about this line-up?

Which games are you most excited about?

Mine are "Madworld," "Zubo," "Retro Game Challenge," "Henry Hatsworth," and "GTA: Chinatown Wars." You?

Wii Q1 2009 Line-Up

Activision
Monsters vs. Aliens March 24 [Uh-oh The world's self-proclaimed biggest "pure-play" publisher has one game for the world's most popular gaming console in the first quarter of 2009.]

Crave Entertainment
Monster Pals March [No offense to Crave, but it's a bit unsettling that Capcom wasn't listed here. Could they have no games for the Wii for the winter?]
Solitaire & Mahjong February
Puzzle Challenges and More! February
Crayola Colorful World March Read more...

The announcement of a March 17 U.S. release for "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars" suggests that the first quarter of 2009 could be one of the best video game winters in memory.

If you've been too distracted by the big holiday game releases to keep track of what's coming, consider the following line-up:

2/17 -- Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

2/17 -- Grand Theft Auto: The Lost And Damned (Xbox 360 downloadable)

2/27 -- Killzone 2 (PS3)

3/3 -- Halo Wars (Xbox 360)

3/13 -- Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360, PS3)

3/20 -- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Nintendo DS)

Those are the heavyweights, the games that are so high-caliber you would expect them to come out any time other than the winter. Naturally, there are plenty of other games also slated for the winter, including "50 Cent: Blood On The Sand," "Skate 2," "Deadly Creatures," "Godfather 2" and maybe "Wanted," "Madworld" and "Bionic Commando." Oh, and new downloadable "Fallout 3" missions.

Plus, the game I'm most excited about for early 2009, the PSN's Flower, is coming in February or March.

Not a bad winter, huh?