Looks like the 10 lbs I put on over the holidays will have to wait until Q2 to come off. I can wait.
The “Wii Fit” is Nintendo’s next great controller and has been a huge success in both Europe and Japan since its release in Q4 2007 will be coming to the US in Q2 2008. The Nintendo Wii-based exercise game and tool has been included on nearly 150 games announced by Nintendo last week including “Mario Kart”, “LEGO: Indiana Jones”, “Super Dodgeball Brawlers” and some sequels to “Pokemon Mystery Dungeon”.
Far cooler than my first impression from the first few minutes - usually these things don’t impress me so much.
Head tracking technology has been around for quite some time (Track IR), though it hasn’t been quite as ever-present as it is now with the Wii’s release.
Don’t get me wrong: this is still a niche hobby, and the live-television market probably won’t ever be effected by this. Additionally multiplayer gaming simply wouldn’t work, which is the lifeblood of the interactive console of the decade: the Wii.
But with all the pieces already being mass produced - this technology will only get cheaper - perhaps there is a niche market for first person games for the PC on your TV, or even a gaming platform to go with it. Since all you’re doing is moving the in-game camera, I don’t see how this puts any extra load on the game engine itself. Games just have to be written with this sort of device in mind.
Short term: the NES had a light gun that came with a game back in the 1980s. Why couldn’t the Wii have a motion tracking hat bundled with a game, too?
Microsoft Xbox 360Did you expect the Wii? Sorry. It’s a brilliant piece of innovation, that’s not in question, but there simply aren’t enough games to judge it against the best controllers ever. The Xbox 360 pad has proven itself over a longer time and on a wider selection of titles — and it has its own claims to originality.
It’s not terribly pretty — it’s beige, for a start — but the Xbox 360’s pad is a winner on several counts. For starters, it was the first wireless pad to come as standard. Its comfy, solid design offers dual analogue joysticks and two analogue trigger buttons underneath.
There’s also a built-in jack for connecting a headset, so you can hear and talk to your n00b opponents. Can it be waved around like a magician’s wand? Hell no, but this is about serious man-gaming — there’s no time for moving your arms when your thumbs are tapping this fast.
Ok…. this is funny in so many ways. The kid who “hosts” it is simply rediculous. I think hes a Teenage Mutant Ninja Human. He just needs to say “dude” more. And the kids in the arcade? WOW. Priceless
Neatorama clued me into the burgeoning field of homemade versions of the Super Mario Brothers theme song.
This is a collection of videos of that time honored art form. I’ll put some of the more unusual/unique/original versions at the top of the list. I’ve never even heard of a Balalaika or an Er Hu before, and the hand farting kid’s face freaks me out.
If you watch only one, however, watch the first one. I couldn’t even figure out what a beat boxing flute player was until I watched the video… it’s truly impressive:Beatboxing Flut
WOW.. you have got to see this vid to belive it. I didnt embed the vid.. so head over to Kotaku for the actual video. BUt wow.. if only it would ever see the light of day. Looks like fun
So what do you think of this vid? For starters, it’s running in blurry footage from an emulator, so its authenticity is far from assured. Then you’ve got the shoddy “alpha” presentation, which while sticking to Casamassina’s story of it being conceptual also could just as easily be a fanboy job.
Me? I call real deal. There were too many people whispering about this thing for it to not be true. What I want to know, though, is why or how this was even conceived. Were Microsoft ever seriously entertaining the idea of letting Halo turn up on a Nintendo handheld? Would Bungie ever seriously entertain the idea of their FPS masterpiece ending up as a Game Boy side-scroller?
knightPhlight sez, “With the advent of the Wii, another generation of Zelda fans are born. My daughter’s 4th birthday is tomorrow and she asked for a Link cake. With two classes of pre-K munchkins coming over, there was only one solution: cupcake pixel art. The icing on the cake(s) would be a happy birthday wish from everyone in the bOINGbOING-isphere…”
From over 220 entries in the Celebrity Mii Contest, the judges have selected their favorite celebrity avatar created with the Nintendo Wii. And the winner is Dave Curry with his Zach Braff Mii:
Wii Fit Coming to US in Q2 :: Gizmos for Geeks
