This week's update to the Wii's online Shop Channel brings with it the seemingly traditional mix of one new WiiWare game, and two Virtual Console retro re-releases.

WiiWare
• My Aquarium (Hudson) / 500 Wii Points ($5)
Virtual Console
• Clu Clu Land (Nintendo, NES) / 500 Wii Points ($5)
• Super Mario RPG (Square, SNES) / 800 Wii Points ($8)

All three games are now up for download. Read on for more details... Read more

As some predict that digital sales and downloads of video games will soon render traditional retailers obsolete, Electronic Arts European publishing manager Jes Uwe Intat doesn't think that retailers will disappear across the next twenty years.

"I think there will still be a need for a physical distribution starter, and then services and additional content can be distributed online," he told GamesIndustry.biz.

That firm belief, Intat noted, comes from the ever-expanding size of games.

"We used to be below 1 GB, but we're now building games that have 8, 9, 10 GB--and if broadband distribution is going to allow 10 GB to be distributed in half... Read more

Nintendo has announced the latest batch of games hitting the Wii's downloadable gaming platform, with Capcom's classic platformer Mega Man finally arriving on the Virtual Console.

Meanwhile, the update also includes a new original WiiWare title, as well as another Virtual Console offering. As per Nintendo's usual release schedule, the games are available as of 12 PM EST, 9 AM PST today.

WiiWare

• Midnight Pool (Gameloft) / 800 Wii Points ($8)

Virtual Console

• Mega Man (Capcom, NES) / 500 Wii Points ($5)
• Neo Turf Masters (SNK, Neo-Geo) / 900 Wii Points ($9)

Read on for more details as provided by Nintendo... Read more

The first episode of Telltale Games' Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People has arrived on PC and the Wii's downloadable gaming platform WiiWare.

Entitled "Homestar Ruiner," the first episode is available on the Wii via the console's online Wii Shop Channel, priced at 1000 Wii Points ($10). The PC edition is offered at Telltale's website for $8.95, or $34.95 for a five-episode subscription. A playable demo was also released.

Nintendo listed today's additions to the Wii's Virtual Console as:

• Break In (Naxat Soft, TurboGrafx-16) / 700 Wii Points ($7)
• Star Parodier (Hudson Soft, TurboGrafx-16 CD) / 900 Wii Points ($9)

Read on for more information on the games as provided by Nintendo... Read more

Nintendo today issued details on several new titles coming to the Wii's downloadable gaming service, with one original WiiWare title and two Virtual Console classics arriving on the system's Wii Shop Channel.

The games are available as of 12 PM EST, 9 AM PST today.

WiiWare

• Wild West Guns (Gameloft) / 1000 Wii Points ($10)

Virtual Console

• Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega, Sega Master System) / 500 Wii Points ($5)
• Splatterhouse 2 (Namco, Sega Genesis) / 800 Wii Points ($8)

Read on for more details as provided by Nintendo... Read more

Recent updates to the Wii's online Shop Channel digital storefront includes four Virtual Console games and two original WiiWare downloadable titles.

WiiWare

• Major League Eating: The Game (Mastiff) / 1000 Wii Points ($10)
• Pirates: The Key of Dreams (Oxygen Games) / 1000 Wii Points ($10)

Virtual Console

• Donkey Kong 3 (Nintendo, NES) / 500 Wii Points ($5)
• Ninja Commando (Alpha Denshi, Neo-Geo) / 900 Wii Points ($9)
• Super Fantasy Zone (Sunsoft, Sega Genesis) / 900 Wii Points ($9)
• Gley Lancer (NCS, Sega Genesis) / 900 Wii Points ($9)

All six titles are available now. Read onward for more information... Read more

Capcom and Inti Create's downloadable revival of Mega Man will, as previously rumored, arrive on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in addition to the Wii, IGN has confirmed.

Featuring a pixel-based art style and optional protection against one-hit kills, Mega Man 9 marks the first downloadable game to be announced for the online stores--PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Marketplace, Wii Shop Channel--of all three systems.

North American release details are not yet available, though the title is slated to hit Japan's WiiWare store in September for 1000 Wii Points ($10).

In addition, Capcom revealed that the NES classics Mega Man 1 and 2 will soon be released in the Wii's online Virtual Console storefront. Once again, no pricing or release details were specified, though the games are expected to carry the store's usual 500 Wii Point ($5) price for NES games.

