New Mario, Metroid and Zelda confirmed for Wii

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[Wii] But Nintendo remains silent on price and date for console or games

Another aspect of Wii itself was also revealed, this time by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Named 'Wii Connect 24' the feature allows the machine to remain on constantly, running on standby and permanently connected to the internet. Said to use no more electricity than "a mini light bulb" and to be virtually silent, Mr Iwata talked about how it could be used to allow others to visit your village in Animal Crossing while you sleep, or to help developers provide new content or bonus items in existing games.

But, as always, it was the games that drew the most attention, and while many had predicted Zelda's presence, the naming and showing of Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption came as more of a surprise.

Both games were shown only in video form and, although the details were limited, we saw both being played with the Wii-mote and were also told that Mario will be able to bat objects away, catch hold of stars and swim in space. As for Samus, she did her usual mixture of running, rolling and gunning.

Away from Nintendo's big names, things didn't look quite as impressive. The third-party line-up lacked a little sparkle with only a 3D version of Fire Emblem and Ubisoft's Red Steel really standing out. However, Nintendo did have three new franchises of its own to show including the 4x4 racer Excite Truck, Dynasty Warriors style beat-'em-up Project HAMMER and the somewhat mysterious Disaster: Day of Crisis.