New Super Mario Bros. Wii due Nov. 15

LOS ANGELES--At its 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference in June, Nintendo wasted no time trotting out its latest Mario games. Besides taking the wraps off Super Mario Galaxy 2, due out next year, the publisher announced New Super Mario Bros for the Wii. At E3, Nintendo vice president of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway described the game as bringing the Mario franchise to "the fourth dimension" and said it would arrive by the holidays.

True to its word, Nintendo today announced that New Super Mario Bros. Wii will ship in North America on Sunday, November 15. The launch will come a month and a half after the Wii's price drops to $200 and three weeks before the December 7 release of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the DS. Nitnendo's other big first-party holiday release, Wii Fit Plus, ships on October 4.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii features play for up to four players, with a heavy emphasis on co-op. In the E3 stage demo, the four in question were Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad. Activities demonstrated included the ability to pick up other players to solve environmental puzzles, with players also competing to secure the highest number of coins.