According to a recent listing from online rental store GameFly, a new title called Winter Games is coming to Nintendo Wii this November 16. It's being published by Conspiracy Entertainment but aside from that, nothing is known about this title.

Except maybe for the fact that it's going to be a compilation of sports games. The older gamers might remember that a game with a similar title was released back in 1986 on Commodore 64. It was then ported on video game consoles.

That Winter Games was developed by Epyx. It featured a total of eight players who compete in various sports games in an attempt to win a medal. Nintendo has yet to comment on the matter and until it does, we'll just putting this one under Rumors.

Apparently the dual-SKU model ain't just for Warhawk, too. Talking to PALGN, System 3 CEO Mark Cale mentioned that the Epyx title California Games rumored to come to the Wii, is coming to the Wii. Twice. "You'll be able to buy it online," he says, "and you'll be able to buy it as a retail product, too."

Dang. Someone reevaluate the economics of what Peter Dille said about this dual-SKU thing.

And speaking of Peter Dille, Mark also confirms that California Games will be coming to the PS3 as well. Twice. He says it can/will be bought on the PlayStation Network and as a physical retail copy. Mark doesn't mention about any extra goodies for buying a blob of optical plastic (either the Wii optical plastic or the PS3 optical plastic), however.

At this, we can also suspect that the California Games coming to the Wii and PS3 isn't just a simple port of the original, Amiga-era Epyx title, but potentially a full-blown new-gen revamp (or else why dedicate blobs of optical plastic to the title?). Potentially, it could mean motion-sensing controls, high-def graphics (depending on platform), yada yada, but no concrete details have surfaced yet.

Cale did mention that the Wii version would be "playable online through the Wii," though. So there's online multiplayer, too.

And here are some more screenshots of the much-awaited remake of the classic 8-bit game Impossible Mission for Nintendo DS. Since it was first announced, there have been a lot excited murmurs going about as fans of the secret agent out to stop the evil genius Professor Elvin Atombender have not seen any Impossible Mission action since it first came out 25 year ago.

Now enhanced with a modern touch, the quest continues on against Atombender. Added in to the cast of characters are three main folks for you to choose from. Says Epyx CEO, Mark Cale, "We've worked hard to bring Impossible Mission up-to-date whilst keeping the original gameplay that made the game such a hit in the 80s... We're particularly pleased with the handheld version which will ensure this historic game can be enjoyed by a completely new generation of gamers."

Impossible Mission becomes possible on your DS by the second quarter of 2007. In the meantime, you can check out the rest of the screens over at Full Article.

Old school videogames enthusiasts are in for another treat, as System 3 announced today that it will be re-launching the classic Epyx Commodore 64 title, Impossible Mission. The game will feature several special enhancements and will be released for the DS, PSP, PS2 and Wii.

Originally released 25 years ago, Impossible Mission was the first game to use real synthesized speech, an incredible development when first unleashed on the 8-bit formats. The original game included a random game-map system which ensured that no two games were the same. The inclusion of brand new graphics and sound ensures that Impossible Mission is primed to thrill a brand new audience.

  

While there's no Cruise Tom or Rhames Ving in this game (see what I did there?), Impossible Mission does feature new graphics, 3D objects, new sound effects and music. Gameplay remains impressively loyal with the game layout changing for every new game. There are now three main characters to choose from plus a brand new tutorial mode. Players can now chose from three game modes: new, original and for the purist, a hybrid mode with the original gameplay using the updated graphics.

The PSP version includes a new feature which allows players to send a full copy of their game to a friend by wireless so they can try it for themselves. No details yet on what exclusive features the other console releases will have, but you can check out the DS screenshots below for a sneak peek. Impossible Mission is slated for a Q2 release.

DS screenshots after the jump!

System 3, a company known for games like Last Ninja, International Karate, Constructor and Putty, and Myth, has recently announced that 2007 is its 25th anniversary year.

System 3 was launched in 1982 by Mark Cale and Emerson Best. They started out publishing games for the Atari 400/800 machines. Their first ever release was Colony 7 for the Atari 400.

The company intends to celebrate its 25th year of existence by re-launching some of their classic franchises. They plan to launch onto all the new formats with new games from the Epyx cataglogue; California Games and Impossible Mission, and with their most-famous brand Last Ninja.

Epyx, truly one of the great old-school gaming publishers are coming back to the gaming scene after a long hiatus. System 3, who has secured the rights to the Epyx game library, is looking to revamp some of the classics and bring them into the modern day, including Impossible Mission and California Games (which happen to be its first two projects) and the classic Commodore 64 trilogy of The Last Ninja.

January 2007, marks the date that Impossible Mission will be released for the PSP and Nintendo DS, with California Games launching around May 2007 - also for the same two systems. The Wii editions will be released roughly three weeks after this.

California Games, it seems, will be a combo game including unlockable features of Winter Games and Summer Games, whilst Impossible Mission will use the original animations, but with updated backgrounds and the ability to choose characters to play (including a female android agent).

Mark Kale, System 3 founder said in an interview, "You gotta keep the gameplay mechanics the same or else it ceases to be the original game and you're only using the game brand to sell games. It ceases to be Impossible Mission or California Games or what have you. …What we're doing is we're incorporating the original gameplay and mechanics and bringing the gameplay up to date." There is also the trilogy of The Last Ninja coming in April 2007.

Be sure to stayed tuned for more info as it comes to hand.