WiiMote
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Nintendo says one Wii U controller per console, robs player two of extra screen
Nintendo's tablet-esque Wii U controller raised a few questions when it was announced at E3. Questions like, "What kind of crazy games are going to use that thing," and "How much will a second controller cost me?" The latter, at least, has been answered. Nothing. You don't need one. Nintendo's Satoru Iwata recently said in an interview that games enlisting more than one Wii U controller aren't being considered just yet -- although they are possible. Our very own Ittousai tells us that Iwata told Diamond Online that the Wii U can technically support multiple screen-controllers, but that additional slabs would be too expensive to sell on their own. Iwata went on to say that the console would ship with only one, and that game developers should design titles under the assumption that each console will use a single Wii U controller. Player two will have to settle for a good 'ol Wiimote, and even Satoru himself admits that there are plenty of those around.
Sean Buckley06.18.2011
Nintendo announces gold Wiimote for Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Nintendo just announced at E3 that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii is "finally done," and it also revealed that it'll have something of a surprise to mark its release this holiday season: a limited edition gold Wiimote. That, of course, comes with MotionPlus built-in, but details (including a price) are unfortunately a bit light otherwise. We'll let you know more as we get it.
Donald Melanson06.07.2011
Avvio G6 Gamer phone is an upside Wiimote (video)
The biggest problem with the Wiimote? You can't make calls on the thing. Sure you could buy a console and a cellphone, but what's the fun in that? The Avvio G6 Gamer handset, which recently scored FCC approval, can make calls and, when flipped over, transforms into a Bluetooth motion controller for what appears to be a fairly limited set of sports games playable on your PC. No word on pricing or availability, so you can either wait on it or just buy an iPhone and download this thing. It's your call. Video of a dude playing badminton with his phone after the break.
Brian Heater05.18.2011
Next generation Wii controller to feature 6.2-inch display, turn living room into giant DS?
E3 is getting close, just two months away now. As such the next-gen Wii console rumors have heated to a boil. One of the most interesting bits of tattle originates from Kotaku. The gaming site's sources claim (with impressive specificity) that the new 8-button controller features a screen pushing a whopping 6.2 inches, two analog sticks, and a camera. The new Wii console (sometimes called the Wii 2, Wii HD, or simply "Project Cafe") is said to support the new controller in addition to Wii Remote-style controllers for backward compatibility with existing Wii games -- at the moment, however, it's not clear if that implies support for existing Wiimotes. But why the giant display? Here's Kotaku's take: The 6.2-inch screen will receive data wirelessly from the Nintendo console and presents an array of options, from putting the player's inventory or map on the controller screen, to allowing players to combine it with the controller's camera to snap photos that could be imported into a game or even turning it into some sort of glorified viewfinder (we're unclear about whether the camera on the controller points at the player or can be outward-facing; we've heard both - maybe it swivels?). In other words, you can think of the new controller-plus-console combination as a modern Dreamcast system or "glorified mega-DS," as Kotaku puts it, where the TV is the top screen and the handheld controller is the lower touchscreen. If true then we'll likely hear the official first word at E3 which kicks off on June 7th. Update: IGN has its own set of "sources" confirming many of these details. Could this be a Nintendo rumor that pans out, for once? We should know in just over a month.
Thomas Ricker04.22.2011
Kinect and Wii Remote hack makes Tetris much more difficult
Ever wondered how you could go about making Tetris even more of a difficult, punishing experience? Obviously, turning the speed up to infinity isn't enough to stump the world's most proficient players -- but YouTuber user Keysosaurus' Kinect augmented reality Kinect hack might do the trick.
Griffin McElroy04.22.2011
Augmented reality Tetris game uses Kinect hack, Wiimote, smooth jazz (video)
What does it take for a gaming classic to survive in a world ruled by titles like Portal 2 and Homefront? A Kinect hack, a Wiimote, and some electronic elbow grease, apparently. Trinity College student Keysosaurus -- as he's know to his YouTube pals -- has used a bit of C#, XNA, and OpenNI coding to play 3D augmented reality Tetris using Kinect body controls and a Wiimote. The Kinect gestures do most of the work, rotating the board, zooming the camera in and out, and moving the pieces into place, while the Nintendo controller is used to rotate. Video's after the break, but beware, the familiar strains of "Korobeiniki" have been replaced by smooth guitar jazz, so turn the volume up at your own risk.
