Nintendo Unveils Wii Party

If you were wondering what's next to follow Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Wii Music, Nintendo provided the answer today: Wii Party.

This all new party game is being developed for Wii release some time this year, according to IGN. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata announced it during an investors briefing in Japan earlier today. An English transcript of that briefing was posted online.

"Nintendo has not launched a marquee party game since Mario Party 8, launched in summer 2007," said Iwata during the briefing. "However, since Wii is usually being played by several people at once and the global sales of Mario Party have reached 7.6 million units, a party title has great potential. [Wii Party] is one of the titles which, we hope, will play an important role for this fiscal year."

Screenshots shared at the briefing showed such standard, or "marquee" in Nintendo's words, games as roulette, bingo, and dice. These are playable for one to four players. The game also has "Pair Party" games which are for two players. These include a compatibility check, a game called "Balance Ship" and a game called "Mii Alignment."

More mysterious is a category of game called "Living Party." These games will be playable by two or more players. Iwata said that this mode would have games that make use of the Wiimote.

Wii Party will make use of your Mii collection. Iwata noted that over 160 million Miis have been created throughout the world.

"The developers are spending significant time for this title so that they can include elements that are must-haves in a party game as well as making sure that adequate volume of game play are available," said Iwata. "We are developing it with the intent that every Wii player will be able to find a game that can be enjoyed."

Rumor is this will be one of Nintendo's big E3 showcases.