Aug 13

Guitar Hero 5 for Wii can stream downloaded songs directly from SD card

Posted in: memory, nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, sd, stream, Today's Chili, wii

In what’s hopefully indicative of future trends, the upcoming Guitar Hero 5 for Nintendo Wii has the ability to stream content — in this case, extra songs — directly from the SD card. Up until now, everything from the card had to be transferred to 512MB internal memory before use, meaning you’d be pretty limited if making that near-endless set list of premium downloaded tracks. With 32GB of space now at your disposal, it looks like the only limit is your bank account and your predilection to Eagles of Death Metal. So when are we gonna see this trick in other Wii titles, eh Nintendo?

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Guitar Hero 5 for Wii can stream downloaded songs directly from SD card originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 12

Psyclone / React Wiimote chargers recalled due to fire hazard

Posted in: nintendo, Today's Chili, wii
Wii owners, you just can’t catch a break, can you? First you’re busting up the TV when all you ever wanted was a little ball-free faux-bowling action, and then there’s that Rock Band controller / chemical burn fiasco. And now? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has just announced a voluntary recall of a little something called the 4-Dock Battery Recharge Station. This guy (available from Target, Toys R Us, and Amazon.com under the Psyclone brand, or from Best Buy under the React name) has been recharging batteries, excessively overheating batteries, posing fire risks, and burning the occasional hand since they first went on sale in January, 2008. Think you may have one of the offending units? Don’t just call the Waaaambulance — hit that read link and demand satisfaction!

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

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Psyclone / React Wiimote chargers recalled due to fire hazard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 11

Nintendo patent filing reveals inflatable cushion controller for horse riding, shark jumping

Posted in: nintendo, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili, wii

“For centuries throughout the world, horseback riding has captured the imagination of adventurous people. In the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the horse was a symbol of power. In medieval Europe and Japan, horses were essential for quick movement across large distances and were often used in warfare. In the American wild west, the horse was a cowboy’s constant companion and a symbol of self-reliance and adventure.”

– Nintendo patent application, building up to… an inflatable cushion for your Wiimote. Really.

[Via Joystiq]

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Nintendo patent filing reveals inflatable cushion controller for horse riding, shark jumping originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 11

Xbox 360 Scores Exclusive Netflix Movie Streaming, PS3 Cries Blue Tears

Posted in: Microsoft, netflix, nintendo, playstation 3, ps3, sony, Today's Chili, top, wii, xbox 360

Those Microsoft rascals have scored a big one: The Xbox 360 is now the only game console that will get Netflix video streaming. No Sony PlayStation 3, no Nintendo Wii, no Atari 2600. That’s what the Xbox Update page says:

Netflix Partnership

This exclusive partnership offers you the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via Xbox 360. Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers**, at no additional cost.

From the Netflix Web site, simply add movies and TV episodes to your instant Queue, which will appear automatically on the TV screen via Xbox 360. Once selected, movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds. In addition to instantly streaming Netflix movies to the TV, Xbox LIVE Gold members can browse and rate movies, fast-forward, pause and rewind, all using either their Xbox 360 Controller or Universal remote.

Oh Sony, Sony. That has to hurt. A little. In the inside. [Xbox via Endgadget]

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Aug 10

Nintendo’s Iwata says Vitality Sensor is coming “not too late” in 2010

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

We know, it’s been tough waiting for word of a release date for Nintendo’s Wii Vitality Sensor. Almost as tough as figuring out what it actually does. Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata now looks to be clearing up a few details on both fronts, however, telling investors that the company “would like to deliver the actual product not too late in the year next year,” and adding that the first game for it will have a “theme of relaxation, which is completely opposite from traditional ones, to enrich the users’ lives.” He also again mentioned the idea of using it to measure “how horrified a player is in a horror title” as another possibility, and compared the device to Wii Fit, which he says also initially caused people to doubt how well it would sell.

