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AMR Racing brightens up the Balance Board
If the cold, hard, infinitely white surface of the Balance Board has you too scared to jump back on the Wii FIt bandwagon, a solution has been found. AMR Racing has thrown together a few snazzy little cover designs, so if you're gonna be staring at the Balance Board while doing pushups, you may as well stare at a Hoochie Mama.Each cover will set you back around US$20, which might just be a small price to pay to cover up the current gross state of your Balance Board. Check out the full range over at Amazon -- or, if you are a British chap or chapette, Amazon UK.%Gallery-4745%
Joystiq busts kickflips with Skate It
Our most cruel and unmerciful bosstypes over at Joystiq managed to try out EA's upcoming Wii port, Skate It. While they commented that the game does require a bit more concentration than your usual casual romp on the Wii, overall the whole thing was fairly easy to pull off. As you can see in the controls diagram below, it doesn't look easy. But, in action, it's more intuitive than you may think.Be sure to head over to Joystiq and read the rest of their feet-on impression of Skate It.%Gallery-27077%
All-Star Cheer Squad does Wii rhythm gaming 'better than Konami has'
All-Star Cheer Squad may be a cheerleading game intended for young, "casual" players, but it doesn't sound like THQ and developer Gorilla Games have made a dumbed-down experience at all. If anything, it sounds more complicated than non-cheerleaders can handle, delivering a multifaceted motion-controlled rhythm game that, according to IGN's Mark Bozon, "(pulls) off the DDR-like experience on Wii better than Konami has."Movements scroll by from right to left, and players are to maneuver the Wiimote and nunchuk into each position when the movement hits the middle of the screen. The game doesn't just judge successful motions, it also awards points for successfully "locking in" each pose (presumably holding still in the target position for a short time). If that's not enough, you can get the Balance Board out and add various step positions to the mix. Cheer Squad even includes a routine editor that can save custom routines to the Wiimote.We've never had any interest in cheerleading, but as a premise for a rhythm-action video game, it sounds surprisingly fun.
Joystiq feet-on: Skate It
What to do with the balance board now that you're totally fit? Well, you could ... skate it. We'll confess that stepping onto the yoga mat-turned-skateboard for the first time was intimidating. The original Skate taught us that even fake skaters have to practice their cool (and sent posers packing in the process) -- and that was just thumbs! Putting our body in the spotlight at a recent "feet-on" event that featured EA's Wii spin-off, Skate It, was another reminder that what looks easy on TV is just a carefully orchestrated illusion. Thankfully, our play session didn't end in a faceplant.%Gallery-26983%
JoWood preparing a Wii Yoga workout
European publisher JoWood has announced that, along with new development partner Tivola (publisher of the great-looking Music Monstars on the DS), they're creating a yoga game for the Wii. The name: Wii Yoga. There are no specific details about the game yet (except those evident from the title), but it is planned for a "second quarter 2009" release in Europe, and it uses the Balance Board.No information has been released about a possible American release, but a Wii Yoga game was among the titles revealed in the massive Intellisponse leak a few weeks back, which suggests that Activision or Disney may be releasing the game. Or that another game called Wii Yoga is planned, which isn't that unlikely given the completely, plainly obvious nature of the title.
Revolutionary: Synaesthetic
This week I wanted to take on scripting for an indie game, and one that came in high regard was Synaesthete. I didn't know much about it when I first tried it out, except that it was a cross-breed of rhythm games and action shooters, and I was hopeful that it would lend itself to the Wii experience as well as the last rhythm hybrid I tried out. One level was all it took to start the script-writing cogs turning in my head, and after much experimentation, I wound up with a script that dynamically changes what makes this brilliant game so fun to play. At first, nothing about Synaesthete makes it scream out that it was born for Wii, but ultimately, the addition of Wii controls has made this game my new addiction. I truly believe that a Wii port of this title would be hailed as the "next big thing."
