Home

    Wii News

    Rock Band guitar mod turns on the magic of invisible light

    May 15, 2009 - 4:00am

    Is the Rock Band strum bar too ... tangible for you? YouTube user adderd019 swapped out all that tiresome plastic in his Rock Band guitar for a beam of infrared light, turning it into an optical theremin of sorts.The way he explains it, it sounds simple -- merely add an LED emitter and a receiver to the space where the strum bar usually goes, and then wire the controller up so that it registers a strum whenever the light beam is broken. Anyone can do that, right? The result is a guitar that strums when you wave your hand through the strum bar area. See the video after the break and marvel at the less-clicky, vaguely magical guitar![Thanks, Comet!]

    Continue reading Rock Band guitar mod turns on the magic of invisible light

    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Tony Hawk Ride goes to Wii, PS3, 360 ... with a skateboard peripheral

    May 15, 2009 - 1:45am


    As expected, the new Tony Hawk game was revealed on GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley. Tony Hawk Ride will take advantage of a brand new skateboard peripheral (pictured above) and, according to the program, will be available on all current generation home consoles: Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360.Skateboarder Tony Hawk said he has wanted to create a peripheral-based game for quite some time, but technology only recently allowed Ride to be possible. When grilled about his skill at the video game, Hawk said that he was quite good and added that skateboarders should find the transition easy. Multiple difficulty modes will allow players with even the most inadequate of balancing capabilities to play.The official website teases another appearance at this year's E3. We promise you that you won't have to wait long to find out more about Tony Hawk Ride. (Probably because we already saw it, and we're still under embargo.)Update: You can see GameTrailers footage after the cut.

    Continue reading Tony Hawk Ride goes to Wii, PS3, 360 ... with a skateboard peripheral

    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Ask Joystiq Nintendo: Border of Madness edition

    May 14, 2009 - 10:00pm

    This week, we have another question about Nintendo Points, which, we realize as we do these Ask Joystiq Nintendo columns, are kind of weird. The points cards come in different values in different regions, and sometimes even have different costs across platforms! Weird.Also, the usual sadness, this time about N64 games on VC and Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness. If you'd like us to give you reasons why your favorite game isn't being localized, send an email to asknintendo AT joystiq DOT com.

    Continue reading Ask Joystiq Nintendo: Border of Madness edition

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Guitar Hero: World Tour 'Pop Rock Track Pack' DLC available

    May 14, 2009 - 9:15pm


    Wannabe rockers, Guitar Hero: World Tour is unleashing some fresh DLC for your earholes. Dubbed the 'Pop Rock Track Pack,' the contents of this DLC offering are pretty much what you would expect: pop rock songs. See what Activision did there?The Pop Rock Track Pack includes (460 for the bundle on Xbox Live / $5.49 on PSN):

    You can download each of these tracks right now on your favorite console, or, if you own all three, you can download them for each, but that's just silly talk.Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Buying Real Heroes: Firefighter could make you a real hero

    May 14, 2009 - 9:00pm


    Click for more firefighting heroes
    Epicenter Studios has announced an initiative to assist real heroes through the sales of its game, Real Heroes: Firefighter. The studio says that it will donate a share of the proceeds to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, a charity that aims to "provide timely assistance to all fire service members and their families in the event of cancer diagnosis," though Nathaniel McClure, CEO of Epicenter, says he also appreciates how the charity "aggressively promotes prevention and early detection." So, not only will you save virtual people if you decide to pick up the game, but you could be helping in the recovery of real people in need, too. It's like kind of like a Double Stuff Oreo of justice.Real Heroes: Firefighter is slated for release in June 2009. Permalink | Email this | Comments

    The 'control' in New Play Control Chibi Robo

    May 14, 2009 - 8:00pm


    The next title to get the New Play Control treatment from Nintendo is Chibi Robo, and in being overhauled for Wii, players can expect new point-and-click-based controls, Siliconera reports. Gone are the analog controls of the original GameCube title, as not only will you guide your robotic munchkin around now by pointing your Wiimote where you want him to go, but you will also be tasked with finishing some of Chibi's chores through motion-based gestures. And the shooting scenes from the original? They've been replaced with light gun-like segments, further taking advantage of the Wiimote's ability to point at things.The game is set for release in Japan on June 11, and no North American release has been mentioned.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Spielberg: Smartest and dumbest thing I did was sell my company to EA

    May 14, 2009 - 7:45pm


    Long ago, a young kid with a dream of breaking out of the movie business and into games named Stevie Spielberg showed up in Silicon Valley with just his cockeyed optimism and millions upon millions of dollars. But when times got tough, he made the decision to sell his company, Dreamworks Interactive, to EA, just as it was about to finish Medal of Honor.Stevie's all grown up now, and says that he now realizes his game company could have stayed afloat based solely on the success of Medal of Honor. He told Reuters the move was the "smartest and dumbest thing [he] ever did."... Wait, wait. Dumber than AI? Really?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits' full hit list

    May 14, 2009 - 7:00pm

    How do you know when you're old? When you see a list of supposedly "modern hits" and you've never heard of half of them. That's, uh, not the case for us with the final Guitar Hero: Modern Hits track list, released today -- we were just saying. We're definitely hip to all these music groups. We were totally into Endeverafter before they got popular. Check out the full 25-song list after the break, and see if this year's DS Guitar Hero is more in line with your musical sensibilities than the last two. And then get off our lawn, whippersnappers. Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits comes out June 9th.

    Continue reading Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits' full hit list

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Authentic pink sweatshirts for Nintendo World Store Punch-Out!! pugilists

    May 14, 2009 - 6:00pm

    If you're in the New York City area and happen to be a Punch-Out!! fan, but, for some reason, weren't planning to attend the launch event at the Nintendo World Store, perhaps some... swag would change your mind. An unspecified number of participants in the Punch-Out!! Challenge will receive some of these awesome pink sweatshirts, just like the one Little Mac wears while training! Except that they have Punch-Out!! logos on them, which would be really weird and meta on Little Mac. In fact, now that we think about it, if you just bought a pink sweatshirt elsewhere, it would be more authentic.It wouldn't, however, be nearly as rare: the sweatshirts won't be made available for sale, according to the Punch-Out!! Twitter account. They'll only be available at this event. Speaking of exclusive swag, you can get a free poster if you purchase the game at Target.[Via GoNintendo]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    New Overlord: Dark Legend trailer is adorable, tiny

    May 14, 2009 - 5:00pm


    Now, let's examine the difference between "bad" and "evil." Using your army of minions to wreak havoc in a fairytale land like you will in Overlord: Dark Legend? That's evil. Evil in a fun way that we can't wait to try out, but all the same, evil.But making a trailer available to the public for the aforementioned game but only allowing it to be viewed in a window the size of Hervé Villechaize's belt buckle? That's just bad.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments