So, you're done playing with Zelda and Wario ware? Well, Konami is keeping the Wii love alive by bringing in two new Wii games available on the market this week. Konami announces that they will be shipping Wing Island and Kororinpa to stores all over the US.

If you haven't tried flying using the Wii, then Wing Island would be your first stop in getting a shot on what it's like flying in a plane with your squadron at your side. On the other hand, Kororinpa: Marble Mania is a Ninty game that's built to waste more of your time. You will use your Wiimote to flip, twist, and turn pieces in order to get your marble through a maze. If you've got time to waste, then give these games a go and grab them at your nearest game store.

Both games are rated E by the ESRB and would be sold for around $39.99.

Buy: [Wing Island (Wii)]
Buy: [Kororinpa: Marble Mania (Wii)]

And so Konami and Hudson Entertainment finally decided to bring high-flying action flight adventure title Wing Island to Europe and North America. But before it arrives, we'll have to tell you some of the game's pertinent details. After all, nobody wants to be caught unprepared, right?

With that said, the game will revolve around the character of Junior and best friend Puffin. All they want to do, especially Junior, is fly high among the clouds and sweep above the island's glorious vistas. Well, it's perfectly understandable that Junior loves flying because, you see, Junior is actually a bird and a young one at that.

Anyway, Junior's grandpa owns a family-run aviation business but then decided to take a much needed vacation. The adventure begins when Junior is left to take care of their business. He takes to the skies, together with his friends, in order to take care of the needy islanders that inhabit the island.

Sounds interesting enough? We don't have to reiterate how all these will feel cool with a Wiimote. In case you want to know more, here are some of Wing Island's key features:

• Story Mode: involves Junior running the aviation business across more than 25 original missions issued by the island's inhabitants. Successfully completed missions (such as dousing fires, delivering air freight, and spraying crops) lead to Junior securing cash rewards with which he can purchase and upgrade newly acquired aircraft.
• Free Mode: players can re-play specific missions from Story Mode, taking a more relaxed, pressure free, route to obtaining high scores, or merely basking in the game's aerial beauty throughout any of Wing Island's six separate aircraft categories.
• Trial Mode: two players can compete against each other across a selection of mini-games that thoroughly flex each pilot's amassed control skills. Players can use either the Wiimote or Nunchuk for extra multiplayer features.

In their latest press release, Konami is the majority shareholder and parent company">Hudson Entertainment and Konami have just formally announced that the exclusive Wii title, Wing Island, is bound for North American retail by this Spring. Although they have yet to specify an exact date, at least this narrows it all down to some time within the next three months.

Meanwhile, it was announced earlier that European gamers can look forward to this title by March 23.

One of the titles that didn't quite make it in time for the Wii's launch, Wing Island features a quirky cast of characters who are all quite at home in the skies. Players will then have to take on the role of our hero, Junior, and go through more than 25 missions in the game's story mode alone. The title also features Free Mode which lets you basically go around, enjoy the scenery, and beat high scores. Lastly, there's Trial Mode that will have two players compete against each other in a series of mini-games.

We may get jealous as hell when Japan gets earlier release dates for some of our most-anticipated Wii games, but as the old adage goes, "Good things come to those who wait." (Or is it 'great' things? Meh...same diff'rence.)

So anyway, one of those good things we get from having a later release date are the game previews like gameplay vids and screens. And to prove our point, here's another batch of gameplay vids for the upcoming (in NA and Europe at least) flight sim game, Wing Island. Fellas, we bring you the Formation and Barrel Roll gameplay vids to give you a sneak peek of what's in store for you when the game takes off on your Wii's this March. Enjoy!

Barrel Roll Gameplay

The other vid is behind the "Read" link. Check out the "Formation" gameplay footage

We're still wondering about US release specifics, but Hudson Soft has set a direct course for Europe with Wing Island. So if you're reading this from there, yes, you will have reason to ask clearance from the Wii tower for take-off beginning March 23. (Again, nothing about US release specifics were given with the PR we got. Someone please check with the tower again.)

The game features control via the Wiimote, a Story and Free Mission mode in single-player, and single-player competitive (hot-swap) and two-player competitive modes. It also features seven or eight aircraft to choose from, solo and formation flights, and decidedly kid-friendly missions like food drops, putting our forest fires, and balloon-popping (which the balloon will NOT appreciate).

