TOMY Corporation and D3Publisher of America have announced that they will indeed be bringing a new incarnation of Clash of the Ninja to the Nintendo Wii. Here are some choice quotes:

“The game will take advantage of the Wii Remote(TM) in fast-paced ninja action for up to four players in nine different gameplay modes[…] For some time we have wanted to give NARUTO fans in North America something they could not find anywhere else, and in NARUTO: Clash of Ninja MVZ we have a game with original, exclusive content that will amaze them,” said Mark Shinohara, executive vice president, TOMY Corporation[…] The next generation in NARUTO games will include all new character animations, new special attack animations and for the first time new interactive environments. Developed by Eighting, NARUTO: Clash of Ninja MVZ takes advantage of the Wii system by allowing players to launch attacks with the Wii Remote using Ninja-like movements, and features special mini-games created exclusively for use with the Wii Remote[…]NARUTO: Clash of Ninja MVZ will include 14 characters — including some that have yet to be featured in the Clash of Ninja game series. The fast-paced ninja action for up to four players will have nine different gameplay modes including Story Mode, Single Player and Multiplayer modes.”

So, 14 characters and a lot of additions. Looks like it might be more than just an expanded upon port of Ninja Taisen 3, I’m thinking it will be more current to the dub anime this time around since there’s only 14 characters. If I had to guess, they might drop Haku and Zabuza to keep the game more current. Of course using the Wii Remote to do Zabuza’s sword swinging could be fun.