Nintendo Preps Nearly 60 for Wii in '06

But there are some notable games that will not make it to Europe this year.

Sony's console may be out of the picture in Europe, but that's not slowing Nintendo at all. In fact, the company is prepping for a giant launch of its new Wii console next month, and today it revealed the games Europeans can expect by the end of the year.

Big hitter Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess leads the charge, but there are 26 other full Wii games coming this year. Other exclusive games to look out for include Red Steel, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam and Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Not everything arriving in the US and Japan is making it to Europe, though. Notable hold-outs include Trauma Centre: Second Opinion, Elebits and the Metal Slug collection.

Wii's Virtual Console is also in for a big sending off. A total of 31 games spanning the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Mega Drive and TurboGrafx are being readied for the launch. Nintendo games such as the original Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario 64 feature prominently, but other publishers are getting in early too.

Sega is jumping into its one-time rival's virtual museum with gusto, with natural picks Sonic The Hedgehog and Golden Axe joined by surprise inclusions such as Gunstar Heroes by developer Treasure.

Not everyone is pleased about the Virtual Console offerings though. While the US is getting relatively similar treatment, Japanese gamers will be getting several top games this year already, including Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past and Super Castlevania IV for the SNES.

The full line-up of Wii and Virtual Console games due in Europe by the end of the year is below:

Wii
• Barnyard
• Blazing Angels: Squadrons of World War II
• Call of Duty 3
• Cars
• Far Cry Vengeance
• Gottlieb Pinball Classics
• GT Pro Series
• Happy Feet
• Impossible Mission
• Leaderboard Golf
• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Madden NFL 07
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
• Monster 4 X 4 World Circuit
• Need For Speed Carbon
• Open Season
• Rampage: Total Destruction
• Rayman Raving Rabbids
• Red Steel
• Splinter Cell Double Agent
• Spongebob Squarepants: Creature of the Krusty Krab
• Super Fruit Fall
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
• Tennis Masters
• Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
• Wii Play
• Wii Sports

NES
• Baseball
• Donkey Kong Jr
• Donkey Kong
• Ice Hockey
• Legend of Zelda
• Mario Bros
• Pinball
• Soccer
• Solomon's Key
• Tennis
• Urban Champion
• Wario's Woods

SNES
• Donkey Kong Country
• F-Zero
• SimCity

N64
• Super Mario 64

Mega Drive
• Altered Beast
• Columns
• Dr. Robotonik's Mean Bean Machine
• Ecco The Dolphin
• Golden Axe
• Gunstar Heroes
• Ristar
• Sonic The Hedgehog
• Space Harrier II
• Toe Jam & Earl

Turbografx
• Bomberman '93
• Bonk's Adventure
• Dungeon Explorer
• Super Star Soldier
• Victory Run

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo