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Cheap accessories may await you at Wal-Mart
A GoNintendo reader snapped this amazingly tantalizing picture of $10 Wii accessory bundles at his local Wal-Mart. For half the price of just the accessory, shoppers at this particular store can get a bundle containing a Nunchuk, 2000 Wii Points card, or a Classic Controller, along with a controller cover. So that's more than you usually get, for much less than it normally costs.No doubt these are holiday bundles being clearanced out simply because it's not the holidays anymore, but Wal-Mart's poor judgment can definitely be to your benefit. Be warned that Wal-Mart deals vary from store to store, and there's a fairly high probability that your store will either have a different price on these or won't carry them at all. But if you happen to be going to Wal-Mart anyway, which we hear happens occasionally with a lot of people, it may be worth your time to check out the electronics section!
New Nyko adapter to unwire Wii wired Nunchuk
Gaming peripheral maker Nyko today announced an adapter that promises to cut the cord on your existing wired Wii Nunchuks (metaphorically, of course). Not to be confused with the standalone wireless Nunchuk Nyko announced last month, the new adapter will connect to an existing wired Nunchuk, allowing it to communicate with a Wii remote up to 15 feet away (handy for people with a 15-foot wingspan!). Don't worry about the Nunchuk cord drooping limply across your leg either -- according to the release, the adapter comes with a "self-standing Nunchuk sleeve" that has "a convenient compact cord management system keeping the existing Nunchuk cord organized and out of site [sic]."The adapter, including two required AAA batteries, will retail for $19.99, making it $10 less than Nyko's standalone wireless Nunchuk (though the whole package is $10 more when combined with a $20 wired Nunchuk). Wire-hating gamers who already own four Nunchuks might want to look for it in February.
Cord-Free Wireless Adapter lets you trade your cord for a huge lump
We initially posted about Nyko's Cord-Free Wireless Adapter before any pictures were available. Now Nyko has officially, for reals, announced the product and sent along pictures, and we can only say "yikes." We wondered where they were going to hide the coiled-up cord and two AA batteries in a compact, self-contained unit. Turns out they didn't. The cord and battery case are just sort of stuck on the bottom of the unit. What you gain in wingspan, you lose in portability. Those of you complaining that the Nunchuk was too small and light should be pleased, as should those who are furious at the corded Nunchuk but don't have the extra $20 to drop for the fully wireless model. Perhaps you just wanted a free-standing Nunchuk to set next to your charging Wiimotes.Okay, we're making fun, but the truth is that even if the adapter is conspicuous, it seems to be out of the way, and a viable solution for making your Nunchuk wireless, as long as it doesn't add too much weight.[Via press release]
Opoona won the battle easily!
It's no secret that Koei's Opoona sank in Japan. But numbers that low don't really say much about the game's quality, because nobody tried it. Perhaps a lack of marketing is more to blame than anything. In any case, we'll get our own chance to try out the Artepiazza-developed RPG when it is released stateside this spring.The latest video to show up takes us through a simple battle. Aside from a couple of graphical flourishes (as in, monsters actually moving) and really cute narration, Opoona's combat is your basic Dragon Quest turn-based fighting. Except, appealingly, in the future. We don't actually know if Opoona's any good, but we don't want any original game to suffer the fate Opoona did the first time.
Revolutionary: Controller Showdown, Round 1
Every (other) Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities. var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/nintendo/Revolutionary_Controller_Showdown_Round_1'; Nintendo has recently been accused by a former game developer of copying the idea for the Wii's central point of interest, but whether or not Nintendo took inspiration from this industrious engineer is not the topic of today's Revolutionary. There have been many motion-based game controllers to precede the Wiimote, but none have been so well-received that they can pull double duty as the gearworks of a money printing machine. For the Playstation 3, Sony took a page from Nintendo's playbook and ran with it, so we'll be putting the SIXAXIS through its paces to see how it measures up.
Nunchuk robot coming for your soul
So maybe Charlie isn't really coming for your soul, but he is awfully cute, and since he needs only a Wii nunchuk, a transmitter, and a little attention, he's pretty awesome, too. Creator frank26080115 designed the RC robot to work in a variety of ways with the nunchuk for control; he can use the joystick to move the little guy around, or with the Z-button depressed, the scheme allows for full motion controls. Using the C button, he can control Charlie's head. Better still? There's code and more available for all you robot aficionados at home, so you can get to work on your own version.[Via Hack a Wii]
Nintendo sued over alleged copyright infringement, Wiimote and nunchuk named
A Pennsylvania (I had nothing to do with it) company is filing a lawsuit against Nintendo (and Sony) for apparently violating its patent for a "hand held computer input apparatus and method." On the Nintendo side of things, the report mentioned both the Wiimote and nunchuk, and was filed last month in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Just another day at the office for Nintendo.Copper Innovations Group is looking to be awarded damages, plus interest and legal fees. They're also seeking an injunction which would permanently prohibit Nintendo, Sony and their agents (third-party manufacturers) from infringing upon the patent in the future. That means, no more Wiimotes and nunchuks. It's a sad future we're hoping we never have to live through.Head past the break for a picture of the device Copper Innovations Group is saying that Nintendo copied.
