They’ve kept a strictly professional relationship for decades, but Link and Princess Zelda may soon have their Jim and Pam moment.

Men don’t explore dungeons for nothing.

According to the fan site Zelda Universe, the plot in the upcoming Zelda title Skyward Sword includes an openly romantic relationship between the two main characters, a first for the long-running franchise.

Zelda Universe owner Jason Rappaport reports the information is from a Nintendo representative at this week’s E3 expo. According to Rappaport, the romantic link provides a foundation from which the story builds.

Oh, come on. You didn’t notice the flirtatious glances across Lake Hylia?

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More news about ‘Wii 2′ continues to flood the interwebs this week as French news website 01net is reporting that Nintendo’s next home console will be codenamed Project Café and the console’s input device will feature a six inch single input touch screen. 01net cites unnamed sources, but keep in mind that they were the same site that first broke the news of the Sony NGP.

This new console business is really starting to gain some steam. If the touchscreen controller turns out to be true, think of the creative ideas Nintendo must be cooking up. Imagine your next Madden tournament with your friends where each person has there own screen to choose their plays. How about a sequal to Okami where to use the celestial brush you literally must draw the symbol (much like you do in Okamiden) on the controller?

How much credence do you give to this new rumor? Do you think a touchscreen style controller is a good idea? What games would you like to see made with this input method? Did I ask enough questions?

via Joystiq

[updated] links to 01net will be redirected to a google translated page

Wii sales have seen better days. At this time last year, North American Wii sales were second only to Nintendo’s own handheld the DS. Currently,Wii sales have dropped slightly and it seems Nintendo has taken notice.

According to trusted sources over at Engadget, the little white box is about to get a $50 price drop starting May 15th. If true, the price drop may help to put Wii consoles into a few more households that don’t already have one (or two). This will be the second price drop that Wii has seen in North America, the first being in September of 2009.

I can’t say that this rumor means much to me, most everyone I know owns a Wii…well at least everyone I would be willing to spend $150 on anyway.

Does this rumor have you crossing your fingers?

If you enjoyed last year’s revival of the Donkey Kong Country franchise, this may be sad news to you. In a recent interview with Game Informer, Retro Studio’s CEO Michael Kelbaugh told the magazine “I wouldn’t say we won’t do a sequel [for Donkey Kong Country Returns], but we don’t have anything planned at this time.” This surely isn’t an outright confirmation that Donkey Kong Country Returns 2 will never happen, but I surely won’t start holding my breath anytime soon.

Personally I would be alright with Retro being free to work on a different project because the studio is very talented and has so far only worked with two franchises.  Imagine a new Star Fox title developed by the fine people at Retro. My thumbs are twitching just thinking about it.

What Nintendo franchise would you most like Retro to get a hold of?