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While most people were giddy over Punch Out! for Wii (this blogger included), I think most "video game insiders" were particularly pumped about Sin & Punishment 2. However, this isn't a known franchise, so let's take a moment to explore what it is, and how it came to be that the sequel is being released for Wii.

Sin & Punishment was a third person, 3D shooter for the N64, that wasn't originally released in America. It was made by Treasure, a Japanese developer famous for its frenetic, crazy shooters (their latest is Bangai-O Spirits for the Nintendo DS).

The game featured a delightfully ridiculous plot and voice acting that was sort of endearing (also in English, despite being a Japanese only release). But more importantly, it was a wonderful hybrid of 3D action and older shooter aesthetics. It was a succesful conversion of a game such as Contra of Gradius into the 3D world.

But, it was only available in Japan, and only import geeks knew about it (and it became something of an import legend).

Enter the Virtual Console.

Sin & Punishment was included in the first batch of import games on the Wii's Virtual Console. The game was downloaded in high numbers, so high that Nintendo took notice. It probably didn't take long for plans for a new game to begin. This is really encouraging, as it shows that you are really voting with your dollars with VC releases- Nintendo fans had better be downloading earthbound when it comes out eventually!

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