It looks like Brando might have beat Nintendo out of the gate with their own Wii controller “tommy gun” configuration. This Wii 2 in 1 Light Gun from Brando looks a lot like the Zapper that’s expected to be released by Nintendo in November, which will ship along with a Crossbow training game.

This version from Brando is available now and is listed at $18, $2 under the expected price of the Zapper but with no game. But, unfortunately we’re still going to have to wait a little longer for the Wii games to come out that take advantage of this plastic mold.

The Wii controller-combo gun dubbed the Zapper which we heard about back in July is gearing up to launch in November and will come packaged with Link’s Crossbow Training, a Zelda-like target shooting game likely designed to help learn the use of the controller accessory.

The Zapper is really little more than a molded piece of plastic, but is specifically designed to hold the two wireless, motion-sensitive Wii controllers in the shape of a short two-handed gun.

Once you become proficient at using the Zapper with the Crossbow Training game you’ll want to try your aim at a few other 3rd party titles that will make use of the controllers, including EA’s Medal of Honor Heroes 2, Capcom’s Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, and Sega’s Ghost Squad. All three games are expected to be out …

The Nintendo Wii again has lead the game console sales in Japan selling 245,653 units in the first four weeks with the Sony PS3 trailing at 81,541 units. That’s about a 3 to 1 lead that Nintendo has over Sony’s console sales which is actually good news for Sony as that ratio has been shrinking the past couple months.

In June Nintendo sold around 6 times as many Wii’s compared to the Playstation 3 in the Japanese market, and in July that ratio dropped to about 4 to 1. The PS3 with its Blu-ray player has been behind Nintendo in console sales since they were introduced last year, likely due the PS3’s higher price and lack of popular game titles, but Sony’s plans for the coming months may help keep this trend going. The company is planning to add a number of games towards this holiday shopping season to hopefully entice more PS3 sales, including the very popular Gran Turismo 5 which will go on sale in October.

Even though the Wii game console doesn’t have the most intense graphics it still has the potential of getting too hot. The spot you put the compact console in might not have enough ventilation or the room might just get too warm with all the flailing around during a heated game of doubles tennis.

To avoid an overheated situation the Wii fan has come to the rescue as a simple, external cooling accessory for your Wii game console. The Wii fan connects to the back of your game console and is custom designed so that it can connect to the USB port and pull air through the existing vent in a one-piece gadget. If you’re concerned that this thing covers up all of your USB ports, luckily the designers have thought of that as well extending two USB ports on the …

The folks at Nintendo World Report have recently gotten a tip that the Wii is coming out with another upgrade to the wrist strap for the motion sensitive remote. We saw early on that Nintendo came released a stronger version of the strap shortly after a number of people reported various damages from losing control of the Wii remote and the wrist strap not holding during game play.

The new Wii-branded strap features a locking clip on the strap in place of the existing clip that just slides. This would keep the clip from sliding away from the users wrist and since the strap is stronger now hopefully help prevent more damages and injuries from some possibly over-intense, Wii-loving individuals.

Source via Joystiq

It’s looking as though video game maker Rockstar is breaking away from the Xbox to get at least one game on board the Nintendo Wii gravy train with a new version of its Table Tennis game. RockStar has created some pretty awesome games in the past including a little something called Grand Theft Auto and is the author of the recently controversial Manhunt 2, and this one is sure to be no slouch.

“Ever since we released Table Tennis, fans have been asking us to create a Wii version,” said Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games. “By bringing Table Tennis to the Wii and utilizing the motion-sensitive Wii Remote, a new audience can now experience a game that is beautifully designed and impossible to put down.”

The game will allow you to choose from 11 different …

It sounds like some hackers have found a hole in the Nintendo Wii game console that will allow them the bring up their own home-style games to play on the Wii.

Reportedly the Flash Player running on the game console through the games Internet Channel is a relatively minor challenge to crack and it won’t be long before home made games will start taking the place of the ones available from Nintendo, but with these you won’t need to pay Nintendo any Wii points. We can’t imagine that Nintendo will be all-too happy with this one and will probably be following up in not too long with an update to the console, because Nintendo doesn’t have a problem with you putting your own games on the Wii, as long as you do it their way.

via T3

The Nintendo Wii has emerged as the most revolutionary game console since the Atari 2600 because it’s doing what no other console in history has done: made it cool for the entire family to play a video game together. If you have any doubt of this claim I present to you Nyko’s Wii Party Station.

