Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii European Release Dates Confirmed

Officials from Nintendo of Europe have confirmed local release dates for both Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii in April, while the Wall Street Journal has suggested U.S. dates for both Wii Fit and WiiWare for sometime later in May. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, and most other third party publishers, Nintendo’s various worldwide subsidiaries continue to maintain entirely separate release schedules in each territory. Significant gaps are still commonplace, and even between North America and Europe, many games are marketed with different names and even different English translations, such as the recent Advance Wars: Days of Ruin/Dark Conflict. Despite being released in Japan in February and North America on March 9th, there is still no confirmed release date for Super Smash Bros. Brawl in Europe – with current rumors suggesting June 6th as a likely date. However, today Nintendo of Europe has confirmed release dates for two of the Wii’s other big titles for the first half of 2008, with Mario Kart Wii due on April 11th and Wii Fit (previously referred to as Wii Fitness in Europe) due on April 25th. No confirmed release date exists for either title in North America, although Mario Kart Wii is rumoured to be due in late April. A recent Wall Street Journal article suggests the release date of Wii Fit is Mary 19th in the U.S., although at time of press this has not been confirmed by Nintendo of America. The same Wall Street Journal article also suggests that the WiiWare range of original downloadable games will launch in the U.S. on May 12th, although no specific titles are mentioned. The launch date of the service in Europe is currently unknown.