GAIJIN GAMES TAKING THE WII ON A BIT.TRIP

Several weeks back this suitably ridiculous viral video made the rounds, along with speculation that it related to an announcement for a forthcoming Wii exclusive, and it seems Nintendo Power (via a spy-cam shot supplied to GoNintendo) has prematurely solved the riddle.

Upstart developer Gaijin Games, it turns out, has been quietly at work on the WiiWare’s answer to Q-Games’s PixelJunk series (or Skip/Nintendo’s own ArtStyle/bit Generations franchise): a set of six games under the “Bit.Trip” label, starting with Beat, a retro-futurist rhythm-based Pong-alike that you can catch a momentary glimpse of during the flickering montage above, or via Gaijin’s official CommanderVideo site.

Beat‘s twist, the magazine revealed, is its evolution based on how well you play: get yourself on a winning streak and the game responds with increasingly complex synced up color and sound, but falter and it returns to its original monochrome form.

The series is due for a release later this year, published by traditionally niche RPG house Aksys, and is a very welcome surprise for 2009’s WiiWare outlook.

Where’s the Cat? [Gaijin Games]