Here’s a freeloader you’ll be happy to have living with you. It won’t eat your food, hog the remote, or even sit around smoking weed like a slacker, while your at work. No, this is the kind of freeloader we like. Apparently, they have been working on this for awhile, and now you can finally have your own region-free enabler for the Wii for only $19.99. Wii FreeLoader allows you to play any GameCube or Wii game from any region on your Wii. Just stick the FreeLoader disc into the Wii, let it do it’s thing, eject the disc and stick in the title you want to play.

Last week we told you about how Activision was having some issues with turnaround time for the Guitar Hero III: Legends of rock discs for the Wii. The turnaround time was so bad that they are adding a refund to the list of solutions for the sound issues found with the original game discs. You might remember, the first batch of Guitar Hero III discs for the Wii only included stereo sound, as opposed to Dolby. Apparently Activision is taking 3-4 weeks to get new discs out to users. This sucks because you have to send them your old disc before they’ll send you a new one. Here are the details:

Activision and Nintendo re-mastered the game and will provide a replacement disc to consumers with Dolby digital surround sound. If you want a full refund instead of a replacement disc, you can download their refund form, which outlines the refund requirements.

PEGA SportGage Times Recorder works just like a pedometer. It will record how much you move when you play your favorite Nintendo Wii games and it can reach to 9,999. It’s powered by a button cell battery. So if you actually enjoy using your Wii for exercise, you might want one of these. Although you certainly don’t need this device to tell you that you are getting a workout.

For instance I know damn well that I’m working out while playing Mario & Sonic at The Olympics, because right now my arms are killing me and I get winded during the longer events. (Games did not used to be so much work) Still, if this appeals to you, and you feel like you need a little incentive, get one for $11.13. But what’s with the bone design? You know your dog is going to eat this right?

Well, nobody can say there is a shortage of designs for the Nintendo DS and it looks like there is another, coming to the folks in Japan anyway, featuring some of the Bape Milo characters on the cover. In fact two new models featuring the characters are expected to be released on April 1 in Japan, one in white and one in gold, both riddled with pictures of the characters. We’ll have to add this to some of our favorite including the bright yellow Pikachu DS and the Zelda DS, but not so much this bedazzled design.

We’ve gotten another word about the Wii Fit availability, this time pushing its U.S. release up a day to May 19 instead of the 20th. The Wii Fit is a motion and weight sensitive balance board for use with Nintendo’s Wii game console which will provide new types of interactive games and exercises.

Along with this, Nintendo has also announced that the WiiWare service will also launch in the U.S. in May. This service allows third party game developers to create games for the Wii that take advantage of motion sensitive controllers. Once this launches we are sure to see some more very interesting uses for the Wii remote and Nunchuck. These games will then be available for download through the Wii Shop Channel.

Here’s a pocket gaming system that’s not from Nintendo or Sony, but from Korean company called MyRacer. The MF101 portable looks like a media player, but it’s actually a pocket-sized game machine. It’ll play music and video files in several formats, but it will also play a number of Adobe Flash-based games, like the ones from Korea’s Play4U or Com2uS catalog.

It sports a pair of directional controls, even shoulder buttons. The user interface is even Flash-based. The system has a 320×240 resolution 2.4-inch color LCD screen, and comes with 1GB of on-board memory, which is expandable with an SD slot. It’s not available in the US yet, of course. But if you want to try to score one from a Korean retailer, it will cost you around $104.

USB flash drives come in many shapes and sizes, but once in a while one comes along with a design that stands out from the crowd. The Wedisk flash drive is a little Wii remote look-a-like which isn’t touting incredible capacities or performance but it does allow its owner to further profess their love for Nintendo’s latest and greatest gaming console while at the office.

The Wedisk has a retractable USB connector that pops out with a push of one of the Wii-mote buttons but that’s the only gaming action you’ll get. It comes in capacities of 1GB, 2Gb, 4GB and 8GB and in colors of the familiar white and a black version. It also has a LED indicator for showing that is connected and utilizes USB 2.0 for PCs or Macs.

This robot looks somewhat like a human-sized Nintendo Wii controller with arms attached. It’s the SmartPal V created by Yasukawa Electric Corporation. He was designed from the ground up to be a service robot, helping in the home with daily chores. It will sort your laundry by color and type, and even hang it up. It’s pretty smart when it comes to interaction as well. Thanks to 4 CCD cameras and voice recognition, it can recognize and respond to individuals, or just wander around and keep the place looking good on its own. With 21 joints including a bendable waist, it can pick things up off the floor, which it will gladly do for it’s entire 2.5 hours of battery life.

The robot stands about four and a half feet tall and weighs 280 pounds with a top speed of 2.2 mph. I’m thinking those are the stats of many of it’s human maid counterparts. Rest assured, when it kills you dead, your shirts will be immaculate.

