Last month, in a somewhat silent fashion, Hyderabad and Gameshastra announced an agreement to develop a Wii version of the extremely popular Tumblebugs franchise. The title is not due for a traditional Wii release but will instead be available for download through the WiiWare service.

The game will resemble the second Tumblebugs PC title, which also closely resembled the casual title Zuma. The game will feature the shoot-to-match three gameplay found in that style of game and will probably also include the variety of bug-themed powerups featured in its PC iterations. "We are strong believers in console based casual games," claimed Prakash Ahuja, CEO of Gameshastra.

Tumblebugs will be in direct competition with Nintendo's Magnetica Twist on the service which released earlier this summer. Magnetica Twist, as the name suggests, featured turning the Wii Remote to aim the ball launcher, and Tumblebugs will feature a yet-unknown implementation of the Wii's specific functionality.

According to Gameshastra VP of Sales Rahul Sandil, "we feel we have came up with a very innovative design that combines the regular 'shoot-to-match 3' experience with some very unique Wii specific mechanics."

Tumblebugs is due for release on WiiWare this Fall.

Wildfire and Gameshastra announce deal to deliver Tumblebugs on WiiWare

HYDERABAD, India, BRISBANE, Australia, LOS ANGELES, July 14, 2008

Today Hyderabad and Los Angeles based Gameshastra announces an agreement to create the Wii version of Brisbane based Wildfire Studios’ wildly popular and critically acclaimed Tumblebugs franchise.

Since first launching in 2005, Tumblebugs and the recently released sequel Tumblebugs 2, have generated 40+ million downloads.

"We are strong believers in console based casual games," says Prakash Ahuja, CEO of Gameshastra, "especially given the recent transformation of consoles from historically teen focused gaming devices to now becoming family entertainment hubs in many living rooms across the globe. We are very focused on titles that satisfy this new, broad demographic."

Darren Baker, CEO of Wildfire Studios says "We enjoyed working with GameShastra on Tumblebugs 2 PC, and are excited to collaborate again to bring our games to the emerging realm of console casual gaming. The broad consumer appeal and high production values of Wildfire's titles make them a natural fit for the console space."

"After working closely with the Wildfire team to create background art for Tumblebugs 2 we realized the game was a fantastic WiiWare candidate," Rahul Sandil, VP of Sales at Gameshastra says. "The key to a successful Wii port is the ability to expand the title to take advantage of the unique Wiimote input system, and we feel we have came up with a very innovative design that combines the regular 'shoot-to-match 3' experience with some very unique Wii specific mechanics."

The game is expected to be available on Nintendo’s WiiWare service in the fall of 2008.