Nintendo, Sony sued for alleged patent infringement
A Pennsylvania company has filed suit against Nintendo and Sony for allegedly violating its patent held for a "hand held computer input apparatus and method." The Wiimote, Nunchuk, Sixaxis, and PS3 Blu-ray remote were all named in the lawsuit filed last month in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Copper Innovations Group claims that these devices infringe on its 1996 patent for a method of sorting devices connected to a system by number identification.Copper is after a cut of Wii's lucrative profits and PS3's (once there are some), seeking payment for damages, with interest, and legal fees. Copper is also calling for a permanent injunction that would prohibit Nintendo, Sony and 3rd-party manufacturers from further infringing on the patent.
A full Ghost Squad's worth of weaponry
Cruising around the CES show floor, Siliconera's Spencer stopped in his tracks when he noticed this full line-up of Wii weapons. Fit for an entire Ghost Squad, these weapons will offer a solution for those who really don't want the Wii Zapper or Link's Crossbow Training. We can imagine ourselves diving around our living room with the shotgun, pretending we're in the Metroid Prime 3 teaser trailer from E3 2006.[Via Go Nintendo]
Nintendo wins another Emmy
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has awarded Nintendo, for the second year in a row, an Emmy® Award for excellence in engineering creativity. With a name that long, it has to be big and important, right? As you might imagine, the Wii was noticed for its motion-sensing controls, which have "attracted a broad range of nontraditional gamers and veteran players alike."Yesterday, the award was presented in Las Vegas, at the annual Technological & Engineering Emmy Awards. The new award, which follows last year's award for Nintendo's invention of the plus-shaped d-pad, brings great joy to the company, as NoA's executive vice president of operations Don James stated "We're grateful for this award and thank the academy for honoring us a second time."Congratulations, Nintendo! You certainly deserve the recognition.
Nyko introduces first third-party Wii guitar
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/nintendo/Nyko_introduces_first_third_party_Wii_guitar'; Nyko showed off some new accessories for the Wii and other systems (but most importantly the Wii) at the CES trade show. The company offered some more concrete information about the release of their Wireless Nunchuck, specifying a Q1 2008 release window and $30 price point for this product.Their other Wii peripheral is something that fills a very important need in the Wii accessory lineup: a standalone Guitar Hero III controller. The Nyko Frontman Wireless Guitar is a wireless (obviously) controller styled after the Fender Telecaster. This guitar should be out in March or April -- a few months and fifty dollars are the only things between you and rocking out with a second player. Unless Activision beats them to the punch with their own standalone guitars, in which case some other amounts of time and money will be required.
Zeetoo's Zeemote: the Wiimote for your cellphone
Zeetoo's Zeemote has actually been around the block a time or two before, but now it looks like this drawing board darling has grown legs. Reportedly, the Boston-area firm has secured some €4.7 million ($6.9 million) in funding from Nauta, Commonwealth Ventures and Egan Capital, which it will likely use to further develop and commercialize a wireless joystick for mobiles that looks (and sounds) strikingly similar to some other peripheral we've grown fond of. The Zeemote would purportedly communicate via Bluetooth in order to make gaming slightly more palatable on vanilla handsets, but we can't say we're champing at the bit to clutter up our precious pocket space with one of these things anytime soon.[Via Joystiq]
Cell phones take a cue from Wii, use nunchuk controller
We'll be damned if we'll ever play a game on our cell phone (actually, that's a lie: we played Snake once). Our gigantic, meaty paws aren't designed to play on such a small device. Besides, we already have a portable device for games. It's called a DS.But, the market is booming enough to demand peripherals be manufactured. The latest of which takes a cue from the Wii in the pictured nunchuk controller. Brought to you by manufacturer Zeetoo, the device is bluetooth-enabled and dubbed the Zeemote. The underside of the controller even has analog stick and buttons. And, they're even working on a motion-sensitive version, as we speak.
