Mario Football Takes Wii Online

And Nintendo reveals the rest of the games you can expect this quarter.

The Wii has internet connectivity in its DNA but until now that's been used mainly for downloading games from the Wii Shop or checking if it's going to rain on the Weather Channel. Come May, Nintendo fans will be able to start using it for football.

No sign of Super Paper Mario yet

Mario Strikers Charged Football will be the first Wii game to allow people in the West to play against each other online, Nintendo said this week. In Japan, Wii owners have been battling online since launch in Pokémon Battle Revolution, a game that will introduce online play to North America in June.

Speaking of which, Pokémon Battle Revolution is one of a few key games noticeably missing from Nintendo's line-up for the second quarter of the year. Also absent is Super Paper Mario, a GameCube-turned-Wii title out this week in the US. Nintendo hasn't yet confirmed the game for release in Europe but it's widely believed to be on its way.

Other games Nintendo has confirmed for release over the next three months include Eledees (formerly Elebits) and Pangya! Golf with Style for Wii, Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Wario: Master of Disguise for DS and Final Fantasy VI and Another World for the Game Boy Advance.

A more detailed line-up with release dates is below:

Wii

• Wing Island - 13 April
• Cooking Mama Wii - April
• Heatseeker - April
• Eledees - April
• Impossible Mission - April
• Mario Strikers Charged Football - 25 May
• Spider-Man The Movie 3 - May
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - May
• Mortal Kombat: Armageddon - May
• Puzzle Balls - May
• Pangya! Golf With Style - June
• Dave Mirra Racing Wii - June
• Transformers - June
• Mercury Meltdown Revolution - Q2
• Metal Slug Anthology - Q2

Nintendo DS

• Pokémon Ranger - 13 April
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - 13 April
• Harvest Moon DS - 13 April
• The Settlers - 19 April
• Diddy Kong Racing DS - 20 April
• Zendoku - April
• Lunar Knights - April
• Lost in Blue 2 - April
• Final Fantasy III - 4 May
• Picross DS - 11 May
• Custom Robo Arena - 25 May
• Death Jr and the Science Fair of Doom - May
• Wario: Master of Disguise - June
• Kirby Mouse Attack - June
• Metroid Prime Pinball - June
• Puzzle League DS - June
• Meteos: Disney Magic - June
• Guilty Gear Dust Strikers - Q2

Game Boy Advance

• Final Fantasy V Advance - 13 April
• Another World - 27 April
• Final Fantasy VI Advance - June
• Teen Titans 2 - Q2

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo