Excitebike: World Rally, an updated version of the NES classic Excitebike, will be available for WiiWare download on November 9.

Announced via the Wii's online Nintendo Channel, the game has an enhanced 2.5-D look, a Track Editor, and four-player online multiplayer capability. More information, including the price of admission, has yet to be revealed.

In the meantime, check out the trailer.

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A new scheme announced recently by Nintendo will give European Wii owners Wii Points and Nintendo Virtual Console games as reward for helping others get online.

For "encouraging friends and family to get connected with their Wii," says Nintendo, the 'ambassador' and their connectee will both receive 500 Wii Points. A maximum of 10,000 Points are available to ambassadors, for connecting a grand twenty consoles.

All first-party Nintendo Virtual Console NES games will become free to ambassadors at the ten-console 'gold' mark, while twenty-console 'platinum' status is rewarded with every last first and third party NES, SNES and N64 Virtual Console game for free.

The European 'Connection Ambassador Promotion' begins in October, with no word yet on quite how it will be implemented nor whether it will expand elsewhere in the world.

Rumors of a price cut to Nintendo's Wii console is gaining credence as a purported advertisement for the mark-down has leaked onto the internet.

The advertisement--spotted by a Kotaku tipster--allegedly comes from Toys R Us, which pegs the new price at $199. The system has retailed for $249 since its launch in 2006.

The advertisement is supposedly due to hit the papers on the week of September 27.

Both Microsoft and Sony cut the price of their high-end consoles to $300 in August.

Nintendo's 2009 first-quarter net profits fell 60% compared to the period last year while net sales are down 40%, new financial documents released today have revealed.

On a sunny note, Nintendo affirmed its continuing mission to "pursue 'Gaming Population Expansion' based on the idea of putting smiles on many people's faces."

Nintendo also reveals the DSi has sold 6,680,000 hardware units worldwide to-date, while the two DS models have hit 107,750,000 sales, and the Wii a tidy 52,620,000.

The gaming giant's 2009 net sales for the three-month period ending... Read more

Photographs were forbidden when Zelda series creator Shigeru Miyamoto teased a new Wii Zelda game this week at E3 by showing a single piece of concept art at a roundtable session, leaving all not present relying on second-hand impressions.

That is, until Nintendo kindly released the concept artwork for all and sundry to enjoy. We, being sundry, may now enjoy the first look at what might await us in the next installment of Zelda.

"I love action games, and bring in archery and swordplay, that's great for me," said Miyamoto, adding that it could require the sensitivity-boosting Wii MotionPlus add-on, "But some people love [Zelda] as an RPG, and like the simpler controls, so that's something I really have to think about."

Miyamoto expressed a wish to show the game at E3 in 2010.

Though Nintendo managed to get through the entirety of its E3 2009 press conference without a mention of the next Zelda game for the Wii, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto tonight expressed his hopes that the long-awaited sequel may be shown next year.

"To be honest, at this E3 I wanted to announce a new Zelda for Wii," he said at a roundtable tonight, as reported by Gamasutra. "But we've already shown you a Zelda on Wii." Instead, he showed the crowd a piece of concept art from "the next game," detailing a realistic-looking Link. Sadly, attendees weren't allowed to photograph the art.

Alongside his hopes to showcase the as-yet-unannounced title at E3 2010, Miyamoto also noted that the game could require the sensitivity-increasing Wii MotionPlus add-on, though that depends on sales of the June 8-due peripheral and one other factor.

"I love action games, and bring in archery and swordplay, that's great for me, but some people love [Zelda] as an RPG, and like the simpler controls, so that's something I really have to think about," he mused.

Following this morning's announcement of Nintendo's earnings, the company has released life-to-date, worldwide sales numbers for many of the Wii and Nintendo DS' best-selling games.

The list shows that over 45 million copies of Wii Sports have been put into the hands of gamers, while Wii Play and Wii Fit have both shifted around 20 million units. Mario Kart Wii, Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy have sold over 30 million copies combined.

On the DS side of things, Nintendogs reigns supreme, with Nintendo creating 22 million virtual pet owners. New Super Mario Bros. has moved 18.4 million units, while Personal Trainer: Cooking, of all games, has managed to match that figure.

The full list of titles, via Kotaku, is copied below.

Nintendo Wii

• Wii Sports - 45.7 million (includes those bundled with hardware)
• Wii Play - 22.9 million
• Wii Fit - 18.2 million... Read more

Nintendo has posted its results for fiscal year 2009--which ran April 1 2008 through March 31 2009--revealing record profits and staggering sales figures for the Wii and DS.

Just under 26 million Wii consoles were sold, along with over 31 million DS systems. Worlwide life-to-date system sales stand at 50.39 million Wiis, and 101.78 million DSs.

