Wii Rally

Can’t be at E3? Well neither can I, So I’ve got the next best thing Internet video.

OK here Wii go.

First up for the Nintendo media briefing is a 2 minute video of some news stories and user videos which have used the Wii as a focal point. Nintendo begins by tooting their own horn….obviously.

After the short video a gigantic man in a beige suit [Reggie Fils-Aime, NoA President] walks to the middle of the stage and says “Hi I’m Reggie and I am Happy!”

The first segment of Reggie’s speech is about all the stuff that only venture capitalists and investors care about. You know stuff like expanding demographics, sales figures, and market share info….BORING!

Now some interesting stuff. Reggie states that by the holiday shopping season there should be over 160 Wii titles available in North America and over 430 DS titles for the same territory.

After a second video similar to the first Reggie introduces to the world the first offspring of the Wii Remote and nunchuck. The Wii Zapper a housing for your Wii Remote and nunchuck making it look like a small SMG. Reggie goes on to talk about 3 new games that are being designed around the new housing, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Sega’s Ghost Squad a popular arcade light gun game, and the newest addition to the Medal of Honour series will also be centered around the Wii Zapper which will retail for about 19.99 USD. Reggie also mentions plans for a 1st party title that will come packed with a zapper later this year.

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The time has come my friends, the time has come to…….. ROCK!

Guitar Hero 3 details were announced today and as expected all platforms will get to take the stage this time, including the Wii.

“…fresh downloadable content will be offered on multiple platforms”

The press release doesn’t give any specific details on which platforms will have access to DLC but The Wii Shop Channel has tonnes of room. Especially if they release the songs in blocks like GH2 on Xbox360.

Activision also announced an initial list of songs which you and your friends can rock out with or against in the all new “Battle Mode”.

• Paint It Black (by The Rolling Stones)
• Cherub Rock (by Smashing Pumpkins)
• Sabotage (by Beastie Boys)
• The Metal (by Tenacious D)
• My Name is Jonas (by Weezer)
• Knights of Cydonia (by Muse)
• Rock And Roll All Nite (as made famous by Kiss)
• School’s Out (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
• Slow Ride (as made famous by Fog Hat)
• Cult of Personality (by Living Colour)
• Barracuda (as made famous by Heart)

The game is also to feature “Expanded online multiplayer game modes” and Wireless controllers for all platforms. Not sure if we will see anything massive in the online multiplayer department on the the Wii but we shall see.

via GamesPress
Picture: Tenacious D

In the interest of covering my own butt I’m gonna file this one under rumour but I’m getting word that Wii owners will soon have an easier time sending messages and surfing the web using the Internet Channel. This easier time is brought to you buy a novel idea for an input device; a keyboard.

Word on the street is that Logitech is stepping up to manufacture some keyboards which will work with the USB ports located on the rear of the console. But wait…. there’s more! The May issue of Game Informer says that even though they haven’t announced anything official yet Nintendo may jump into the peripheral market with a keyboard of their own.

To be honest I was a little surprised when I tried to plug a regular USB keyboard in to my Wii and it failed to work. This news however seems to be a step in right direction and definitely could get more people using the Wii message system and Internet Channel which to be honest doesn’t get a lot of play ’round my house but that could change.

Guillemot owned peripheral maker Thrustmaster has some accessories on the market to pimp out your Wii, today Wii Rally focuses on the T-Protect.

The T-Protect is a silicon sleeve for your Wii Remote and nunchuck combo. It is designed to give you more of a grip on the Wii Remote and accent it with style. What sets the T-Protect apart from similar products on the market is that the T-Protect is designed to absorb shock it’s actually a couple millimeters thicker than the basic colour sleeves you can buy anywhere. So if you’re a butter fingers that is constantly dropping the Wii Remote or you like to live dangerously and forgo the suggested wrist strap then the T-Protect may help you get a little more mileage out of your Wii Remote, until you send it through your nice new TV because you’re too manly to listen to warnings.

The T-Protect comes in too colours black and white it’s surprising that Thrustmaster didn’t go with any other colours considering the success of sites like Decal Girl or the simple joy people get out of customizing their Wii Remote. I got my girlfriend a pink sleeve for her Wii Remote and she’s never been happier. I was a bit skeptical about the white T-Protect considering how the Wii Remote on it’s own seems to gather a greasy form of filth during particularly sweaty sessions of Zelda:TP. The T-Protect did not stop this occurrence but the sleeve itself remained clean while the gunk stayed on Wii Remote.

The T-Protect does fit comfortably in your hand and doesn’t add much weight to the Wii Remote but when you’ve been playing video games as long as I have sometimes something wrapping around your controller just feels “wrong”. I prefer the smooth texture of the original Wii Remote casing but if your worried about one day dropping your controller and having it smash in into pieces on your nice hard wood floor. You can spend thousands of dollars installing carpet in your game domain or dish out 9.99$ for a T-Protect.

I’m not a big fan of Wii Remote sleeves but if you are really looking to buy one for protection’s sake than the T-protect is probably is the strongest and best value for your money.

Bottom Line

Pros:
Comfortable
Protects your controller
Doesn’t get dirty.

Cons:
Only comes in two colours
Can feel “wrong” for seasoned gamers
Won’t protect loved ones from injury.

The Nintendo Wii has been in the retail market for about 2 months now and Nintendo couldn’t be happier. Crazy sales resulted in massive profits over the holiday season but you already knew that. What you might not know is that a nice amount of Nintendo’s sales were not just for the console and its software. At launch Nintendo had many 1st party peripherals available for purchase including the WiiMote, nunchuck and the “Classic” controller. These items flew off store shlves and were sold out all across North America. Now with every console it is only a matter of time before 3rd party companies take the initiative and develop their own controllers and peripherals for a given console which are often sold at a lower price point than their 1st party brethren. Well Nintendo consoles are no stranger to 3rd party peripherals and the Wii is no exception.

An inside source from Wal-Mart reported on GameTrailer’s forums about a 3rd party WiiMote and nunchuck being made by peripheral manufacturer MadCatz.

I personally wouldn’t recommend this one; in fact I would stay away from MadCatz all together. Their products are often flimsy, poor quality and have a very different feel to them than their 1st party counterparts.
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