The new Wii game console from Nintendo has been very well received by consumers and sales are causing serious competition for rival game maker Sony with the PS3. A lot of the hype revolving around the Wii has had to do with the controller, in more ways than one.

As most are already aware, the Wii controllers feature motion sensitivity allowing the user to participate more physically in the games they are playing. Some examples include swinging the remote like a racket when playing tennis, like a bat for baseball and even simulate punching with it in your hand for boxing.

To the dismay of some game owners, the Wii controller has gotten out of hand, literally. In the heat of excitement during a game, players have reportedly lost their grip on the controller having it fly out of their …

The Nintendo Wii game console has finally hit the UK early Friday morning, and like the previous releases in the US and in Japan, it was met by crowds of enthusiastic fans.

Die hard Nintendo fans waited outside of the Oxford Street branch of HMV in London for as long as two days, weathering rain storms and even a tornado. HMV is one of the few stores offering the new game console that did not have all of them already pre-ordered.

The launch of the Nintendo Wii is done in direct competition with the Sony’s PS3, although the target consumer may be slightly different. The Wii is a lower priced system and is not as powerful as the PS3, but it has some features that appeal to a wider range of gamers.

The Wii debuts with what some call a revolutionary type of …

Japan – In an uncommon fashion the Nintendo Wii was released to consumers in Japan this Saturday after it’s release to the US two weeks ago. Nintendo stated that the earlier release to the US was to capture more of the holiday shopping season, and speculations are that the timing was to also rival the PS3 release which was only days prior. Previous Nintendo releases have usually been done in their home country of Japan first, and then to the US.

Nintendo has 400,000 units available for sale in Japan and has already sold over 600,000 in the US. The price for the game console to consumers in Japan is about $216 USD, or 25,000 yen which is about half the price of the PS3, and about four times the number of consoles were available at the launch date.

According to reports, thousands …

Joytech, a world wide manufacturer of video game peripherals, is planning on launching Wii game controller accessories for later this year.

From the looks of the photos, it appears that the third party controller add-ons will allow you to either add your controller to the accessory, or add the accessory to your controller to further enhance the interaction in your game. The new Wii game console includes a new style of wireless controller that is motion sensitive to allow the user to perform specific actions with the remote that simulate the actions on the game. These accessories shaped as items such as a racket, golf club or steering wheel allow a more realistic feel for the gamer as they simulate the actions.

There are also plans for a docking station to be available for the wireless Wii remotes to keep them organized and recharged …

Nintendo launched it’s new Wii video game console in New York last night at midnight, meeting more than a thousand eagerly awaiting fans. Some fans had been in line for days awaiting the launch in the hopes of being one the first to get their hands on the new console. Surprisingly, the US launch was done prior to the launch in the companies home of Japan. This was done, according to Nintendo, in order to take advantage of the earlier holiday shopping season in the US.

This bold launch by Nintendo comes only two days after the launch of the PS3, and puts the two gaming giants in a head to head battle in this seasons gaming console wars. The Wii game system does not have near the processing power or graphic capabilities of the it’s PS3 and Xbox rivals, and has a price that …

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is the next entry in the Super Monkey Ball franchise from Sega. Following on the footsteps of Super Monkey Ball Adventure, it is a Wii exclusive and also a confirmed launch title that is sure to make ample use the Wii controller.

Fans of the Super Monkey Ball series can expect to see returning characters: Aiai, Meemee, Gongon, and Baby as well as two new characters: YanYan and Doctor.

The game features 100 main game levels, over fifty mini-games, boss battles, and lots and lots of jumping. There will many varied situations to use the controller such as minigames, darts, ring toss, and a whack-a-mole variant.

Wii Controller Features
The Wii-mote is held parallel to the ground and then tilted in all directions to move the monkey character through mazes. The …

Wii Sports is a collection of five distinct sports games where each game utilizes the Wii-mote controller to provide a natural, intuitive and realistic feel. The game lineup includes Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf, and Tennis. Use the Wii Remote controller to mimic the actions of swinging a racket, bat or club; pick up a spare at the bowling alley; or knock out the champ with a left cross.

Wii Sports allows you to personalize your experience with your own Mii caricatures. Your Mii becomes the character that represents you through a variety of Wii games making for a more interesting experience. As your skills improve, your Miis’ skill levels will also increase, allowing you to gauge how much better you have become.
Wii Controller Features
Baseball - Your character stands in the batter’s box and takes pitches. You attempt to get on base by holding and …

The story takes place in the land of Hyrule where an evil darkness envelops the realm. The story follows Link, a young farm boy in a small village who is ordered to attend the Hyrule Summit. Link learns he must travel to the Twilight Realm where he transforms into a wolf and is ultimately captured. Link must scour the land to uncover the puzzle behind this inexplicable darkness with the help of a mysterious girl named Midna. Link is adept with a sword and shield, but also makes good use of his bow and arrows.
Wii Controller Features
The basic movement of Link is controlled with the analog attachment. The buttons on the Wii-mote allow you to interact with items, access your inventory, and check out your map. The d-pad gives you three slots to assign items from your inventory (left, right and down).

