Nintendo Reveals Traditional Kirby Game, Rhythm Heaven In Works For Wii

In an investor briefing alongside its recent fiscal results, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata discussed some of the company's game plans for the year ahead -- and revealed a few surprises in the slate, plus some updates on familiar announcements. In April, Nintendo says it'll launch in Japan a new Pokemon typing game that comes with a Bluetooth keyboard. The cartridge for Battle & Get! Pokemon Typing DS will include the Bluetooth communication functionality on it, the company says -- "Although Nintendo does not guarantee the connections, the keyboard can be connected with various other devices," said Iwata. As for the Wii in the year ahead, Iwata reminded investors about Monolith Software's upcoming Xenoblade, announced a year ago, and Mistwalker's The Last Story. According to Iwata, launch sales of The Last Story, which hit shelves yesterday in Japan, are "not bad" so far. Iwata said The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for 3DS will come to market ahead of previously-announced new Wii title The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. However, Iwata reports being told by Miyamoto that the Skyward Sword team is "now entering into the final completion stage of the game," which the company expects will particularly benefit from the finer control offered by the Wii Motion Plus. The exec also described an upcoming Wii title called Pandora's Tower, the which is "nearing the end [of development]... we are scheduled to launch this title in the early half of this year. Also announced was a version of Rhythm Heaven for Wii -- Nintendo apparently saw added potential for the popular, quirky DS rhythm game for the living room. "When you see others play with the game and notice that he or she misses out on being perfectly in rhythm, it can also be surprisingly fun," says Iwata. "We feel that there's got to be different attractions on Rhythm Heaven when you play it with a TV monitor." Nintendo also has more left to do on Wii with its pink Kirby character, too, following last year's launch of Kirby's Epic Yarn, an unusual take on the brand: "It's been a while since we launched the previous home console version of the Kirby game where Kirby can inhale enemies, spit them out and morph, but a team at Hal Laboratory, Inc. is developing a new Wii game from the Kirby's Dreamland franchise now," Iwata revealed.