Another week, another Wii-kly update! This week sees the arrival of two new games, one each for WiiWare and Virtual Console.

WiiWare

Bonsai Barber (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone-Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points): The village residents are hungry for the latest in foliage fashion, and it’s up to you, the new barber, to fix them up. Use the tools of your trade: scissors, clippers, spray can, and more in this humorous, first-of-its-kind "first-person-groomer" game. Bonsai Barber features a colorful cast of 12 intriguing customers, including a temperamental shallot starlet (don’t call her an onion), an oddball strawberry boffin, a cactus cowboy, a daredevil carrot, and a suave banana with top-secret clearance. Each day, five customers arrive to test your stylistic skill. If the customer requests a specific style, you’ll plow that furrow, or you can rely on your expertise to pick from more than 30 popular fashions. Or, why not turn over a new leaf? Be creative and see how they react. They’re a demanding bunch, so if you miss an appointment, you’ll hear about it-on your Wii Message Board. If you do a good job, you may receive a gift or even a postcard from an exotic destination as your happy customers travel to distant lands and show off their exquisite coifs.

Virtual Console

Super Punch-Out!! (Super NES™, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Featuring the tight game play and humor the series is known for, this sequel to the NES™ classic sees Little Mac return to the ring with the World Video Boxing Association belt once again at stake. Slug your way through the grueling, sweat-pounding matches of the Minor, Major and World Circuits as you face off against some of Little Mac’s greatest rivals, such as Bear Hugger, Bald Bull and Super Macho Man. With a cast of new challengers waiting, do you have what it takes to identify their unique patterns and exploit their weaknesses? Go to your corner and come out fighting, but remember what Doc Louis would say: "It’s not about brawling-it’s about finesse!"

Not just any force of guinea pigs is headed our way, as Disney Interactive Studios today announced that they have enlisted an elite force of guinea pigs to star in the upcoming G-Force video game, inspired by the forthcoming Walt Disney film.

Scheduled for release this July on PC, PS2, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360, DS and Wii, the action-platform game has guinea pigs use high-tech gadgets and specialized talents to complete dangerous missions. Here’s the scoop:

Players control Darwin, the G-Force team leader, and housefly surveillance commando Mooch. Darwin and Mooch team up with the rest of G-Force to use their unique high-tech gadgets, stealth mastery, and pint-sized teamwork to save the world from a robot army of evil household appliances. G-Force features innovative gameplay with a unique sense of scale and puzzle solving that requires players to manipulate environments or enemies, including evil household appliances like waffle irons, water coolers and vacuum cleaners to complete their mission.

It is being developed by Eurocom, while the DS and PSP versions are being handled by Keen Games.

MTV Games and EA today announced that the Rock Band franchise has officially surpassed $1 billion in North American retail sales in 15 months, citing figures by the NPD Group. In addition, over 40 million paid individual songs have been sold via download through the online platform; there are a total of 600 songs available in the catalog.

Rock Band was launched back in November 20, 2007 and has sold millions of units. Its sequel was released earlier last year and built upon the original. The franchise is the first to start full album downloads on PS3 and Xbox 360, which quite a few bands have taken advantage of, including Judas Priest, Foo Fighters, Megadeth and Rush.

The Game Developer Choice Awards ceremony was conducted last night where they announced the winners. The game of the year award went to Bethesda’s open-world action-RPG Fallout 3. Check out the list of winners.

Game of the Year
Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

Best Game Design:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Writing:
Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

Best Technology:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Visual Arts:
Prince of Persia (Ubisoft Montreal)

Best Debut Game:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Handheld Game:
God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (Ready at Dawn)

Innovation Award:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Best Audio:
Dead Space (EA Redwood Shores)

Best Downloadable Game:
World Of Goo (2D Boy)

Recipients for the evening’s special awards were:

Lifetime Achievement Award
Hideo Kojima

Pioneer Award
Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy

Ambassador Award
Tommy Tallarico

A lot of Nintendo news comes our way, courtesy of the company’s press conference at GDC today.

