Gadgety News

At the moment it seems that Nintendo’s Wii can do no wrong.

What could possibly be the next step for it?

Well, if you remember, Japanese Wii owners are already getting the food delivery service - but they also seem to be getting a full-blown television channel, delivered to the Wii via the interweb in Spring.

Called Wiinoma, The Times reports that Nintendo is planning to use the on-demand channel to deliver mostly free and original programming, produced exclusively for the service.

Brain-training quizzes, original cartoons, educational shows, even cookery and lifestyle programming, are all reported to be on the agenda.

It’s definitely a step up from the current on-demand content such as game info, weather and news.

The new channel would offer full shows and not just clips and trailers, adding to the other content available to the Wii from BBC’s iPlayer service.

The stumbling block could be the lack of hard-drive.

The likes of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 both have internal hard disks to store downloaded content and the Wii doesn’t.

This means that the content would have to be streamed to the console unless the Wii hard drive becomes more than a rumour this time around.

As this service is only being released in Japan at the moment I’m guessing that if it takes off it would be spread throughout the globe - possibly hitting these shores late in the year.

But with that comes a number of other issues.

All that content would have to be remade in English and other languages and also the regional channels would have to get advertisers in that area.

Personally I vote for dubbed Japanese content!  I very much doubt that UK made content would be so crazy and entertaining

Crave

So, you dutifully check your BMI and age on Wii Fit and things are going the right way (apart from that little speed bump that is Christmas).

You’re looking forward to some more challanges in Wii Fit 2?

Well, at least it’ll be easier to stay away from fast food in the UK than it will be in Japan!

Starting in spring, Nintendo will introduce the Food Delivery Channel in Japan.

Much like how TiVo users can order Pizza Hut, Wii users will be able to place orders to Demae-can.com (which offers everything from sushi to hamburgers).

So, between Yoga and Downhill Slalom you can get a quarter pounder with cheese - the food of champions! 

Oh, but this is the Wii, folks. You don’t just order food. You order food and the Wii will set the mood with correlating music - Or it will pick a meal and have it sent to you at random.

You know, for those times when you just can’t decide what’s for dinner so you let a machine that knows nothing of your tastes or allergies choose for you.

IT Media via Kotaku

Remember Peekaboo Pole Dancing’s Electrapole?

It’s the Carmen Electra-branded pole dancing kit I wrote about back in April.

Well, it sounds like the crunch has hit this interesting title.

Personally I reckon people are saving their cash for the real deal instead of investing in the Wii version

So it seems that Peekaboo Pole Dancing is left with no publisher to make it happen.

A representative from the group said,

“We have not managed to tie up a deal for this yet but we still remain hopeful. We have, however, connected with a company that is manufacturing a peripheral product and we are investigating mutual publishing opportunities. Please feel free to give a shout out to any developers or publishers who want to give this a crack. [The game] just needs someone with a little nerve.”

Is there anyone out there willing to take a chance?

Can I be there for the release party?

Destructoid

I just had to share this ‘assent of the console controllers’ diagram! (Don’t forget that you can revel in its full glory by clicking the pic )

I think that it’s worth pointing out that apart from the Atari 5200’s controller it seems that controllers went from basic to more complicated - although (ignoring Guitar Hero, etc) we’re yet to see as many buttons as that Atari beast managed to fit.

To accomodate all the new buttons and such the console controllers have also put on the pounds and grown in size. 

This is shown in the illustration above as all the hands are the same size and the controllers are to scale.

I assume that there’ll be a T-shirt, duvet cover and probably underwear featuring this fab picture in no time at all

Chewing Pixels via Offworld

The results of a poll conducted by The London Games Festival of 500 gamers shows that Sega’s blue hedgehog is the most loved character and Nintendo’s Mario had to settle for second.

As you read through the full top ten below you’ll probably recognise that most of these iconic characters have been showing up in games for a decade or more.

The n00bs (comparatively speaking) in the list are Grand Theft Auto IV’s eastern European gangster Niko Bellic and the other Rockstar front-man, Max Payne.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog (24%)

2. Super Mario (21%)

3. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) (16%)

4. Donkey Kong (11%)

5. Pac Man (10%)

6. Link (The Legend of Zelda) (5%)

7. Max Payne (4%)

8. Pikachu (Pokemon) (3%)

9. Niko Belic (Grand Theft Auto IV) (2%)

10. Blanka (Street Fighter) (1%)

Do agree with the list - is there anyone missing?

Let me know
 

The Telegraph

Yay!

We Brits are getting the rather fabby Korg DS-10 Synthesiser for the Nintendo DS before our American cousins!

I mentioned this app a while ago but now it has finally been released.

The synth as been developed by AQ Interactive and manages to pack a complete Korg MS-10 synth inside the handheld device.

