Running into the North American Wii Shop today

Microgame creator WarioWare D.I.Y. and the hosts of the Nintendo Channel show "Nintendo Week" collide in the Big Name Game for this week, as Allison and Gary each unleash whatever crazy microgame their host brains have done thunk up.

WiiWare

Bit.Trip RUNNER (800pts - Aksys Games) – Europe received this latest entry in the Bit.Trip series last week, but it's not been too long a wait for North American residents to get their hands on what might be its best entry yet. The review is imminent, but before you run off, you'll want to check out our Bit.Trip RUNNER preview.

Blood Beach (1000pts - Coresoft, Inc.) – Another port of an iPhone game for WiiWare. Hopefully this game, in which players are placed at the controls of a flak gun or machine gun nest on islands in the Pacific during World War II, will turn out to have had a better WiiWare conversion than others. One of our reviewers will find out soon enough!

Virtual Console

Kirby Super Star (800pts SNES - Nintendo) – One of the more popular games in the series, we're sure this will mollify many fans of Nintendo's back catalogue looking for a new Virtual Console game to play. You can expect a review from us soon.

DSiWare

Looksley's Line Up (500pts - Nintendo) – Well, Nintendo of America didn't waste much time localising this 3D game from Japan. If you want to see the game in action you can check out our preview of the Japanese release; otherwise rest assured that we'll be reviewing it soon.

Frogger Returns (500pts - Konami) – A handheld version of the WiiWare game released last year. We'll be sure to review it soon, but to get an idea of what's on offer you can read the Frogger Returns review for WiiWare, presently.

A Topsy Turvy Life: Turvy Drops (200pts - Tecmo Koei Games) – One of a couple of Tecmo games released for the DSi early this year in Japan where you play with the DSi held upside-down. This is a rather interesting puzzle game and given the main title, we expect to see the companion upside-down shooting game soon. Until our review is ready you can get a feel for what this game is all about by reading our preview of the Japanese release.

Flips: More Bloody Horowitz (200pts - Electronic Arts) – The latest entry in a series of e-books for teens featuring interactive sections. This is a collection of three horror stories from the author of the Alex Rider series of spy novels.

Naturally you can read the full press release below:

New Downloadable Games Will Blow Your Mind, Not Your Budget

Just because Nintendo offers a rich selection of downloadable games doesn’t mean you have to be rich to enjoy them. Available for just 500 Nintendo DSi Points™ apiece, Looksley’s Line Up™ and Frogger Returns for the Nintendo DSiWare™ service offer immersive virtual world fun and arcade-inspired thrills, respectively, at a budget-friendly price. Check out the complete lineup of incredible titles for the hand-held Nintendo DSi™ system, and while you’re at it, be sure to download the hilarious new Photo Dojo™ game, available for zero Nintendo DSi Points through June 10 (the game will require 200 Nintendo DSi Points for download as of June 11).

BIT.TRIP RUNNER marks a fresh installment in one of the WiiWare™ service’s most acclaimed game series, while the Super NES™ classic Kirby Super Star™ arrives on the Virtual Console™ service, each available to download for only 800 Wii Points™. Also, fans of Band Hero for the Wii™ system can be among the first to play the new Band Hero 1 Track Pack, featuring music from Miley Cyrus (“7 Things”), Selena Gomez (“Falling Down”) and Demi Lovato (“Here We Go Again”). This pack will be exclusive to Wii for one week starting May 18, 2010.

This week also brings new additions to the “Big Name Games” section of the WarioWare™: D.I.Y. series, featuring downloadable microgames from some of the industry’s most talented figures. Gary and Allison, hosts of the Nintendo Channel’s “Nintendo Week” program, have each created an original microgame to add to the series’ wild mix. New “Big Name Games” will be added every Monday through July 26, all available to download for zero Nintendo DSi Points to anyone with broadband Internet access and a copy of either WarioWare: D.I.Y. for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems or WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase software for the WiiWare service. Visit the Nintendo Channel on your Wii™ system today to learn more about these games and to get a look at Gary and Allison’s imaginative creations.