• First up is word that the ever-popular Wii has shipped a stunning 50 million consoles worldwide since its debut in 2006. Nintendo claims it is the fastest-selling console ever.
• The DS appears to have reached a sort of gender harmony, with the company claiming that 47% of all new DS owners in 2008 were female and that women make up 27% of the platform’s life-to-date install base.
• Addressing the Wii’s lack of storage options, Nintendo today released the SD Card Menu as part of its latest system update. This download will enable Wii users to launch applications, such as WiiWare and Virtual Console titles, from an inserted SD card.
• The Wii will today extend its Shop Channel to include classic arcade games. Initial offerings will include Space Harrier, The Tower of Druaga and Star Force. Pricing will range between $5-6.

There were two game announcements, too:

• Ninty’s head honcho Satoru Iwata announced Rock n’ Roll Climber, an upcoming WiiWare game making use of the Wii Balance Board. The game will have players scale virtual rockfaces, shifting their feet on the balance board to control the climber’s feet.
• The second is a rather big one – a new Zelda game for the DS! Dubbed The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, the DS title will feature a similar visual style to The Phantom Hourglass and will see traditional gameplay in the form of combat and dungeon exploration. It is due out later this year.

It’s Wii-day today for Square Enix, as the Japanese publisher announced at the GDC the forthcoming releases of new downloadable titles for the Wii.

The games are Final Fantasy IV: The After Years and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord for WiiWare, as well as the Final Fantasy series for the Virtual Console.

FINAL FANTASY IV: THE AFTER YEARS, is an RPG that continues the story that began in the 1991 Super Famicom™ title FINAL FANTASY IV. In Japan, this title was released as a downloadable cellular phone application in February 2008. It has since been lauded for its deep storytelling, and a year after its release, has been downloaded over 3 million times.

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a Darklord is the newest instalment in the FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES series, which has shipped over 2 million copies worldwide and is set to grow further in 2009. This title will be a sequel to FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King™, which launched simultaneously with the WiiWare service in May of 2008.

The Virtual Console release will see the famed RPG series made available for the first time on home console download. The very first game was released for the Famicom in Japan back in 1987 and will be available for download in May 2009.

Disney Interactive Studios today announced Toy Story Mania!, an upcoming family game that features the characters and settings from the popular Pixar film. It will feature the iconic characters and humor from the films and place them at the new Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort attractions.

Set for release this fall exclusively on Wii, the game will offer pick-up-and-play party games. There will be new and original galleries and a series of mini-games all hosted by characters from the movies. It will feature both competitive and co-operative multiplayer modes for up to four people.

“The ‘Toy Story’ franchise is a fun, dynamic and heart-warming series containing characters and themes that connect with every age group,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. “Toy Story Mania! combines those popular elements with the unique antics of the new theme park attraction for the ultimate in family entertainment.”

Papaya Studio is currently working on the title.

Atari today announced that Alyssa Milano will be the new love interest in the forthcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game. She is best known for her roles in “Melrose Place”, “Charmed” and “My Name is Earl”. Milano joins members of the original cast from the Ghostbusters movies.

Her character will be courted by none other than Bill Murray’s character, Dr. Peter Venkman, who will be going after Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, who is described as a “smart and sassy archaeologist”.

In the game, Milano’s character, Ilyssa Selwyn, is an expert in Sumerian and pre-Sumerian cultures and is visiting New York City as guest curator for the highly anticipated ‘World of Gozer’ exhibition opening in 1991 at the Natural History Museum. In the story line, Gozerian mythology has attracted a wide popular following since the still-unexplained events and attacks that occurred in the city in 1984. Ilyssa is working late at the museum the night before the opening when a cataclysmic force is unleashed and summons an ancient enemy back to New York City. Strange events continue to erupt around her: what secret does she know? It’s up to the Ghostbusters to help Ilyssa find the key and stop the forces of evil that threaten the balance of the universe. That’s if they can keep Peter Venkman from hitting on her every three minutes.

