is a series of first-party

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the W ...

titles

ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a Computing platform, computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) ...

over to the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

by Nintendo. Games in the ''New Play Control!'' series feature a number of enhancements, most notably the implementation of the Wii's unique motion controls with the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact ...

and

Nunchuk is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately 30 cm (sticks) and 1 inch (rope). A person wh ...

, as well as the inclusion of widescreen support and enhanced graphics.

Background

Nintendo initially announced the ''Wii de Asobu Selection'' range of titles for Japan in a presentation on October 2, 2008, confirming ''

Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin in order to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoidi ...

'' and '' Donkey Kong Jungle Beat'' would launch later in the year, whilst a spokesperson for Nintendo of Europe confirmed days later that the series would also launch in Europe. In Japan, ''Pikmin'' and ''Donkey Kong Jungle Beat'' launched in December 2008 and were followed throughout 2009 by '' Mario Tennis GC'', ''

Pikmin 2 is a 2004 real-time strategy puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube home video game console. It is the direct sequel to the 2001 game ''Pikmin'' and is the second game in the ''Pikmin'' series. Like its predecess ...

'', ''

Chibi-Robo! is a series of adventure video games developed by Skip Ltd. and published by Nintendo. The franchise follows a series of tiny Robotic units known as Chibi-Robo, whose purpose is to spread Happiness. Recurring game elements of the franchise inc ...

'' and '' Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes''. In the same year, ''New Play Control!'' launched in Europe, North America and Australia, though not all games were made available worldwide: ''Pikmin 2'' did not launch in North America until June 2012, when it was released as a

Nintendo Selects ''Nintendo Selects'' (formerly ''Player's Choice'') was a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on current Nintendo game consoles that have sold well. ''Nintendo Selects'' titles were sold at a lower price point (usually $19.99 ...

title instead of a ''New Play Control!'' title; ''Chibi-Robo!'' was never released outside Japan. Despite being based on GameCube games, ''New Play Control!'' titles do not utilize the Wii's

backward compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially ...

to support

GameCube controller The GameCube controller is the standard game controller for the GameCube home video game console, manufactured by Nintendo and launched in 2001. As the successor to the Nintendo 64 controller, it is the progression of Nintendo's controller ...

Changes

'' and ''

'' allow players to

point and click Point and click are the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse, usually the left button (''click''), or other pointing device. An example of point and c ...

with the Wii Remote to whistle and throw ''

''. ''Mario Power Tennis'' draws on the swinging motions seen in ''

Wii Sports ''Wii Sports'' is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The 1.0 (pre-release) version of the game was released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and the ...

'' to perform various swings, while it is also possible to move the character with the control stick if the Nunchuk is attached. ''Metroid Prime'' and ''Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' use the same control functions, which are first featured in '' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption''. An early prototype of the control scheme had already been used with a technical demo version of ''Metroid Prime 2'', first seen when the Wii Remote was initially announced. Other changes have been made to the games other than the updated controls and improved graphics. ''Donkey Kong Jungle Beat'' features new levels and modified

level design In video games, a level (also referred to as a map, stage, or round in some older games) is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective. Video game levels generally have progressively-increasing difficulty t ...

for existing levels to give the game a more traditional platforming feel. ''Pikmin'' allows players to roll back their game saves to previous days, erasing only a recent part of the save file, though this did not carry over to ''Pikmin 2''. ''Metroid Prime'' and ''Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' feature some of the features introduced in '' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'', including the achievements system, unlockable content and the ability to take screenshots.

Release

Four of the games, '' Donkey Kong Jungle Beat'', ''

Mario Power Tennis ''Mario Power Tennis'' is a sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. The game is the sequel to the Nintendo 64 title '' Mario Tennis'', and is the fourth game in the ''Mario Tennis'' series. ''Power Tennis'' ...

'', ''

'' and ''

'', have been universally released as ''New Play Control!'' titles, though ''Pikmin 2'' did not carry the moniker for its North American release as it was released three years after the rest of the series. The two ''Metroid Prime'' games were bundled with ''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'' and released in the limited edition '' Metroid Prime: Trilogy'' compilation, which launched in 2009 and was given only one limited edition print run, being discontinued soon after release. ''Pikmin 2'' was not released in North America until June 2012, when it and ''Mario Power Tennis'' were released as budget titles in the

range; these versions of the games do not feature reversible cover art or the New Play Control! moniker, instead being marketed as classic Nintendo GameCube titles with enhanced Wii controls. Each game in the ''New Play Control!'' series features a standard cover art, explaining the premise of the series, as well as each game's original Nintendo GameCube cover art. Each game's cover art is reversible; reversing the cover shows the original version of the cover art with no ''New Play Control!'' branding, except on the game's logo. Following the introduction of Wii games on

Nintendo eShop The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. Th ...

in January 2015, several of the games have been released on the platform without the ''New Play Control!'' branding. ''Metroid Prime: Trilogy'' was the first to launch in Europe and North America, where it became available in January 2015; it was later followed in 2016 by ''Donkey Kong Jungle Beat'', ''Pikmin'', and ''Pikmin 2''.

Games

Notes

References

External links

Official website

at Nintendo.co.uk
New Play Control!
at Nintendo.com.au {{Wii Budget ranges Wii *