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Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime squashes Wii HD rumors... again

by Darren Murph posted Nov 6th 2009 at 12:52PM

Oh, brother. Here we go again. Just over a year after Nintendo's own Reggie Fils-Aime denied the existence of a forthcoming Wii HD, the bigwig is having to make that very same denial again. Naturally, a few new rumors of an HD-enabled Wii have surfaced since that fateful day in October of 2008, and with the recent price drop, it made sense to think that the Big N might actually be looking ahead. Instead, it seems that it's perfectly content selling hundreds of thousands of consoles that want nothing to do with modern amenities like "HDMI," "1080i" and "things that the PS3 and Xbox 360 have offered since day one." The man's exact quote?

"I don't know how forcefully we can say there is no Wii HD."

And Reggie, we don't know how much more forcefully you can continue to break our hearts.

[Via Joystiq]

Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW is your next Wii skate / snowboard controller

by Darren Murph posted Nov 5th 2009 at 11:41AM

Too broke to pay Tony Hawk's royalties on a Wii skateboard / snowboard? Yeah, we feel you, and evidently Thrustmaster does too. Said peripheral outfit has just introduced its newest Wii accessory, the T-Freestyle NW. Designed with work with any skate or snowboard game that lands on Nintendo's money-maker, the board is crafted from genuine maple and sports a totally stereotypical "skull" design on the top. There's also a safety stopper to prevent any sort of toppling disaster, and best of all, this thing will be available at the end of the month for just $29.99. Gnarly, dude.

Gallery: Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW is your next Wii skate / snowboard controller

Continue reading Thrustmaster T-Freestyle NW is your next Wii skate / snowboard controller

Black Wii gets unboxed just in time for the darkest holiday

by Laura June posted Oct 30th 2009 at 6:39PM

Those lucky enough to live in Europe will soon (as in November 6th soon) be able to purchase a special edition of that black Nintendo Wii some of us have been drooling over for the past few months. Sure, it's just a regular Wii... but it's black, which is so much cooler. Well someone's finally gotten their hands on it and done an unboxing, and we have to say that it looks even better than it did in the press shots. The limited edition Black Wii bundle with Wii Sports Resort and a Motion Plus controller will run you around £164.99 in the UK, and those of us in the US? Well, we'll just have to make due with the black controller and nunchuk. There are a few more shots after the break. Hit the read link for the full unboxing and video.

[Thanks, Emilia]

Continue reading Black Wii gets unboxed just in time for the darkest holiday

Family awarded $16.5 million for wrongful death in 'Hold Your Wee for a Wii' contest

by Laura June posted Oct 30th 2009 at 2:29PM

Way back in January of 2007, we reported on the Strange family, who were suing Sacramento radio station KDND-FM for the wrongful death of Jennifer Strange, who was found dead in her home after competing in a contest to try to win a Nintendo Wii. The contest -- "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" -- involved seeing who could drink the most water without urinating, and Jennifer, who did not win, left the studio and later died. Her autopsy later showed signs of water intoxication. Yesterday, a California jury ruled a wrongful death in the case, and ordered Entercom Sacramento LLC, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Entercom Communications Corp., to pay $16.5 million dollars to her family as a result of the actions of the radio station's employees.

Netflix streaming purportedly hitting Nintendo's Wii next

by Darren Murph posted Oct 28th 2009 at 5:24PM

Mmhmm. We see precisely where this is going. First came Microsoft's Xbox 360, then came the PlayStation 3. Now, the beast that is Netflix's "Watch Instantly" is coming to Nintendo's Wii... or that's the scuttlebutt, anyway. According to StreamingMedia, an undisclosed source close to the project has confirmed that the Big N is currently testing Netflix streaming on the Wii, and that it'll be rolled out to the public "very soon." Our initial reaction is to think that "very soon" will translate into "before the holidays," though we all know that only time will tell. But hey, when you've been waiting for this to happen since March, patience comes naturally.

