A little more than a week after the North American launch of Nintendo's WiiWare service, Europe will join in the downloadable fun on May 20. But whereas North America got six games, Europe may get up to eight. And while Nintendo's own Dr. Mario WiiWare title did not immediately go on sale in America as expected, the game will headline the European offerings alongside other unique titles.

The big surprise among the launch lineup is Pirates: The Key of Dreams. The WiiWare game was mentioned once before in a press release for the summer DS release Pirates: Duels on the High Seas (to which it is a prequel), but little is known about it beyond that. The DS title is a naval combat game featuring sea monsters, buried treasure, and castaways, so it's reasonable to expect something along the same lines for the WiiWare game.

The full roster of European WiiWare launch titles is listed below:

• Dr. Mario & Germ Buster™ from Nintendo
• FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King™ from Japanese developer SQUARE ENIX

• Lost Winds from UK developer Frontier
• Pirates: The Key of Dreams from Dutch developer Oxygen Interactive Ltd
• Pop™ from Australian developer Nnooo
• Star Soldier R from Japanese developer HUDSON SOFT
• Toki Tori from Dutch developer Two Tribes B.V.
• TV Show King from French developer Gameloft

Of these, both the Nintendo puzzler Dr. Mario & Germ Buster and Hudson's shooter Star Soldier R have already launched in Japan but are yet to arrive in America. Pirates: The Key of Dreams and Toki Tori have not previously appeared in any territory. If that holds true for another week, then Europe will get the first crack at these titles.

Nintendo's press release also mentions that the Nintendo Channel, a Wii channel service that streams videos and provides game info to users, will be available in Europe on May 30. The Channel launched in America last week.

OPENING NEW DOORS FOR DEVELOPERS ON Wii!

- WiiWare Arrives In Europe -

13th May 2008 – The opportunity to create the next groundbreaking video game for Wii has well and truly arrived for developers as WiiWare hits Europe. Launching on 20th May 2008, developers, no matter how big or small, will be able to create exciting new downloadable game’s to be sold through the Wii Shop Channel. Changing the way developers create Wii games and players access them, WiiWare will make it possible for smaller, creative titles to take centre stage. Developers will be able to see their big ideas step into reality, without risk or the need for a big budget.

With WiiWare games the possibilities are endless. Only limited by the imaginations of the developers, expect to see a raft of new, fresh and original games head to Wii from an entire range of genres. Utilising the Wii’s unique control methods from the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to potentially the Wii Board and Wii Wheel, developers have the freedom to create the game of their dreams in an affordable way, with low entry barriers and flexible criteria in front of them. Such is the opportunity that, already developers who have never created or published games for Nintendo are working on a host of potential ideas.

Laurent Fischer, Managing Director of Marketing & PR of Nintendo of Europe comments, ‘We are excited by the positive response we have received from third party developers to the announcement of WiiWare. We hope that this opportunity and the inspiration to produce original and exciting games will allow developers of all sizes to bring new concepts, genres and game play experiences to Wii. Opening this creative door will also provide Wii users access to a huge choice of games that they can easily download and enjoy.’

Easy to access and simple to use, WiiWare games will be available to download directly onto Wii from the Wii Shop Channel from 500 Wii Points. To date, a vast array of exciting and creative new projects are already in the pipeline, ensuring fresh concepts and content will frequently become available for all to enjoy. Players themselves will also become central to the creative process as their download choices and genre selection will become instrumental in helping developers determine future projects.

From 20th May onwards a whole host of brand new creative games from developers across Europe and the rest of the globe become available, including:

• Dr. Mario & Germ Buster™ from Nintendo
• FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King™ from Japanese developer SQUARE ENIX

• Lost Winds from UK developer Frontier
• Pirates: The Key of Dreams from Dutch developer Oxygen Interactive Ltd
• Pop™ from Australian developer Nnooo
• Star Soldier R from Japanese developer HUDSON SOFT
• Toki Tori from Dutch developer Two Tribes B.V.
• TV Show King from French developer Gameloft

With so much creative freedom on offer to developers there is sure to be something for everyone on WiiWare. Keep checking www.Wii.com and the Nintendo Channel (launching on 30th May 2008 on Wii) for all the latest WiiWare news and releases.