This battery powered hub of fun has four slots for a quartet of Wii-motes, a storage drawer for your nunchuks, four numeric LED displays so you can keep track of each player’s points and four cups that can be frozen to keep your beverages nice and cool while taking your turns at “Wii Sports”. That grill in-between the LED displays? That’s a fan that blows cool air to keep your hands free of sweat. This baby even as a bowl for putting chips and dip into. And at a …

The Wii Balance Board might have gotten the biggest show but it certainly wasn’t the only cool thing Nintendo unveiled today. The Wii Zapper is a controller accessory that holds both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk to make somewhat of an elaborate automatic weapon to use in game play. The sounds of on-screen battle can even be heard through the speaker on the Wii Remote.

Nintendo says the Wii Zapper name hasn’t been decided for sure, but the design is pretty much done. Planning on hitting shelves later this year, the Wii gun holder will be packaged with games from Nintendo that take advantage of the multi-controller configuration. According to Nintendo when launched the configuration will also work with Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Ghost Squad and the new, upcoming Medal Of Honor.

Accessory Page

Today Nintendo held a demonstration of a new type of controller for its Wii game console called the Wii Balance Board. Looking like an aerobics step, the balance board can sense the weight you put on either side of the board with your feet and through this also sense your balance. No doubt taking a hint from all the exercise people are getting in on with the console, the associated Wii Fit “game”, users can work on aerobics, muscle conditioning, yoga and balance through the game console giving a total of more than 40 exercise activities.

The Wii Balance Board can even work in tandem with the Wiimote to create full-body interactive games working on balance and coordination. Nintendo didn’t announce any prices or specific release dates which most likely means it won’t be real soon, but we’re sure …

Nyko has a new charging accessory that can help prolong your game play with the Nintendo Wii game console. The Charge Station can simultaneously charge two Wii Remotes by simply resting them in the dual charging docks.

The package comes with two rechargeable NiMH batteries that provide up to 25 hours of continuous use, each. Each of the rechargeable batteries for the Wii Remote also have a rubberized coating as Nyko’s way of helping players keep a better grip on their controllers.

Even though this charging station will charge up both batteries at the same time it takes a big eight hours for them to take on a full charge, which seems a little long to us. Of course if you do end up draining both of them after 25 hours of continuous Wii Sports action you’re probably due for at least an eight …

EA Sports realizes that although the motion-sensitive controllers for the Wii may well be the key part of the game consoles success, running both of them in some games can be complicated for some and turn them off of certain games, not to mention dangerous.

Due to this, the versions of Madden NFL 08, NBA Live 08 and FIFA 08 for the Wii will have both and Advanced and a Family mode of play. The Family mode makes use of only the Wii remote and not the Nunchuk, leaving some of the more complicated functions for the computer to handle. The basic functions of things like passing and shooting are controlled through the single remote. As players get more skilled with the game they can change modes and use both controls for more orchestration …

Not only is Nintendo’s sales of the Wii game console staying ahead of the competition, but they are continuing to rise and pull further away from rival Sony’s PlayStation 3.

Last month we reported that the Wii was outselling the PS3 in Japan at a ratio of 5 to 1 in May with 251,794 units. Reuters is now reporting that these numbers have risen and Nintendo sold 270,974 Wii game console units in the first 24 days of June in Japan. This, compared to the 41,628 units of the PS3 that Sony sold ups the ratio to that of 6 to 1 Wii’s to PS3’s sold. Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which is also a major competitor in the current generation gaming consoles, sold 17,616 consoles during the same period.

This trend of dominate consoles sales from Nintendo …

One of the more novel games to take advantage of the Nintendo Wii’s interactive remote is “Cooking Mama”. In the game you set out to prepare different meals from around the world, cutting, cooking and chopping your ingredients and then placing them in your frying pans, pots and oven to turn into video game meals.

Brando Workshop has taken the initiative and come up with a Wii Cooking Mother Kit designed to bring an even more authentic culinary experience to the gameplay. You can attach one of the five cooking utensils (knife, fork, frying pan, spatula and knife) on to the Wiimote, load up “Cooking Mama” and bring it on without having to throw it into your dishwasher after dinner is served. The kit will set you back $17 which is pretty reasonable. (Spices not included.)

Nintendo today announced a new game-creation service called WiiWare which will open up game development for anyone to create games to play on the Nintendo Wii game console.

The WiiWare service will enable developers from around the world to create new and unique games that take advantage of the popular, motion-sensitive Wii controllers. If you thought there were some strange and interesting games available that utilize Remote and Nunchuk now, just wait.

While the popularity of the Wii game console along with the massive fun people have with it may alone be enough incentive to draw some developers, Nintendo may also offer the chance for them to make some bank from their game creations. Game creators will have their Wii games placed online on the Wii Shop Channel which can be viewed and downloaded by the masses through redeeming Wii points. …