Chavo Del Ocho Coming to a Wii Near You

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 02: Satoru Iwata, Nintendo Co., Ltd., global president, presents the Nintendo DSi system at the Nintendo media briefing on opening day of the 2009 E3 Expo on June 2, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The 2009 E3 Expo will feature over 200 leading-edge computer, technology and video game publishers and developers, according to organizers. The industry-only trade show runs June 2-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC). (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) (2009 Getty Images)

Proof of the character's enduring popularity, El Chavo del Ocho will have his own video game, coming soon to a Nintendo Wii console near you, as part of the month long celebration that will mark 40 years for the beloved orphan of "La Vecindad."

According to La Prensa Grafica, the "El Chavo del Ocho" game will be based on the classic characters created by Mexican comedian Roberto Gomez Bolaños, who is also known as "Chespirito."

Bolaños created the television character, "El Chavo", played by Bolaños himself, in 1971. The show centered around a young orphaned boy who made his home in a barrel in the courtyard of a Mexican apartment complex.

The game is designed to be played by the entire family and can accommodate one to four players who will participate in approximately 30 mini skill games, such as pozole-eating competitions, piñata breaking, and balloon wars, among others. Characters that players will be able to select to represent them during game play include El Chavo, Kiko, la Popis and Ñoño.

"El Chavo del Ocho" for Wii cost $3 million to develop and is the first video game to be made in Mexico. The game will be available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and is set to be released the second week of March in 2012, simultaneously to Chavito fans across Latin America, the United States and Canada.

Tracy López is a bilingual writer living outside the DC Metro area and the founder of Latinaish.com.