Dec 21

Wii Vitality Sensor Coming Soon?

Posted in: Today's Chili, video games, wii

Last year’s E3 was a bit lukewarm when it came to Nintendo announcements. There were a company of new Mario titles, a new Zelda, and a new Metroid, but beyond that, the company took a backseat to Microsoft and Sony’s announcements. One of the more…interesting announcements to come out of Nintendo’s press conference, though, was the Wii Vitality Sensor, a device that monitors your pulse.

The company recently filed trademarks for WiiRelax, which may well be the first game to take advance of the odd new peripheral. The game was first mentioned back in April by the Italian gaming developer, Pub Company.

No details on what a “relaxation game” might entail.

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Dec 19

B.O.S.S. Wiimote shell fills giant people with sense of SNES nostalgia

Posted in: Retro, Today's Chili, wii

It might be hard to tell from the picture, but that B.O.S.S. controller, built by Performance Designed Products, is no controller at all. Instead it’s a SNES controller-shaped, super-sized shell that slides over a regular Wiimote and turns it into a monstrosity of memories and oversized buttons. Kudos for ingenuity, but unfortunately the playability suffers and the bulk is just too much to handle, according to Ars Technica. For $10 you can’t fault it too much (and it least it isn’t reliant on its own batteries, a sore subject for the manufacturer), but we think we might save that cash for some international postage to write Nintendo about its unconscionable neglect of the Wii Classic Controller with New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

B.O.S.S. Wiimote shell fills giant people with sense of SNES nostalgia originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceArs Technica  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 18

Nintendo Wii Supreme is topped with a layer of gold, sprinkled with diamonds, and priced at £300,000

Posted in: nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, Today's Chili, wii

Inventing a new echelon in Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide, Stuart Hughes has managed to Supreme-ize a Nintendo Wii, covering it in over 2,500 grams of solid 22 carat gold and an aggregate total 19.5 carats of flawless diamonds for the three front buttons. Three have been made and were done so reportedly over the span of six months. Asking price is £299,995, or about $484,818 in US dollars, which if you go by Kotaku’s admittedly untrained estimations is about $200,000 in raw materials and the rest in labor / profit. The only to make this sound reasonable is if we compared it alongside a $3.2 million iPhone 3GS, and what do ya know, that was also a Stuart Hughes creation. We’re gonna take a stab in the dark and say that Wii Sports is not included.

Nintendo Wii Supreme is topped with a layer of gold, sprinkled with diamonds, and priced at £300,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Luxury Launches, Joystiq  |  sourceStuart Hughes  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 17

Wii Fit found to have ‘little effect’ on family fitness level, boredom seems to be the main culprit

Posted in: nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, study, Today's Chili, wii

In a new study conducted by Scott Owens out of the University of Mississippi, the Wii Fit was loaned to eight families and the usage and fitness impact was tracked over time — three months before they got the Wii, and three months after. The verdict? “No significant changes” in family fitness from the Wii. Interestingly, over the period of three months the daily Wii Fit usage declined a staggering 82 percent, from 22 minutes a day for the first half of the time all the way down to an average of four minutes a day for the last six weeks. The biggest winners here were the children, who did display some “significant” increases in the specific area of aerobic fitness, but we get the feeling that with a bit more stick-to-itiveness the whole family might’ve been able to raise its game here. Or maybe Nintendo could invest in making some more motion-controlled games that don’t become repetitive and shallow after two playthroughs.

Wii Fit found to have ‘little effect’ on family fitness level, boredom seems to be the main culprit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PC World  |  sourceOle Miss  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 02

Wii parts production said to be shrinking, still plenty of Wiis being sold

Posted in: nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, Today's Chili, wii
Well, we’ve already seen demand for the Wii finally begin to slow and Nintendo’s profits shrink as a result, and it looks like the inevitable trickle down effect is now also starting to take place. According to Nikkei, parts makers Mitsumi and Hosiden are expected to be particularly hard hit, with each forecasting a more than fifty percent drop in profits for the fiscal year ending next March. That still leaves them each with profits in the 5.3 to 6 billion yen range, however, and things should pick back up sooner or later whenever Nintendo decides the Wii needs a refresh or a revamp — and, if not, there’s always room for more Wu.

Wii parts production said to be shrinking, still plenty of Wiis being sold originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Joystiq  |  sourceMarketWatch  | Email this | Comments

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Dec 02

Cyber Wednesday brings half price Peek service, discounted Wii

Posted in: console, Email, nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, sale, Today's Chili, walmart, wii

Ever heard of Cyber Wednesday? Yeah, same here. But seriously — when’s the last time you heard us kvetch over a deal? Effective today only, Peek‘s email-only handhelds are being offered up with lifetime service for half of the normal price. Buy any Peek handheld and you’ll get service for just $9.99 per month for as long as you keep the device, which is certainly a bargain compared to the $19.99 that’s typically charged. In other news, Wally World has announced that from December 5th through the 12th (while supplies last, obviously), a $50 gift card will be handed over when you purchase a Wii console in-store. Just think — Walmart is actually incenting you to buy a Wii. Man, how the times have changed.