The game is due out in North America on June 16 and worldwide on June 19 to coincide with the 25^th anniversary celebration of the film’s original theatrical release. It will be available on PS3, PS2, Wii, DS and Xbox 360.

Activision today announced Space Camp, a new mini-game compilation for the Wii and DS.

Set for release this June, the game, as the name suggests, has players performing a variety of space-related activities, including moon defense, spacecraft maneuvering and more. It is being made in partnership with the US Space & Rocket Center, which operates the real-life Space Camp.

The Wii version will offer multiplayer modes for up to four players. No mention of multiplayer was made for the DS version.

Seven new screenshots from Guitar Hero Metallica have been released, showing off the playable characters and the gameplay.

The game is due out on PS3, PS2, Wii and Xbox 360 soon.

With the start of a new week comes word of a new Virtual Console title, as well as a new WiiWare one. Nintendo has added Summer Games II, a Commodore 64 classic, that has players, as the name suggests, take part in summer games around the globe. The other game is BIT.TRIP.BEAT, a retro action game that features four-player multiplayer and a 8-bit soundtrack.

WiiWare

BIT.TRIP BEAT (Aksys Games, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): BIT.TRIP BEAT is a rhythm game that brings retro action into the present, letting you use the motion-sensing Wii Remote™ controller to bounce beats. Retro visuals, classic game play, four-player multiplayer and an 8-bit soundtrack will get you in the zone and rock your world. The challenges are mighty, but if you can stay cool as the difficulty increases, you’ll discover the beginnings of the BIT.TRIP saga.

Virtual Console

Summer Games II™ (Commodore 64, 1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): A thousand athletes. A hundred countries. Billions watching around the world as you enter the stadium, marching confidently among your nation’s strongest, fastest and boldest young men and women. Your gaze sweeps the crowd as you realize the scope of your achievement. You are about to compete against the world’s best athletes in a 3,000-year-old competition. This is the pinnacle of athletic achievement: the Summer Games. Summer Games II challenges your competitive skills with a series of athletic contests for one to eight players. Experience the excitement and realism of eight different events: cycling, equestrian, fencing, high jump, javelin, kayaking, rowing and triple jump. Practice each event to sharpen your skills, then choose from the 18 countries you can represent in the competition.

Hot off the press comes the following trailer for Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, showing off cinematic and gameplay bits from the on-rails Wii shooter.

In development at Cavia, the shooter is set for release this winter.

Long rumored to be in production, Traveler’s Tales is now confirmed to be working on two new Lego games – Lego Harry Potter and Lego Indiana Jones 2. This comes from a staff member at the studio, who revealed it through her online CV, though the post is no longer there.

She also notes that they had worked on a demo to pitch to Peter Jackson for a game based on the upcoming Hobbit films, due out in 2012.

The studio is also known to be working on Lego Battles for release on the DS this year.

Capcom today announced Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, sequel to the highly successful on-rails shooter Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, exclusively for the Wii. The company also introduced its new Resident Evil “Classics” line, which will bring the Nintendo Gamecube classics – Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero – exclusively to the Wii.

“We are very excited to be bringing the sequel to Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles to the Wii as it’s the perfect fit for the platform,” said Mona Hamilton, vice president, marketing, Capcom Entertainment. “We are always looking for new ways to give Capcom fans a chance to experience our games. Umbrella Chronicles was a huge success for us, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles includes a more in-depth co-op experience, and we are excited to bring this exclusive content to the Wii audience.”

The story is based on Resident Evil 2 and includes its characters, Leon S Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Similar to its predecessor, the game will combine first-person shooting with interactive pathways and will explore the storyline that was not covered in Umbrella Chronicles. It will have two-player cooperative modes and a new Evade system.

Meanwhile, the “Classics” line will see the Gamecube remakes launching for $29.99 on the Wii. They have been refitted to support the WIi remote.

The mediocrity of game-movie tie-ins shines through the following screenshots from the upcoming film-inspired G.I. Joe game.

In development at Double Helix, the game will be released this August alongside the film on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS and PSP.