Game console makers apparently entertain every single idea, no matter how silly. The latest patent dreamed up by the big N is a football accessory that holds a Wiimote and nunchuk. The idea is that it could determine throwing angle, power and direction as well as body movements, which are then translated to the game.

It beats an inflatable horse, but do we really need to be breaking more TVs, with fake footballs? It’s just a patent, but you never know. We may see this one down the road. Good idea or not.

Tomorrow the folks at MediaMall will officially announce the beta release of PlayOn for Wii. The software license costs $39.99 and there’s also a 14-day free trial so you can try it out first and decide if you like watching Hell’s Kitchen and the like on your Wii.

Me, I’d rather play some Mario Kart. PlayOn for Wii works in the same way as it does for the other game systems and streams Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and a few other online video portals from your Windows XP or Vista computer to the Wii plugged into your TV.

We’re as bummed as you are that Nintendo’s black Wii isn’t coming to the US. I mean look at that beautiful dark console. It’s like a stealth Wii. A thing to behold and ponder like a work of art…

It’s sad. Very sad that the Big N doesn’t love us here in the States. But don’t worry, apparenty the black console has hit the gray-market import scene. You know what that means, you’ll have to pay a premium at $333.

Nintendo has been rolling in the Wii dough for awhile now, but it looks like their cash printing machine may be slowing. According to an earnings report filed today, the Big N posted a 66 percent drop in quarterly operating profit due to “slowing demand for its Wii console and a stronger yen.”

What’s surprising is how fast demand has fallen. Nintendo maintained that it would sell 26 million Wii consoles before the year was out alongside 30 million DS handhelds, so we will see what happens. DS sales have also slowed due to “increased competition in the handheld business from Apple’s iPhone.”

Conventional CPR training is about to get an overhaul with the use of PCs and the Wii. Currently it’s a concept technology and it has been under development by the University of Alabama at Birmingham since the beginning of this year.

The idea is that when you push on ResusciAnne’s chest, the motion controlled joystick interprets it as correct or incorrect chest compressions and lets you know. A working prototype was created last Spring, and the American Heart Association has pledged $50,000 in grant money. The Wii CPR software could be available for download as early as this Fall. It would be an open source code so the user can program it to their own specifications.

You know the old saying, once you go Wii black you never go back. Sadly, we will never know if that’s true or not. Why? We can only assume that Nintendo hates God, America and Apple pie. Sigh. Fans have been waiting for a Wii of any color other than white for years. And it looks like we will go on waiting.

A Nintendo rep told GameDaily that there are “no plans to have other colors of the Wii in the United States.” Like many of you I will always remember what I was doing on that fateful day our Wii dreams died. Today. It is a sad day for our nation.

The elusive black Wii has shown itself off a few times recently and with the August 1st launch date in Japan approaching, its back in the spotlight. Now it’s showing off it’s sexy packaging.

Sure, it’s the same old box, just done up in black, but it makes the console all the more alluring, with a hint of mystery and danger. Like that time good girl Sandy from Grease suddenly transforms and rocks John Travolta’s world all dressed in black like a bad girl. Sadly we still have no word on a release date here, but we hope it happens soon.

We know that you like to get all nerdy with your Wii on occasion and swing around a lightsaber while your little dog looks on in his Princess Leia slave costume. Well, if you’re going to nerd out, you may as well do it with officially licensed Wii accessories.

We’ve seen our share of Wii lightsabers, but they just aren’t endorsed by Lucas’ money machine. This one is. This lightsaber glows, and Bensussen Deutsch & Associates have plans for a matching blaster too. The accessories don’t make room for MotionPlus, but so what. They’ll be shipping with Star Wars - The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes, a game that doesn’t support MotionPlus.

CinemaNow has announced that it’s partnering with Fujisoft to deliver movies to the Nintendo Wii. The service will initially launch in Japan, where the Japanese will be able to watch catalog titles from Paramount Pictures. The service is called “Minna no Theater Wii” over there.

Will we see this hot in the states? We hope so. But you never know. I’d rather watch movies on a higher quality console myself, but to each their own.

I’ve always thought that turning the Wiimote sideways looked a little strange, but it’s been the only alternative to using one of Nintendo’s old controllers. Well, not anymore. Now you can use your old PS/PS2 controllers thanks to this DualShock to Wii adapter which costs $18.50.

No one will think it’s weird at all, watching you play the Wii with a Sony controller. Maybe you don’t like the GameCube controller, or the Club Nintendo SNES controller. We aren’t judging you. We just want you to be happy.

At this weekend’s World Hobby Fair, Nintendo had the blue Wiimote and Nunchuk on display, to promote Wii Sports Resort. They also were showing off that Black Wii we told you about earlier this month.

The Nunchuk has always been shiny on top and matte on bottom, but it’s much more noticeable, in a good way, on the black version. Even the fugly Wiimote jacket looks cool in matte black. The Classic Controller Pro looks downright awesome in shiny black plastic. This Wii items make the console look much more serious.

This is a move that we can only assume is aimed squarely at those who suck at games. Starting with upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii, future Nintendo Wii titles will be shipping with the ability to, “play themselves”. In an interview with USA Today, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the existence of “demo play” for the next Mario game and “future games, too”.

It’s an option that allows the game to play itself when the player encounters an area too difficult for them to handle. Silly us, we thought that games were supposed to be challenging. According to Miyamoto, the idea is to reduce the barrier to entry for younger players and casual gamers alike.

Wii can haz Project Natal tu? Yep. But it isn’t coming from Nintendo. The Wii will soon get camera-based, Project Natal-like motion sensing for at least one fitness game. From Ubisoft. It’s called “Your Shape”.

Ubisoft’s version is like a Project Natal Lite. That’s because it’s a game accessory, not a system accessory. It tracks some motion, but not all. In fact, not much. Your body is used more for feedback than game control. Video below.

Well, we already knew that the Wii was weak compared to the other consoles. In Shigeru Miyamoto’s E3 2009 roundtable, the designer had a candid moment when discussing Wii hardware. Some might say he was a little too honest.

When talking about the New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Miyamoto said that since the game features four-player multiplayer and multiple camera views, the Wii’s processor is already being taxed pretty hard. Sounds like the Wii processor is already starting to show some limitations. Miyamoto also said that, “I would like to use Wii Speak more, but [in SMB] the Wii processor is already being taxed.”

Nyko has their Wand, but now Mad Catz has become the second peripheral maker to try their hand at cloning the Wiimote. According to Mark over at Gizmodo, it’s promising.

He didn’t get any play time with it, but he got to hold it and play with buttons. Mad Catz’ “Remote For Nintendo Wii” feels the same in size and weight as a real Wiimote. Mad Catz guarantees that their Wiimote will fit in the sleeves of normal Wiimotes. It will likely fit into any gun,fishing rod, etc that a Wiimote will fit into.