Brian Heater04.21.2011
Fruit Ninja becomes life-size using CAVE technology
The same encapsulating virtual reality display that led to the memorable Kinect hack from last week now has an altogether new and exciting purpose. A group of students from FH-Wedel Germany have turned the CAVE hardware and a Wiimote into a gigantic, all-encompassing version of Fruit Ninja.
Griffin McElroy03.29.2011
German students make life-sized VR Fruit Ninja, declare war on digital produce (video)
Do you enjoy the produce-slashing action that Fruit Ninja affords, but feel constrained by the meager display capabilities of handheld devices? Well, some German students from FH Wedel University of Applied Sciences have created a VR version of the game to make your dreams of having more massive melons fly at your face come true. Using a CAVE four-walled virtual environment to display the hurtling fruit and a modified Wiimote to do the slicing and dicing, players can exorcise their cantaloupe and kumquat demons in a life-sized fruit cleaving frenzy -- with none of the Gallagher-style mess. See it in action after the break, just be sure to don your Kikou first.
Michael Gorman03.29.2011
Nintendo of America patent shows off unreleased motorcycle game concept
Every night, before we loose ourselves from the moorings of the conscious world, we say a short prayer that a game developer will realize the potential in a relaunch of Sega's arcade almost-classic, Harley Davidson & LA Riders. Our wishes haven't been granted yet, but a recently uncovered patent (.pdf) shows that Nintendo of America came awfully close to creating something similar to Sega's Easy Rider-esque masterpiece. The patent depicts a motorcycle (and/or Jetski) racing game controlled using the Wii Balance Board and Wiimote. Twisting and turning the remote accelerates and turns the bike, while leaning on the Balance Board allows the player to take sharper turns. It's unclear whether the game depicted is still in development, but we'll keep our fingers crossed regardless. Hey, it beats buying and riding an actual motorcycle, you know. Those things are like, super dangerous.
Griffin McElroy03.28.2011
EVOtainment System brings emulation greatness to the HTC EVO on a Wiimote and a prayer (video)
In a world full of cheap, plastic Wiimote accessories, aisles that overflow with flimsy little steering wheels for Mario Kart, one man found purpose. One man found something good to do with them. One man created the ridiculous contraption you see above. That man is Jack Malone, crafter of this the so-called EVOtainment System. It's a Wii racing wheel from Nerf that's been drilled out and augmented to enable a Classic Controller to join the party, backed with a strip of 3M Dual Lock. Up top a universal GPS mount clings desperately on to his HTC EVO, which connects over Bluetooth to the Wiimote. It's emulatory bliss in a design that's only a little bit less chunkier than the Game Gripper. Update: Video after the break! %Gallery-118579% [Thanks, Jack]
Tim Stevens03.08.2011
Nao robot gets a new charging station, Kinect / Wiimote controls
Robots that are able to find a charger and plug themselves in may not be that unique anymore, but most of those chargers tend to leave the robot with little to do while it replenishes its batteries. Not so with this new charger developed by Aldebaran Robotics for its Nao robot, which basically consists of a retractable extension cord that leaves the robot free to continue interacting with its owner, or simply sit down and chill out as the case may be. What's more, while that comes from Aldebaran itself, we're also now starting to see some results out of the company's new developer program, and it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that one of the first standout projects involves Wiimote and Kinect controls. Head on past the break to see both it and the new charging station on video.
Donald Melanson03.07.2011
Kinect hack gets a Wiimote assist, stomps all over Dead Space 2
It's not the first time that a Kinect hack has incorporated a Wiimote, but this demonstration from YouTube user Kick755 is certainly one of the more impressive examples to date -- even if it's still not quite ready to fully replace a controller. As with similar hacks, this one relies on the FAAST emulator for the Kinect end of the equation and GlovePIE for the Wiimote, but it has one notable feature that the others lack: the ability to quite literally stomp on your enemies in Dead Space 2. See for yourself after the break.
Donald Melanson02.11.2011
Kinect Hacks: Stomp through the Sprawl in Dead Space 2
This latest Kinect hack demo is something of a mixed bag: Some aspects of playing Dead Space 2 using Kinect and a Wiimote don't work so well. Others work really, really well -- like stomping. If there's a more satisfying-looking gesture in gaming for the rest of the year, we'll eat our hats.
