As you already know, New Super Mario Bros. Wii will feature 4 player co-op.  That's good.  Not so good is the confirmation that there will be no online co-op in the game.  According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the game is pushing the limits of the Wii's processing power already and online play wasn't feasible.  Disappointing news, for sure, but not really shocking.

Speaking of new Mario games, in all the hullaballoo of yesterday's announcements, we missed the revealing of Super Mario Galaxy 2.  Created initially from some leftover ideas from the first Galaxy title, Nintendo decided you can never have too much Mario and expanded it to a full fledged sequel.  Your wallet will be happy to know that Super Mario Galaxy 2 won't be coming out this year.  The launch trailer shows some spectacular levels, and the addition of Yoshi.  Co-op, as featured in the first Galaxy game, isn't shown in this trailer, but I'd be surprised if it was cut.  We'll be keeping our eyes on this one, but why not check it out yourself?

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Image courtesy Joystiq

A new Mario game being announced by Nintendo isn't exactly amazing news, but the latest Mario title is a little bit different, especially for co-op fans.  At their E3 press conference, Nintendo revealed New Super Mario Bros. Wii.  The game seems to be more closely related to New Super Mario Bros. for the DS than to Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. 

Old school two dimensional platforming should be a fantastic experience, especially when you can team up with three other players!  Cooperation between up to four players will be emphasized.  Expect your old favorites like warp pipes, coin collecting, and lots of secrets.  One new addition will be the propeller suit, which allows the wearer to fly when the Wiimote is waggled.

New Super Mario Bros. for the DS was a very good game, and with the addition of four player co-op, New Super Mario Bros. Wii easily becomes one of our most anticipated games.  Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to wait until 2010 for the game's release.  We'll have more info for you as we recieve it!

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Racing games don't usually lend themselves well to co-op.  That isn't to say that a good co-op experience is impossible in a racer; Burnout Paradise is one example that comes to mind.  However, it still leaves a lot to be desired.  One entry into the Mario Kart series featured one of the truest types of co-op I know of in any similar game.  Today, we'll discuss the co-op in the appropriately named Mario Kart Double Dash!!

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For quite some time now, I've been on the lookout for the oldest videogame featuring co-operative gameplay.  Of course, this all depends on your definition of co-op.  Here at Co-Optimus, we don't consider team or squad based games to be true co-op; working together against a non-human opponent would count, though.  This disqualifies the first titles that popped into my head, like Atari Football and all the crazy Pong clones that featured more than two players.  (To my knowledge, you couldn't use an AI player for these games.)  The game we'll look at this week may not actually be the oldest co-op game there is, but it certainly predates early classics like Gauntlet and Contra.  Mario Brothers may be famous for other reasons, but it's still a solid co-op experience. 

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Sometimes you find co-op play in places you never expected to look.  In our latest Co-Op Couples segment we take a look at how a competitive game like Mario Kart for the Wii can be turned into a cooperative experience.

Do you have a Co-Op Couple story you'd like to share?  Send us an email!