This is no dodgy homebrew either; it has Korg’s official seal of approval and has been created by a crack team of game developers. The software makes full use of the touchscreen to generate new sounds and you can connect up gates just by drawing in the wires.

If you want to collaborate and make some serious tunes, you can hook up with up to seven other DSs wirelessly. You can also save up to six different tracks.

Can’t wait to see artists start getting their DS’s out on stage.

By rebranding “Wii Points” into “Nintendo Points” you would think that this was to become an overarching account system between the Wii and the upcoming DSi.

But that is where you become disappointed to learn that the company’s new Nintendo Points won’t be transferable between the two consoles.

Instead, when you buy a points card (available in 1000, 3000 and 5000 points versions), you’ll have to pick a console and spend all the points in that one place.

Not exactly an ideal option, to be sure, but it seems like it’s one that we’ll be stuck with — unless Nintendo has some plans to make some major changes to the way the Wii and DSi do business.

Siliconera via Wiifanboy via gamesindustry.biz

Engadget have revealed Nintendo’s latest pocket pleaser.

The new Nintendo DSi will still retain both touch screens, although both displays have had an increase in size to 3.25″ from its original 3″. Everyone will appreciate a combined extra half-inch.

In addition the screenage the DSi has slimmed down by 12% compared to its predecessor, partly due to the omission of the GBA cartridge slot.

That’s a little odd as games like Guitar Hero: On Tour (a game that requires the Guitar controller add-on which fits into the GBA cartridge slot nicely) won’t work on the new DSi.

Other improvements include a front-facing VGA camera located on the inside hinge, while a 3 megapixel external camera will compete with your cell phone for casual photographs.

Not only that, the DSi will support SD memory cards with a new SD card slot, and the integrated browser application makes it a contender for the iPod touch since you can also play back your favorite MP3s!

The Nintendo DSi is said to be out in Japan on November 1st for $179 or thereabouts.

The rest of the world will get it next year at some point.

Will you be chopping in your old DS for the DSi?

Engadget

Granted, in the next 3 years all manner of things could happen but apparently Nintendo is prepping a new Wii to be released in 2011.

According to sources Nintendo is already presenting the so called Wii HD to developers.

The Wii HD is supposed to be able to handle digital content - a function that the Xbox 360 and the PS3 do today and Ninte recons that in 2011 that will be even more important.

I wonder where gaming will have actually have taken us by 2011.

According to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper (kind of Japans’ Wall Street Journal) they report that Nintendo will launch a new version of the DS later this year.

Now I’ve already talked about this but this is where the Nikkei article gets interesting:  They say that this new DS is coming loaded with a built-in camera, music playback and a more powerful wireless to boot!

The camera will be used for new types of games - given what they’ve created with the Wii there’s no telling what this could lead to - though I’m sure it would involve taking pictures of yourself at some point…….

Of course, it’ll reportedly launch in Japan before it hits overseas, where it’ll sell for under 20,000 yen (Kotaku notes the current DS is 16,800 yen).

If true, it looks to be another iteration of the current DS, not the dual widescreen jobby I mentioned before - expect it in April or May 2009.

Nikkei via Kotaku

If you’re on the hunt for a mini PMP that also has the where-withall to be able to play SNES games then you could soon be in luck!

The Oppo Muse G11 is certainly looking to tick all of those boxes,

Oppo has the first prototype of the device out and about but are still being a little cagy about the tech-specs.

When I get some more info I shall of course impart it to you my faithful gathering

PMP Today

Ok, stop your sniggering class!

Granted ‘Thrustmaster’ does sound almost like a piece of home exercise gear bought from a shopping channel but it is a company responsible for possibly the best two Wiimote accessories of all time.

First up, and for me the coolest, are the red and blue dueling Glow Sabers.

Both are sporting 17 LEDs and thus require 3AAA batteries a piece.

Once the much anticipated Star Wars game hits the stores this pack should fly from the shelves like they were in some kinda Jedi Supermarket Sweep!

The other natty bit of kit is the Dual Trigger Gun (complete with Nunchuck holster!).  It should bring any FPS or shooty-shooty-death-kill Wii game truly to life.

The Nunchuck rest is said to allow the gamer a “very stable shooting position”.

The Glow Saber 2-pack is available right about now for $34.99, while the Dual Trigger Gun should land in short order for $17.99.

GoNintendo

Word on the streets, well, from IGN, is that Nintendo are up to something in deepest Kyoto…

A third generation of the DS with dual touchscreen displays one of them being widescreen no less.

If this is true then it is big news indeedy. IGN says the rumored release date of April or May 2009 doesn’t give enough time for a whole new unit - so is this just speculation and we’ll just be seeing a revision of the DS Colour?

