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Wii to offer 62 games by year's end

by: Sean Colleli -
More On: Wii
Nintendo is really dishing up the software on Wii.  Before January 07, you'll have 62 games to choose from, new and old.  32 Wii games will be on shelves for the holiday, and a whopping 30 virtual console titles will be up for download.  I'm a little concerned that only 4 of the Wii titles are first party, but I'll be perfeclty satisfied with Zelda for a month or two.  I just hope Nintendo's servers can handle all those downloads...hit the jump to see all of the old-school games, with Sega and TG-16 classics in there too.
Nintendo's Wii Will Boast 62 Titles and Countless New Ways to Play
                                       
          32 New Wii Titles and 30 Classics Form Huge Launch Library
 
    REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Within the first five weeks of 
launch, Wii(TM) owners can pick from up to 62 games, representing the most 
diverse, and most exciting, console video game library available. Licensees 
and developers have lined up to support the Wii launch in unprecedented 
numbers. Wii and its Wii Remote(TM) completely change the way people play and 
experience video games by making every motion of the controller translate into 
action on the screen. All at once, Wii makes games both easier to play and 
more immersive. In the five weeks after Wii launches in the United States on 
Nov. 19, gamers of all ages and abilities will be telling their friends and 
family: "You've got to play this!"
    (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061011/LAW104LOGO )
    By year's end, Wii owners will have 32 new titles to play, including 
industry powerhouse games like The Legend of Zelda(R): Twilight Princess, 
Madden NFL '07, Need for Speed(TM): Carbon and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam(TM); 
category-redefining adventures like Red Steel(TM), Elebits(TM) and Trauma 
Center(TM): Second Opinion; and Hollywood favorites like Cars, SpongeBob 
SquarePants(TM): Creature from the Krusty Krab and Avatar: The Last Airbender. 
Some of these games might be familiar, but if you haven't played them on Wii, 
you're only getting half the experience.
    Wii owners also will return to their youth with 30 classic games available 
for download to play on Wii's Virtual Console(TM). These include games for the 
NES(R), Super NES(R), Nintendo(R) 64, Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx16 consoles. 
Players redeem Wii Points in the Wii Shop Channel and download their games. 
And that's not to mention the entire library of more than 530 Nintendo 
GameCube(TM) games that can be played on the Wii console from day one because 
Wii is directly backward compatible.
    "Developers worldwide have enhanced Wii's launch library of new games with 
countless new ways to play," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's 
senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Whether you 
pick a completely new property or a classic franchise, the Wii experience 
draws you in."
    Every Wii owner starts off with Wii Sports(TM), which comes packed in with 
the console itself. The sporting collection of bowling, tennis, baseball, 
boxing and golf lets players literally swing the Wii Remote like a bowling 
ball, racket, bat, boxing glove and golf club. The games are easy for anyone 
to try and they dramatically demonstrate how Wii makes video games fun for 
everyone.
    For avid gamers, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess emerges as this 
season's video game masterpiece. The epic adventure lets players swing the Wii 
Remote as a sword and can play in a 16:9 aspect ratio with beautiful visuals 
and glorious sound. Have you ever tilted your controller while playing a 
driving game, hoping in vain that extra oomph would help you land a huge jump? 
Now EXCITE TRUCK(TM) translates those movements of the Wii Remote as players 
hold it sideways and turn it like a steering wheel.
    Wii's launch library contains games of all genres, and each one gives 
gamers a new way to play. While Wii Sports, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight 
Princess and EXCITE TRUCK will be ready to go on launch day, last-minute 
polishing by third parties means their exact dates will soon be locked down, 
though most will launch by the end of November. A complete list of launch-day 
titles will be announced in the near future. Visit www.Wii.com for updates. 
Third-party publishers have created an impressive list of launch titles for 
Wii, and their backing will continue steadily into the new year. Before the 
end of December alone, the following titles will be available:
 
    Activision: Call of Duty(R) 3, Marvel(TM) Ultimate Alliance, Rapala(R)
    Tournament Fishing, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam(TM), World Series of
    Poker(R): Tournament of Champions
 
    Atari: Dragon Ball Z(R): Budokai Tenkaichi(TM) 2
 
    Atlus: Trauma Center(TM): Second Opinion
 
    EA: Madden NFL '07, Need for Speed(TM): Carbon
 
    Konami: Elebits(TM)
 
    Midway: Happy Feet(TM), Rampage(R): Total Destruction(TM), The Grim
    Adventures of Billy & Mandy(TM), The Ant Bully
 
    Sega: Super Monkey Ball(TM): Banana Blitz
 
    SNK: Metal Slug(TM) Anthology
 
    Tecmo: Super Swing Golf
 
    THQ: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Barnyard(R), Cars, SpongeBob
    SquarePants(TM): The Creature from the Krusty Krab
 
    Ubisoft: Far Cry(R): Vengeance, GT Pro Series, Monster 4X4 World Circuit,
    Open Season(TM), Rayman Raving Rabbids(TM), Red Steel(TM), Tom Clancy's
    Splinter Cell Double Agent(TM)
 
    Vivendi: Ice Age 2(TM): The Meltdown
 
    In addition to these new titles, Nintendo is making the greatest video 
game archive in history available for download to its Virtual Console. NES 
games start at 500 Wii Points, Super NES games start at 800 Wii Points and 
Nintendo 64 games start at 1,000 Wii Points. Sega Genesis games start at 800 
Wii Points and TurboGrafx16 games start at 600 Wii Points. Wii Points can be 
purchased online or at retail at an MSRP of $20 for 2,000 points. Before the 
end of December, the following titles will be available:
 
    NES: Mario Bros.(R), The Legend of Zelda(R), Donkey Kong(R), Donkey Kong
    Jr. (R), Ice Hockey, Pinball, Soccer, Tennis, Urban Champion(R), Wario's
    Woods(TM), Baseball, Solomon's Key
 
    SNES: F-Zero(R), SimCity(TM)
 
    N64: Super Mario(R) 64
 
    Sega Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Columns, Ecco
    the Dolphin, Gunstar Heroes, Space Harrier II, Toe Jam & Earl, Ristar, Dr.
    Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
 
    TurboGrafx16: Bonk's Adventure, Super Star Soldier, Victory Run, Bomberman
    '93, Dungeon Explorer
 
    As previously announced, Wii contains built-in parental controls that let 
adults set the console to play only games of a certain rating and lock their 
selection with a PIN code.
    The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, 
Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and 
software for its Nintendo DS(TM), Game Boy(R) Advance and Nintendo 
GameCube(TM) systems, and upcoming Wii(TM) console. Since 1983, Nintendo has 
sold nearly 2.2 billion video games and more than 375 million hardware units 
globally, and has created industry icons like Mario(TM), Donkey Kong(R), 
Metroid(R), Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of 
America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's 
operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, 
visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.