E3 07: Mario Kart, EA Sports, Guitar Hero 3 Online on Wii

Nintendo today announced the next iteration of its popular Mario Kart racing series. Mario Kart Wii will ship in North America in the first quarter of 2008, and will feature online support over the free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection network. The game will come packaged with steering wheel hardware. Nintendo also announced that the EA Sports titles Madden NFL 08 and FIFA 08 will feature online play on Wii when they ship this fall. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime pointed to features such as FIFA 08's online interactive leagues, and exclusive mini-games utilizing Mii avatars. Additionally, Nintendo confirmed that the Wii version of Neversoft's Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock will feature online play. Wii Ware, Nintendo's nascent download service for original, non-Virtual Console games on Wii, will launch next year, according to Fils-Aime.