It's been just over 4 months to the day since we first mentioned RTL's forthcoming balance board compatible titles Biathlon 2009 and WinterSports 2009 (also to be published by Conspiracy as Ski and Shoot and Winter Sports 2). The Conspiracy titles are expected to be released in the middle of November and I've been told by RTL that their release date in Germany/Austria/Switzerland is 27th November 2008. Details on these titles are available on the RTL Games website but it is in German so for those of you who don't sprechen Deutsch, here's what you need to know.

RTL Biathlon 2009 / Ski and Shoot

Thanks to it realistic and detailed gameplay, RTL's Biathlon 2009 is set to be the new benchmark in the popular biathlon genre. This third release of the succesful sports series was redeveloped from the ground up with improved graphics, more effects and sounds and optimised control. With five new courses you can enjoy a true winter atmosphere as you challenge real stars of the sport as virtual opponents. With support for both the Wii Balance Board and Wii Zapper, RTL Biathlon 2009 promises an even more intense gaming experience. Other features include:

• A sophisticated single player career mode with extended character management
• 20 different courses in 15 countries
• Thrilling multi-player modes including 4-player hotseat and 2-player splitscreen

RTL WinterSports 2009 / Winter Sports 2

The highly succesful WinterSports series now has a worthy successor in the form of WinterSports 2009 - The Next Challenge which takes the series to new heights. For added variety, two entirely new sports have now been added in the form of Snowboarding and Biathlon. And now with an expanded career mode and a challenging campaign with over 40 missions, you can compete in 18 disciplines in 10 action sports including Alpine Ski, Ski Jump and Bobsledding.

Those of you familiar with Winter Sports: The Ultimate Challenge will be happy to know that the next release of the game will include Wii Balance Board support. Earlier this month I posted an entry about rumours of RTL Winter Sports 2009 and RTL Biathlon 2009 having balance board support and this further confirms that since they are essentially the same games but distrubuted in the US by Conspiracy Entertainment as Winter Sports 2 and Ski and Shoot.

For more details, read the Conspiracy Entertainment press release at betanews.com.

It seems that RTL Sports and development partner, Hamburg-based 49Games, are next to jump on the Wii board express with the announcement that the next versions of their biathlon and winter sports titles will include Wii balance board support.

Details are still sketchy but RTL Biathlon 2009, the cross-country skiing/target shooting game will utilise the Wii board for skiing while RTL Winter Sports 2009 will presumably use the Wii board for numerous events including snowboarding. The games are scheduled for European release in Autumn.