So, it’s Monday. Time for a new post here at 8-bit Ninja. Enjoy.

I’ve been tremendously enjoying my Wii. I picked up Super Paper Mario, which has been a lot of fun so far. I’m a bit worried though, as a colleague told me that the game becomes disappointing by the end. We shall see about that. I also nabbed Kid Icarus for the Virtual Console. It is easily one of the hardest games I’ve ever played. If you’ve never played it, know this: you will fucking hate Eggplant Wizards.

Oh, by the way, if you haven’t figured it out, I decided to go ahead and open up my Wii. Perhaps you remember the conundrum I faced last week. If not, I suggest you scroll down a ways and find out.

It’s Thanksgiving this week, which is wonderful news. I’m looking forward to the day off, even though it may not be a traditional day off. Such are the hazards of freelance work, folks. Grumbling aside, there will be food, fun, and hopefully, families enjoying Wii Sports. I say families because Annie and I are now faced with the ever awkward family holiday shuffling. In other words, we’ll be eating two Thanksgiving dinners. The reality of it is actually pretty daunting. Imagine, if you will, how many rolls you will consume this Thursday. Now double that number. See where I’m going with this?

This isn’t exactly news, but yesterday marks the first Thursday since its inception that Smash Bros. Dojo wasn’t updated with any new information. Thus, Sense am cry.

Reports are flying across the internet that Best Buy is now taking pre-orders for Wii games. A quick search for Wii on Best Buy’s website confirms it. Feel free to spend your real money on nonexistent copies of Red Steel, Super Mario Galaxy, or Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Interestingly, all three games have a ship date of 12/1/06, even though SSBB has been announced as a 2007 title. Silly Best Buy.

 —via Kotaku (you should read it, it’s funny)

Satoru Iwata set us up the bomb today. The Wii launch date will be announced this September, threatening to ruin my September 30th wedding ceremony. Also of note is that the DS will be able to act as a touch screen Wii control. Freaking sweet.

Update: In my feverish desire for Wii, I misread the article. The Wii is not launching in September. Rather, the launch date will be announced in September. D’oh!

—via Kotaku

Look ladies and gentlemen, it’s the legendary black Wii. Most likely, this is a Wii development kit. Also of note is the Samsung LCD it’s connected to, which is also used on most 360 demo stations. Those things sure are popular.

—image from Digital Battle. Via Kotaku

I just wrote this post and it was unexpectedly nuked, so you’re missing out on some eloquent prose. I’m much too sleep-deprived to try and recapture that magic. Suffice it to say that it is a slow news day. Thus, I give you Siloconera’s dream list of non-Nintendo characters for Smash Bros. Brawl. In case you haven’t heard, it was recently revealed that there will be at least a few more third party characters involved. My choice is over there on the right.

As you might infer from the above picture, Cubed3 conducted an interview with Opera Man Executive Vice President with Opera for Devices, Scott Hendrick. The interview covers a few different topics, though—as usual—the most popular answer is “We can’t comment at this time.” Still, there are some juicy bits here and there. For instance, the Opera browser will be embedded on Wii’s memory itself. No extra software is required. This will allow Opera to be run at any time, even used within games. Exactly how this could be implemented in a game design is anyone’s guess.

Find the interview here.

Game Politics has posted a list of the most controversial upcoming games of 2006. Leading the pack is of course GTA4:

• Grand Theft Auto 4
• Resevoir Dogs
• Sadness
• Bully
• Hitman: Blood money
• 50 Cent: Bulletproof G Unit Edition

Most of those are controversial for obvious reason. The curious standout is Sadness. Having read a little about the project now, I have to say, it sounds cool. Sadness is a survival horror game in development for Wii. The website for it mentions using the Wiimote for waving torches, tossing lassos, and slitting throats. It’s this last action that puts it on GP’s controversial list. Wii has the potential to let supposed “murder simulators” actually simulate murder. Instead of pressing a button, players can actually “stab” someone, for example. Interesting.

 Controversial or not, Sadness sounds like it could be a cool title.

Everyone’s favorite sneaky bastard, Solid Snake, has been added to the Smash Bros. Dojo. After much consideration, the developers have decided not to give Snake real world guns and have opted for heavy explosives instead. Mines and Nikita missiles would be fine by me. Check out more images after the break.

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Japanese website PC-Success recently featured the Wii for the startling price of 18,000 Yen (roughly US $160). The page was quickly taken down but not before some savvy web denizen captured the image above. Wii for twenty-one bucks more than a DS? Where do I sign up?

—via Gamebrink