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Nintendo posts half-year net loss, a first in seven years
After three years of record earnings, the mighty house that Mario built is reporting a net loss of ¥2.01 billion ($25 million) in the fiscal first half ending 30 September versus a profit of ¥69.49 billion a year earlier. In addition to the adverse affects suffered under a strong yen, Nintendo's sales for the first half of its fiscal year were down 35 percent to ¥363.16 billion due to lower demand for its Wii console. According to the Wall Street Journal, this represents Nintendo's first net loss in the fiscal first half in the last seven years. The future outlook is pretty grim too with Nintendo forecasting an annual profit drop to the lowest level in six years as Wii console sales decline for the second year in a row. Ouch.
Nintendo sees Apple as bigger threat than Microsoft and Sony
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has made a point in recent keynotes to mention the fact that the iPhone and iPod touch are the world's best selling portable gaming devices, well ahead of longtime champion Nintendo. Nintendo America president Reggie Fils-Aime has acknowledged the threat and sees Apple as a bigger problem for his company than either Microsoft or Sony. While hardcore gamers generally prefer the higher-powered Xbox and PlayStation platforms, far more consumers have bought into the casual gaming approach enabled by Nintendo's Wii and DS. The high quality and easy-to-play-in-short-burst games available on Apple's handheld devices combined with their wireless capabilities have made them even more compelling than Nintendo's offerings. At first unconcerned, Nintendo's anxiety gradually grew into Reggie Fils-Aime's admission. So far, the Apple incursion into the gaming space has mostly hurt the DS, but that could soon change. The surge in popularity of the new generation Apple TV could end up taking a big bite out of the Wii. Since the Apple TV runs on iOS and has already been jailbroken, the expectation is that, before long, Apple will make an app market available for the set top device. When that happens, we are likely to see games running on it that could possibly feature Wii-style motion controls for use with the iPhone or iPod. [Via Joystiq]
Netflix on Wii drops the clunky disc requirement, starts streaming through Wii Menu
It's not just the PS3 that will be doing its Netflix streaming disc-free from today: the Wii is joining in the fun as well! Americans and Canadians alike will be able to download and install Netflix from the Wii Shop Channel, provided they've signed up for a subscription of $8.99 (C$7.99 in Canada) or above. Notably, over three million Wii consoles are said to have been hooked up with Netflix since the service launched back in April, and this step should make that number grow even larger. Only question is what we're all going to do with those three million redundant discs now. We can't turn them all into coasters, any ideas?
Shinobii's table tennis bat for Wii hitting shelves soon for $70
Remember that prototype Wii tablet tennis controller that was reviewed (and adored) recently? You know -- the one that had no official maker and no official release date? Turns out that very device is made by Shinobii Technologies, and the outfit is finally coming clean with a bona fide version that's suitable for public release. The TT Champion Bat is said to be a true 1:1 replica of an actual table tennis paddle in both size and weight, and the electronics required to interact with the Wii console are all integrated; in other words, this is your Wiimote when playing a tennis or ping pong title. There's also a rechargeable battery within to keep things humming along, and best of all, it'll soon be available online and at traditional video game retailers throughout the EU and North America for $69.99. Hello, stocking stuffer. %Gallery-105235%
Wii Vitality Sensor detailed in patent application, fires righteous beams of light
How does Nintendo's oft-delayed Wii Vitality Sensor work? According to a new patent filing, it's actually quite simple -- the unit fires infrared light right at your fingertip and reports how much passes through, just like the pulse oximeters the pros use. Games then translate the result to the unfortunately-named "relax fluid" number, which is the Vitality Sensor's equivalent of your Brain Age -- the more fluid you've got, the calmer you are. It's also allegedly sensitive enough to detect when you're breathing just by measuring the changes in your fingertip, as evidenced by a concept game where you have to closely adjust your inhaling and exhaling to get an avatar safely through a tunnel without hitting the presumably deadly walls. And now you know.
