Nintendo Wii Fanboy

There's a couple of things to note about the above video, however. One: that elevator music is freakin' hideous (and on that note, we'd really like MP3 support in this please, Nintendo). And two: where are the optional Nintendo-themed pieces?! To have Mario and Peach playing the king and queen would have been an excellent little touch. Other Nintendo games get outstanding fan service, so why not this? Two words: Missed. Opportunity.

[Thanks, Troy!]

Considering it's a Nintendo game, there's been astoundingly little fanfare for Wii Chess. The game's Wikipedia page is absolutely barren, while a release date has only just appeared (January 18th), and then only for Europe. Despite the lack of information, Nintendo obviously reckons this could have broad appeal, as it's slapped the "Touch! Generations" logo on the corner of the box, which roughly translates as: "Your Gran and her friends will like this."

Anyway, further details finally emerged on the title today, with CVG reporting that Wii Chess is to retail for a budget price of £20 / €30 (we'd presume the game's budget status will be preserved if and when it reaches other markets -- our educated guess would be $30 for the U.S.), and that it will support both local multiplayer and games played over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. We're also promised a number of graphical styles, which hopefully means Nintendo-themed boards and pieces, including Goomba pawns and knights that look like Yoshi.

And yes, that is the German boxart. We travelled the seven seas of the internet searching for an English version, but returned empty-handed. Still, at least you now know the German word for "chess." Never know when that might come in handy.

Included in their package of Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn, Siliconera came upon the above Touch! Generations brochure. Guess Nintendo is extending their brand to the Wii, which makes sense. The brand has been responsible for getting many non-gamers into the DS, so why wouldn't it work on the Wii? The nature of how we play on that system has been very appealing to non-gamers, so is this brand even needed?

Oh, and the only two games they list as being part of the brand are Wii Sports and Wii Play.