Is there room for two mat-based exercise games?

There are two mat-based exercise games on the Wii in the charts this week. Bandai-Namoo’s Family Trainer game comes packaged with its own mat for 7,100 Yen (about $70) making it slightly cheaper than Wii Fit at 8,800 Yen. (about $80) It still has quite a way to go in terms of sales however, seeing a relatively modest first week sell through.

DS title from Eidos will "really push the physics capabilities of the Nintendo DS."

Coming this Friday to Europe, Soul Bubbles for the DS puts players in the role of a young shaman apprentice who has been tasked to save lost souls. In order to save these souls the player must place them in protective bubbles and transport them through progressively dangerous worlds.

The DS stylus... Read more...

Based off of the popular Monster Jam tour, Monster Jam: Urban Assault will hit stores this fall.

Activision recently announced the release of Monster Jam: Urban Assault, the sequel to last year's Monster Jam. This new game takes the monster trucks out of the stadium and into the streets as players go towards their goal of destroying everything they can. Featuring various monster truck favorites, the game will also include stadium racing and freestyle competitions and have a plethora of mini-games such as Skee Ball and Air Strike.

In addition to keeping track of world records, Konami also plans to support a community of registered players and host local and worldwide tournaments through the game’s website.

As New International Track and Field's June 20 release date nears, Konami has announced information about the game's online play. Coming off the heels of the original arcade game's 25th anniversary, New International Track and Field brings the competitive multiplayer franchise to the DS, getting even more competitive thanks to new online features.

The two new games, based on the upcoming High School Musical 3, allow for players to dance as their favorite Wildcats.

Disney Interactive is planning to release two new High School Musical games this holiday season to coincide with the theatrical release of "High School Musical 3: Senior Year". The Wii game, High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE!, allows players to move and groove to their favorite songs from the series using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. There are also multiplayer modes featuring competitive and cooperative play.

Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy brings a good dose of user-generated content to the side-scrolling shooter world.

Majesco announced on Tuesday that their latest Wii game, Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy, is in stores. Featuring a huge focus on user-generated content, the game lets users create their own ships, levels, enemies and patterns. They can then interface with the integrated Blast Works Depot website where players can "post and trade custom content worldwide."

Featuring 50 different Ferraris and "every track from the world renowned 430 series Ferrari Challenge."

System 3 announced yesterday that their racing simulation title, Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli has been slated for a July release in Europe.

Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli is said to feature 50 Ferraris "modelled right down to the smallest detail," as well as realistic AI and "the most comprehensive... Read more...

Activision's SCORE International Baja 1000 is coming to Wii later this year with 90 different vehicles spanning all classes of offroad racing.

Recently, Activision revealed that SCORE International Baja 1000 would be making its way to Wii later this year. The game is based on the real-life off-road racing event and is being developed by seasoned off-road developer, Left Field Productions.

SCORE International Baja 1000, similar to the... Read more...

Last week's Famitsu revealed that the third iteration of the Rune Factory series is coming to Wii.

Famitsu Weekly revealed last week that a new iteration of the Rune Factory series is due in Japan later this year. Unlike the previous two entries which were released on the DS, this version is destined for a Wii release.

An offshoot of Natsume's popular Harvest Moon franchise, the Rune Factory... Read more...

Atari plans to release Asterix Brain Training based off of the popular European cartoon character this June.

On Monday, Atari announced that they plan to release Asterix Brain Training for DS on June 27th. The game involves the protagonist, Justforkix, traveling to his Uncle Vitalstatistix’s village after school lets out. The titular character is put in charge of Justforkix’s extra-curricular training. The game takes you through many puzzles and memory games as Justforkix tries to reach warrior status.

Solve three tales of deception in this noir-style detective adventure game.

Jake Hunter follows the trend of stylus-driven interactive adventure games for the DS. You play as Jake Hunter, a private detective, and must hone your skills by interviewing witnesses, searching for clues, and following up on leads. Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles ships stateside June 10.

Atari UK teams with auto company Renault UK for driving test study-aid.

Renault UK will be the official car manufacturer featured in the Driving Theory Training mini-games. The DS release, due out in August, will feature practice tests in accordance with driving standards in the UK. Renault's automobiles will also be featured in the "learn about your car" section of... Read more...

SBCG4AP will include some extra features in addition to the staples of point-and-click gameplay, and is currently in the early stages of the submittal process.

Last week, Telltale Games revealed more details about SBCG4AP through their development blog. The first episode, Homestar Ruiner, "involves destroying Homestar's life and then gathering up the pieces of his shattered psyche and putting them back together." The premiere episode is in the early stages of Nintendo's submission process, and Telltale Games currently believes it'll release on WiiWare sometime in July.

Submit your Mii creation to get your Strong Bad WiiWare fix for free.

Telltale Games is currently running a promotion that will give fans a chance to win SBCG4AP when it launches on WiiWare. Entering the contest requires users to simply create a Mii of their favorite Homestar Runner character, take a picture of the created Mii and email the picture to contest@telltalegames.com.

Series protagonists Rikimaru and Ayame return after Tenchu Z absence for more classic ninja action, exclusively on the Wii.

From Software announced last week that the latest entry to the Tenchu series would be making its way to Wii. Tenchu 4 will be developed by Acquire who developed the first two highly regarded mainline Tenchu series titles. Along with From Software and Acquire, UbiSoft will be distributing the title in America and Europe.

The Nintendo World Store is hosting a tourney for fathers and sons (and daughters) at New York City's Rockefeller Center.

If you live in New York City (or will be in the area), you can drag your dad over to the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Center for a unique Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament. Teams of two (father + child) will face off against each other in a bracket brawl with two Wiis, two copies of Brawl, and a trophy on the line. Attendees can also receive father's day themed framed photos at the event.

Hulk Smash! The video game based off of the upcoming superhero movie will feature open world mayhem.

The Incredible Hulk video game, published by Sega and developed by Edge of Reality, was released last week. Based off of the upcoming summer blockbuster of the same name, the game follows the story of the film and also adds additional plot threads to lengthen the game. Borrowing a lot from the 2005... Read more...

Electronic Art's label The Sims will release the pet simulation spin-off August 26.

The Sims 2 Apartment Pets lets players place Sims in their own apartment with an assortment of pets. Just downstairs from the apartment is a pet spa where pets can be pampered and the player can interact with a variety of different animals.

The list of confirmed apartment pets so far: cats,... Read more...

They listened to fans when making the decision to leave the Wii remake of Resident Evil 0 as a Japan-only affair. Not once, but twice.

Earlier this year, Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu reported that Capcom would port the GameCube exclusive title Resident Evil 0 to Wii this summer. However, Capcom had only planned to release the game in Japan.

Recently, it's been revealed that not only did Capcom USA choose not to release the remake, they were offered the opportunity to localize the game on two separate occasions. On both occasions, Capcom USA refused.

Pokémon, Pookas and Princes dominate the second week of June's releases.

This lone WiiWare game this week is Nintendo's My Pokémon Ranch (1000 Wii Points or $10). The Virtual Console fare is of the import variety and is represented by the NES games, Dig Dug and Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (both 600 Wii Points or $6).

My Pokémon Ranch is a game where you can store... Read more...