Cyber Wednesday brings half price Peek service, discounted Wii originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink I4U News  |  sourcePeek, Wii  | Email this | Comments

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Nov 30

Cyber Monday deals roundup: Core i7, HDTVs, SSDs, free Droid Eris

Posted in: amazon, BestBuy, CoreI7, droid, hdtv, HP, ipod, nintendo, roundup, sony, SSD, Today's Chili, walmart, wii

In Soviet Bulgaria, we don’t have Cyber Mondays, but from what we’ve been told this is a pretty bargainous time of the year. HP starts us off with a pair of coupons on its dv8 Core i7 notebook, one of which drops the 18.4-inch laptop to just $899. There are also deep 50 percent discounts on its printers, but only the Photosmart Premium All-in-One remains after the two cheaper models sold out. Click the Logic Buy link below to get in on the action. Amazon has the older Modern Warfare at $29.95 and Uncharted 2 at $40 flat for the PS3, Garmin’s nuvi 260W at a cent under $115 (or half price), and plenty of discounts on DVDs, gadgetry and even clothing. Best Buy keeps pace by offering the same price on the Garmin nav unit, as well as 10 percent discounts on Apple’s iPod range. Walmart is kicking off a whole Cyber Week with a Sony Bravia 32-inch HDTV priced at $398 and a $249 Nintendo Wii Value Bundle, which includes Wii Sports, sporting peripherals, and a choice of free game. If you’re more interested in computer components, Newegg’s $30 mail-in rebate on the 120GB OCZ Agility SSD will net you the drive for $289, our favorite of a plethora of deals at the online store. And finally, Dell is offering the Droid Eris for free when taking out a new Verizon Wireless account, which is at least $30 cheaper than you can get it anywhere else. Time to get clicking!

Read – Amazon
Read – Best Buy
Read – Dell
Read – Logic Buy
Read – Newegg
Read – Walmart

Cyber Monday deals roundup: Core i7, HDTVs, SSDs, free Droid Eris originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo, I4U  |   | Email this | Comments

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Nov 27

Nintendo Wii has lion’s share of female console gamers

Posted in: console, Games, gaming, nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, playstation 3, Playstation3, statistics, stats, Today's Chili, wii, xbox 360, Xbox360

Nintendo’s been doing a bit of digging and it turns out it’s already won the console wars. If we’re only talking about the ladies, that is. A whopping 80% of American female primary gamers (the person who primarily uses the console rather than the occasional dabblers) do their thing on the Wii, which we see as a clear indication to the graphics-obsessed Xbox 360 and PS3 developers that women prefer their games to be fun to play, rather than just look at. Maybe if we also stopped dressing female characters in swimsuits, they’d find non-Wii games relatable too — that’s just a guess though, probably wrong.

Nintendo Wii has lion’s share of female console gamers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Engadget Spanish, Joystiq  |  sourceKotaku  | Email this | Comments

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Nov 24

Nyko Charge Base IC for Wii now shipping

Posted in: Today's Chili, wii
Nyko‘s just unleashed its latest charging base for Wii controllers. This newest unit makes use of induction charging, so you can dispense with the sleeves, and just throw your contollers or Wands straight onto the dock for charging. The controllers are attached to the dock via magnets, and it also boasts a USB port for charging up other devices. The Nyko Charge base comes with two battery covers that are compatible with both Wiimotes and Nyko’s own Wands, as well as two rechargeable battery packs. It’s available now at Sam’s Club and Amazon, and retails for $39.99. Full press release is after the break. Also, be on the lookout — we’ll be giving away five of these puppies on Black Friday (among many, many other things).

Continue reading Nyko Charge Base IC for Wii now shipping

Nyko Charge Base IC for Wii now shipping originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 23

Wii pay-per-view programming introduced in Japan

Posted in: console, gaming, Japan, nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, Software, Today's Chili, wii

Not only are we still waiting for the TV Guide Channel that Japanese Wii users have been indulging in for the better part of two years, but now Variety is reporting that Nintendo has teamed up with a dozen corporate partners to tease us with a Japanese pay-per-view service for the console. Premiering last Saturday, Wii no Ma (Wii’s Room) currently has 120 titles, including episodes of Sesame Street and Pocket Monsters, available for prices ranging from ¥30 – ¥500 ($.35 – $5.63). According to Variety, titles can also be viewed on your Nintendo DSi handheld, a device known for its sonority and large, appealing display. No word yet on when we can enjoy a Stateside version, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear something. In the meantime, there’s always PlayOn.

Wii pay-per-view programming introduced in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceVariety  | Email this | Comments

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