Nintendo DSiWare

Looksley’s Line Up
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Looksley the rabbit needs your assistance to finish the story he’s writing. Guide him through a world based on famous fairy tales and folk stories from around the globe, helping him to gather inspiration by finding hidden items along the way. In this unique take on hidden-picture games, you’ll move the Nintendo DSi system to change your view of various 3-D dioramas. Peer deeply into the scene as you shift the system, watching as layers within the diorama move to reveal previously unseen letters and objects. As you collect these letters and objects, you’ll meet new characters and spell words that will open additional stages with more sets of hidden items to find. Particular stages contain secret pictures, testing your observation skills even further. Scour each scene’s incredible depth and detail as you lend Looksley a hand in completing his masterpiece. Players of all ages will love this visual puzzle challenge and be amazed to see that even the same spot can look different from another angle.

Frogger Returns
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Frogger is coming to a Nintendo DSi system near you! Frogger Returns takes the heart-pounding challenge of arcade Frogger and moves it into the next dimension. Classic top-down 2-D game play is updated with colorful 3-D graphics, a new perspective, new levels, new enemies and game-changing power-ups to dodge and use. Four stages take the original journey of Frogger from highway to home through a new adventure. Use multiple modes to attack your top scores, race against the clock or just get Frogger to his home pad.

A Topsy Turvy Life: Turvy Drops™
Publisher: TECMO KOEI GAMES
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Turn the Nintendo DSi system upside down and draw blocks on the touch screen to fill spaces in this topsy-turvy take on puzzle games. Play “Endless Mode” to see just how many points you can get as the blocks on the bottom screen fill faster and faster. The more blocks you clear at once, the higher your score. Play “Puzzle Mode” to test your brain against 30 mind-bending puzzles. Clear all the blocks within the specified time and turn limits. Can you solve the puzzles before time is up?

Flips: More Bloody Horowitz
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Anthony Horowitz, the best-selling creator of Alex Rider, gives horror a whole new look in this mischievous collection of macabre tales, exclusive to the Flips series. Including three new stories – each with its own unique feature, such as illustrations and sound effects – Flips: More Bloody Horowitz finds Horowitz at his most wicked. The Flips series brings modern classics to the Nintendo DSiWare service, allowing readers to collect, solve, interact and learn as they progress through the various stories and challenges.

WiiWare

BIT.TRIP RUNNER
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Discover the fastest, most exhilarating action-platformer to hit the WiiWare service. Race across the moon, kicking down crystal walls and sliding under chomping moon-slugs. Bound through the Robotic Mines and face off against the MinerMech. Dash through the Big City on a quest to find friends and defeat the final boss together. RUNNER is the fourth entry in the award-winning and critically acclaimed BIT.TRIP series. You control CommanderVideo as he runs, jumps, slides and kicks. With exciting modern and retro challenges, you can move through more than 50 levels of addictive game play. Chiptune supergroup Anamanaguchi makes a guest appearance. Join CommanderVideo on his most epic journey yet!

Blood Beach
Publisher: Coresoft Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: You are hopelessly outnumbered and have no choice but to fight and win. Just you, your guns and the thin stretch of Blood Beach stand between you and the entire Japanese Imperial Navy. You have an impressive arsenal of weapons, including the M2 BMG, 40mm M1 and, of course, your Thompson SMG. But the Imperial Japanese Navy will hit you with everything they can muster – “Zeros,” “Bettys” and even Takao-class battleships – in their methodical and relentless push to recapture the Solomon Islands. High scores can be saved for Easy, Normal and Hard levels of difficulty.

Virtual Console

Kirby Super Star
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: That awful King Dedede is at it again – he’s stolen all the food in Dream Land. It’s up to Kirby™ to get it back and ultimately save Pop Star from being overtaken. In what may be the most diverse adventure yet for the round, pink hero, Kirby journeys through six main games and two minigames, finishing with the ultimate showdown in The Arena. Each game offers its own story and style of platforming action, as well as unique environments and an assortment of enemies. Swallowing an enemy allows Kirby to copy the abilities of that enemy, granting him the power to perform special attacks and giving him a new hat to don. In a strategic twist, Kirby can now give up an acquired ability and use it to turn an enemy into a helper. The helper will follow Kirby around and automatically fight as his ally or offer a second player the chance to join in the game by controlling it. There’s never a dull moment as Kirby dashes, flies and swallows enemies in his battle against King Dedede, Dyna Blade and Meta Knight.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.