At its Media Summit yesterday, Nintendo of America announced Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii is headed to North American shores later this year.

Mario Super Sluggers is said to follow the same spirit as other sports-themed Mario games on the Wii including Mario Strikers Charged and Mario Kart Wii. The game “blends richly interactive baseball action with eccentric characters and elements from across the popular Mario universe.”

Mario Super Sluggers will expand on the baseball game in Wii Sports. The game will see players swinging the Wii Remote as they would a real baseball bat, twisting it to add spin, or waving it toward the plate to pitch the ball, run and field.

Players will be able to make their characters hit the dirt and dive for a catch by hitting a button while shaking the Wii Remote. The game also includes a special Mario move which sets both the baseball and whoever catches it on fire.

“Mario is truly a one-of-a-kind character; clearly fans can’t get enough of him and his friends,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We’re giving Wii users brilliant new ways to enjoy him while expanding our series of active-play games.”

Japanese gamers will be able to step up to the pitch earlier when the game is released there in June. There are currently no announcements regarding a European release date.