Nintendo Wii Fanboy

So, last week's rather spasmodic Virtual Console releases were a bit strangely timed. Still, it's hard to fault Nintendo, who has very little online console experience and consumer demand out the yin-yang. Still, they promised us Virtual Console Mondays, and by golly, here they come. From a press release:

Every Monday starting Dec. 4, Nintendo will add classic games to the popular new Wii™ video game console's Wii Shop Channel. Four games will be added at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Dec. 4. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

• Donkey Kong Jr. (NES): 500 points
• Victory Run (TG-16): 600 points
• Columns (Sega Genesis): 800 points
• Ristar (Sega Genesis): 800 points

A nice little addition! We're particularly looking forward to Columns, a very relaxing and satisfying puzzle game. With several new games being released every Monday, it won't be long until we see our promised Toe Jam and Earl action, or some of those rumored Virtual Console releases we keep hearing about. And look! A Christmas present! Keep 'em comin', Nintendo.

Ah, some fairly rare bad news from Nintendo's camp this morning. It turns out that the potential-sleeper-hit Elebits, which won best-of-show at TGS 2006, will be delayed in America until mid-December. The quirky "gravity gun" title seemed to capture the hearts of those who played it (and David, too), so this comes as a blow for many.

This may not turn out to be such a horrible move for Konami or gamers, as the Wii's launch is just about the strongest in the history of video games; having to compete against the likes of Zelda and Red Steel is sales chart suicide. Heck, the game may turn out to be a nice gift for the holidays, since the rabid gamers in your family will have probably already spent nigh half a thousand on various launch expenses. Maybe now Elebits will receive the attention it deserves, and not turn into yet another case of Beyond Good and Evil.

Yes, the U.S. Virtual Console launch line-up is a bit ... anemic. We know, it hurts. However, one has to consider why it doesn't really matter: 1) We'll all be too busy playing Twilight Princess to bother with the Virtual Console immediately, and 2) Nintendo has promised ten new Virtual Console releases per month. That's quite a bit, especially looking at how often Xbox Live Arcade is updated, but the question then becomes: what's on the horizon?

Well, thanks to the ESRB, we've got a clue. The ESRB requires that games be rated before release, which obviously means that companies need to send in their product quite a bit in advance. Since they publish their ratings, we've managed to score a list of eight potentials, and quite an eight they are (all rated E for Everyone):

• Duck Hunt
  
• Hogan's Alley
  
• Kid Icarus
  
• Kirby's Adventure
  
• PilotWings
  
• Pro Wrestling
  
• Punch-Out
  
• Wild Gunman

Kid Icarus, Duck Hunt, and Punch-Out? Holy hell. The Virtual Console is awesome.

[via Joystiq]

[Thanks, Zeke!]

[Update 1: Legal issues?]