Contra ReBirth footage surfaces, US release still up in the air

Earlier this week, Contra ReBirth arrived on the Japanese WiiWare channel, and wouldn't you know it, tons of footage has been loosed into the wild (opening intro/first level after the break). While we'd love to get our hands on the title, we're not quite sure when it's landing on US shores. Last year, however, Konami set a precedent with Gradius ReBirth (released this year in the US) that we're likely to see repeated with Contra.

So we asked Nintendo of America what it had to say about the title and a representative told us, "A US release date has not been confirmed." He did, however, remind us that "A US release hasn't been confirmed either." While we'd be shocked if it never showed up over here, if anything, it's going to take quite a while. After all, it took nearly six months for Gradius ReBirth to hit the US WiiWare channel. Unfortunately, as of publishing, a Konami rep has yet to return our call.