Software sales for both systems were up from the previous year, with the Wii selling 204 million software units and the DS reaching sales figures of 197 million. Notable Wii successes include 16.37 million sales of Wii Fit and 15.4 million Mario Kart Wii units.

This led to record sales figures of more than 1.83 trillion yen ($18.5 billion), over 555 billion yen ($5.6 billion) operating profits, and net profits of 279 billion yen ($2.8 billion).

Nintendo projects a similarly rosy outlook for the current fiscal year. The company expects the Wii to sell another 26 million systems with 220 million units of software, as well as predicting 30 million DS system sales and 180 million DS software sales.

Sparking a wave of internet-wide speculation, GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo has told CNBC that the retailer expects "a Nintendo key property" to release this year.

"They haven't given us any insight, but they have told us to reserve [shelf] space," he added. After E3 2008, Nintendo revealed that the teams behind the Zelda and Mario games were "hard at work" on new titles. While Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the DS in March, so far all's quiet on the Mario front.

DeMatteo also offered his opinion on console prices. He criticised Sony's $399 PlayStation 3, saying "That price point is clearly an issue in this economy." Responding to rumours of a $50 cut, he said "I don't know that $50 gets you that much... Read more

Nintendo's previously-announced Wii on-demand video service planned will also be compatible with the portable Nintendo DS, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking on the ad-supported video service, Iwata said "If the Wii and the DS are connected, it should be possible to download video through the Wii and take it with you on the DS".

Iwata also teased that "when the service begins, you'll see how we're going to do it differently in a Nintendo-like way," explaining "there are a lot of on-demand video services...so we're going to do something different."

Though the service is currently planned only for Japan, asked whether it will stay that way, Iwata noted that "if it does well, we'd like to take it overseas."

The Japanese broadcasting industry has reason to fear Nintendo's new Wii video content initiative, according to an article today from the Times Online.

One senior executive at Fuji Television, the largest commercial broadcaster in Japan, called the planned Wii streaming video service "the stuff of television producers' nightmares."

Nintendo announced last week its intention to launch a Wii streaming channel in Japan. The company has partnered with top Japan advertising firm Dentsu, and intends to launch the service sometime this year.

The Fuji executive noted that if Nintendo did push for the Wii to become "the centerpiece of the living room," it would come at a particularly bad time for Japanese broadcasters, which are currently being criticized for "relying too heavily on repeats and celebrity formats."

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said there will be more DS and Wii units available at retail than last year, but he is unsure whether it will be enough to sate consumer demand.

"We are selling hardware at rates no system [seller] has ever experienced," Fils-Aime added.

Since its launch in November of 2006, the Wii has consistently sold out in American retailers, making the Wii a popular Christmas gift for the third year in a row, counting the upcoming holiday season.

"The Wii is a relatively inhospitable platform for third-party publishers," said analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company in a report relayed by GamesIndustry.

Creutz clearly had a look at yesterday's NPD numbers in which Wii games took four slots on August's top ten console sales chart. Of those four, three were developed by Nintendo, and the fourth was annual sales juggernaut Madden NFL 09.

"The Wii version of Madden 09 sold 79 per cent less units than the PS3 version and 87 per cent less units than the 360 version, despite a larger console installed base," Creutz observed. By the numbers, even the PlayStation 2 version sold over three times as many copies as the Wii version.

Blake's take: When you sell the only current-generation system that allows selling "budget" games when they launch, you're bound to wind up with a library of games that aren't hits. Microsoft, for example, forbade selling games below a $40 price point at launch. The policy reared its head when Rockstar launched its table tennis game at $40, leading consumers to question the game's price tag. The logic, supposedly, was to restrict the console's library to games with more value in them.... Read more

Video game mega-retailer GameStop predicts a third consecutive sold-out holiday season for Nintendo's Wii, despite recent bumps in production.

"I know they're making more, but we're still short like everybody else. I think we'll have a continued shortage this Christmas," CEO Dan DeMatteo told GameDaily.

He added, "I don't see a near-term end in sight for Wii shortages, not unless they really ramp up supply. I think they've ramped it up 20 percent or so, but ... it's still evaporating."

With the Wii Music Dog instrument, shown below, the Shacknews editorial staff finds it hard to imagine the Wii not selling out, ever.

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Nintendo of America has released a new Channel for the Wii, enabling owners to download DS game demos and transmit them to the portable system.

Dubbed the Nintendo Channel, the free download also provides more detailed information on certain games and enables users to buy titles from select online retailers via the console's Internet Channel.

The Nintendo Channel is currently available for download from the online Wii Shop Channel.