Trauma Center: New Blood is a simulation video game developed by Atlus for the Wii. The third entry in the Trauma Center series, the game was published in North America in 2007 by Atlus, and in other regions in 2008 by Atlus (Japan) and Nintendo (Europe and Australia). The story follows doctors Markus Vaughn and Valerie Blaylock, each holding a supernatural ability called the Healing Touch, as they face a man-made parasitic virus called Stigma. Gameplay combines surgical simulation with a story told as a visual novel, with operations controlled exclusively using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Development of New Blood began following the completion of Trauma Center: Second Opinion. The North American setting and overall narrative was influenced by the staff of Atlus USA, based on the series' overseas success. Development was supported by Media.Vision. While using many of the systems created for Second Opinion, the staff focused on adding full voice acting and multiplayer. The game met with generally positive reviews; praise was given to its gameplay and cooperative function, but reactions to the story were mixed, and several faulted its high difficulty. It was also described as a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies in North America.