Black Nintendo Wii bundle listed on Amazon UK for £164.99

by Ross Miller posted Oct 27th 2009 at 5:01AM

That black Nintendo Wii bundle Nintendo is gifting to Europe on November 6th has found itself home amongst the Amazon UK listings. Recommended price is £179.99 but the online retailer is knocking off eight percent to make it an event £164.99 -- that's about $269 to the US gamers who still don't have a shot at getting this. What makes it interesting is that the identical bundle in white doesn't have that £15 discount, but Amazon is sweetening the pot with the choice of two free titles, including FIFA10. Of course there's still the £142.99 white, non-bundled Wii for a lot less. Our money's still on the black bundle -- or it would be, at least, if Nintendo would give the US writers on staff, and the country at large, a stab at the new console color.

[Thanks, Ian]

Read - Black Wii bundle with Wii Sports Resort
Read - White Wii bundle with Wii Sports Resort and two free games

Nintendo's Miyamoto: next-gen Wii hardware could be "more compact, cost-efficient"

by Darren Murph posted Oct 23rd 2009 at 2:19PM

There ain't much to glean from Shigeru Miyamoto's recent sit-down with Popular Mechanics, but in the never-ending quest to learn more about Nintendo's next-generation Wii, a few tidbits of interest have been highlighted. Miyamoto, who is responsible for creating the likes of Mario and Zelda (amongst others), spoke at length about current titles, the future of video games as a whole and on his view of the not-yet-named Wii 2. In answering a question about the future of motion-sensing in the Big N's consoles, he ran off topic a bit and noted that "it would be likely that we would try to make that same functionality perhaps more compact and perhaps even more cost-efficient" when speaking about future hardware (which honestly may have been talking strictly about accelerometers). Of course, this is about as predictable as it gets -- hardware tends to always shrink and get cheaper as technology improves -- but hey, there it is! Now, let your imaginations do what they were born to do.

[Via TechRadar]

Nintendo shipping black Wii to Europe in limited edition bundle

by Darren Murph posted Oct 20th 2009 at 10:06AM

Why, Nintendo -- why? Americans have been buying your underpowered, kid-centric console faster than you can ship 'em here for years now, and yet you ignore our innermost desires to see a Wii in some color other than white. Have we not made ourselves clear? Are our voices going unheard? Clearly, you've an ear for those in Europe, as folks in the UK and Ireland will be able to procure a dark Wii starting on November 6th as part of a limited edition bundle that includes Wii Sports Resort and a Wii MotionPlus dongle. The rest of mainland Europe will see the same bundle on November 20th, and as if that wasn't enough, a black Classic Controller Pro and a slew of black Wii accessories will also accompany the package for those looking to stock up. Naturally, there's no mention of a price, but considering that you'll pay anything to join the still-limited black Wii party, it (likely) matters not.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun Wiimote controller: 'nuff said

by Darren Murph posted Oct 16th 2009 at 10:19AM

That, friends, is a darn good representation of what a Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun looks like. And contrary to popular belief, there's no real ammunition in there -- unless you consider the kind required to shoot digital clay pigeons "real munitions." Spotted at a nondescript trade show over in Hong Kong, this here Wii controller actually comes with Wiimote, nunchuck and MotionPlus functionality built right in (wild, right?), so there's no need to slip your own Wii controller in before greasing up your face, jumping in the fatigues and mashing that diminutive power button on your console. Who knows if this thing will actually ship Stateside, but man, can you imagine the line at your local GameStop if it does?

[Thanks, TheLostSwede]

Bona fide exercise bike abuses Wiimote accessory license... badly

by Darren Murph posted Oct 14th 2009 at 7:40AM

See that up there? That's an exercise bike. And a Wii. Amazingly enough, there's a strong correlation between the two, and unless the entire world is being pranked here, BigBen interactive is actually looking to ship a "full-size" Wiimote-compatible fitness machine with its next game. We can't even fathom how quickly this thing is bound to fall apart (or how absurdly expensive it'll be if there's even a smidgen of quality), but we're more than anxious to learn of an MSRP. Now, if only Ford would pump out a Wiimote-friendly Focus to use in the next installment of Mario Kart, we'd be set.