Nintendo Wii turns red with glee for Super Mario's 25th anniversarii
First of all, put away those credit cards, American readers, this is so far a Japan-only affair. Nintendo's celebrations of Mario's 25th birthday are extending beyond custom DSi and DSi LL consoles to a repainted Wii machine and a pretty sweet bundle to go with it. The sporty red number above includes one of the newfangled Wii Remote Plus controllers -- which can do MotionPlus tracking without the additional appendage -- along with a similarly rouged-up nunchuck, and, perhaps best of all, a preinstalled copy of Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary Edition. That's still the game you know and love, but it now comes with bricks embellished with the number 25 on the front. You'll catch a screenshot after the break, while the Japanese audience can expect the tasty bundle to drop on November 11 for ¥20,000 ($241). Hey, if you really want it that bad, you've got a whole month to figure out an import strategy.
Capcom dishes the dirt on its Nintendo 3DS graphics
According to a recent Capcom investor Q&A, it looks like the company's upcoming Nintendo 3DS games will be developed using the MT Framework -- the same game engine used for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii titles. This means that graphics features like "HDR lighting, real-time color correction, self-shadowing, normal mapping, depth of field and motion blur" will be making their way to your handheld -- whenever it should become available. Hit the source link to see several examples featuring the upcoming Resident Evil: Revelations (or, as it's known in Japan, Biohazard: Revelations) and prepare to enter a virtual wonderworld of machine translated tech details regarding game development. You're welcome.
Two universities adopt Wii Fit to monitor football concussions
As it turns out, there are quite a few uses for a $100 off-the-shelf computerized scale, above and beyond getting fit -- Nintendo's Wii Balance Board is now providing a mechanism by which college football teams at Ohio State University and the University of Maryland can cheaply determine whether players are suffering from concussions. Taking the place of force plate machines that can cost tens of thousands of dollars, the white plastic boards measure students' balance (using yoga poses) and coordination (in Table Tilt) before a game, to provide a frame of reference against which trainers can measure whether athletes are fit to keep playing. Though some scholars found Wii Fit didn't stack up favorably against the expensive force plates, the universities trialing the system called it "pretty decent," so the question is whether Nintendo's peripheral offers a reasonable enough benchmark for the price. We suppose the American Heart Association liked it well enough.
THQ's uDraw GameTablet is like a Wacom for Wii (video)
Art games on consoles tend to be unpopular creations, Mario Paint about the only one to even approach retail success, but maybe all they needed was a proper input method. That's what THQ is hoping, at least, announcing the uDraw GameTablet for the Nintendo Wii. It's a chubby, pencil-like stylus tethered to a tablet that connects wirelessly to the console thanks to the Wiimote that slots right in. The tablet comes with a drawing game called uDraw Studio, while THQ is also working on an artsy platformer called Dood's Big Adventure and a digital version of Pictionary, which could be this thing's killer app. (You can catch a glimpse of them all in action in the video after the break.) The tablet will cost $69.99 when it ships by the end of the year, while games will be a rather more affordable $29.99. THQ also promises more games to come through 2011, but we're guessing their release is somewhat contingent on just how many little Picassos find these in their stockings this holiday season.
Wii Classic Controller Pro gets gilded for revamped GoldenEye 007
Alright, gamers -- time to fess up. Even if you're a self-proclaimed new schooler, there's no way you're passing up the option to flash back to yesteryear in order to play GoldenEye 007 the way it was meant to be played. The Wii remake of the game actually doesn't look all that different than the original when it comes to polygon count, but for those who aren't keen on taking control of Pierce Brosnan (let us dream, okay?) with a Wiimote, there's the gilded Classic Controller Pro. The limited run controller itself is a familiar beast, but rather than being coated in a standard black hue, this one will be doused in much the same color as 007's Golden Gun. It'll reportedly ship later this year within a "Classic Edition" game + accessory bundle for $69.99 (a $20 upcharge over the software alone), but it's still unclear if it'll be available as a standalone peripheral. Not like it matters -- you know you're buying this game, anyway.
