It was only a short time ago that Harmonix had finally announced the release of standalone instruments for Rock Band. At the time there was no word of a standalone mic. As it turns out, it is already on sale. The packaging teases us with a single word. Wii.

No, that doesn’t simply mean yes in France. It means that Rockstar should be hitting the Wii sometime soon. This isn’t the best picture, but if you look in the top right corner of the package, you’ll note which systems it’s compatible with: Playstation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. This is interesting because so far Harmonix has been strangely silent about a version of the game for Nintendo’s console.

As if Nintendo hasn’t sold enough DS’s in quite enough colors it looks like another one is on the way, this time sporting Cobalt Blue/Black. We thought the bundled colors were pretty nice and that Pikachu model was pretty neat but we are definitely impressed with this new Blue color. Circuit City has this new color up on their site priced at the usual $130 but not available for order quite yet. You can ask them to let you know when it’s ready however, and help Nintendo pull just a little bit further ahead.

Here’s a third-party handheld Nintendo emulator that doesn’t look like total garbage. Though it has the typical generic name of Solar MP4, this little device actually has some impressive features. It can play MP4 videos up to 320×240 in size on its 3.5 inch TFT screen, it also has built-in emulators for NES, GameBoy and GameBoy Color games. Of course you have to use ROMS loaded via an SD card, but those are easy enough to find. It can even function as an e-Book reader with the ability to read out loud any text file as long as it’s written in English or Chinese.

And of course, it has a DS-like design with solar panels, so you can play games using the power of the sun. Not bad for a knock off. You can get one for $123.32.

A new game for the Nintendo DS called Metro-Wardive, uses the built-in Wi-Fi to detect hotspot activity around you as usual, but in this case it uses it to generate a unique gaming environment. Wardive captures the wlans in the immediate area like a wardive-tool and creates a game, by reading the names of the hotspots in your immediate area and turning them into enemies which try to take over your wardive-cristal. You fend them off with your touch pen, put your shields up and don’t just stay in one spot for very long.

The idea is to take metro-wardive for a walk through town and see how many enemies are hiding in the area you are in or pass through. Each time you play it captures different data and creates a new level for you.

NPD has released the year-end sales numbers for non-PC video games in 2007 showing record figures for the industry. The year 2007 brought an impressive 43 percent increase in sales compared to 2006 with a total of $17.94 billion.

Game Consoles
The highlights of the year come as no surprise if you’ve been reading our coverage of game console sales with the Nintendo Wii topping the list of most console units sold at 6.29 million. The Wii spent the year at a lower price-point than rival consoles and caught the attention of a wide range of gamers. Behind the Wii in console sales was the Xbox 360 with 4.62 million units sold in 2007, which was helped out a little bit by the wildly popular Halo 3. Next in line was not Sony’s new Playstation 3 but it’s older brother, the Playstation 2. Sony moved 3.97 million PS2 units in 2007 and 2.56 million PS3s.

Another day, another Wii accessory. In fact, I am now making it a point to chronicle every Wii thing available for your enjoyment. If the Shark gun didn’t sink it’s teeth into your wallet, and the 8 in 1 Wii weapon kit didn’t give you enough weapons for in-game maximum Carnage, maybe this metallic Wii Machine gun is more up your alley.

It will transform your Wiimote and Nunchuk into a silver machine gun, detailed in black. The Wii Machine Gun measures 11.81 x 4.96 x 1.65 inches, weighs 10.86 oz and is available from DealExtreme for $16.54.

Since its release on December 1st in Japan, Wii Fit has become a phenomenon in that country, selling over a million units and virtually completely selling out, much like the Wii itself. Sales of the game have done well, but a general upswing in Wii sales has also resulted, with other titles suddenly flying off the shelves. But will it be a hit here in Lard-Ass North America?

Originally the game was supposed to be released in the first quarter of this year, but Nintendo was not even able to meet the supply in Japan. But now, with a May 20th release, we of the North American continent will hopefully soon be shedding some pounds and getting fitter.

It used to be you’d show up at the door with a dozen roses and a box of chocolates and you were set. Well, it doesn’t take many years for that to get old.

Why not give that special someone a Valentine’s day treat that goes hand in hand with their Nintendo Wii obsession? Paul Pape Designs now offers chocolate Mii’s for a very special and very geeky Valentine’s Day. They’re made with real Hershey’s chocolate, in white or brown and the most adorable touch(Or sickening, depending on your viewpoint) is the fact that they come in a box that resembles the Wii.

