The Oregon Trail mozies on over to Wii for a fine 'n dandy price of $20

Well, I reckon that there's a bargain. The fine fellers at Destructoid found that The Oregon Trail has taken a likin' ta ye olde Nintendo Wii console. (Is that annoying yet? Fine, we'll stop.) The game, developed by DoubleTap Games and published by Red Wagon Games under license by--who else?--The Learning Company, will hit stores on Dec. 9 for the budget price $19.99.

At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.

This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)

Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!

[Via Mashable]

Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?