I’m not sure if Donald Trump is into video games or not, but if he is, somebody should alert him to the fact that the Holy Grail of gaming is on eBay right now at a reasonable(For him) $15,000. If he is into gaming, his toupee will do a backflip. It’s the Nintendo World Championships 1990 Gold Cartridge. It will likely go higher before it ends on Feb. 20th.

The story goes that only 26 of these gold items were made, and just 12 are believed to still exist. Apparently, the 1990 Nintendo World Championships were inspired by the 1989 movie The Wizard (Joy Stick Heroes). Get your bid in before the gaming gold rush starts. Note: This is also a must if you are a James Bond villain who named Goldfinger. But you would have to outbid Trump, which would make him your new arch enemy.

Nerf and the the Zapper now have a love child, thanks to a new partnership between Electronic Arts and Hasbro. They’ve revealed Nerf N-Strike for the Nintendo Wii and DS systems, along with a Wiimote-based Nerf blaster. Nerf’s Wii blaster isn’t the usual Nintendo Zapper clone. That’s because it doubles as a functional Nerf dart gun. Just stick the Wiimote in the Nerf gun grip and it becomes a game controller, or load it with a Nerf blaster module to fire foam darts at your friends.

The Nerf N-Strike games and the blaster are scheduled to ship in Fall 2008. There should be more details from Hasbro at next week’s Toy Fair in New York. Here’s an idea, maybe they can shove a Wiimote in a Nerf football and have it communicate with the Wii.

Despite the fact that this thing reminds me of the old Nintendo power glove, it’s pretty neat looking, mannequin hands and all. Designer Du Tran Nguyen sees the Verva Vie Sports Glove as the ultimate piece of sporting equipment for the 21st century. How so? The Vie would allow the use of GPS to develop workouts, map routes, and even send out distress beacons(Perish the thought). It has an interface that can be controlled with one hand via strain gauges in the fingers. These interact with an E-ink screen.

It could also be used in sports to communicate plays or share information with other athletes via a handshake. Otherwise known as cheating. On the safety front, it could be used to share health information with a training partner. If there’s danger, a distress signal could be sent to other gloves, or even directly to the police or hospital.(Oh hell, my gloves are tingling, my partner’s in trouble. This sounds like a job for…me! Gloveman!)

This gamepad mouse from Evergreen might be the coolest mouse we’ve seen yet. It’s called The Genius Navigator and hidden inside, you will find a gamepad featuring six buttons, plus Turbo and Clear buttons, and a directional pad.

The 1600/800dpi USB laser mouse weighs 67 grams and is compatible with Windows Vista, XP and 2000. The Genius Navigator will cost you about about $33 USD. I suspect that both the gamepad and mouse don’t work all that well together, but like Peanut butter and chocolate, I do think it’s awesome that they put them together. I’d like to see them take it one step further and put a Nintendo DS in a mouse. That I would buy. Who am I kidding? I would buy this one, too.

Engineering students from France combined the two best things in the world, Nintendo and robots. The Pekee Robot pictured is controlled using a Nintendo DS Lite. The idea is a control rig based on Nintendo’s portable console. This enables wireless command of the bot with the D-pad, touchscreen, motion sensors, and stylus and also a target mode modeled after Super Mario 64 DS, as well as voice commands with system’s mic.

Check out the video after the jump. I’m sure it has a long way to go in some respects, but the robot is very responsive. It won’t be long at all before we get the nightmare scenario of invading robot hordes, their geek masters controlling them wirelessly from atop high towers, laughing maniacally while they contemplate an end to their virginity and the beginning of their reign. I for one welcome our new geek masters and hope I will be spared.

The cheap knock-off game console market seems to be high gear lately, what with the Polystation 3 and px-3600 console. We first told you about the Vii back in October. Well, it looks like our british friend who reviewed the Polystation, just got himself a KenSingTon Sport Vii 2.

You can watch his video review after the jump and explore the strange bizzarro world of crap knock-offs. Among the games on the GBA type cartridge, are a few that involve some sort of mutated rabbits. And as bad as these rip-offs are, you have to admit that they at least provided some color on the Vii-mote unlike Nintendo’s white. Though it does resemble some sort of weird long squid.

LeapFrog has a new handheld learning/gaming system, the Didj. It should retail for $89.99 when it arrives this summer. LeapFrog isn’t saying that the device is Nintendo DS competitor, but it happens to be aimed toward 6 to 10 year-olds, a demographic that the DS currently rules with an iron fist.

With the Didj they want to up the gaming and graphics while integrating the fancy learning stuff. It’s sure to be a hit with parents who would rather see their kids being educated rather then simply guiding Mario on his latest quest. The Didj has no Wi-Fi connection but it should work with the LeapFrog Connect Application, which lets children customize game content via USB.