[Via Joystiq]

Nintendo finally confirms new $199 Wii price

by Paul Miller posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 10:25PM

After being stuck so long at $249, we can hardly believe the Wii is "pulling a PS3" and going down in price at last -- outside of the insurmountable mountains of evidence we had of the price drop before Nintendo could get around to confirming it, of course. The console will begin retailing for $199.99 (~$200 for us math types) on September 27, which is this Sunday.

Update: The Wii will fall to ¥20,000 in Japan, which represents a 20 percent drop.

Update 2: Looks like those of you getting paid in Euros will be asked to shell out €199.99.

[Via Joystiq]

Video: WODE module allows disc-free, wide-open, heavy metal Wii gaming

by Tim Stevens posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 8:41AM

What you see above is not a Tibetan sky burial for a dearly departed console, nor an attempt at extremely modern art. It's a Wii that has been... augmented with a Linux-running module called the Wii Optical Disc Emulator, or WODE. It clips onto the system board where the machine's optical drive should go and allows it to read Wii and GameCube ISOs directly from USB storage devices. It sports a small LCD and four-way joystick for setting options and scrolling through your assuredly legally acquired game images, while a future iteration is said to allow for direct-to-device torrent downloads -- a feature that we won't even bother to say could be used for anything other than piracy. There's no mention of availability or price for the thing, but we're guessing it won't be showing up in retail storefronts. Oh, and while the Sisters of Mercy track accompanying the video after the break is totally awesome, it is rather unsafe for work. So, put on those headphones before clicking through.

Continue reading Video: WODE module allows disc-free, wide-open, heavy metal Wii gaming

Wii price drop confirmed: $199 starting this weekend

by Darren Murph posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 11:20PM

The rumors were true, and Nintendo's knight in shining armor is finally about to see its first-ever price drop. For nearly three years now, the console has sold briskly at $249.99, but beginning on September 27th at Best Buy (and everywhere else, naturally), the happy-go-lucky machine will be offered for just $199.99. Interestingly, it appears that suits at BB expect Nintendo to make an official announcement on the drop this Friday, yet retail stores won't begin selling at the discounted rate until Sunday. Something tells us that won't go over well, but we guess we've but a few days left 'til we find out exactly how the Big N plans to play this.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Update: Thanks to yet another anonymous source, we've even more proof that a $199.99 Wii is coming. A crystal clear Toys 'R Us flyer confirms the price after the break, though what's curious is the confirmation that the new price won't go into effect until Sunday, September 27th. It should be interesting to see if Nintendo really announces a price drop two days before retailers actually axe the MSRP, but with this free t-shirt that you get from TRU, we'd suggest just holding off. We mean, it's a Nintendo t-shirt!

Continue reading Wii price drop confirmed: $199 starting this weekend

Nintendo confirms $199 Wii for September 27?

by Paul Miller posted Sep 20th 2009 at 6:10AM

It might sound confusing at first, but it all makes sense, we promise. The folks at Nintendojo were apparently on a retailer conference call where Nintendo "confirmed" the new $199 Wii price, which will supposedly go into effect on Sunday September 27. Only problem is that we have to take Nintendojo's word for it -- not that we have any reason not to, but for now we'll have to just call this an "unconfirmed confirmation" until Nintendo can summon the courage to fess up to the $50 price cut to a couple of corroborating sources. It's not like those multiple flyer price leaks are knocking anybody off the trail, but we usually to hear these things from the horse's mouth -- or at least from a retailer's shelf -- before we go into all-out celebration mode.

[Via GoNintendo]

$199 Nintendo Wii spotted in Best Buy ad?

by Ross Miller posted Sep 18th 2009 at 6:40PM

First there was an alleged Toys R Us ad, and now we've caught wind of what's claimed to be a Best Buy spot showing the Nintendo Wii getting that long-desired $50 price drop, down just below the two Benjamin mark. Easily Photoshopped image? You betcha, so we'll just have to play wait-and-see as the evidence seems to mount up -- it's been a long time coming, after all, we wouldn't be that surprised given the oncoming holiday season and the recent downward trend in demand.