Tecmo Bowl kicking off on Wii

While Splatterhouse may not have tickled reviewers' fancies when it was released on Nintendo's Virtual Console last March, Tecmo Bowl, which surfaced on the hardware maker's online portal just one week prior, proved to have some legs. With the Nintendo DS version of the classic remake announced earlier this month, Tecmo has said Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff will also arrive on the Wii.

Details on Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff on the Wii are slim, with the developer merely stating at a media event this week that the game will arrive sometime in 2009. The publisher did drop details on the DS edition of the game, however. With Electronic Arts having the official National Football League license wrapped up, Tecmo said the game would feature a generic 32-team roster. However, those teams will feature extensive customization options, where players can tweak club names, color schemes, logos, playbooks, and player names and stats.

The look of Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff on the DS will hearken back to the 8- and 16-bit console days, though the game's hallmark celebratory cutscenes have been given a graphical overhaul. The DS version of the game will also include local and online multiplayer matches.

With the Wii version of Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff slated for 2009, Tecmo narrowed the DS game's release window to this September. GameSpot's freshly minted preview has a more in-depth look at Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff on the DS.