News: Nintendo Wii Play: Motion release date

Party game sequel Wii Play: Motion will launch across Europe on 24th June.

Nintendo’s new set of mini-games makes use of the Wii Motion Plus add-on. Wii Play: Motion comes bundled with a Wii Remote Plus, which has the add-on built in.

The original Wii Play is one of the best-selling games of all time. What the heck? It’s true – the original included a Wii Remote for free. This time around Europeans get a red flavoured Wii Remote Plus. North American gamers have the title a week earlier and are gifted a black coloured remote instead.

There are 12 tasks on offer, including “Wind Runner”, which dubiously combines roller skates and running around a windy race track holding an umbrella. Angling the Wii Remote Plus controls speed and direction.

Other activities see players winching up deep-sea pirate booty in “Treasure Twirl”, balancing scoops of ice cream atop a cone in “Cone Zone”, and skimming stones across a lake in “Skip Skimmer”.

The original Wii Play attracted droves of gamers in the Wii’s heyday with the offer of an ever-useful extra Wii Remote. Five years later and considering a comparatively slim amount of titles that make use of Motion Plus, Wii Play: Motion may be a much harder sell.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword launches later this year and has Motion Plus controls as standard. Maybe it’s time to upgrade early?