Space Station Tycoon makes Wii more useful … at least it’s not Mario Tycoon

Now this is what I’m talking about. In order for the Wii to survive, it needs quirky games that don’t begin with Mario, Zelda, or Metroid and that at the same time use the Wiimote as it really is — a glorified mouse. Just announced, Space Station Tycoon (from the makers of Outpost Kaloki X on Xbox Live Arcade) is exactly the kind of software that will make the Wii not so much of a doorstop.

The game will be out sometime this summer and sounds to be almost exactly like Outpost. From CVG:

Just like its Xbox counterpart, the focus in this game is on managing your money, investing in building outposts to increase business and, in turn, increase your income.

“The basic goal of building a station to serve customers and some of the economic elements will be very familiar to players of Outpost Kaloki X, but even the basic mechanics, like how customers make their buying decisions, have undergone an overhaul”, Wahoo Studios designer, Jeremy Throckmorton, told IGN.

Now if only the Wii had some sort of functional online ability and we could play others. But hey, with the Wii, you gotta take what you can get, right?