Easily overlooked next to the countless heavy hitters coming out of CES 2008, here we have this great new wireless controller for the Nintendo Wii.

Nyko’s new Wireless Nunchuk controller lets you play games without the annoying cable getting in your way, while you punch, fight or swing. How many times have you been in the zone only to be pulled out by the limits of the cable?

Sony’s Playstation Portable handheld gaming console has been trailing in sales to the Nintendo DS since the DS’s inception, but Sony is a far cry from giving up quite yet. Last month we saw a pretty cool upgrade with the version 3.80 firmware for the PSP which brought internet radio through the systems WiFi connectivity. Now Sony is saying that they are partnering with Ebay’s Skype to bring VoIP Skype phone service to the handheld system.

The new firmware is slated to be available for download to the PSP by the end of January and will add a Skype icon and functionality to the Network portion of the PSP’s menu. When connected to the internet users will then be able to log into Skype, manage contacts, view who’s online and of course make calls through their PSP to other Skype users or other PSP owners with the Skype feature installed. Owners will even be able to create a new Skype account right on the PSP.

We’ve covered our share of Wiimote accessories. Some, like the Shark Gun are downright strange. But nothing beats this latest bundle from Dragon Electronics, which offers no less than eight deadly ways to accessorize your Wiimote and nunchuck.

It includes a pair of daggers, an axe, a curved sword and a pistol to name a few. There must be some Chuck Norris Ninja game that I’m not aware of. What’s next, a screw together Wiimote rifle that comes in a silver briefcase? I bet they would call it the Oswald or “The Book Depository”. Anyway, if you want 8 dangerous weapons for your Wiimote, you can get this bundle for just under $30.

You can get your old classics on Wii’s virtual console, but it just doesn’t compare to being able to pop in that cartridge and play. Like a good book, sometimes you want to feel that cartridge in your hand, or see it in your collection. The Gen-x is a new hybrid console that lets you play the best of the 8-bit and 16-bit video game generations, and has full compatibility with both the Nintendo Entertainment System and the SEGA Genesis games. What’s more, it’s even rumored that it will play every single NES cartridge with no compatibility issues whatsoever.

The system comes with everything you need to get playing, including controllers and A/V cables. Unfortunately, you can’t connect an original NES controller. Not sure what the hell they were thinking there, but the ports are compatible with SEGA’s original controllers at least. The console’s list price is $59.99, but can be found in stock at VideoGameAction for only $36.89.

If you’re a huge fan of Mario,(who’s not?) you’ll want to put away your Mario Kart slot car set and order yourself this giant Mario Kart racer pronto. It’s yet another way to bring the game into real-space and bring back memories of the N64. Mario and his Kart are over 12″ long and feature various sound effects from the game. Which is probably a good thing, since your cat will have some warning as Mario speeds down your hallway. You wouldn’t want Mario to run over Fluffy and spin out like he hit a banana peel.

Comes with a Nintendo GameCube style controller with five functions: Right, Left, Forward, Reverse and Turbo. Runs on 1 9V Battery and 8 AA Batteries. Check out a somewhat dorky video of it in action here. You can buy one online for $49.99.

Nintendo has gone to some fairly great and seemingly unnecessary lengths to help people keep their hands on the motion sensitive controls that come with the Wii game console. The company has put out a couple of strap revisions and added a free padded jacket for the controller but people still manage to occasionally cause some damage.

The makers of this Gamers Glove for the Wii Remote are betting that the strap and jacket that come with the controller just aren’t going to be quite enough for you with your wild swings during boxing and tennis matches. The glove is made with some slip-resistant and stretchy material to give it a snug fit and to help keep the controller in the palm of your hand where it belongs. It will also undeniably call you out as the Wii-loving fanboy geek that you are.

As if it hasn’t been hard enough to find a Nintendo Wii game console this year, rumor has it that a retail chain called Slackers is taking their shipments of the popular console and selling them on Ebay at a jacked up price.

According to Ars Technica an insider with Slackers stated that any Wiis that they receive, at least in the Illinois/Missouri area stores, are not available for the suggested $249 retail price at the store and are instead marked up to $499 on Ebay. Recently reports say that the Buy It Now price has been dropped to $399.99, which is still $150 over suggested retail by Nintendo.