Today's update to the Wii's online Shop Channel includes one Virtual Console game and a single original WiiWare title, Nintendo has announced.

WiiWare

• SPOGS Racing (D2C Games) / 1000 Wii Points ($10)

Virtual Console

• King of the Monsters (SNK, Neo-Geo) / 900 Wii Points ($9)

Per the usual Wii Shop Channel release schedule, both games are now available on the Wii's digital storefront. More details on both games are viewable below... Read more

Nintendo unveiled today's two additions to the Wii's online Shop Channel, which includes one Virtual Console game and a single original WiiWare downloadable game.

WiiWare

• Magnetica Twist (Mitchell Corporation) / 1000 Wii Points ($10)

Virtual Console

• Fatal Fury 2 (SNK, Neo-Geo) / 900 Wii Points ($9)

As with all Wii Shop Channel releases, the games are available via the Wii's digital storefront as of 12 PM EDT, 9 AM PDT today.

More details on both games are viewable below... Read more

Nintendo has revealed today's three additions to the Wii's online Shop Channel, detailing one new original title and two downloadable Virtual Console classics.

WiiWare

• Gyrostarr (High Voltage Software) / 700 Wii Points ($7)

Virtual Console

• Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Sega, Sega Master System) / 500 Wii Points ($5)
• Burning Fight (SNK, Neo-Geo) / 900 Wii Points ($9)

Per Nintendo's usual release schedule, the games are available via the Wii Shop Channel as of 12 PM EDT, 9 AM PDT today.

Read on for more details... Read more

Nintendo is aware of consumer dissatisfaction with the Wii's data storage limitations and is actively working on a solution, Nintendo Europe marketing director Laurent Fischer said.

"We definitely detect that [consumers] are serious and we know there is an issue in this, so it's something that we're working on," Fischer told GamesIndustry. "Definitely there's no plan to issue hardware, an external hard drive, but we know that we have an issue."

The Wii is currently limited to 512MB of internal flash memory. Though expandable via SD Cards, the system can only execute downloaded code if it is stored within that internal 512MB block.

With the Virtual Console and the debut of Nintendo's downloadable gaming platform WiiWare last month, some have already exhausted the Wii's available... Read more

Nintendo has announced this week's additions to its downloadable gaming platforms, revealing two original WiiWare titles and a lone Virtual Console release.

WiiWare

• Block Breaker Deluxe (Gameloft) / 800 Wii Points ($8)
• Cocoto Fishing Master (Neko Entertainment) / 700 Wii Points ($7)

Virtual Console

• Samurai Shodown (SNK, Neo-Geo) / 900 Wii Points ($9)

As always, the games are available via the Wii Shop channel as of 12 PM EDT, 9 AM PDT today.

Read on for more details... Read more

Nintendo Europe's Laurent Fischer has apologized for his statement publicized earlier this week, in which the marketing director said that the only Wii owners that encounter problems with the console's 512MB of internal storage are "geeks and otaku."

"I have huge respect for those who, like me, share a common passion for Nintendo and want to make it clear that I would never use and I didn't use this terminology in such a context or way to cause offense," he told videogaming247.

He added, "I regret that this misunderstanding has created such offense and disappointment within the community."

Fischer's comments sparked outrage in Nintendo's consumer community, which has been long awaiting a solution to the Wii's limited 512MB of internal storage... Read more

The only Wii owners that encounter problems with the console's 512MB of internal storage are "geeks and otaku," going by Nintendo Europe marketing director Laurent Fischer.

The comment, as relayed by Edge, was meant to downplay criticism that the Wii's paltry internal storage could hamper the company's downloadable efforts.

Nintendo only recently launched WiiWare, its initiative to provide original downloadable games in addition to downloadable classics. Thus far, over 220 Virtual Console and 15 WiiWare titles have been released in North America, with more arriving every week.

Some of the newer WiiWare efforts, such as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King and LostWinds, weigh in around the 32MB mark... Read more

Nintendo has revealed today's three additions to the Wii's online Shop Channel, detailing one new original title and two downloadable classics.

The first Pokemon effort on WiiWare, Nintendo's My Pokemon Ranch sports "relaxing ranch life" that allows users to observe the interactions of Pokemon and Miis. Priced at 1000 Wii Points ($10), the game can be linked up with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (DS) to populate the farm with up to 1,000 pocket monsters.

