How many of you got to play Pikmin on the GameCube? Okay, I’m preaching to the choir… but how many normal people do you think played it? Not many. To them, the upcoming New Play Control! Pikmin release is just Pikmin.

You don’t see Capcom making it painfully obvious that they’re releasing “Wii-makes” of Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 0, or Resident Evil, nor can any passer-by tell that Sega’s The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return contains a game from 1998, except with added Wii controls. Even Nintendo’s own The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii doesn’t tout the difference. So picky me would be hesitant to buy (or repurchase, in this case) Pikmin for the Wii if North America’s packaging looks like its horrid PAL cover you see here. Is there a reason we can’t just get nice, clean, attractive box art?

Luckily, there’s that one CD Covers website, and I’ve got a color printer and some glossy paper to use. Those slip covers come right out.

BlogNintendo

Famitsu has revealed a few more tidbits about two more Play on Wii titles, namely Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis.

Pikmin will have a brand new save feature that saves your progress for every day so you can go back and play from any day you’ve already played. That should take some of the stress from the time limit. As for Mario Power Tennis, it gets one new feature you probably would have assumed anyway. A Wii Tennis-style control scheme. The game is compatible with the nunchuck, though, so you can most likely move your character with the control stick.

Pikmin launches Christmas Day and Mario Power Tennis launches January 15th, both in Japan.

WiiFanboy

Japanese game magazine Famitsu is reporting some surprising new details about two of the upcoming Play on Wii GameCube ports, specifically regarding Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. It was previously assumed that the only new additions to Play on Wii games would be Wii Remote-centered control schemes. Well, there’s more. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat will contain new and different content, including checkpoints, repositioned enemies, and even brand new levels. The controls will also be changed to those of a more traditional platformer, replacing the bongos with the Wii control stick and buttons.

No new content has been reported for Pikmin, but some control details have been revealed. As you’d probably assume, you can use the pointer to aim and A to throw or B to call Pikmin. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat will be released in Japan on December 11th, with Pikmin hitting on Christmas Day.

IGN

Official Nintendo documents showing planned releases for the coming year have revealed that both Pikmin (called it) and Mario Power Tennis are coming to North America under the Play on Wii label. Until now, there had been no official word on these or any other Play on Wii games for North America.

Pikmin 2, however, is missing from the list, despite being rated by the ESRB last month. The aforementioned list is far from complete, though, so don’t give up hope yet.

Nintendo [PDF]
via 1up

The ESRB has been taking steps to prevent leaks about games that haven’t yet been officially announced. That hasn’t stopped this little tidbit from slipping through.

The ESRB ratings for Pikmin and Pikmin 2 have been updated to include the Wii. This is a pretty strong indicator that the Wii versions are going to see North American releases. (Not as strong as an official confirmation, but it’s the next best thing.) None of the other Play On Wii titles have been rated by the ESRB yet, but keep an eye out for them.

OMG Nintendo

Some people were a bit scared and confused when Nintendo announced a port of Pikmin for Wii. Was this the new Pikmin game we were promised by Miyamoto himself after E3?

Well stop panicking! Wii Pikmin is still on its way, as a Nintendo rep told Kombo earlier today. You can put away your pitchforks now. The torches, too. (Those little guys burn up pretty easily, after all!)

Kombo

Club Nintendo magazine has a new interview with the Regginator regarding storage solution for your undoubtedly full refrigerator. Basically, they’re not sure what form of storage the end product will be, but if they’re going to provide one, they’re going to do it the right way. Online storage perhaps?

I want the people to have the right expectations. We have never said that it will be a hard drive, nor have we mentioned how we will fix this issue, but we are going to deliver a better way to store games.

The same magazine confirmed a new Zelda game, reconfirmed a new Pikmin game, and a “no comment” regarding Wii MotionPlus being utilized in either. At the same time, expect the Wii MotionPlus to be the last major first-party controller peripheral for a while.

Wii Fanboy

You get some pretty interesting celebrations for a child when the parents are gamers. Game cakes, Mario parties, you name it. Lori from Clever Cake Studio was given the job of creating cupcakes for a pair of game loving parents for their baby shower, creating the Pikmin cupcakes you see above.

Originally, the marzipan Pikmin were supposed to be smaller and buried in the cupcakes (like in the games), but Lori went with the designs that didn’t involve sticking wires inside the tasty Pikmin. I’m pretty sure no one minded the change, just so long as they got to play Bulborbs and devour all those delicious Pikmin one by one.

Clever Cakes Studio
via That Girl’s Site