Revolution Portal: Because it won’t be televised.

While there’s almost no chance whatsoever that a Viva Piñata title would ever hit Wii due to conflicting interest, Microsoft-owned Rare has one on the way for DS.

Rare engineer Joe Humfrey explained that Microsoft has a lot of respect for Nintendo’s handheld.

“They see DS as a very viable platform,” he said in an interview with Eurogamer.

“They put the Viva Piñata franchise on TV to reach a broad audience, they put it on PC to reach a different broad audience, and they’re doing the same thing with the DS,” he said. “They’re trying to widen the audience of the franchise, basically.”

Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise is scheduled for release in North America this fall.

There are certain classic titles that seem to pop up on every single platform known to mankind.

Dig Dug certainly fits that bill.  And while it’s been a year and a half since Wii first exploded on the market, the classic 1982 title that lets you inflate and explode Pookas and Fygars has finally arrived on the Wii Virtual Console.

The two VC games and one WiiWare title are as follows:

DIG DUG (NES, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): Become Dig Dug, the champion of love and justice, as you drill up, down, left and right, defeating any enemies in your path. Avoid the persistent Pooka and the deep-dwelling but whimsical Fygar as you defeat all the enemies in order to clear each stage. Defeat enemies by hitting them with the harpoon and pumping air into them, or by dropping rocks on them from above. Receive bonus points by getting the vegetables that appear in the middle of the stage. Receive high points for defeating deep-dwelling enemies or by defeating Fygars from the side with the harpoon. Pass through inflated enemies or defeat enemies in an adjacent passage for an even higher score. Lure multiple enemies and defeat them with a single rock from above in this thrilling action game.

BIO MIRACLE BOKUTTE UPA (NES, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone—Comic Mischief, 600 Wii Points): BIO MIRACLE BOKUTTE UPA is an action game released in 1988, but it was never available outside of Japan. Players take on the role of baby Upa, a prince of the Akuyo kingdom. Prince Upa must take on an adventure spanning seven different worlds in order to rescue the kingdom from the dangerous demon Zai. Upa must defeat the enemies he meets along the way by inflating them. Upa can then use these floating enemies to his advantage by bouncing off of or riding on top of them. The prince must also avoid deadly thorns and pits while keeping an eye out for helpful items such as milk (to restore health) and bells (for temporary invincibility) if he hopes to succeed. If you’re looking for a cute and solid platformer with a hero unlike those in most other games, then look no further than BIO MIRACLE BOKUTTE UPA. 

WiiWare

My Pokémon Ranch (Nintendo, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone—Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points): The Pokémon phenomenon debuts on WiiWare with My Pokémon Ranch, a game that lets you watch as Pokémon and Miis interact with each other for the first time. Enjoy the relaxing ranch life by viewing your ranch and its Pokémon, taking pictures and sending those pictures to your friends via the Wii Message Board. The more Pokémon and Miis you bring to your ranch, the more fun it becomes. My Pokémon Ranch can be linked with the Nintendo DS Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon® Pearl Game Cards to deposit the Pokémon you’ve caught in these games in your ranch. You can deposit a maximum of 1,000 Pokémon from up to eight different game cards. Make your ranch livelier by playing with your friends and family.

Virtual Console

LucasArts has been around since before half of the staff at Revolution Portal were born, but in their heyday, their graphic adventure games could not be beat.

PR manager Chris Norris and Fracture assistant producer Jeffrey Gullett recently talked to Eurogamer about the potential of bringing some of those classic titles back for either Wii and DS.

“We have looked at it,” Norris explained . “It is something we are continually looking at - new venues to put out our library of games on. We’re not announcing anything about that because honestly I don’t know anything about it.”

Then Gullett said something that doesn’t make a whole of sense.

“The cart size of the DS makes it impossible to put out ports of any of our old graphic adventures,” claims Gullett. “There’s literally not enough room on those carts to put the games out.”

Anybody familiar with Homebrew knows exactly how easy it is to fit some of those titles on a DS.  After all, Manic Mansion fit on just a few floppy discs back in the late 80’s.

“It could still happen,” Gullett added. “We’ve got a lot of pride in our heritage and it’s definitely something we’re still leaving open.”

Nintendo has given us a pleasant surprise with this Monday’s slate of titles for WiiWare and the Wii Virtual Console — Toki Tori is making a triumphant comeback!

The game was originally one of the last titles to hit the Game Boy Color, and while critics adored the game, it didn’t do particularly well with the masses. 

Being released on September 12, 2001 probably didn’t help matters.  Hopefully gamers will give it a real chance to succeed on WiiWare.

Toki Tori (Two Tribes, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Toki Tori is his name, and collecting eggs is his game. In this puzzle/platform game, players use a variety of items such as the Telewarp, InstantRock™ and Slug Sucker. Clever use and combination of these items are needed to solve all the game’s levels, of which there are more than 70. Levels range from easy to brain-teasingly hard, resulting in dozens of hours of puzzle play time. Toki Tori makes the most of what Wii has to offer. It uses the Wii Remote for a unique control scheme, which offers players a new and more relaxing play style. A second player can help you out by drawing hints while you are playing. The game even uses the Wii Message Board in a unique way.

The other WiiWare title released today was Protöthea:

Protöthea (UbiSoft, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Protöthea is a top-down scrolling shooter game with free movement that puts players in complete control of a last-generation spaceship. The mission is to destroy the asteroid called Maqno 01 and finish with the plans of The Core. UbiSoft’s Protöthea introduces new concepts to a beloved, classic game style while mixing genres and utilizing the full capabilities of the Wii console, from graphics to controls. Players of all ages and experience levels will enjoy taking command of their ship, blasting through four different worlds in 10 challenging missions. Use your weapons arsenal and the special bonus items to help you accomplish your mission, and don’t forget to slow down time and take an edge over the enemy.

And lastly, we’ve got one Virtual Console game:

Ninja Combat (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, Rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Older-Mild Suggestive Themes, Fantasy Violence, 900 Wii Points): Released in 1990, Ninja Combat is a side-scrolling combat-action game. Take control of the ninjas Joe (one player) and Hayabusa (two players), and enter into battle against a group of evil ninjas called the Kage Ichizoku. Make your way into their home fortress, Ninja Tower, which dominates a big city of the near future. Fight using normal attacks, jumps, special movements and ninja materials that deliver damaging blows to all enemies on the screen. In addition, you’ll find weapons and items to aid you along the way. Even better, as you progress in the game, reliable allies such as Musashi, Kagerow and Gembu will emerge to fight alongside you, allowing you to choose a new character in each stage. Ninja Combat also supports simultaneous play with two players, so you can grab a friend and defeat the Kage Ichizoku together.

After countless weeks of PSP dominating the number one spot on the Japanese software charts, DS has taken the top spot.

Sega’s Let’s Make a Pro Baseball Team! for DS knocked off PSP’s Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G for the week of May 19 through the 25th, according to the early word from NeoGAF.

On the hardware side, PlayStation Portable was still the top dog with 64,449, but that’s down 6,087 from last week.  DS-wise, the handheld sold 37,404 units, which was up 2,499.  Is a trend forming?  We’ll have to wait until the latest charts come out to see if it’ll stick.

Wii was numero dos on the hardware charts with 49,047 consoles flying off the shelves, a hefty jump of almost 7,500.