Here are three new screens of the game that came with the news. No, none of these pictures has an admiral's daughter being buzzed in them.

  

During the time that Virtual Console was still in the works, Nintendo already knew that the service's main purpose is to bring back classic favorites. But as time progresses, people have been curious as to what other purposes VC may serve. After all, developers are making a "re-hash" of their old titles, so why not make a new one, right?

The same question was asked to Hudson Entertainment's Director for Marketing">John Lee, Hudson Entertainment's Director for Marketing. We all know that Hudson was one of the first developers to embrace the Virtual Console. Of course, Lee answered that they will not be making new content for VC.

But, it's interesting that he added, "However, in the future, you should rephrase that question to: Are there any plans to launch original content on some downloadable service on the Wii, and you might get a different answer."

Nintendo, likewise, somewhat supported this statement when it was asked regarding the matter. One representative from the company shared:

Nintendo has developed a programming system that will allow small independent developers to make games for Wii download service. We cannot confirm at this time in what format the new content will be delivered, but in the future there will be original games available for download through the Wii Shop.

So, it is certain now that Nintendo is indeed planning to come up with such service. Well, when you look at it, it's actually logical as rival companies have such features in their respective systems. The only question remaining now is when.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves will be retailing for AU$ 79.95 (around US$ 63) when it hits Australian retail stores on January 25. Hmmm... that's pretty cheap. But this move ain't really surprising, given that Ninty Aussie has been attacked for the price-point of the Wii software.

So, how far exactly will they go to appease the market with their prices?

Vispi Bhopti, Nintendo Australia's PR lead say, "With the Wii and the DS, we're examining demographics to figure out the best price-point with which to expand the market." Meaning to say, this is but the start of the road for these plans of lowering the price.

The other titles which will be experiencing the "roll back", so to speak, are Kororinpa, as well as Wing Island. Both will be retailing with the same price as WarioWare. Excite Truck, however, will come out on February 22 with an almost-hundred dollar price tag.

The flight simulation game, Wing Island and the Marble-Madness-type game, Kororinpa may still be sporting TBA release dates in the U.S., but judging from this tidbit we encountered from Siliconera, the TBA release dates may soon be out of the window. Why is that?

Apparently both these titles could now be found on the database of the U.S.' Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Both titles have already been rated and it was listed that Hudson would take care of the publishing chores. With that development, it is easy to say that they would be released in the U.S. anytime soon. Which is not a surprising move since both titles apparently didn't click well in the Japanese market even if they received decent ratings.

Regardless of what the reviews or the sales charts say, in the end, the decision of buying these games is entirely up to you. They seem to be interesting games and they just might tickle your fancy.

Yeah, importing is necessary if you're really into weird Japanese games. Take for example Wing Island. The US release date for this game is still TBA, but it's already out in Japan, guess what a fan will do?

Anyway, below is a video of the opening intro of the "import." In this Hudson Soft flight game, all the player has to do is play pretend-this-is-an-airplane with their Wiimote. Tilt the Wii mote horizontally to turn, vertically to go up or down, and flick the Wii controller two times to the side to do a barrel-roll.

In this game the player lands the plane, they will get stunned temporarily, unlike other flight games, where the plane explodes if it crashes. In addition to flying a single planes, players will also have the opportunity to fly a squadron of planes in formation. A lot of the gameplay involves popping balloons, putting out fires, and dropping cargo. The game's got cutesy cartoon-y characters, and the way things are looking so far, the game should be a fun pick-up and play experience.

As with all of our vid embeds, just click play folks! (Now if only gamevideo embeds were a bit more reliable...)

 

So you've seen big loads of Wii box art before, but those are for the Western market. Ever wondered how their Wii box art looked like in Japan? Well now. Today you get the chance to take a peek at Japanese Wii art (box art, you perv).

We've got box art for Rayman Raving Rabbids ("Rabbids Party"?), Trauma Center: Second Opinion, WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Wing Island, Wii Sports... Even a Wii Play + Wiimote bundle.

The template for the boxes are pretty much the same. And although some of the box art look similar to those to be released on our side of the world, there are a few distinctions to be made. Take for example the Raving Rabbids cover. Isn't it strange that there's no pic of Rayman on it? Well, with those little critters running mad on the cover, who needs Rayman to identify the game with the franchise?

Click the pics to enlarge the Wii (box art)!