New Wii Party Coming on July 8

Nintendo has announced that its next party game, simply called Wii Party, is set to be launched on July 8 on the Japanese market, much sooner than anyone was expecting. Previous talk about it only mentioned that it was set to be outed during the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2011. The Japan launch for Wii Party might serve as a sort of test for the appeal of the title, which will help it when the game eventually comes to European and North American markets.

Not much is known about Wii Party at the moment, the president, Satoru Iwata, only stating, when it was announced, that his company would “aim to make it a marquee party game for Wii.”

Gamers will be using the special Mii creations to play a variety of mini games but Nintendo is not talking about how motion tracking using the Wiimote and the Nunchuk will be used or exactly what activities will be included. Iwata promised “unique gameplay only available with the Wii remote.”

It's not clear why the Japanese giant has not announced launch dates for other markets. The company does not have a clear policy about when it releases games in different nations. Wii Fit, one of the biggest sellers on the Nintendo home console, was delayed for about five months for the North American market and the first Super Mario Galaxy actually arrived a bit earlier. The Japanese announcement might mean that the game will arrive in North America and Europe in time for Christmas, when it can generate more sales, or even early in 2011.

Nintendo is preparing for some big launches in the coming months, putting out a new Super Mario Galaxy title but also a fresh Metroid game. E3 will be closely watched for an announcement about the titles on which the company will rely to drive Christmas sales.