Wii News

Nintendo's E3 2009 press conference presenters: Iwata, Fils-Aime and ... Cammie Dunaway


Nintendo has confirmed that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime and everyone's favorite EVP of Sales and Marketing, Cammie Dunaway, will be speaking at the company's E3 2009 press conference. For those who need a reminder of last year's E3 keynote, check out the graciously edited clip of awkwardness found after the break.

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Guy runs Windows 95 on Wii, wonders why


Using a Wii version of the open source DOS emulator DOSbox, a Wii homebrew devotee has managed to get Windows 95 running on the console -- if your definition of "running" is "working, but just barely." In fact, the boot process spans most of two YouTube videos, which the author admits have been edited for brevity. (It takes upwards of 13 minutes just to see the taskbar.)You're probably asking yourself, "What's the point?" and "Why even try?" Well, to prove it can be done, of course. But even the one who did it -- while providing instructions on how to replicate the process -- advises against following in his footsteps, saying, "I did it and now I can move on to more productive things." But, hey, you could be doing worse things with the system. Waste your time with videos of Wiindows 95 in sort-of action after the break!

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PSA: Club Nintendo status reset coming June 30


Attention Club Nintendo members: on June 30 your membership status will be reset. According to an email being distributed by Nintendo, via Aeropause, users attempting to claw their way to Gold elite and Platinum member status for Nintendo's buyer program will have their efforts reset at the end of next month.Here's the skinny: Coins (points obtained by registering games/hardware, taking surveys and buying WiiWare and DSiWare titles) are only valid toward a user's Club Nintendo status within the year they are purchased. The Club Nintendo year runs from July 1 until June 30. Users will not lose any coins they've collected (although they can expire), but will have their membership status reset when the year is over.In order to achieve Gold or Platinum status again, users must collect the necessary amount of coins within the year. Gold membership status begins at 300 coins, Platinum begins at 600 -- as a reference point, the DSi nets users 150 coins. Club Nintendo Gold and Platinum members are awarded special bonuses by Nintendo, in the form of a unique gift at the end of the calendar year. Like Aeropause, we recommend you hold off on any activity that may net you coins ... for the sake of your Club Nintendo street cred.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wii Food Delivery Channel open for business in Japan

Today, Nintendo of Japan finally made it possible to invoke the proverbial "/pizza" through the Wii. The Demae Channel ("Food Delivery Channel"), a Wii channel that allows users to place delivery orders on the Wii, launched today.If you're in Japan and you like to eat food, you can now order pizza, curry, and other varieties of food using the Wii. Rather than paying through the system, you just pay the delivery guy as normal. Check out the video for a demo of the Demae Channel in action -- and a look at how expensive pizza is in Japan. 3,600 yen ($38) for a large Pizza Hut pizza?[Via Siliconera]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Zoo Publishing announces four new DS titles


Zoo Publishing has revealed it will release four new Nintendo DS titles developed by PlayFirst, based on properties acquired from Empire Interactive earlier this month. Casual titles Diner Dash: Flo on the Go, Wedding Dash, Chocolatier, and Dream Chronicles are all scheduled to hit stores this holiday season. Of the four, the most recognizable to gamers would be Diner Dash. In the latest edition, Flo (No, not that Flo) has decided to take a vacation; however, her undying work ethic has driven her to wait tables in five new tropical restaurants. Excuse us, Flo! You work too hard.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tony Hawk Ride's board powered by dual accelerometers, imagination

We still don't know much about Tony Hawk Ride's board-shaped peripheral. Things like "How much will it cost?" (GameStop indicates that it won't be cheap) or "How does it work?" While clearly powered, in part, by your "imagination," a recent video from USA Today (found after the break) adds some technological jargon to that list of ingredients: dual accelerometers. Says developer Robomodo's Josh Tsui:
"Inside are two accelerometers, and that gives us our tilting for navigation, our lifting on either side for doing things like ollies and nollies, and then it also gives us rotation. One accelerometer will give us the tilting and the lift, but having two of them allows us to read two different settings, two different rotations so that this way it allows us this type of skating mechanic. That's something that a lot of peripherals have never done before, is the rotation and the popping."
So, basically what Mr. Tsui is trying to tell you, in a very circuitous fashion, is that your vintage Top Skater arcade cabinet has finally been outgunned. Oh, and that you - as the owner of a vintage Top Skate arcade cabinet - are a relic from an ancient time ... a simple time when simple people were content to enjoy simple skateboarding peripherals. [Thanks, Markus]

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Flip's Twisted World: Majesco's new platformer has a twist

Majesco just announced a new Wii platformer that seems to be inspired by the strange landscapes of Super Mario Galaxy, with a few added tricks. The gimmick behind Flip's Twisted World is that the environment can be rotated 90 degrees in any direction with a motion of the Wii Remote. Flip, an apprentice of "Master Fulcrum," accidentally gets transported into a "cubed" universe, containing five worlds full of screen-rotating puzzles. Magical tools found throughout the adventure give Flip new abilities, and side quests unlock new costumes and other bonus items.Flip's Twisted World (with the excellent abbreviated title "FTW") may have an overly childish aesthetic, but that screen-flipping mechanic is pretty enticing. Majesco is planning to release the title in January.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Surprise: LucasArts announces Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron for DS/PSP

The ESRB may have totally spoiled the announcement of Star Wars: Battlefront: Elite Squadron for PSP and DS, but act surprised anyway, if only to be polite to LucasArts.The new portable addition to the Battlefront series -- shipping on both platforms this fall -- stars X2, the second X-Men movie a Clone Trooper cloned from a Jedi Master, who decides to join the Rebellion. The game features "multi-level battlefronts" in which the player can travel from land into space and even onto spaceships in the same level.The press release suggests that the DS and PSP are getting s ubtly different games, with the DS version promising a "class-based gameplay experience" with different weapons for each class, and the PSP version allowing players to "personalize and build their character with more weapons and items than ever before." The PSP game has 16-player multiplayer with "in-depth stat tracking," and the DS release has "intense 4-player skirmishes" in different multiplayer modes.

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Surprise! Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron announced for DS and PSP

The ESRB may have totally spoiled the announcement of Star Wars: Battlefront: Elite Squadron for PSP and DS, but act surprised anyway, if only to be polite to LucasArts.The new portable addition to the Battlefront series -- shipping on both platforms this fall -- stars X2, the second X-Men movie a Clone Trooper cloned from a Jedi Master, who decides to join the Rebellion. The game features "multi-level battlefronts" in which the player can travel from land into space and even onto spaceships in the same level.The press release suggests that the DS and PSP are getting subtly different games, with the DS version promising a "class-based gameplay experience" with different weapons for each class, and the PSP version allowing players to "personalize and build their character with more weapons and items than ever before." The PSP game has 16-player multiplayer with "in-depth stat tracking," and the DS release has "intense 4-player skirmishes" in different multiplayer modes.Permalink | Email this | Comments

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Muscle Marches On

Under normal circumstances, by far the biggest news on the Japanese Wii Shop this week would be Final Fantasy. Square Enix actually delivered the game on time to Virtual Console, and didn't even take the opportunity to jack the price up. Even if it is ancient, 500 points for a classic RPG is a great deal!But circumstances aren't normal this week: Muscle March, the game of posing a line of Speedo'd bodybuilders to run through walls in order to catch the thief who stole their protein powder, is out. Also on WiiWare, though less muscle-related: Arkanoid Plus!, a WiiWare release similar to the Arkanoid game for XBLA, and NEVES Plus.Virtual Console:

WiiWare:

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