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Nintendo's free Wiimote sleeve keeps it sticky
Nothing says "hello big boy" like a transparent silicone sleeve for your gear. Especially when it's free. Nintendo knows this, and is offering a sticky wrap for your Wii Remote. Just call Nintendo at 1-866-431-8367 or hit the read link to order yours on-line. Combine it with their chunky replacement strap and you'll have class action lawyers screaming their "safeword" in no time.[Via Joystiq, thanks Saeid A.]
Wiimote bites dog
Here's rule one about owning pets: if you allow them to chew on or scratch one type of thing, they're often going to think similar materials are fair game. Give a cat one of those carpet-covered scratching posts? Sure, lots of us do it, but it's hard to be mad at them when later you find them sharpening their claws in the middle of the dining room rug. The similar nubby texture gets them every time. So it shouldn't be much of a surprise what happened to the Labrador one Colorado family allowed to chew on an old television remote. Not only did the dog eat it, but once that was down, he turned on the next remote-like object in his sights: a Wii remote.Which he swallowed whole.The poor pooch started spitting up blood, and once at the vet, vomited up bits of the original remote ... but there was still a mass in his stomach visible on an X-ray. It was only then that the Wiimote-swallowing was revealed. Luckily, the dog was able to expel the controller after having his tummy massaged, and he's just fine after an overnight stay at the doctor. The Wii in question belonged to the family's son, who was punished for leaving the controller out where the dog could get to it ... but who's going to punish everyone else for allowing the dog to chew on electronics in the first place? Sharp plastic bits probably don't digest so well, after all. On the lighter side, now we all have an excuse to tell jokes about the horrors of dogs chewing on your Wii.[Via Kotaku]
Joystiq impressions: Victorious Boxers: Revolution
With a projected late-September U.S. release, Wii-only Victorious Boxers: Revolution dukes it out for the best Wii sports title. I recently played a nearly complete localization of the June-released Japanese original, and Victorious Boxers is clearly different than Wii Sports Boxing. While Americans may think the manga art-style should appeal mostly to kids, the animation and physicality are viciously pitched to an older crowd. You're not trying to bowl over your opponent with kindness after all.The boxing mechanics were harder to gauge than the catchy art. I relied on the two-fisted, motion-only control scheme, although the game offers five other ways to play. After a lot of wild flailing, I felt like I had a general sense of my character. But I never felt like my swings were perfectly interpreted. Hopefully, after an hour or two, players will learn how to move. But while Victorious Boxers easily held my interest, I couldn't predict if this will be a perfect translation between physical moves and game action. At some point, I wonder if the Wii controllers can handle one-to-one motion mapping for fast games.%Gallery-7321%
Playing Xbox 360 with your Wii remote
An adventurous and skillful modder has managed to turn a Wii remote into an Xbox 360 controller with middleware help from the PS2 control scheme -- it's as if all the console makers are working in harmony for this one hack. Try humming this to the tune of "Dem Bones" (actually, don't, because we're not even going to try to fit the rhyme scheme): The Xbox 360 is connected to the XFPS PS2 to 360 adapter ... which is connected to a big black box Microcontroller "with custom firmware emulating a PS2 controller" ... which is connected to a Samsung Q1 PC with custom Wii remote firmware ... which is connected via Bluetooth to the Wii remote itself. Full details of the process can be found here. A video demonstration is embedded after the break that not only shows the control scheme work with Halo 2 but also the thought put into making it a comfortable and viable control scheme (such as anti-acceleration and smoothing algorithms).[Via Engadget; thanks, Chris]
Wiimote used in XNA dev presentation [update]
Microsoft's XNA development kit is showing some love to the competition, revealing at the Assembly summer event support for Nintendo's Wii remote. Microsoft's Chad Hower gave a demonstration of the support by playing a very basic tech demo with the wand. The picture contained in the slideshow also showed the nunchuk attachment, though we're not sure if that's also supported or if Microsoft simply went with the first stock photo they could find.Even though XNA is technically a platform for both PC and Xbox 360 support, it should be noted that the Wii remote support is only for the PC, care of the .NET framework, and those looking to truly bastardize the console wars by using Nintendo input with Microsoft's consoles can only shrug their shoulders, snap their fingers and go, "Aw, shucks." However, it now looks like homebrew enthusiasts can create games using the Wii remote while pushing PC hardware so far that the software couldn't possibly be played on the Wii itself.Update: As noted by Brian Peek of Coding4Fun, the Wii remote support is actually a facet of the .NET library (not inherent, but you can download the library made by Peek or others). And since XNA supports .NET, so too does it support the Wii remote. Here are some examples of applications made using Peek's Wii remote library. Peek also pointed to a post by Hower discussing the Wii remote and XNA. Thanks for the information, Brian![Via GamersReports]
Wii Warm Up: The worst controls
Earlier this week, we spent a little time talking about some of the best motion-sensing control schemes offered by Wii games so far -- so it's only fair that we dedicate a little time to the worst that you've experienced since launch. We've managed to avoid some of the games that are supposed to be really awful, but can definitely say that about half of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz definitely left something to be desired (and yet, part of the game was fine). We've heard horror stories however, that many games are far worse. How about you? What's the worst you've tried to suffer through on the Wii? Feel free to get into the gory details.
