Nintendo unveils new Mario titles

Nintendo has unveiled two new instalments in the Mario franchise with the announcement of New Super Mario Bros Wii, which introduces four-player multiplayer action onto the living room console, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

New Super Mario Bros will allow you to play either in solo or co-op mode, and includes the option of jumping between modes at will - it will be playable at E3, with a planned launch in time for Christmas this year. Meanwhile a brief video of gameplay for forthcoming Super Mario Galaxy 2, also for the Wii, was shown as well.

A new edition of Wii Fit, which has now sold over 15 million wordlwide - was also announced. Wii Fit Plus is to include six activities which users will be able to mix up to emphasis strength, tone or condition.

That title will also be out towards the end of 2009, and will be available as a standalone disc, or bundled with a Balance Board.

The conference also saw the Wii Motion Plus demonstrated at length, with several games within Wii Sports Resort played live on-stage.

Nintendo US exec Reggie Fils-Aime revealed that the peripheral will be bundled with EA's Tiger Woods Wii title, while Ubisoft's Red Steel 2 will only work with Motion Plus.

Other titles displayed included Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts from Square Enix, as well as the latest Mario & Luigi game that's already out in Japan.

Finally Fils-Aime revealed a new title from Nintendo, in collaboration with Team Ninja, called Metroid Other M, which will be aimed at a mature audience, set for release in 2010.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...mario-bros-wii