As for today's enemy-inflating Virtual Console titles, Namco's classic NES title Dig Dug and Konami's formerly Japan-only NES effort Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa hit today. Unlike Dig Dug, in which players pop enemies like balloons, Bokutte Upa has players inflating enemies to ride and bounce from.

Both Dig Dug and Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa will sell for 600 Wii Points ($6). All three games will be available for download from the Wii Shop Channel beginning at 12 AM EDT, 9 AM PDT.

Nintendo has detailed today's additions to the Wii's online Shop Channel, revealing two original WiiWare titles as well as the re-release of an old-school ninja game.

On the WiiWare side of things, Two Tribes' chicken centric-puzzler Toki Tori and Ubisoft's top-down space shooter Protothea mark today's original WiiWare releases. Both are priced at 1000 Wii Points ($10).

As for Wii Virtual Console, this week's addition is Ninja Combat. Originally developed by ADK and released on the Neo-Geo in 1990, the title lets up to two players partake in some side scrolling ninja warfare for the price of 900 Wii Points ($9).

Per usual, the titles will be downlodable beginning today at 12 PM EDT, 9 AM PDT.

Nintendo has revealed today's additions to the Wii's online Shop Channel, detailing a prescription-strength dose of family fun through this week's four downloadable games.

Of the four, two are original WiiWare titles, while the other two consist of retro releases:

WiiWare

• Dr Mario Online Rx (Nintendo) / 1000 Wii Points ($10)
• Family Table Tennis (Arc System Works, Akysys Games) / 500 Wii Points ($5)

Virtual Console

• City Connection (Jaleco, NES) / 500 Wii Points ($5)
• Metal Slug (SNK, Neo-Geo) / 900 Wii Points ($9)

All titles will be downlodable beginning today at 12 PM EDT, 9 AM PDT.

Read on for more details and screenshots.... Read more

Following up on last week's WiiWare launch, Nintendo will today add two new original games and one retro release to the Wii's online Shop Channel.

A puzzle-action offering, Konami's Critter Round-Up has one-to-four players trying to herd barnyard animals and keep fences sturdy, all at the cost of 1000 Wii Points ($10).

The latest entry in the top-down Star shooting series, Hudson Soft's Star Soldier R lets players test their skills in 2 or 5 minute increments, or through the Quick Shot mode. It will sell for 800 Wii Points ($8).

Namco's old-time NES bomb-dropping shooter Skykid rounds out this week's Shop Channel offerings. It'll set you back 500 Wii Points ($5) to see the fallout of the 8-bit rivalry between Red Baron and Blue Max.

All titles will be available for purchase and download through the Wii Shop Channel beginning today at 12 PM EDT, 9 AM PDT.

It may have confused some of you to see a select number of gamers fall into paralytic fits of glee over an ESRB rating for Earthbound on the Virtual Console, marking the quirky SNES RPG's first appearance in North America after almost 13 years.

Those uninitiated to the game might've wondered what the fuss was all about. "Balderdash," you exclaimed to nobody in particular. "What's the big deal about an ESRB rating? Who cares if it comes out on the Virtual Console?"

At face value, EarthBound's appearance on the Virtual Console might seem an insignificant feat. But for the fan community that has fought tooth and nail for the series in an unwelcoming territory, the rating is a nod from Nintendo that ...Read more

Following up on last week's sole Virtual Console addition, Nintendo has revealed two games that will today be added to the Wii's online Shop Channel, with the beloved Puzzle League series finally making its VC debut.

Developed by NST and Intelligent Systems, the Nintendo 64 edition of Pokemon Puzzle League contains all the addictive block-swapping, chain-dropping gameplay of Tetris Attack with a sugary coating of Pokemon flavor.

It'll cost 1000 Wii Points ($10) if you're in the mood to match up blocks of the same color, unleash massive combos, and damage, if not destroy, some social relationships.

Originally released on the NES, Renegade marks the latest side-scrolling beat 'em up from River City Ransom and Double Dragon developer Technos Japan to hit Virtual Console. To destroy gang culture and its many kung-fu females, get ready to cough up 500 Wii Points ($5).

Both titles support 2-person multiplayer and will be available for purchase and download through the Wii Shop Channel beginning today at 12 PM EDT, 9 AM PDT.