It never fails. Make a new product that runs software and someone immediately adds chess playing software. But we're not talking just any old products here. We're talking about Wii and Xbox 360, two of the hottest game platforms in the world.

Wii chess, currently available only in Europe, is shown in the accompanying image. By Wii standards, the board display might be a bit bland, but the underlying engine is based on Loop, a state-of-the-art engine that finished third at the 15th World Computer Chess Championship in Amsterdam, June 2007. • Photo: YouTube.

Xbox 360 chess, for the Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), is based on the popular Chessmaster software. Under 'The Art of Learning' title, Chessmaster has also been featured on the Nintendo DS (NDS or DS) and PlayStation Portable (PSP) platforms.

Want more info? See

• Wii Chess (Nintendo): • Screen shots and Review • Video.
  
  
• Xbox 360 Chess (Microsoft): • Screen shots / Preview • Xbox Video.
  
  

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