Joystiq

Greece is not usually known as a hub of video game information, but an interview with George Katrinakis (Altavista translation of relevant page), CEO of Greek Nintendo distributor Nortec Multimedia, reveals some interesting information about two previously unknown Wii games.

In the four page interview with Greek news site Contra.gr, Katrinakis talks about Wii Music, a game that sounds remarkably similar to the conductor demo shown at last year's E3. In addition to the general Wii-remote-as-conductor's-baton control shown at the demo, Katrinakis reveals that Wii Music players will be able to take control of specific musicians and send saved compositions to other Wii users.

Katrinakis goes on to describe Health Pack, a Wii game that will lead the player in various exercises. Sounds kind of basic, until Katrinakis adds that the game will collect biometric data and send it to local hospitals (contracted by Nintendo) through a Wii channel. According to Katrinakis, this data will be processed by the hospital and sent back as a home check up a few hours later. No word on how the data will be collected or processed, but the idea sounds ambitious if nothing else.

It should be noted that this information comes from a rough translation, and that the information is coming not from Nintendo but from a Greek distributor who might be in a position to know about future releases. Still, if the interview is to be believed, we can expect both these titles by the end of the year.

[Update: Eurogamer is quoting the author of this Contra.gr article, Pavlos Papapavlou, as saying the games described by Mr. Katrinakis were "what he wants to see in the library of Wii. This is not a revelation, this is an estimation." A clarifying note on the site itself gives the same impression.

We don't buy it. Both the machine and human translations we used in compiling this post made it abundantly clear through context that these were games Katrinakis believed were being planned for release by the end of the year (here's another human translation that seems perfectly clear to us). We suspect Katrinakis realized that he revealed some information he wasn't supposed to and is now backpedaling from his on-the-record statements. We've contacted Nintendo of America for an official comment, and will keep you updated with anything we hear.]

[Big thanks to John for the tip and translation help!]