Wii pool cue attachement hustles you out of $13
Adding to the growing list of chintzy plastic Wiimote accessories, this pool cue add-on seems like it could also be pretty useful for dramatically browsing the News Channel. The kit features an outer shell for the Wiimote and a three-piece shaft -- no word on what the tip is made of, but you can be certain that chalking it up won't help you sink that last shot.[Via Wii Fanboy]
Wii Warm Up: Wiimote accessories
Fishing rods, tennis rackets, baseball bats, guns -- a year from now, you'll probably be able to transform your Wii remote into a car and zoom around your living room. But are any of the shells and add-ons necessary? Are they useful? We're curious what you think. Which ones (if any) do you want to try, or even buy, and which do you find completely superfluous? Obviously, all Guitar Hero-related paraphernalia is exempt on grounds of being both awesome and necessary. We're talking about straight-up shells here.
Team Ninja 'has Wii fans,' would consider developing for console
Team Ninja's Yosuke "Itsygaki" Hayashi, director of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, told Pro-G that the development studio is not averse to developing a title for Wii, pending the title utilized Nintendo's more unique features. "We would make something for the Wii if we came up with something unique that would only work on the Wii," he said. Given Ninja Gaiden's upcoming DS release and its unique control scheme, we can only imagine how Itagaki and co. would go about utilizing the Wii remote's pointer capabilities. Our curiosity turns into discomfort, however, when we think of Team Ninja making a Wii version of DOAX. Hayashi further went on to describe the console preference demographic of the studio: "There are several groups within Team Ninja. The PS3 group, the Xbox 360 group, and there are Wii fans in Team Ninja." We've gone ahead and made a Venn diagram to help visualize the possible trichotomy.
How to control a PC with a Wii Remote
A new column at our sister site Nintendo Wii Fanboy, REVOLUTIONARY, aims to crack open the shell of the Wii world and feast on the delicious geek food inside. This week features a round-up of hacks that let you control your PC with the Wii Remote. And we're not talking about playing Minesweeper and moving files around, you can play just about any game with this lethal combination.All you need is a compatible Bluetooth adapter, the free GlovePIE program, and some time to tweak and customize settings. REVOLUTIONARY spells the whole process out so even your grandmother could get her Half-Life 2 fix, motion-sensitive style.
Rumor: Blue and Pink Wiimotes on the way
Go Nintendo is reporting that some colored Wiimotes could be popping up on retail shelves near you (at least in the UK). A reader who works for UK retail chain Argos snapped up a picture of a supposed SKU for one of the two differently-colored Wiimotes. While we wouldn't put it beyond Nintendo to dish out Wiimotes in different colors (remember E3?), we're not quite sure we think the time is right for that sort of thing.What do the readers have to say?
Bill Gates on the future of computer interaction
In a very rare joint interview with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on stage at last week's D 2007, Microsoft founder Bill Gates told hosts Walter Mossberg and Kara Swisher, both of the Wallstreet Journal, of his vision for the future of interaction with technology, and therefore gaming, and inadvertently used the Nintendo Wii as a stepping stone."Imagine a game machine where you can just pick up a bat and swing it or the tennis racket," said Gates, to which Mossberg noted that one exists, referencing Wii Sports."No, no, that's not it," said Gates, "you can't pick up your tennis racket and swing it, ['Oh, I see what you mean,' said Mossberg] you can't sit there with your friends and do those natural things. That's a 3D positional device, this is video recognition, this is a camera seeing what's going on ... the camera will be ubiquitous."
