Portable Planet

Wii has long promised online play, and the console will come through with that promise on June 25 when Pokemon Battle Revolution makes its debut. It’s not the first choice I would have made for online, but hey, Nintendo didn’t ask me.

From Nintendo:

Wii owners of all ages have discovered the fun of playing with a group of friends in the same room. Now for the first time players can compete with one another near and far with Pokemon Battle Revolution, a game of remarkable firsts:

*  the first Wii game to include Nintendo(R) Wi-Fi Connection play

*  the first Pokemon game for Wii

*  the first game to link Wii and the hand-held Nintendo DS(TM)

*  and the first Wii game that can be controlled using Nintendo DS

When Wii and Nintendo DS are linked, players can use their Nintendo DS units as controllers or import characters from the upcoming Nintendo DS games Pokemon(R) Diamond Version or Pokemon(R) Pearl Version. Pokemon Battle Revolution launches on June 25 exclusively for Wii and brings a dramatic new chapter to the Pokemon franchise, which has sold more than 155 million units worldwide. Pokemon Battle Revolution also serves as one of the standouts in Nintendo’s second-quarter launch lineup, which the company revealed today in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Pokemon Battle Revolution will be joined by Super Paper Mario(TM), the first Mario(TM) game for Wii; Mario Party(R) 8, a multiplayer party game; and Big Brain Academy(TM), a brain-training game that builds on the phenomenal success of the Nintendo DS brain games. These will add to the ever-growing library of Wii games, which will total more than 50 by the end of June. Nintendo DS fans will see the arrival of Pokemon Diamond Version and Pokemon Pearl Version, two surefire smash-hits.