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   The Opera browser wasn't the only Christmas present given by Nintendo to newfound Wii users. Several classic gamelings invaded the Wii Shop channel a few days ago, and the retro-invasion will continue next month as well; especially in Japan. Unlike Opera, however, and contrary to rumours flying around the 'net last week, the games in question were not free after all. The latest five titles re-launched through the Wii Virtual Console service were Super Mario Bros. (NES), Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES), Super Castlevania IV (SNES), Toe Jam & Earl (Sega Genesis) and R-Type (TurboGrafx16).

   A final batch of games for 2006 is expected in Europe on December 29, and afterwards we hope that Nintendo will continue to re-launch classic titles throughout 2007, each Friday (or Monday, depending on your territory). According to a list grabbed by Eurogamer from Nintendo's official UK magazine, this Friday's retro-offer will include games such as Baseball (NES), Ice Hockey (NES), SimCity (SNES) and Super Probotector (SNES).

   We'll have to wait and see what next month's surprises will be, since Nintendo only announced the Wii VC titles they plan to release in Japan, in January 2007. Among them are Mario Kart 64 (N64), Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (SNES) and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES), alongside other classics, more or less obscure - like Ice Climber or Kid Icarus. Old-schoolers can find the complete list on Kotaku.

   It's possible that some of these will eventually make it to Europe and America, but until then Nintendo had better release the "wired" network adapter for the Wii, because the currently available (official) components are only good for wireless connections. And without an online connection for the Wii, it's rather hard to enjoy all these dusty goodies.

UPDATE: Kotaku has word that Contra 3: The Alien Wars may also be coming to Wii VC soon.