Three-year-old's Tennis tantrum
Brian McConnell left his son, Adam, alone with a game of Wii Sports: Tennis for only a few moments to fetch a drink, but that was all the time the little demon needed. Not even a Wii remote strap could've saved Brian's plasma TV once the three-year-old set his mind on avenging a lost match. Brian came back to the living room to find his £1,000 television ruined, its 42-inch screen bashed by his Wiimote-wielding progeny. Queue up the darth_vader_nooo.jpg images. The forgiving father let Adam off the hook with only a light lecture and a two-week Wii ban. That's a lot more lenient than the hanging, drawing, and quartering punishment one of our NintenDadz would've sought. [Via Engadget]
Wii remote grip, for that non-authentic PS3 experience
If you happen to be a Wii owner who secretly yearns for the cancelled PS3 "boomerang" controller, then boy have we got something for you. Wrap your meaty man-hands around this bad boy and your Excite Truck experience will be ... uh... like nothing Nintendo ever wanted you to experience. Brilliant!And no, this doesn't even come complete with convenient recharging abilities. It's just a plastic boomerang shell.[Via CVG]
Famitsu gives Resident Evil 4 Wii a 9.5 out of 10
Despite being essentially a thrice-released game (previously on GameCube and PlayStation 2), respected Japanese gaming publication Famitsu gave the Wii iteration of Resident Evil 4 a 9.5 out of 10. The score is an average of four editors' score: two gave the title a 9, while two gave the game a perfect score of 10.What's key to this review that Nintendo should be thanking Capcom for is how the editors laud the control system as easy to get into and making the game feel fresh and new. According to IGN, one reviewer noted that "game offers the feeling of being closer to the action as well as upping the tension," while another remarked that those who have played the game before will find something to enjoy.Such words echo back to Nintendo's mantra of offering gamers something new and exciting, and this game seems to showcase that much like the GameCube version showcased a more mature, visually appealing side to that console. Now how about we see Capcom incorporate the control scheme for a future Wii title?Resident Evil 4 for Wii is coming out May 31 in Japan. and June 19 in North America with a price well below standard Wii releases.
Today's most multiplatformtastic game video: Harry Potter Wii
An extended Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer for WIi is our video pick for the day. Watch Harry and friends swing their wands around, seemingly in coordination with the Wii Remote. Or so we hope. The game is set for release on eight platforms next month, and like other multiplatform titles, the Wii version is the biggest unknown.See the video after the break.
Today's most entrancing video: Sixaxis remote hack
The fine folks at pabr.org have engineered a Sixaxis controller into a remote for other devices, much like the frenzy of Wiimote hacking. The demonstration shows the controller tilting and rotating a plane, and it earns our nod as the video of the day.We all knew it could be done, but watching the hack in action has a snake-charmer-like affect on us -- and the plane in the video. Watch the clip after the break.
The 2006 Engadget Awards: Vote for Worst Gadget of the Year
Ready to get your hater on? We're at the end of the line, and your chance to cast your ballot for the 2006 Worst Gadget of the Year! (Note: nominees were not necessarily selected for having outright bad or defective gadgets -- the disappointment / let-down factor also plays a big role.) Our Engadget Awards nominees are listed below, and you've got until 11.59PM EST on Wednesday, April 18th to file your vote. You can only vote once, so make it count, and may the best tech win! The nominees: Defective Apple MacBooks (see here, here, here, and here), Exploding Sony batteries (see here, here, here, here, here, and many more), Microsoft Zune, Motorola Q, Nintendo Wiimote straps (see here, here, here, and here), and Sony PlayStation 3. %Poll-361%
Help cement a Wii victory at Engadget
Just when you thought you were done with all those pesky 'best of 2006' lists, Engadget offers one you might actually care about -- peripheral of the year. As you might have guessed, the Wii remote is one of the options, and just like Reggie, it seems to be kicking ass and taking names. Voting ends April 15th, and it's just one vote per person, so if you'd like to go help let everyone know that the Wii controller is way cooler than the 360's HD DVD drive, get voting. We sort of feel sorry for the other entrants. Look the Mighty Mouse is cool and all (it's so smooth!), but there's nothing like your Wii remote. Well, except perhaps your remote, but until you're using that to get your Zelda on, we don't want to hear about all that.
Wiimote gets another charger / battery pack combo
It looks like those that just can't stand swapping AAs have yet another option to keep their Wiimote powered, with Thanko's descriptively-named "USB Charger for Wii Remote Control" joining similar offerings from Brando and JoyTech. Like the JoyTech unit, this one gets its juice from a USB port, either on the Wii itself or any one you can spare on your PC, with the former taking about three and half hours to charge, according to the company, and the latter knocking the wait time down to just just two hours. Once it's topped off, the battery pack will supposedly give you a full 30 hours of use. At $29 Thanko's charger is a bit cheaper than JoyTech's, although you'll need to pick up a pair of 'em if you want to keep both your Wiimotes charged at all times.[Via coolest-gadget.com]
