Activision's Wee 1st Label Breaks Unspoken Wii Rule

Activision plans to dump release a bunch of casual Wii games on the market this holiday as part of their newly-minted Wee 1ST brand. Wait. Wee? What the hell is that about? Everyone knows that any stupid Wii related puns have to be spelled Wii. You can't purposely mispell an already mispelled word. What's next Wheeeeeeeeeee Games?

Their... Wee 1ST (Gah, it even used a numeral) games will include Little League World Series 2008, Rapala Fishing Frenzy and Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On, with other titles expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

The Wii is introducing new audiences to gaming," said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. "Clearly, the Wii's accessible controls are changing how the audience plays games and how we look at game design. This initiative is designed to showcase games that take full advantage of the Wii's capabilities."

By the way, when we contacted Activision about their new name they said they couldn't go with Wii because of trademark issues. Bah!

It's Wii Downloadables Day, and this week sees a set of two WiiWare titles and one big Virtual Console release that will have us geeks and otaku complaining about our lack of Wii storage space all day long!

On the WiiWare side of things we get an update to the classic block-breaking genre with Gameloft's aptly titled Block Breaker Deluxe (800 points), which adds special bricks, weapons, and the ever-popular ball-speed variations to the standard ball-on-paddle action, along with an exclusive multiplayer mode.

Then we have Neko Entertainment's epic fishing adventure Cocoto Fishing Master (700 points), which casts (ouch) you as Cocoto, a strange little fellow traveling the world in search of the five millennial fish that can save the world. Check out the official website for more info on what could be a rather enchanting little title.

Finally we have the lone VC title, Samurai Showdown for the NEOGEO (900 points), the classic title that launched the revolutionary fighting-game series. It's a cherry on top of a decidedly quality Wii update Monday. Fishing, anyone?

Finally a way to get rid of all these damned Burger King Xbox 360 games I have laying around! The folks at Bass Pro Shops want your video games, and the trade-in value could be better than GameStop, depending on what you use it for.

Calling it their "Get Off The Couch & Go Outdoors" offer, from May 21st though the 26th you can trade in an old video game for 15% off Bass Pro Shops branded merchandise across several categories. I particularly like the generic, photoshopped Xbox game case, and the fact that they chose to portray a more active watersport than fishing, which is pretty much just sitting on your ass drinking beer in a different place than when you are gaming. The "Sit Somewhere Else" offer just wouldn't have had the same ring to it.

I'm not sure what they'll be doing with the games, but I'm getting a lovely mental image of the ape scene from 2001.

Update: Just got this from Bass Pro Shops PR: "The donated games will all be going to Get Well Gamers (http://getwellgamers.org/index.php) for redistribution among their network of hospitals. M rated games will find their way to troops overseas through GWG's partnership with Fun for Our Troops (http://www.funforourtroops.org/)." I'm going to go feel really, really bad now.

Bass Pro Shops Sales Circular [Bass Pro Shops - Thanks Ivan!]

360 Catches The Deadliest Catch

With waves over 40 feet high, "Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm" features the best wave effects in a video game to date. In the words of Captain Sig Hansen, "It may not be life or death, but chills went up my spine the first time I saw the Northwestern sink in the game."

According to Sega itself, Sega Bass Fishing is "one of the most successful fishing game franchises of all time" having made appearances in the arcade, then the Dreamcast, followed by a Windows release in 2001. That proud legacy of virtually fishing for bass continues on the Wii in early 2008, as the company has announced Sega Bass Fishing for Nintendo's waggle box. The game will use both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, feature over 20 types of lures and 15 lakes, plus come with a free, delicious bass!

Actually, strike that. No edible bass. The game will instead feature four types of virtual freshwater bass. I regret the error. Handful of screenshots and a press release are below.

The Fishes, You Must Master Them