In a disappointing week for the Virtual Console, Nintendo has chosen to release only one new game today, perhaps in an effort to get more people to download the Mii Contest Channel.

In any case, only releasing a single game might be forgiveable if it were a highly anticipated title like Majora’s Mask or Super Smash Bros., but you won’t find the likes of them on the Wii Shop today.

Instead you’ll find Konami’s NES title, Double Dribble—one of the earliest video game simulations of basketball. Double Dribble features “hot spots” from which points are almost guaranteed and features four teams to choose from (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston). Sports fans might be eager to get this title into their collection, though I can’t see it breaking any download records when compared with some of the other games already on offer.

Here’s hoping Nintendo are saving up to spoil us over the Christmas break.

This week saw the launch of the first new Wii Channel in quite a while, in the form of the long-awaited Mii Contest Channel. Called Check Mii Out in early reports, this new channel is a free download from the Wii Shop and will take up 91 blocks of memory on your system; though it’s not a lot, many active VC downloaders will no doubt already be running out of storage space.

So what’s the new channel like? Is it worth your time? After spending some time with it this morning I have to say that yes, it is worth your time if only as a pleasant distraction that you’ll use once or twice and then delete. Nintendo has long been interested in promoting the creativity of their fans, from the almost ancient Mario Paint software available on the SNES (and who can forget the SNES mouse?) to a couple of bizarre creativity studio programs around the N64 era that never saw a proper release.

The Mii Contest Channel is a way, not only to promote people to express their creativity, but also for Wii users to feel connected to a worldwide community of users. And on both counts, the channel delivers.

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In anticipation of the Australian release of Super Mario Galaxy at the end of the month, Nintendo chose today to release the original NES version of Super Mario Bros. 3 onto the Virtual Console.

One of the greatest selling video games of all time, the third installment in the Mario franchise saw a return to the classic style of Mario platforming after the deviation from this formula seen in Super Mario Bros. 2, while simultaneously refreshing the genre with a variety of gameplay enhancements creating one of the most polished and sophisticated platforming experiences available to this day.

I personally remember the original television commercials for this game that revealed that Mario would be able to fly, and spent far too much pocket money renting this game from the video shop before eventually nabbing the updated version on the SNES All-Stars cartridge. Some Wii owners will undoubtedly be waiting for All-Stars collection of updated Mario games to appear on the Virtual Console, but I would say—in this instance—don’t hold your breath.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is undoubtedly one of the greatest games Nintendo has ever published and worth every one of the 500 points it will cost you to download it. In fact, 500 points seems a ridiculously cheap price for such a title when compared with some of the dubious (and more expensive) releases for the TurboGrafx and NeoGeo of late.

Today’s other two games face stiff competition from Nintendo’s first-party release and they are Power Golf for the TurboGrafx, which is a game about… well, about golf; as well as Blue’s Journey a side-scrolling platformer for the NeoGeo where the main protagonist uses a lotus flower as a weapon while he sets out to save some planet. This one actually looks quite interesting, with some bizarre zen-related references, as well as branching paths through the game and a currency system that lets you upgrade your items.

And that’s it for this week, check back next week to see if I finally get around to updating this place with anything other than Virtual Console announcements!

Last Friday saw four new VC releases.

From the Mega Drive we got the much-hyped Sonic 3D, known by the extended title Sonic 3D: Flickie’s Island in PAL territories and Sonic 3D Blast in the US. Though Sonic’s first transition to 3D (which is, in truth, more of an isometric viewpoint than the true 3D featured, for example, in Mario 64) received mixed reviews, fans of the blue hedgehog will no doubt be interested in this release.

The three other titles released include Alien Soldier another side-scrolling shooter by famed publisher, Treasure, as well as Samurai Ghost, an action-platformer where the player controls a, well, a Samurai Ghost and the iconic Art of Fighting for the TurboGrafx. This first installment in the franchise features a single-player story mode featuring two playable characters, as well as a versus mode that features eight different fighters to choose from.

Three new games hit the Virtual Console this week, and among them another N64 release. Although Yoshi’s Story will no doubt be rapidly downloaded by many, the game has received almost overwhelmingly negative reviews and is seen as somewhat of an abomination when compared to it’s successor, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island—widely lauded as the greatest side-scrolling platformer ever made. Whether you want to spend your points on this one or not is going to be a tough decision for some—although avid collectors will undoubtedly snap-up any first-party franchise game that’s released, evidence suggests that this one is worth thinking about before shelling out your points.

This week also sees the third Neo Geo title hit the service, in the form of an action-platformer called Magician Lord. This seems to be another one of those games where you fight enemies by transforming into a variety of different forms, among them the Shinobi and—strangely—Grecian sea-god, Poseidon.