Rumor: Activision making their own peripheral for next Tony Hawk
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Activision_making_their_own_skateboard_peripheral'; According to the latest issue of EGM, the next Tony Hawk title might not be utilizing the Balance Board after all. Instead, Activision has supposedly been thinking about putting out their own peripheral to interact with the game, bundling it with the upcoming title. Something that boggles our mind is the mentioning that Neversoft would not be developing the next Tony Hawk game. Considering that Neversoft produced a long-standing series from scratch and sustained it for many iterations, we'd be hard-pressed to think that Activision would take them off of the franchise. But, hey, that's just us. Many games are using Nintendo's Balance Board, including rival skateboarding franchise Skate It from EA. Do you want to know more about Nintendo's peripheral? Watch this instructional video and be sure to check out our own Mike Sylvester's fun with it in his Revolutionary feature series.
Dance Hula Together on the Wii
The next Boogie is only rumored to include Balance Board support, but a dancing game is coming out in Japan that features a style perfect for the Wii Fit peripheral: hula. That's right, you'll now be able to seductively wiggle those hips of yours and call it a game. So many Japanese Wii owners have Wii Fit that we don't see userbase being an issue, as the peripheral will be required (not optional) to play this title.Keep in mind, though, that the game's publisher (Milestone) didn't officially announce Hula Wii: Minna de Hula wo Odorou (Dance Hula Together); a listing was discovered on a Japanese online retailer's site, revealing the release date as September 25th.
Man uses Wii Balance Board to control robot, takes aim at Segway next
It may never garner quite the same broad appeal among DIYers as the incredibly versatile Wiimote, but it looks like the Wii Balance Board is nonetheless spurring on some hackery of its own, including being used as a navigation device for Google Earth and World of Warcraft. While those hacks are certainly impressive enough, the board has only just recently fully earned its DIY cred by being used to control a robot, which you can see in action after the break. What's more, the man responsible for that hack, Juan González, isn't about to rest on his laurels, with him now promising to create a Segway-like device that's controlled simply using the Wii Balance Board. Needless to say, we'll be keeping an eye out for any progress on that one.Read - Balance Board Blog, "Wii Balance Board used to control robot"Read - Balance Board Blog, "Man developing Wii Balance Board Segway - Robosurfing"
Boogie sequel asks the ladies to shake it [update]
We're totally serious, gals, and it's being made just for you. Aren't you happy? Wait, you didn't play the first game? That's probably a good thing!We're surprised such a decision has been made for another Boogie game, which is titled Boogie SuperStar, considering how horribly the game sold on both the DS and Wii. And now it's being made with the fairer gender in mind, as well. So, we guess they're building something. Oh, and for those of you looking for Balance Board support, it's still a rumor. We do expect EA to go that route, however. But, that's just, like, our personal opinion.Update: Screens!%Gallery-26240%[Via Joystiq]
Wii Wheel + Balance Board = racing simulator
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Revolutionary_WRX_Stage_1'; Nintendo Wii Fanboy's code monkey extraordinaire, Mike Sylvester, stuns us again. His latest Revolutionary column is a step-by-step process of turning the Wii balance board and Wii wheel into a racing simulator, with the aid of GlovePIE and a PC version of Need for Speed ProStreet. Feel free to try this at home.
Revolutionary: WRX Stage 1
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Revolutionary_WRX_Stage_1'; The training wheel project got me thinking about what more it would take to create a Wii racing rig that's as comprehensive as a traditional wheel and pedal gaming setup. The Wii Wheel provides analog control for steering, but not throttle and braking. The Wheel shell also blocks off the expansion port, so you can't use a Nunchuk's analog stick. It seemed like there was just no way to build a full set of racing controls around the Wii Wheel, but then I got my Balance Board and the wheels started turning in my head. How about a Wii Racing Xperiment?
