Nintendo to release weekly DSi updates starting April 6

Starting on April 6, Nintendo will be launching a weekly stream of DSiWare for its updated handheld, which is set to arrive on April 5 in the US and April 3 in Europe.

The firm will also be changing the name of the "Wii-kly Update" to "Nintendo Download".

Fair enough.

According to the press release:

With the April 5 launch of the new Nintendo DSi portable game system comes the opening of the Nintendo DSi Shop. Like the Wii Shop Channel, the Nintendo DSi Shop will offer a growing library of downloadable games, with new titles added every week. Accordingly, we'll be using this space to tell you not only about new games for Wii but also for Nintendo DSi. Watch for the first edition of Nintendo Download on April 6.

Also mentioned in the final "Wii-kly Update" is the impending release of WiiWare game Bonsai Barber - where you use foliage fashion to please villagers hungry for personal grooming - and Super Punch-Out! on Virtual Console.

Full information through the break.

WII-KLY UPDATE: "THE FAREWELL EDITION"

March 30, 2009

In this farewell edition of the Wii-kly Update (more on that below*), we're pleased to announce a pair of excellent games based around completely opposite vocations. Newly available on the Virtual Console™ is Super Punch Out!! ™, the classic boxing title that pits players against tough pugilist rivals such as Bald Bull. Speaking of baldness, the unique new WiiWare™ game Bonsai Barber™ invites players to take off the gloves and work their clippers instead, giving new hairstyles to a colorful cast of fruits and vegetables. Both are yours for the downloading via the Wii™ Shop Channel.

Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

WiiWare

Bonsai Barber (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone-Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points): The village residents are hungry for the latest in foliage fashion, and it's up to you, the new barber, to fix them up. Use the tools of your trade: scissors, clippers, spray can, and more in this humorous, first-of-its-kind "first-person-groomer" game. Bonsai Barber features a colorful cast of 12 intriguing customers, including a temperamental shallot starlet (don't call her an onion), an oddball strawberry boffin, a cactus cowboy, a daredevil carrot, and a suave banana with top-secret clearance. Each day, five customers arrive to test your stylistic skill. If the customer requests a specific style, you'll plow that furrow, or you can rely on your expertise to pick from more than 30 popular fashions. Or, why not turn over a new leaf? Be creative and see how they react. They're a demanding bunch, so if you miss an appointment, you'll hear about it-on your Wii Message Board. If you do a good job, you may receive a gift or even a postcard from an exotic destination as your happy customers travel to distant lands and show off their exquisite coifs.

Virtual Console

Super Punch-Out!! (Super NES™, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Featuring the tight game play and humor the series is known for, this sequel to the NES™ classic sees Little Mac return to the ring with the World Video Boxing Association belt once again at stake. Slug your way through the grueling, sweat-pounding matches of the Minor, Major and World Circuits as you face off against some of Little Mac's greatest rivals, such as Bear Hugger, Bald Bull and Super Macho Man. With a cast of new challengers waiting, do you have what it takes to identify their unique patterns and exploit their weaknesses? Go to your corner and come out fighting, but remember what Doc Louis would say: "It's not about brawling-it's about finesse!"

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

* - About that "farewell edition" stuff: Starting next week, the name of this newsletter will be changed from Wii-kly Update to Nintendo Download. Why? With the April 5 launch of the new Nintendo DSi™ portable game system comes the opening of the Nintendo DSi Shop. Like the Wii Shop Channel, the Nintendo DSi Shop will offer a growing library of downloadable games, with new titles added every week. Accordingly, we'll be using this space to tell you not only about new games for Wii but also for Nintendo DSi. Watch for the first edition of Nintendo Download on April 6.