Wii Spot Podcast from WiiSpot.com

Let’s start this column off with a big hello to all the Nintendo Wii fans out there. Welcome to the first edition of the WiiSpot Rumor Mill. I contacted the site management to offer my services in the Rumor department, for now you can call me simply the Covert Operative. It’s a lame name I know, but I really don’t want my true identity coming forward.

With E3 coming up quickly and Nintendo just having renamed the Revolution the Wii, there are a pile of rumors floating around throughout the industry. Lets talk about a few of them here today, focusing mostly on E3. Keep in mind that these are just Rumors, but they come from reputable sources. So take that as you Wiill.

This is a lengthy article, so look for more after the jump.

Nintendo’s big announcements - If you’ve been following the major news sites out there, you know that Nintendo has stated that they haven’t yet released all the information in the Wii yet. In fact they say that the big surprise is yet to come. Let’s talk about some of the items/features that will be unveiled at E3.

» The Nunchuck part of the controller contains an accelerometer. This isn’t so much a rumor as it is a fact; you see EA has already announced its existence… much to the chagrin of Nintendo. You will be able to use this functionality to easily dodge left and right in a FPS for example, leaving the base controller for aiming and menu selection. If our sources can be believed you’ll be seeing a sword fight demo on the floor; the shield is controlled with the nunchuck half, and the base controller will control the sword. I’ve been told that this is not all the magic that the Wii controller holds, but I have been unable to squeeze any more details from my sources. Damn you guys!

» Games on the Floor: I’ve been receiving some interesting info from my friends in the industry, some of it concerning Nintendo’s show floor lineup. You can look for these games to make it in playable form: A new Metroid Title, Mario 128 and Super Smash Brothers. But those will come as no surprise to those in the know, some interesting tidbits have surfaced however… firstly, you can expect them to Kart out a new racing title where you can control your vehicle by holding the base controller sideways. Look out for some great fishing and swordfight gameplay making its way to Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Playing this GameCube game on your Wii will unlock some extra features, similar to when the Gameboy color first launched.

» Other Wii Features: Some other unheard of information has made it’s way to me recently, so I’ll share it with you now. Firstly you can expect an enhanced Nintendo Wifi service to launch with the Wii. Most games will be playable online for free, and you’ll be able to manage your friends list from the base console, not just from each game like on the DS. The Wii has built-in Wifi after all. Look for the console to double as a Wifi hub for your DS as well, simplifying your connection to the network.

Virtual Consoles are the big news item that everyone has on their minds. You can expect Nintendo to really push this feature of their new console. I haven’t been privy to any specifics, but all who I’ve talked to say that you can expect between 15 and 25 titles per virtual console available at launch. More will be added to the system on a regular basis as well, to help satisfy your retro cravings. The price point is up in the air at the moment, but I personally feel that a $.99 – 3.99 price point is where Nintendo should target. Time will tell.

» Other tidbits: You can expect the Wii to usher in the days of console pack-ins again. I’ve been told that Nintendo will pack in a Wii game and a few virtual console credits as well. This will be sure to make the Wii a huge hit in the holiday season.

» Release date: So what about the release date you say? Well I’ve been hearing some conflicting reports, but I wouldn’t expect it much before July and you won’t be paying more then $199 for it.

So that’s about it for Nintendo rumors..

Other Wii Rumors - Nintendo isn’t the only company aiming to make a big splash in the Wii world at E3. I’ve been told that you’ll be seeing some straight console ports with loose Base controller support added (ala first gen DS games), but the true Revolution will come with all new games being shown. You can expect some sports games to make themselves known.. I’m hearing Football, baseball and golf.

What I’m really looking forward to is the off the wall games rumored to be there. I would be totally surprised if you didn’t see the new Trauma Center game on display. But the real juicy tidbits concern the new Flight Sim and virtual life games said to be there. The Wii is going to usher in an era of gaming where anyone can pick up a controller and play, so you can expect a slew of non-game games making their appearance. My loose count has 10 new unannounced third party Wii games being shown on the floor, but I don’t have my feelers in every development studio so it wouldn’t surprise me if that number was doubled.

So that about wraps up our first Rumor Mill feature here at WiiSpot. I thank Dasme again for allowing me to start up this feature here at WiiSpot. You can expect new features every once and a while, as new juicy rumors reach my desk.

If you are in the industry, and have some juicy rumors to share please email me: rumors@WiiSpot.com

Until next time, enjoy the true Revolution.