As close as the Wii will get to having Crysis [update]
It was our understanding that you need a computer from four years in the future in order to play PC game Crysis, but it turns out that isn't the case. Some people are playing the game right now, enjoying its lush visuals and other cool stuff that we have no idea about (we are a Wii blog, after all). Thanks to a handy mod for the game, however, we might just have to set about playing the game ourselves. See, this mod adds full Wiimote and nunchuk functionality, allowing you to utilize the unique features of each peripheral to enhance the Crysis experience. We'd give it a try ourselves, but it would seem we're going to have to track down a spare $1,000 if we're going to be able to do this.Update: Thanks to commenter Lilinka, we've got the link to the actual mod. For more information and whatnot, hit up here.[Via Go Nintendo]
Cell phones to get their own nunchuks
We don't know about you, but here's the problem we've always had with cell phones: They're simply too portable and convenient. Thankfully, phone gaming is finally getting more cumbersome with a new peripheral that's obviously not at all inspired by Nintendo's Wiimote Nunchuk attachment.Peripheral company Zeetoo (it rhymes with "me-too") created the new Bluetooth-powered attachment called the Zeemote (it rhymes with Viimote). Not only is it shaped like the Nunchuk, it includes an analog stick and buttons on the bottom. There's even a motion-sensing version in the works! But, you see, it's black. So it's totally different. Totally.
Nunchuks turning pink?
The nunchuks in our house (both for combat and for our Wii) have stayed the original color at which we purchased them. No fading, no problems with them on our end. We didn't leave them sitting on a window ledge or something for 95% of their lifespan, so we're confident they're still the same as they were on day one.And, these nunchuks pictured above aren't as old as ours, recently purchased before the Christmas holiday. But, as the peripherals were played with for hours on end by the lucky recipients, they started to change color. Interesting. And, more people over at the Nintendo forums are reporting the same thing.Any of you having this problem yourselves?[Via TGR]
Modder makes Nunchuk even more analog
Fed up with his poor performance in NiGHTS, NeoGAFfer MobiusPigeon set out to remove the octagonal gate from his Nunchuk, allowing him full, unencumbered 360-degree rotation. Using a cone-shaped grinding stone on a drill, he bored out the joystick hole until it was circular. He reported an improvement in personal NiGHTS performance "from Ds and Es to (A's)" immediately after implementing this mod.It came up in the thread that, while you've got the Nunchuk open, you could actually swap out the Nunchuk's joystick with a larger GameCube stick, for an even more comfortable experience. Also, all of these mods would work with a Classic Controller, as well.We know where we'll be after Christmas this year: hitting up used game shops looking for spare parts. We're hoping to find some pre-thrown-away defective Cube controllers from which to mine joysticks.
Nyko's wireless 'Nunchuck' prevents deadly entanglements
The latest bullet fired from Nyko's niche sniper rifle finally severs the terribly constrictive cable between the Wii's remote and its nunchuk controller. IGN has the full report on the Nyko "Wireless Nunchuck," a rather perplexing name given the addition of an extra "c" and, of course, the omission of a connecting wire. Without a wire, isn't it just... a stick? Oh, but these are mere trifles compared to the sheer freedom of flailing unleashed by this untethered tech! No longer will your hugging high score suffer in Disneyland Mascot Sim -- only the reach of your fully extended arms can hold you back now! Gone are the days when skipping rope minigames resulted in accidental strangulation! It staggers us to think that Nintendo's oversight could be seen to by nothing more than a wireless stick, some extra batteries and a dongle (possibly containing peace-of-mind cooling fans) attached to the bottom of your Wiimote. You say you'd rather wait until CES delivers price and release details? Why do you hate freedom?[Via Wii Fanboy]
Wireless Nunchuk removes the very last controller cord from your living room
Nyko has funneled the research funding for their dearly missed Party Station project into a new peripheral. Much like the Party Station had a very simple vision of enhancing every aspect of your Wii parties (except the people attending), the newest peripheral adheres to a clear ideal: removing that one cord from the Wii controller.The Wireless Nunchuck is -- big surprise -- a wireless Nunchuk. It doesn't have autofire or a cooling fan or anything. It differs from Nintendo's product only in that it's got no wire, clear buttons and a "c" in the name. Amusingly, it'll also include its own wrist strap.We personally don't care about having the Nunchuk tethered to the Wiimote, with one important exception. We're getting one of these specifically so we can pose that much more flamboyantly in Samba de Amigo. This should nicely substitute for the two-Wiimote control scheme that everyone constantly begs for. Nyko will announce the pricing and release date and stuff at CES.
One part GlovePIE, two parts Wiimote = Samba de Amigo
Despite getting the name of the game wrong in the initial graphic, this video showcasing the Dreamcast title Samba de Amigo being played with two Wiimotes is just too cool for school. Now, replace one of those Wiimotes with a nunchuk and it's probably a pretty accurate estimation of how the title will play once it actually releases on the Wii.Oh, and we're assuming this is a legit back-up of his own game. If it isn't, well ... we don't support piracy in the least.[Via Go Nintendo]
