New Super Mario Bros. dated? Winning Eleven to be Wifi Connection compatible? Can it get any better? (Answer: Yes)

Great as the "non-games" are (called the "Touch Generations" line of software in Japan), what does the "hardcore" handheld gamer have to look forward to? The answer, as evidenced by Nintendo's press conference announcements this morning, is plenty.

Though the press conference was dedicated to the public unveiling of Nintendo's DS Lite redesign, the Company That Mario Built had plenty to share in terms of upcoming games. In regards to Mario, the highly anticipated New Super Mario Bros. finally has a concrete release date: May in Japan at the price of 4800 yen. As the long-awaited sequel to the legendary Super Mario Bros. series of 2D platformers, the game certainly has much to live up to. Fortuneately, screens and hands-on impressions have been glowing and the game now feels closer than ever as ongoing development appears to be going smoothly. Even as a handheld game, it is expected to be one of E3's biggest titles.

Many other games had their moment in the spotlight as well. For the sake of organization, and because they are just so darn fun to read, software highlights from the press conference are bulleted:

• Konami's uber-popular Winning Eleven series of football games will be utilizing Nintendo's new WiFi Connection service to allow blistering matches to be played against anyone in the world.
  
  
• On that note, so will Dynasty Warriors. The popular series, in its DS debut, will look to successfully shrink and distill the battle carnage the series is best known for into portable-friendly form: and to allow players to throw down the gauntlet in online warfare.
• Super Robot Wars will be returning to the DS. Regular readers of the charts know how popular this mega-license strategy series is in Japan. Practically a shoe-in for over 100k in sales.
• Meanwhile, RPG fans have much to be excited for: video was shown for both Namco's Xenosaga 1-2 and Square-Enix's Children of Mana. The games are looking absolutely beautiful and best of all...the chances they will be localized for Western gamers is hovering somewhere between 99-100%. Just waiting on the official release dates...
  
  
• On the topic of RPGs, remember that Final Fantasy III is still deep in development and looking excellent. (No major new details, just an excuse to run the new screen)
  
  
• One more from Square-Enix comes in the form of Mario Basket 3-on-3, which will be WiFi Connection enabled as well. The game is really looking terrific (Square seems to have wasted no time in harnessing the system's power)
  
  
• Tetris DS will be released at the budget level of 3800 yen in Japan (comparatively cheap with most new Nintendo DS titles costing 4800 yen or higher). This further positions the reincarnation of the Father of Puzzle Games for monster success when it releases very soon. Of course, the WiFi Connection and 10-player LAN multiplayer features don't hurt either.
  
  
• Other games include: the RPG Contact and From Software's Tenchu DS (both WiFi Connection enabled), Namco's Tales of the Tempest, Puzzloop, Pokemon Ranger, Phoenix Wright 4, a Tamagotchi sequel and the strategy RPG Archaic Sealed Heat. Check out (tiny) screens of all the above right here.

Lots of gaming goodness in the near future... and its not even E3 yet folks. Keep an eye on R-E as we update with new information on these and other upcoming titles.