Melee attacks are …

With only 17 days remaining until the worldwide launch of the Wii, Nintendo is planning midnight launch parties at selected locations from New York to Los Angeles to celebrate the momentous occasion.

Nintendo’s revolutionary new Wii video game console goes on sale at the stroke of midnight the morning of Sunday, Nov. 19 and fans of the console franchise will need to get in line fast, as demand is sure to be high for the holiday season.

Midnight launch events will begin at Toys “R” Us Times Square in Manhattan and GameStop at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles. The Nintendo-sponsored events will feature live music and entertainment, fun, games, special guests from Nintendo. Many other retailers are expected to hold their own midnight launch events.

“Toys “R” Us Times Square will be the first store in the United States where customers can both experience, and purchase Wii,

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Many will remember the successful Excite Bike on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Memories of the body English and arm-flailing necessary to land those big-air jumps are sure to come back. Well, you can relive that experience with Excite Truck for the Wii. Excite Truck is a solid game which nicely fills the racing genre for the Wii launch and will surely satisfy even the staunchest of racing fans.

The game features 11 vehicles and loads of dynamic terrain. Picking up items on the course can cause the terrain to deform in real time making for some interesting gameplay. This can turn innocent-looking bumps into massive launch pads that affect not only your route, but that of buddy too. Other items can instantaneously change the scaling of the environment around you or make …

Elebits is a radical game of hide and seek where you search high and low for mischievous little Elebits. The fully interactive environment gives you ample opportunity to make good use of the innovative features of the Wii controller to push, pull, lift, toss and otherwise interact with anything and everything.

The story involves tiny creatures called Elebits that must be captured so that the Earth can continue to spin. You see, Elebits are mischievous little beings that are the source of the world’s power and it is your job to collect them and put them back to work. Gameplay is in first person and you move objects with a gravity gun. There are hundreds of Elebits to search for and find and you gain additional abilities as you capture more of them.
Wii Controller Features
Character movement is accomplished with the Wiimote which allows you to …

This installment of the Nintendo Wii game preview series will focus on Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, the latest in the series of DBZ-inspired fighting games from Atari. Dragon Ball Z video games are based on the popular cartoon and card game. Over twenty Dragon Ball Z video games have been released in the United States and Japan since 2002.

Budokai Tenkaichi 2 features lightning-fast melee with elements of RPG and action-adventure gameplay. Players engage in epic battles set in 15 vast and highly-destructible environments. The environments feature the high level of interactivity you have come to expect from the previous games with massive 3D destructible realms and an abundance of game modes.

Fans of the series can reenact their favorite ki-powered techniques with a roster of more than 100 characters from the pantheon of Dragon Ball Heroes. The …

This is the first installment in a multipart series featuring the games for the Nintendo Wii. The series will focus on how game developers make use of the Wii controllers to create a unique gaming experience. This installment will feature Avatar: The Last Airbender from THQ.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon, and lets you play as Aang, Katara, Sokka and Haru. The Last Airbender takes place in a magical world containing humans, unique animals, and supernatural spirits. The Human faction is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Each nation contains people called benders who possess a unique ability called bending which allows them to control their native element such as water bending, …

The upcoming Nintendo Wii game console sports some unique game controllers that are sure to set it apart from other console releases this fall. Nintendo’s goal with its new revolutionary game controllers is to make gaming as accessible to many people of many ages and abilities. The controllers are comprised of two different input devices: the Remote and the Nunchuk.

The Remote is the size of a typical remote control and functions as a wireless Wii Remote controller. The Wii Remote controller uses Bluetooth technology and sends your actions to the Wii console from as far as 30 feet away. The Remote also functions as a pointing device, includes a speaker, rumble feature, and expansion port for additional input devices (like the Nunchuk). Some of the functionality provided by the Remote includes:

In a tennis game, it serves as your racket you …

GameStop, which is probably the biggest video game retailer in the US, said on it will be accepting limited pre-orders for the Nintendo’s Wii video game console yesterday (Friday), one per household. If you haven’t gotten your order in, you better get on it.

All you need is 50 bones to reserve, but many stores were reporting to be out of availability within minutes. Maybe it’s hype, but you can call your local Gamestop store first to see if they have some left. No online pre-ordering is/was available, but they say they will have something at a later date.

Nintendo expects to supply 4 million Nintendo Wii units to stores by year end, and Sony expects to ship 2 million PS3s in the same time period, so by my count if you missed the pre-order you just might be ok.

The Wii’s one-hand controller …