Nintendo posts Q1 loss on strong Yen and lower DS prices
Although foreshadowed, it's hard to believe that the once mighty Ninty, a company with unshakable profits even during last year's global economic downturn, just recorded a Q1 net loss of ¥25.22 billion ($288 million) compared to a net profit of ¥42.32 billion during the same 3-month period a year earlier. Revenues dropped from ¥253.50 billion to ¥188.65 billion. Lower DS portable gaming machine prices coupled with a strong Yen (86.5 percent of its sales were outside of Japan) helped pull Nintendo into the red. Regardless, Nintendo continues to forecast a full year net profit of ¥200 billion on revenue of ¥1.4 trillion. We'll see.
Nintendo 'not satisfied' with online efforts, but no big changes in store
Le sigh. For years now, Nintendo's online efforts have quite clearly lagged behind those of Sony and Microsoft, both of which have placed a priority on nailing online multiplayer and making it part of the draw for prospective buyers. Xbox LIVE is a entire universe of online goodies, and it's the exception rather than the rule to see a major title launch on the 360 sans online play; in many ways, Sony sings a similar tune. Nintendo, meanwhile, seems to keep online play on the back burner, occasionally throwing it in where it's easy enough to add but never really going out of its way to make sure the latest AAA title will allow Bobby and Jacky to play from across the street. During an investors meeting last week at E3, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confessed that he's "not currently satisfied with the online efforts that we have made so far," and that the Big N is "working at ways to improve those." In an episode of corporate double-speak to end all corporate double-speak, he followed up with this gem: "On the other hand, I do not think that online functionality is something that we should be devoting resources to for every single product." Seriously, Iwata? You can't think of a single reason why the next installment of Balls of Fury could benefit from online support? For shame.
Nintendo explains Vitality Sensor's absence at E3: show was too 'loud and stressful'
At E3 this year we were absolutely sure that Nintendo would finally release the details of its finger-trapping peripheral, the Vitality Sensor. The company revealed the thing the year prior and, well, it sure seemed like time to make it official. But, that didn't happen, and Nintendo's Cammie Dunaway (star of the 2009 Vitality Sensor reveal) told Game Set Watch why: there was just too much other stuff. Yes, Nintendo "had a really packed agenda" and was too busy showing off another Metroid sequel, another Zelda sequel and, shocker, another Kid Icarus sequel to make room for something that is actually new. She continues that E3 is "noisy and adrenaline-filled, and loud and stressful, and it just didn't seem like the best environment to introduce a product that's really about relaxing." So, here we are, left sitting alone, index fingers coldly exposed to the elements, forced to find other ways to relax on our own.
Wii2HDMI does what its name indicates -- no more, no less
Just in case you can no longer stand your Wii hogging a component (or God forbid, composite) input, Wii2HDMI has come to the rescue as an easy plugin that gives you a digital connection. Of course, that's really all it does -- there won't be any 720p Wii gaming courtesy of this add-on, just the same old 480p you're used to. We're sure there's a setup or two that might benefit from something like this, but everyone else can just keep moving 'till the Wii HD -- or maybe Wii 3D -- arrives.
Modder transmits Wii games to iPod touch, which isn't really as fun as it sounds (video)
Three years ago, a certain obiwan22222 wowed us when he played Wii on his PSP (with a little help from Sony's LocationFree technology). For his next trick, our man has done the same thing on an iPod touch. But wait, you ask -- is there a LocationFree client for iPhone / iPod touch? We don't think so, so we've pinged him for an explanation. He's being extremely tight-lipped about it all, saying only that 1) this is not fake, 2) he got rid of the five second lag, and 3) all will be revealed "soon enough" (that is, once we've been tortured enough). If anything, we can certainly respect a man with a flair for showmanship! In the meantime, check out the video after the break. We'll let you know as soon as we hear back from the dude.