Griffin McElroy02.09.2011
Kinect hacked to work with Flash, Wiimotes, we can't imagine what's next (video)
It's safe to say that, on the console gaming front, the Wiimote and the Kinect are competitors. But, take a step away to the world of PC gaming, and suddenly they can get along like old chums. That's what's demonstrated in the video below, created by YouTuber demize2010, which shows Call of Duty controlled by Wiimote, Nunchuk, and Kinect, enabling reloads, knife attacks, and peeking around corners. But wait, there's more! The Blitz marketing agency has worked up a demo in which the Kinect can be used with a Flash interface, which doesn't look too dissimilar from what Microsoft uses on the Xbox. This could open the door to fancier websites -- if indeed any large number of PC owners ever actually wind up buying a Kinect. Both videos can be seen below.
Tim Stevens01.12.2011
Kinect Hacks: Dive into Max Payne
Jack Schofield is quickly becoming our very favorite Kinect modder, largely because he keeps adding more games to his catalog of backwards-engineered, motion-supported classics. Check out his video to see how a Kinect and Wiimote can be used to make Max Payne even radder.
Griffin McElroy01.12.2011
Mad Catz releases Sonic-branded inductive Wiimote charger
Do you need to re-energize the power cores of your Wii Remotes in the raddest, most attitude-fueled way imaginable? The latest product from Mad Catz (PDF) is right up your alley: It's a Wiimote induction charger featuring Sonic the Hedgehog. At $49.99, it's probably not the most cost efficient way to refuel your gaming peripherals, but it is the ... um, bluest. What's great about the charger's Sonic-centricity is that it not only possesses form, but also has quite a bit of function. See his hand, there? That's not a peace sign -- that's him telling you how many controllers the charger can hold. He's such a helpful little devil, isn't he?
Griffin McElroy12.28.2010
Sonic the Hedgehog will charge your Wiimote inductively, but he won't like it
He may be flashing a peace sign, but you can tell from the look in his eyes that Sonic isn't exactly thrilled to be doing anything to support Nintendo. This is the cat that made blast processing a reality, whose addiction for gold rings is legendary, and who hasn't starred in a truly great game since, well, since Sega stopped making hardware, now reduced to this. Look at him, perched atop a mock floating platform, brown and tan checkerboard base with a green top where you can set your Wiimotes for charging without stripping them of their prophylactics. Though the press release makes no mention of this, we were led to believe that this is not actually powered by your AC outlet, instead by the spirits of fuzzy little squirrels and rabbits trapped within, making this $49.99 figurine from Mad Catz all the more nefarious.
Tim Stevens12.27.2010
Walmart loses its mind, offers third-party Wii Remote and game for $35
Walmart's apparently spread its retail dominance over so much of the country that it no longer has a need for your usual economic motivators like ... um, profit. The store is offering shoppers a $35 bundle which includes either a Nyko-brand Wii Remote or a Power A Wii Pro Pack (which we demoed earlier this year), and their choice of one out of a list of pre-selected games. At that price, you'd expect the bundled games to be shovelware, but the inclusion of Epic Mickey, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2 might convince you otherwise. We don't know how long this deal will be available, but considering you can purchase a Wii Remote, Nunchuk and a game for less than the standard retail price of a Wii game by its lonesome, we're going to wager that it won't be available for very long at all.
Griffin McElroy12.03.2010
THQ uDraw Gametablet for Wii review
There comes a time when fiddly buttons and D-pads just don't do it anymore, a time when you need a little more control. Nintendo was first of the current generation to show its hand with the fling-sensitive Wiimote, and of course Sony and Microsoft are both now doing similarly intended things with the PlayStation Move and the Kinect, respectively. Now THQ is trying to do its own little new thing by launching the $69.99 uDraw Gametablet on the Wii, supplanting the wavy wand with a stylus. Next logical step in gaming? Tool to unleash a torrent of creativity? Half-baked third-party accessory? Read on to find out. %Gallery-107435%
Tim Stevens11.15.2010
Apple TV hacking: Wiimote footage
Do you remember about a year ago when we showed you a Wiimote working as an iPhone input device ? Jump forward to the new era of Apple TV 2. Developer hacker Tom Cool from the #awkwardtv channel on irc.moofspeak.net has cross-compiled that demo for the ATV 2. You can see it in action in this newly posted YouTube video. Like the keyboard hack we posted about a few days ago, this mod is based on activating a custom stack (via Matthias Ringwald's BTstack implementation) that enables the Apple TV's built-in Bluetooth functionality. The Wiimote communicates over Bluetooth to the Apple TV unit, and displays a virtual representation that concurrently mimics the Wiimote's orientation. We're still a bit ways off from full Wii-style gaming on the Apple TV 2, but it's getting closer every day as this demo shows.
Erica Sadun11.11.2010