EA dishes out new Skate It screens
Click for larger image Those of you waiting to step on the Balance Board and bust some kickflips with EA's port Skate It later this year, we've got a treat for you. Some fresh screens from the title have just hit our gallery below, joining the rest of our collection. In these new screens, you'll see the usual stuff: some dude is skating on stuff. Being big fans of skateboarding as a whole, as well as fans of Skate, which totally killed the Tony Hawk franchise in our eyes, you can bet we're pumped to try out this with the Balance Board.%Gallery-22799%
Rabbids crash Euro 2008
The Rabbids are funny. It's especially funny when they get into situations where freaky white blob animals aren't the norm. Like, a soccer game. This latest teaser for Raving Rabbids TV Party shows one particular Rabbid getting in a bit of trouble after crashing the field at Euro 2008.Kudos goes out to Ubisoft for putting together great little teaser films like this. Video game advertising can sometime get a little stale, and originality ensures gamers continue hitting that play button. The Rabbids can tease better than pretty much anyone else.%Gallery-23883%
Bodysurf: Audiosurf meets the Balance Board
Those of you who aren't big PC fans might not know what Steam is. It's Valve's distribution service for PC games, demos, and has quite the large community of gamers supporting it. If your PC can handle it, we suggest you check it out.One of its most popular titles available is Audiosurf. We've touched on the game before, but never really went in-depth with it. Now, Evan Jones has gone ahead and hacked the game to include support for the Balance Board. It's pretty damn cool, if you ask us. Check out his work in the video above.[Via Joystiq]
Wii Move becomes waaaaay more disturbing
If the previous trailer is anything to go by, the upcoming WiiWare "game' Wii Move looks a little on the ... odd side. We're telling you right now -- you ain't seen nothing yet. In fact, the newest video is so completely bonkers, it needs a NSFW rating. Yeah, keep it on the down low.So ... cool. How to be objective about this? The graphics are simple, it will feature online play, and the Balance Board can be used to create your own moves. Moves like ... burning a topless man with candle wax! Arrrgh! This is nuts!Let's cut to the chase. Seems like a big box of fake. More specifically, it seems like a giant crater of awesome. Here's hoping Wii Move turns out to be more messed up than anyone could ever imagine!
1080 developer confirms Balance Board game
Long-time 1080 Snowboarding fans take heed -- Giles Goddard is hard at work creating a new WiiWare game. The main programmer for the Nintendo 64 classic is leading development with Vitei (those crazy Theta guys), and he confirmed to Cubed3 that the game will utilize the capabilities of the Balance Board.Must be another bodacious snowboarding game, then? Well, there's no indication that the unnamed game will feature snowboarding, and there isn't much room for crazy speculation after he states "games you would think would work well with the Balance Board actually don't." Maybe, maybe not. Not to worry -- the mystery game will be released in Japan as soon as September, so details should be on the way super soon.
Rumor: PS3 may see Wii Fit-esque balance board for Tony Hawk
It looks like game developers and publishers are trying to think up of new peripherals to put in our households. Surveys have revealed possible gameplay features, and the most recent comes from Activision. A marketing survey asked if users were interested in a new Tony Hawk game that will use a "new motion sensing board controller." The title, Tony Hawk's Adrenaline, will be available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. A motion sensing board reminds us quite a bit of NIntendo's Wii Fit board. Implementing such a design for a skateboarding game would certainly be interesting.Surveys aren't necessarily indicative of products that are actually in development. Instead, Activision may simply be testing the waters to see if such ideas would do well in the marketplace. Considering how much fun Wii Fit is, we wouldn't say no to such a peripheral for PS3.[Via Joystiq]
Surf through Azeroth on a Wii Balance Board
The starting zones in World of Warcraft are incredibly bleak and terrifying locales. Spend five minutes in one of these wastelands, and you're bound to see some half-naked adventurers begging for "teh g0ldenz", or people ruthlessly butchering all manner of local wildlife in search of some nice pants. At the very least, you'll see an uncoordinated young player, desperately a-jigglin' about as he tries to understand the game's controls.However, perhaps there's something more to this clumsy rookie than an unfamiliarity with the WASD keys -- perhaps he's one half of an eccentric pair of German researchers who have grown fascinated with Nintendo's latest peripheral, the Balance Board. Perhaps he's demonstrating for a rapt YouTube audience how the board can be used to tool around Azeroth with the grace of an overweight alpaca, and would serve little use in the game's "high stress" situations. Then again, perhaps he's just fantastically drunk.
Traveling through Azeroth with the Balance Board
If you remember their last video, these two chaps from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence Center demonstrated a hack for the Balance Board enabling them to travel through Google Earth and Second Life with the peripheral. In this video, the two have modified the board to control movement in another virtual world -- World of Warcraft. The Warcraft portion doesn't appear until the 44-second mark, and you can't really do much with the Balance Board save walk around, so don't expect to take down any high-level elite mobs or lead a raid with the hack. But it's still cool to see non-traditional uses for the expensive peripheral! For more Balance Board mods, stay tune for our own Mike Sylvester's Wii Racing Experiment![Via Massively]