[Via Joystiq]

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Nintendo’s Iwata says Vitality Sensor is coming “not too late” in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 07

OpenChord allows actual guitars to play Guitar Hero, sound atrocious

Posted in: controller, guitar, hack, mod, Music, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, Today's Chili, wii

You’ve heard that saying “so close, yet so far away,” right? This, folks, is why that very quote exists. The obviously brilliant team over at OpenChord has designed a system that enables an honest-to-goodness guitar to sync up with Nintendo’s Wii in order to play Guitar Hero. You simply plug the Wiimote into the axe and use the bona fide strings and frets in place of those plastic buttons you’re so used to using. The only problem? Guitar Hero wasn’t designed for use with six strings and 22 to 24 frets, and man, does it show. Hop on past the break to have a listen, and yes, your dreams of actually taking advantage of this will be shattered. Bet on it.

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading OpenChord allows actual guitars to play Guitar Hero, sound atrocious

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OpenChord allows actual guitars to play Guitar Hero, sound atrocious originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 04

Console hacker arrested, faces up to ten years in jail

Posted in: legal, Today's Chili, us, wii, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

Just when you thought it was safe to get out your soldering irons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants you to know that its agents are still out there, on the lookout for for even more mod chip-wielding nogoodniks and their non-DMCA compliant consoles. According to the AP, a 27-year-old CSU student named Matthew Crippen was recently arrested for “modifying Xbox, PlayStation and Wii consoles in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act” and released Monday on $5,000 bond. The dime was dropped on this perp by the Entertainment Software Association, and the raid conducted by Customs agents sometime in May. He will be arraigned on August 10th, and if convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. Let this be a lesson to you: while the ICE may have its hands full with human slavery, drug trafficking, transnational gangs, and stolen artifacts, there is always time to make an example out of a man that knows his way around the inside of a Playstation.

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Console hacker arrested, faces up to ten years in jail originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 04

Nintendo promises ‘very creative ideas’ for Vitality Sensor, declines to name any

Posted in: nintendo, Today's Chili, wii

The kids at the Mercury-News have just had a sit-down with our old pal Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s legendary head of game development, for a chat about the recession, game controllers, and trust. The company’s plan for dealing with the ebbs and flows of the international economy is simple: “We’re really just concentrating on creating something that people want… something the whole family will use.” Does that include the admittedly silly Vitality Sensor? Of course: “[A]ny sort of changes to interface that allows people to get into games and enjoy games is a great trend.” Any clues as to the exciting new forms of gameplay this Vitality Sensor will provide? “I don’t have any indication for you (of what we have in the works) other than to say that we have lots of very creative ideas.” It looks like we’ll just have to trust the man with the sword for the time being.

[Via Joystiq]

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Nintendo promises ‘very creative ideas’ for Vitality Sensor, declines to name any originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 03

Nintendos Miyamoto Does Not Fear Rival Motion Controllers

Posted in: nintendo, Today's Chili, wii

miyamoto.jpg

Shigeru Miyamoto, who helped create Mario, Donkey Kong, and Nintendogs, says Nintendo’s competitors face a “big challenge” not only in creating a natural motion controller, but also getting it to consumers.  

“We have sold millions of controllers at a good price point. And we have that delivery system successfully already implemented. For other companies starting from zero and trying to figure out how to get it out there at a decent price point is a big challenge,” said Miyamoto.

Since Nintendo has recorded a 60 percent drop in profits, it will be interesting to see if the company does, in fact, come out on top in sales. 

Via GamesIndustry.biz

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Jul 31

Black Wii now available from importers for $333

Posted in: nintendo, Today's Chili, wii

Yeah, we were pretty bummed that Nintendo’s super-hot black Wii wasn’t coming to the US, but fear not, fanboys — it looks like the stealth console has hit the gray-market import scene. Sure, you’ll have to pay a bit of a premium at $333, but surely that’s a reasonable price for exclusivity, no?

[Via DCEmu UK; thanks Craig]

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Black Wii now available from importers for $333 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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