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.

Here’s an interesting story. The guys over at Joystiq spotted a pair of Classic Controller Pros for the Wii at Nintendo’s E3 booth. What’s unusual about this is that it still hasn’t been announced for release outside of Japan.

Nintendo reps at the booth apparently know nothing, or they just weren’t saying anything about a planned release. There’s also no official word on the E3 press site. Yet the controllers were there in all their Wii-white glory.

If you wanted some new hardware to go along with the new Wii Fit Plus, you must be feeling disappointed, but don’t worry. There are some unusual surprises awaiting you in the game. Like a new Segway mini-game that’s been developed with Segway.

That’s right, you can use the Wii Balance Board and Wii Remote to simulate what it’s like to ride on a Segway. Oh joy. At least you won’t fall off and look like a dork. Looks like it’s a simple balloon-popping game that involves a “mole-like creature.” To operate the virtual Segway x2, just stand on the balance board and lean forward to make your Mii character ride forward. To turn left and right, you lean a Wii remote left or right.

One of the more interesting announcements from Nintendo today, was Satoru Iwata announcing the latest health-related peripheral for the Wii. The Wii Vitality Sensor. The purpose of the device is a little confusing and we aren’t sure just how it will be implemented in a game, but here’s the deal.

The device is basically a biorhythm sensor that connects to your finger and transmits your heart rate to the Wii. How will that be used in gameplay? We have no idea. Our guess is that this is more for the Wii Fit Plus.

Nintendo has announced Wii Fit Plus. The new fitness software is planned for release this fall in two versions: bundled with the Wii Balance Board and as a stand-alone. Apparently, the new Wii Fit “moves in an added direction” beyond the original, letting users “create a specific workout program that’s perfect” for them. Six new strength and yoga activities can be tailored to your own tastes, depending on what goals you have. There’s also a revamped interface focused on creating seamless routines of 20, 30, 40 minutes.

Plus will also introduce 15 new minigames, like juggling, skateboarding and a game called “perfect 10″ were players move their hips to select numbers that add up to 10. It was dubbed, “Brain Age for your backside,”.

Nintendo just announced the New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The title will feature multiplayer-friendly gameplay, supporting up to 4 players for some local action. The emphasis is on co-operative play, while maintaining the classic Super Mario look and feel.

You’ll find all the usual warp pipes, hidden areas, and plenty of coins. But there’s some new stuff too, like the Propeller suit, where Mario and others have a propeller attached to their heads. Shake the Wiimote and players can fly in the air.

THQ has sent a golden Nintendo Wii to Buckingham Palace. No doubt the Queen mum enjoys a healthy game of Cooking Mama now and again. The shiny console was delivered to Buckingham Palace today as part of a marketing stunt to promote BIG Family Games, the latest title in THQ’s BIG series. The game contains 24 classic family games. Stuff like lawn darts and bocce, which THQ hopes the Royal Family will enjoy.

The chances of Her Royal Highness ever touching the console are slim, but if she ever does, she can rest assured that the wiimote sticking out of her sparking TV will be gold.

Lately there hasn’t been a ton of great titles for the Wii. But there is always the Virtual Console and all the classic titles. Why not play those games with the classic controllers they were written for? That’s where Komodo’s Retro Adapter comes in.

Sure, we’ve had the Wii SNES gamepad, but Komodo’s adapter is much more adorable and looks like a mini N64, while letting you use your old NES pad. That’s reason enough to buy it as far as we’re concerned.

Vail Christian High School is educating students about the dangers of texting while driving. Students hold the motion sensitive wheel in one hand, and a cell phone in the other. It’s unclear if they are required to drive as Toad, Mario, or anyone else. But were they sorry when they ended up getting hit by a turtle shell? Did they learn not to text while driving?

Apparently some did. One player said, “I ran into a lot of things and it was very stressful,” Which is interesting, because how stressful can texting and Mario Kart really be? Still, I’m sure it drives the point home to these kids.

Check out this Wiimote chocolate candybar. Now you can have your cake and eat it too. Now you can throw your Wiimote at the TV and eat it too. This Wiimote chocolate replica is the product of Digital Chocolates, a company that specializes in making chocolate bars shaped like various game controllers, like the Sony Playstation controller and this Wiimote.

Not only is it delicious, but it’s got some nice detail too. It’s made of Merckens melting candy wafers. I don’t know what those are, but I’m sure they are yummy. They supposedly taste like the white from Hershey’s cookies n’ creme chocolate bars.

You won’t find anything earth shattering in these schematics of Wiimote prototypes. They’re all fairly similar. But it is interesting to see what they were thinking at the time. One of them even adds the GameCube’s analogue stick to the surface of the Wii Remote.

Hit the link to see some Nunchuk variants as well. Those early models look very awkward. Just be glad that they put so much work into the process. That’s why you have the awesome ergonomic wiimote that you know and love.

It’s been pretty quiet on the whole Wii video in Japan front, but finally there’s some news. Japanese Wii users will soon be able to try it out for themselves. The service is ready to launch in Japan on May 1st.

It’s being called the “Wii no Ma Channel,” and features advertising from Denstu, both free and paid content. What really caught our eye though, is word that a free DSi app will be launching at the same time. The app will allow you to download video from the Wii to your DS, and do other stuff like download coupons from advertisers, which can be scanned directly from the screen.