Wii RapidFire Kit by Acidmods.COM from CyberPyrot on Vimeo.
Here’s a pretty simple Wiimote hack that will take you back in time and get you all nostalgic for those days when the NES Advantage gave you “turbo” fire while playing the classics. Is it cheating? We don’t care. It was awesome and many games fell to the magic of turbo-firing. The hack even makes your Wiimote look cool with a new LED light, but mostly you’ll have rapid fire on virtually every wii game.

Faux rockers have waited long and hard for this day. At long last, Activision’s next installment of the Guitar Hero franchise is officially available. With Activision’s formal announcement, you’ll be able to pick one up and once again rock out. There’s a few different bundles that range from the game alone which will cost $49.99 to $59.99, the game and guitar together will be $89.99 to $99.99 and the band kit will run you $179.99 to $189.99. Since most of you already rock a plastic Axe, it will be a choice between the first and the last.

One thing that sucks about playing games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero is that the peripherals take up a lot of space in your home. The AirG for the upcoming Wii game PopStar Guitar fits in your hand. (And looks like some preschool toy) Just slip the Wiimote into the AirG case and begin rockng out wirelessly with four fret buttons.

The game will cost about $60 and include two AirGs. The PS2 version of the game uses existing toy guitars to play. It’s available this November and those that live with you will thank you for not bringing another plastic guitar in the house, so they don’t have to go all Pete Townsend and smash it.

I hear ya. The Wii and DS already have Wi-Fi. True, but this device is a Wi-Fi router/bridge for those who don’t have wireless networks. Even when you do have a wireless network, it can be a pain to get your Wii set up depending on your provider. The device will be available in Japan on September 18th for $53.

Obviously it resembles one of those Wii knockoff jobs from China, but it’s the real deal. The adapter has a switch for three modes on back: “Router”, “Bridge” and “Auto”. “Router” is self-explanatory, while “Bridge” connects to another router and then communicates with the Nintendo DS and Wii. “Auto” will switch the household’s network over automatically.

I remember Mad magazine. The fold up joke page. The bad humor. Apparently it’s still around and going strong, has Circuit city pretty pissed off even. In this month’s issue of Mad Magazine, there’s an ad parody for Circuit City that reads Sucker City!. The parody takes aim at the electronics retailer and maybe says what many people were already thinking.

Like how they are always across the street from a Best Buy, Expensive TVs and how the price always goes up right after you bought them. Circuit city is not happy and ordered that all copies being sold at their stores be destroyed. I really doubt that anyone buys Mad Magazines from Best Buy anyway. In the ad you’ll also notice the Wii Epilepsy bundle with optical disc and bitestick controller.

Here’s something else to complain about when it comes to Nintendo’s constant need to keep things away from American hands. A new partnership between Nintendo and Fujifilm is spawning the Wii Digicam Print Channel, which is immediately available for Japanese Wii consoles to access.

It lets owners upload images from SD cards and get customized prints, photo books, business cards, and more in the mail. I’m not entirely sure why they feel the need to waste resources on this one when people can just use their computer, but I’m sure one or two people will love it. Probably the same people who bought the gameboy printer. It will likely hit North America and Europe at some point in the future.

It’s not all about running around in Zelda land collecting hearts and rupees. Sometimes you want to take a break and send a message to your buddy. Probably telling him all about that Princess Peach upskirt you found when freezing Super Smash Bros.

Thanks to Logic 3’s 32-key wireless keyboard, you can do just that. Enter in names, messages, Wii Friend Codes etc. Then get back to prancing around Hyrule like a fairy. It’s $27 and will be released July 18 in the UK.

We’ve seen the writing on the wall and it seems to indicate that Nintendo is working on some USB devices for the Wii, but Laurent Fischer of Nintendo Europe quashed that idea while another option now seems open. According to GamesIndustry.biz, he says that the company is “working on a solution” to the Wii storage problem, but he also says “definitely there’s no plan to issue hardware,” like a hard drive.

So the thinking now is that Nintendo is working on a firmware update that would allow downloaded games to be played directly from SD cards, but no one knows for sure. We may get more details as E3 approaches.

The Wii has changed the face of gaming with it’s interactive motion controls. So much so, that every other console has begun work on their own version. Just as the Wii has changed gaming, gamers are constantly changing the Wii console itself, giving it all kinds of personalities. Here’s a look at some of our favorites.

We first told you about Microsoft’s plans at Wii emulation back in April. Here’s some new info on their own version of Nintendo’s Miis. Xbox 360 Fanboy found the above Flash document on Intellisponse’s servers. (an online research and web-survey platform)

Is it just for survey purposes or not? I’m thinking it’s beyond the survey stage as it fits with what we’ve been hearing. That Microsoft will be rolling their Miis out by the end of the year, hopefully with their own Wii-mote that has all the bugs worked out.

Toshiba’s got a new Qosmio. The G55. It should go on sale next month with a price of $1,550. Some specs include an 18.4-inch (1680 x 945) display, Centrino 2 CPU, GeForce 9600M GT, 4GB of RAM, dual drives, and the “Quad Core HD processor”. The interesting thing however is the camera-based visual gesture control system. Seems like they’re taking a page from the Wii playbook.

On one hand it looks a bit frustrating and you need to have steady hands, plus it apparently is hell on the wrists. Then again it could be very useful for a number of applications. Either way, we’re talking about a laptop with motion control. Of course, we want one.

According to the latest NPD Group report for game sales in May, this is the fourth month in a row that Nintendo has come out on top for the number 1 AND number two spot for console sales. The Nintendo Wii and the handheld Nintendo DS were the two top-selling hardware units for May, 2008.

Nintendo sold over 675,000 Wii consoles in May and almost 453,000 Nintendo DS’s, which would probably explain all the new colors and designs they have been coming out with lately for the DS. Sony’s Playstation 3 followed with a little under 209,000 units sold and Microsoft sold 186,600 Xbox 360 units during the same period.

Microsoft is touting some new statistics trying to gain some additional momentum for the Xbox 360 game console, stating that in the U.S. they have sold 10 million units. There is no refuting that this is quite an accomplishment, but Microsoft is trying to add some more significance to the 10 million unit mark.

“History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry, ” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft.

Actiontec Electronics recently unveiled a new home networking gaming kit designed to be used through electrical wiring in the home. It is called the MegaPlug AV Powerline Gaming Kit and it prices at around $170.

The Actiontec MegaPlug AV Powerline Gaming Kit makes uses of the HomePlug AV powerline standard to transmit computer networking signals through electrical wiring. Two special adapters plug into wall outlets, with one connecting to a PC, Xbox, Playstation, Wii, or other gaming console and the other connecting to a broadband access point.

We’ve seen our share of Wii accessories. They range from awesome to completely bizarre. This inflatable combat set, for example is bizarre. Who in their right mind is going to suffer the humiliation of using inflatable weapons while playing a Wii game?

You can try your best to beat Zelda and get involved in the game, but you will only be distracted by the huge clumsy sack of air in your hand. Oh, and the laughter from those who love you nearby. Still, if you like inflatible gaming, you can get the kit for $25.78. Maybe your Blow up doll can finally join in on the Wii fun, while you’re at it.