Nintendo Announces Wii’s First U.S. Online Title

Eugene Huang, GamePro Thu Mar 8, 8:00 PM ET

Even with Shigeru Miyamoto’s keynote just minutes away, Nintendo has already made a huge announcement at GDC regarding this year’s second quarter lineup for the North American market. And the focal point of this lineup is the announcement of Pokemon Battle Revolution, the first Wii game that will take advantage of the console’s online capabilities. But in addition to being the first online title, the impending release of Pokemon Battle Revolution also marks the first game to feature Wii and DS connectivity. Through this feature, users not only have the option of importing saved characters from the upcoming Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl, but they can also use the DS as a makeshift controller.

Pokemon Battle Revolution has already been available in the Japanese market since last December, but will be released for North American audiences on June 25th. Other upcoming Nintendo titles for the Wii include Super Paper Mario on April 9th, Mario Party 8 on May 29th, and Big Brain Academy on June 11th. Upcoming Nintendo DS titles include Pokemon Diamond/Pearl on April 22nd, Planet Puzzle League on June 4th, and the "Opera" web browser also to be released on June 4th.