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Until then just be loving IGN’s mockup

You will, by now, be aware of the Wii MotionPlus add on that enables the WiiMote to more accurately reflect your motions in a 3-D space.

This means that every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play.

This is all good news and opens up the possibility of totally accurate dueling in a sword-fighting stylee.

Good news unless you happen to be Lucasarts as they’re a bit miffed that Nintendo didn’t give advance warning to anyone making, oh…..let’s say……..a lightsabery type of game.

According to the gamers over at Kotaku, Lucasarts wasn’t given any advance notice of the MotionPlus add-on’s existence, despite Nintendo being well aware it’s busily crafting a Clone Wars game, designed around lightsaber battles.   Ooooopsy!

Apparently most developers have received scant information on how to implement MotionPlus features into upcoming games, and the clock is ticking for its addition to games already well into development.

Tsk-tsk Nin - you should really start sharing with the rest of the class!

Nintendo’s hardware developers are already working on the next generation of the Nintendo Wii.

The Times Online has a statement from Nintendo’s President, Satoru Iwata, where he is quoted as saying:

“The hardware team started work on the next thing as soon as they were done with their previous project, but what they think up doesn’t necessarily become a product.”

This has added fuel to the speculation fire that a Wii 2 will be on its way!

Whether this will just be the regular Wii with more CPU power giving it the ability to handle media and games at higher resolution or they could be following up with more of the ‘out of the box thinking’ and deliver something crazy like thought control or full immersion body-suits remains to be seen.

Conversions of big console titles to the Nintendo DS continue.

Following the transition of Guitar Hero to the handheld the next in line appears to be none other than R* Games - Grand Theft Auto, with Chinatown Wars being released later this year on Nins pocketable.

A gamer survey from Rockstar Games lifts the lid on what DS’ers can expect from the small screen adaptation.

By the sound of things you will partaking in the world of a young soldier seeking to make his mark within a gangland power struggle, with over 70 missions giving you 20+ hours of gameplay.

There’ll be online and offline co-op and competitive multiplayer modes thanks to the DS’s Wi-Fi connectivity. 

Also there’s a host of DS-specific stylus mini-games that make it a little more special.

One such game is where your young ne’er-do-well has to construct a sniper rifle and hot-wire a car.

More complaints/free publicity to follow shortly methinks.

Tech Radar (via T3)

Image thanks Electric Pig

Given that the Wii is stoopidly addictive all you eco-friendly Wii-fans will probably feel a little guilty at the amount of AA batteries you’ve thrown out.

Fear no-longer as Sanyo has come up with the Eneloop charging station.

It comes complete with a battery pack replacement for your Wiimote and a charging base that can support as many as four controllers at once.

I like the way it kinda looks like a rifle rack……..kinda……..a bit……perhaps…….?

Remotes take about 220 minutes to recharge and Eneloop will even charge sequentially so you don’t have to wait an extra couple hours for your next hit of Wii-action.

Its available for $73 to import but I think that it should go global - just like the warming.

Akihabara News

We’ve seen this tactic before.

Nintendo used it at the launch of the Wii.

And remember the launch of Apple’s first-generation iPhone release?

A year later, Apple still hasn’t changed with O2 sadly stating on their website that each store will have just a “dozen handsets in stock” for tomorrow’s launch.

We all know by now that customers are limited to one phone each, with business customers able to purchase two. WohooOOoo!!!

O2 claims “on average, we will only have a few dozen iPhone 3Gs per store”

So, if you’re gonna step up and claim an iPhone 3G you need to remember the following:

1. Two forms of identification,
2. A real, kosher, working credit or debit card
3. Poof of address
4. At least 20 minutes for the transaction to go through

Good hunting and happy iPhoneing!!!

O2 iPhone 3G info

Yessirreee another WiiMote-alike but this one is for the PC.

It’s GoLive2’s Stix collection (200 / 400).

They are wireless motion-sensing controllers designed to play PC and internet-based games, with Games for Windows titles and “thounsands of free web-based games”.

According to Brian Zheng, the president of Plahut,

“[Stix will] completely change the way people experience online and PC gaming”.

Ok - if you say so Brian.

The Stix 200 will apparently only be compatible with 2D games, while the Stix 400 gets to play with the flashier 3D ones.

Due in August when I’m guessing the prices will be let out also.

I4U News

Light Saber Styluses? How Cool?!!?

Officially licensed by Star Wars these Nintendo DS styluses are just the ticket to cut open random people in that operating game and generally poke things in Brain Training.

Available in 2 packs:

• A three-pack of standard plastic ones for $7.99
• A two-pack of glowing ones for $16.99

They are unleashed on July 31 and then we can all pretend to be gigantic Jedi’s and Sith!!!

Oh Gizmo