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Barring any unforeseen catastrophes, Wii U should launch in just about six months (November 18th being the most recent and credible rumored date). No doubt Nintendo is hard at work ensuring its new console gets off to a strong start -- indeed, retailer Play.com has started listing Wii U games for pre-order, and may have accidentally outed a major first-party title bound for the system -- but all that effort has left the aging Wii with an anemic slate of upcoming titles.

Thankfully, all is not lost, and no, I'm not referring to the June 19th launch of The Last Story (though, yes, that game looks cool). Rather, like a warming ray of Summer sunshine, new additions have just been announced for the Nintendo Selects line of budget-priced games, headlined by the never-before-released in North America Wii version of Pikmin 2!

Come June 10th, Wii owners will finally get to experience one of the best GameCube games ever, and will only have to shell out $19.99 for the privilege. Just like the New Play Control! version of the original Pikmin that threatened to spearhead a wide-ranging line of GameCube to Wii ports, Pikmin 2 features redesigned controls that take advantage of the Wii Remote. Additionally, the game now runs in widescreen (and the graphics have held up fairly well), as seen in the launch trailer at the top of the page.

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Mario Power Tennis, another New Play Control! title, is also getting the Nintendo Selects treatment. Originally released for Wii back in 2009, the game's reappearance as a budget title is likely timed to take advantage of the hype surrounding Mario Tennis Open, which hits 3DS on May 20th. Rounding out Nintendo's latest spate of pricing announcements, both the super-tough Donkey Kong Country Returns and the mega-popular Super Smash Bros. Brawl will drop to $29.99 on June 10th, which is shaping up to be the busiest shopping day in months for Wii owners.

Now, for gamers who are already counting the days until they can land a Wii U, a fresh bit of news just might make the wait even more excruciating. Luigi's Mansion 2, long confirmed to be in development for 3DS (we went hands-on with it at E3 2011), may also appear on Nintendo's new home console. Play.com is currently listing the game for both 3DS and Wii U -- does the retailer know something we don't, or is this just some kind of weird fluke? Either way, the truth probably won't come out until E3.

Play.com also lists LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes as a Wii U game. Despite its absence from the rumored list of Wii U launch titles, LEGO Batman 2 ranks pretty high on the plausibility scale, though the other versions (Xbox 360, PS3, Vita, Wii, 3DS) arrive June 19th, begging the question: this November, who is going to want to use their brand new Wii U to play a game that's already been available for five months?

Ranters, I'm sure you're going to pick up a copy of Pikmin 2 on June 10th (you are, right?), but what do you think about a Wii U version of Luigi's Mansion 2? Could development of the 3DS game have been moved to Wii U, or do you believe Luigi's Mansion 2 will arrive for both platforms? If so, which version would you rather play?

Pikmin 2 and Mario Power Tennis arrive June 10, 2012, for Wii.

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Follow me on Twitter @HakenGaken.

Source: Play.com [via VGamingNews]