And the third title released this morning was Super Air Zonk for the TurboGrafx. Part of the Bonk franchise, which has seen a lot of action on the Virtual Console of late, Super Air Zonk is yet another shoot-’em-up title complete with an enhanced soundtrack consiting entirely of “rockabilly” music—whatever that is.

Providing gamers with a solid reason to vote for Labor in the upcoming Australian Federal Election, Senator Conroy of the Labor party has announced that if elected, they will review the Game Developers Association of Australia’s proposal to receive the same 40% tax rebate currently offered to the Australian film and television industries.

The Australian games industry has long sought validity, not only as a legitimate art-form, but also as a commercially viable industry with the potential for enormous international growth. The GDAA’s initial proposal for the tax rebate was refused by the Liberals.

Today sees a somewhat lower profile week on the Virtual Console, when compared to last week’s release of Super Metroid. The first new game is Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest an iconic action-platformer that’s regarded by many as one of the most frustrating games of all time. I remember hiring this one from the video shop back in the day and spending my time either dying, or running aimlessly back and forth across a number of sidescrolling screens collecting garlic and killing zombies with my whip. Before spending your points on this one you should check out the Angry Video Game Nerd’s review.

As if we don’t have enough shoot-’em-ups available on the VC, Gate of Thunder also became available for download today. Held up as one of the best Turbografx games ever released, fans of the genre that haven’t been sent broke yet by the sheer number of shooting games already available will doubtlessly want to spend some points here.

And this week’s final game, and the second Neo Geo game to hit the VC, is World Warriors—a traditional one-on-one fighting game that sees fighters from different historical periods facing off against each other. Some people see the World Warriors franchise as a sub-standard Street Fighter clone, while in other circles it has gained a cult following.

In future weeks I’d like to see more classic role-playing games released for the Virtual Console, as gamers with a penchant for such titles are currently drowning in a sea of rapid laser-fire.

Less than a week after I ordered two Wii Remote Jackets from Nintendo they arrived in the mail, and I’m here to tell you about them.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the protective jackets. Minimal jostling is required to fit them around your Wiimote. The cushioned area at the top doesn’t look nearly as unsettling as the photographs would have you believe and it’s certain that—should I send my remote flying against the wall—it will be much better protected than it was before.

I didn’t notice a great increase in the grip when using the jacket, but the Wiimote did seem noticeably heavier to me. This is by no means a bad thing, it just gives the Wiimote a more “solid” feel in your hand. The buttons are all easy to access and there’s even a small bump added above the power button, which makes it even easier to locate and press than it is without the cover, since the button is set flush against the remote.

Overall, this is a far better quality product than I first imagined, and though many will undoubtedly opt against using them, some extra protection can’t possibly hurt. The only people I would not recommend these jackets too would be those who have already spent money on third-party Wii remote covers. Placing my order by phone was hassle-free and Nintendo should be applauded for providing these covers (soon to be included as standard with all Wii remotes) for free of charge to current Wii owners.

Want your own Wiimote protector? Just call Nintendo Australia on (03) 9730 9822 between 9 AM and 5 PM (AEST) on any weekday, and have your console’s serial number on-hand (it’s located on a sticker on the side of your console).

Today not only sees the exciting news of Sonic’s appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but also an eagerly anticipated Virtual Console release, Super Metroid.

Regarded by many as one of the greatest games ever made, Samus’ Super Nintendo debut will see you negotiating a sprawling alien world, upgrading her weaponry and facing off against dangerous bosses in a game that is unarguably worth the 800 Wii Points it will cost you. Sometimes the pricing of VC games might seem a little high, but when games of such a high-quality are released—games that are still every bit as enjoyable to play today as they were at release—you can’t help but be appreciative to Nintendo for making these games available.

The only other title released today will probably suffer as a result of being released alongside Nintendo’s iconic bounty hunter, despite being another extremly worth title. Konami’s Axelay is a frenzied space-shooter created by many of the developers that went on to form the game production house, Treasure. Considered a classic in the arcade-shooting genre, today’s releases are sheer heaven for people who love blowing up aliens (isn’t that everyone?).

In any case, you’ve been reading this for long enough. Fire up your Wii and get downloading!

You heard me right, though I’m surprised it took me so long to hear the news. In what may be best described as the holy grail of announcements to many fans of the Smash Bros. franchise, SEGA’s iconic blue hedgehog is set to feature alongside the 20-something other fighters announced for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Sonic the Hedgehog has always seemed a perfect match for the franchise and his appearance in Brawl is undoubtedly connected to Mario’s appearance in the SEGA’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, set for release later this year.

Another recent announcement also revealed that the game will include a fully-featured online mode. Don’t expect to be able to stage those epic Mario Vs. Sonic battles you’ve always dreamt of too soon, though, because the game isn’t set for release until sometime next year.

For information on how Sonic will play, check out his profile at the Smash Bros. Dojo!!.