Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.

Last week, I asked for reader suggestions for this week's Virtually Overlooked. One reader suggested The Guardian Legend, and I thought that was a perfectly reasonable suggestion. The Guardian Legend was one of the biggest sleeper hits of the NES era, and something that is definitely worth checking out, especially for fans of Ys and Faxanadu.

It was only later that I realized that I was thinking of Legacy of the Wizard. I get those two mixed up a lot. They both fall into that "sleeper" category, they were both published by Brøderbund, and they both have "Leg" in the title. They're practically the same game, except that one's a hybrid vertical shooter/Zelda-style adventure developed by Compile, and the other is a side-scrolling action RPG from Nihon Falcom. But other than that, the same game.

Inspired by my inability to keep two similar things separate, I thought this week we could look at some more NES games I get confused about, either because they're so similar or because I'm so dumb.

Google has invented a system for monitoring the habits of online gamers. The technology is intended to track gaming habits in order to make in-game advertising more relevant to users. It's targeted at all online platforms, including Wii.

Apparently our playing habits can reveal all sorts of information about us. The way we behave in a game can be used to draw up a profile of our psychological characteristics, and this data can then be used to sell us stuff.

The system was patented in the US and Europe last month, although Google say they have no plans to roll it out in the near future. Privacy campaigners have deep concerns about the system, pointing out that while Google's ideas may be relatively benign, the information may not stay in their hands. The US federal government has already taken Google to court in order to gain access to their data.

So what do your gaming habits say about you? Does your in-game behaviour reflect your real life personality? Any dirty little secrets hiding on your memory cards? They might not be secrets for much longer.

[Via Wiiha!]

According to the Guardian Unlimited, the UK site Play.com has been awash in Wii preorders -- 7000 in the first nine days, making it the "biggest and quickest launch ever on the site." With months to go yet until the console's release (December 8 in Europe), people are already jumping to reserve a Wii. In the vacuum left by Sony's decision to delay the PS3 in Europe, it looks like the Wii's going to be a little popular.

And, inadvertently, the Guardian reminds us why Wii Sports has been bundled with the console to push units outside gamer markets. In an attempt to explain what the Wii is and what can be done with it, they said, "you can play tennis, golf, or baseball, you can bowl or box or play something called Zelda Hands-on, which is a sword fighting game." The uh, emphasis would be ours. When you hit Play.com to reserve your Wii, don't forget Zelda Hands-on. We hear it's a real winner.