Sega of America and Sega Europe have announced a new installment in their House of the Dead series, The House of the Dead: Overkill as a Wii exclusive title. The title has evidently been under wraps at the Headstrong Games studio in the UK for several months.

Ports of the coin-op arcade games Ghost Squad and a compilation of House of the Dead 2 and 3 to the Wii have been successful for Sega, so it makes sense that an original House of the Dead title will also do well on Nintendo’s console. In a change from past releases though, Overkill will be the first mainline House of the Dead game not to debut in the arcades. It’s also the first original light gun-style game for the Wii.

All previous House of the Dead titles have been created by in-house development teams at Sega Japan. The fact that this new title is being developed outside of Japan further demonstrates the trend of some Japanese publishers turning to Western developers for both new and established franchises.

Slated for release in early 2009, the game is being billed as a prequel to the existing titles. The setting for Overkill is a small town in Louisiana.

“Paying homage to the pulp horror comics and films that inspired generations of gore fans, The House of the Dead: Overkill will expose gamers to a brand-new fleshy rollercoaster ride of revolting dismemberment,” said Gary Knight, European marketing director at Sega Europe. “This is the hardcore Wii title you’ve been waiting for.”

- Patty Estill