Redmond (WA) - Nintendo has announced a complete list of games that will be available for the Wii during its first five weeks after the release on 19 November. In total, 32 Wii games and 30 virtual console titles are slated for release by the end of the year.

For the Wii's early adpoters, third-party support comes in a large way that the Gamecube struggled to achieve. For the launch and the first few weeks following, games will be released from Atari, Atlus, EA, Konami, Midway, Sega, SNK, Tecmo, THQ, Ubisoft, and Vivendi.

With 32 Wii games slated for release in 2006, it has a much stronger presence on the software side than the Gamecube did when it launched five years ago. The Gamecube, which launched on 18 November, 2001, only had 17 titles announced by the end of the year.

With the presence of the Wii virtual console, which is Nintendo's equivalent of Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, players will also have access to a library of 30 classic games by the end of the year, a milestone that took Microsoft more than eight months after the launch of the Xbox 360.

Among the most anticipated Wii titles are The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Call of Duty 3, Far Cry, Madden NFL 07, Need For Speed: Carbon, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, and Red Steel.

With the younger demographic targeted for the Wii more than the other consoles, several of the early titles are based on kids TV shows and movies, including video game versions of Dragon Ball Z, Happy Feet, Ant Bully, Barnyard, and Spongebob Squarepants.

For the virtual console, Nintendo has announced the original Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong, as well as F-Zero and Super Mario 64. Sega will be coming out with Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco the Dolphin, and Toe Jam & Earl, in addition to seven other titles. Hudson will be releasing classic titles Bonk's Adventure, Super Star Soldier, Victory Run, Bomberman '93, and Dungeon Explorer.