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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

'Baby and Me' special edition includes Wiimote-ready doll

by Paul Miller posted Nov 2nd 2009 at 4:51PM

A new, janktastic Wii title dubbed Baby and Me (not to be confused with the new 50 Cent song, "Baby by Me") is shipping in limited quantities as a special edition that actually includes a doll "accessory" in the box. The regular game is designed to work with the Wiimote attached to any old doll, but in case your child is looking for a premium fake baby experience, we suppose this special edition is the way to go. The actual game play includes motion sensitive baby-rocking, Balance Board support for teaching the child avatar to walk, and the sound of gurgles and burps output through the Wiimote's built-in speaker. It sounds exactly like caring for a real child.

[Via Switched]

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.

Nintendo profits sink on declining console sales, weak game selection

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 29th 2009 at 6:18AM

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Nintendo just announced that its interim net profit was cut by more than half to ¥69.49 billion (about $770 million), from ¥144.83 billion last year at this time -- figures that won't be helped by the cheaper Wii price tag announced at the end of September. Speaking of which, Nintendo sold only 5.75 million Wii consoles from April to September (down 43% from last year) and cut its full year sales forecast for the April 09 to March 2010 period to 20 million units, down from an expected 26 million. DS sales were also off 15% from last year and we doubt that a bigger screen on the new DSi LL model will change that dramatically.

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.

Houston newscaster dictates slide transitions, goes bowling with Wiimote

by Darren Murph posted Oct 28th 2009 at 3:14PM

We're not sure who's winning the ratings war in Houston, but we're going to give the upper-hand to KHOU based on these shots alone. As you can clearly see in the image above (and the enlarged versions there in the gallery), this newscaster is wielding a Wiimote. It's hard to say if the news station actually has their slide transitions setup to change with a swing of the controller, or if weather map zooming is handled with something typically used for gaming, but one thing's for darn sure -- lightning rounds of Wii bowling during commercial breaks are definitely happening.

[Thanks, Edmar]

Update: Whoa, looks like this was indeed the real deal. Check the details here!

Gallery: Houston newscaster dictates slide transitions, goes bowling with Wiimote

British NHS lauds Wii Fit Plus for flabby bum-busting potential

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 27th 2009 at 2:57PM

You know, we've been pretty skeptical about the whole "fit" part of the "Wii Fit" phenomenon, and for good reason: as studies have shown, the health benefits of gaming, whether you're sitting, standing, or faux-bowling, are minimal at best. Still, for a number of consumers at home and abroad, the game conjures up notions of leading an active lifestyle. So perhaps it is no surprise, as the Telegraph reports, that Britain's National Health Service is using it to promote its Change4Life initiative -- even going so far as to allow the company to append the Change4Life logo on its upcoming Wii Fit Plus release. And how about those who cry foul -- specifically, those who point out that the deal includes Nintendo shelling out money to help promote the NHS-funded program. See how one might get the idea that this is a "pay to play" affair? To the government's credit, it does stress that it's endorsing an exercise, not a video game system. "Active video games, where kids need to jump up and down or dance about as part of the game, are a great way to get kids moving," a spokesperson said. Rob Saunders, the British spokesman for Nintendo, had this to say: "If you are worried about your bingo wings or your flabby bum, the game will give you specific exercises to target those areas." Bingo wings? Flabby bums? Why didn't you say so in the first place?

[Via Yahoo]

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]

Giveaway: Win one of ten very special pink Nyko Kamas for Wii!

by Laura June posted Oct 16th 2009 at 5:46PM

Hey there, happy Friday! We here at Engadget love giving things away, as you probably already know... and today we have something very special for our dear, beloved readers. Nyko's graciously provided us with 10 very special pink Kama wireless nunchuks for the Wii (which should go very nicely with those just-unveiled Wii Wands). These Kamas aren't available to purchase -- so if you win, you'll be one of a very select few to own them, which is always nice to hear, right? Read the full rules after the break, and get commenting to win! Good luck.

Huge thanks to Nyko for providing the gear!

Continue reading Giveaway: Win one of ten very special pink Nyko Kamas for Wii!

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]

Nyko Wii Wands get a dash of color

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 16th 2009 at 6:36AM

Just as Nintendo finally decides to bring some of that noir goodness over to the US, Nyko pops up with no less than four new colorways for its Wand Wii remote. We're no anthropologists here, but we reckon one of these new options will do a lot better in sales than the other three. All the same, with Nintendo furnishing Japan with blue and pink Wiimotes, Nyko has played it safe and followed suit. These should be hitting Walmart right about now with an MSRP of $29.99, so look out for them at your next government-sponsored Wii bowl-a-thon.