14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo United Kingdom announced that games like Pikmin 1 and 2, Metroid Prime 1 and 2 and Mario Table Tennis, together with Chibi Robo and Donkey Kong, which were initially released for the GameCube, would not be coming to the Nintendo Wii in the form of Wiiware downloadable titles. Nintendo says that most of the titles will be significantly reworked so that the games take advantage of the innovative control scheme of the Nintendo gaming device.
Jungle Beat and the original Pikmin will be the first two titles from the GameCube library to be brought to the Wii, with specially adapted controls as a bonus. The games are set to arrive on December 11 and December 25. So, it's Pikmin for Christmas for all Nintendo fans.
Nintendo might be thinking about launching some peripherals for the new Wiiware titles, especially considering that the original Jungle Beat used Donkey Kinga bongos as a controller. A Wii Music tie in could also be in the works, with the possibility to choose Donkey Kong as a playable character in the music game from Nintendo under serious consideration.
No release dates have been attached to Pikmin 2, the Metroid series and Mario Table Tennis, but Nintendo is announcing that it plans to launch them, so consider that staggered releases all across 2009 will probably be among the company's objectives. The Nintendo Wiiware service is in need of a boost, as it seems that it trails counters PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Arcade. One of the reasons that make the Wiiware less attractive is the lack of physical storage space on the Nintendo Wii, which the company aims to address in the near future.
It will be interesting to see whether the games will be enough to satisfy hardcore Nintendo fans who are pretty upset over the fact that the company seems to be interested in attracting more mainstream gamers.