Wii Rowing Machine aims to sculpt abs, achieves belly laughs (video)
CTA strikes again! The company known for its unorthodox (and rather silly) game controllers is back with a plastic drawbar / foot pedal combo that is supposed to be "very similar to a rowing machine you would find at the gym," although we highly doubt it. Designed for games like Wii Sports Resort and Jillian Michaels' Angry Sports Resort, this is something that would probably only enter your home as an ill-considered Christmas gift before gathering dust in the back of a closet, alongside your Bowling Ball and Football controllers. But we must admit, even if the company's products are dubious, its infomercials are an endless source of entertainment. See for yourself after the break. As for the rowing machine, it's up for pre-order now at Amazon, as if you care.
Nintendo Wii gets American Heart Association's stamp of approval
When we heard that Nintendo and the American Heart Association would be making an announcement today, we (and most everyone else) assumed that it would have something to do with Nintendo's forthcoming Vitality Sensor. As it turns out, however, it's something altogether more surprising -- the AHA has announced that it's actually putting its stamp of approval on the Wii itself (as well as Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort). That's obviously a first for a video game console, and fairly unprecedented for the AHA -- as ABC News points out, the association hasn't seen fit to put its seal on other "active" things like baseball bats. It apparently had some small incentive to do so in this case, however, as the organization says it will be receiving a cool $1.5 million from Nintendo over three years as a result of the partnership. Head on past the break to see the AHA president explain the arrangement. [Thanks, Katie]
Student moves quadriplegics with Wiimote wheelchair control (video)
There were certainly a couple whiz kids at Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair this year, but high school senior John Hinckel's a regular MacGyver: he built a wheelchair remote control out of a couple sheets of transparent plastic, four sliding furniture rails and some string. A Nintendo Wiimote goes in your hat and tells the whole system what to do -- simply tilt your head in any direction, and accelerometer readings are sent over Bluetooth. The receiving laptop activates microcontrollers, directing servo motors to pull the strings, and acrylic gates push the joystick accordingly to steer your vehicle. We tried on the headset for ourselves and came away fairly impressed -- it's no mind control, but for $534 in parts, it just might do. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who thought so, as patents are pending, and a manufacturer of wheelchair control systems has already expressed interest in commercializing the idea. See the young inventor show it off after the break.
Ridiculous Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory controller gives Steel Battalion fans new hope
If you're a lover of unnecessarily large and comically styled controllers, chances are you've been a bit depressed lately with all this Sony Move and Microsoft Natal talk, tech that could do away with fancy add-ons altogether. But Hori, at least, is continuing to follow the righteous path of giant peripherals with this bodacious add-on for Square Enix's Wii port of Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory, an arcade game with a name long enough to be worthy of such a mighty gamepad. Sadly, this collectible card game really only requires three buttons: a big red one, a big blue one, and the sword, which is simply pushed downward to activate special attacks. It pales in comparison to the two control sticks, three pedals, and 40 buttons of Steel Battalion, but sometimes it's the visual impact that really counts.
Nintendo CEO: battle with Sony is over, Apple is the 'enemy of the future'
Backing away from a previous position, are we Nintendo? Just a month after Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime claimed that the iPhone OS (you know, that operating system used on the iPod touch, iPhone family and the iPad) wasn't a "viable profit platform for game development," along comes the company's president to say that, in fact, Apple is the primary "enemy of the future." That's according to Times Online, who says that the Big N's CEO (Satoru Iwata) feels that the battle with Sony is a "victory already won," and who clearly believes that the next wave of gaming won't be of the traditional sit-on-your-coach-and-slam-buttons variety. 'Course, the PSP never has been able to hang with the DS family, but even the Wii has a ways to go before it catches the mighty PlayStation 2 in terms of global sales. Going forward, the company is purportedly looking to revive the element of "surprise" in Nintendo products, but it might be best served by simply catching up to the competition and supporting this wild concept known as "HD gaming" over "HDMI."
