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Wii

Wii-proofing Panasonic's plasma TVs

At its 2008 product showcase in Valencia, Panasonic revealed that every year some people manage to hurl their Wii controllers at their expensive flat-panel TVs. Anyone who reads gadget sites will have read these tales of woe and possibly even seen the photos. The good news is that Panasonic has created a Wii-proof TV. Well, it's Wii-proof as long as you don't have the lobbing arm of a caber thrower.

You might think it seems daft to go to all that effort, but Panasonic didn't really have to change very much at all. Generally, plasma TVs do … Read more

Nerf Wii Blaster holds Wiimotes, launches darts

When it comes to plastic toy guns, two names tend to come to mind: Nerf and the Zapper. Thanks to the new partnership between Electronic Arts and Hasbro, those two are about to collide. Kotaku and Shacknews have reported that EA Hasbro has revealed Nerf N-Strike for the Nintendo Wii and DS systems, along with a Wiimote-based Nerf blaster.

Wii Zapper clones aren't exactly new. Nyko's Perfect Shot offers a satisfyingly gun-shaped alternative to the Zapper, and CTA Digital's torrent of inexplicable gun grips give even more choices. Nerf's Wii blaster puts a new spin on … Read more

Wii virtual console releases for this week

Looks like the days of the triple-update are long gone as this week is another two-game showdown on the Virtual Console.

Harvest Moon (1997, SNES, 800 Wii points): What's considered to be a relatively rare title is no longer scarce as Harvest Moon makes its way to the virtual console today. The game is basically a farm simulator in which you must raise livestock and grow crops in addition to turning a run-down farm into a thriving success. Lords of Thunder (1993, Turbografx 16, 800 Wii points): Lords of Thunder is a side-scrolling shooter with a heavy-metal soundtrack. Blast … Read more

EA unveils Spielberg's 'Boom Blox' for Wii

It's been a long time coming, but we finally have some actual details about the first game to emerge from the partnership between Steven Spielberg and Electronic Arts.

Known as Boom Blox, the game, which will be available in May only on the Wii, is from EA's casual games unit.

It will have more than 300 levels, "a cast of over thirty wacky characters" and seems to be built around letting players take on "Blox-laying chickens or...baseball-throwing monkeys" or cartoonlike grim reapers in tiki, medieval, frontier, or haunted themed settings.

EA has never … Read more

Darwin tries to evolve Wiimote technology

Whether Nintendo likes it or not, the Wii may be in the midst of a forced evolution of both the commercial and DIY variety.

The latter was seen recently when the console's Wiimote system was the subject of a high-profile hack by a Carnegie Mellon researcher that yielded some impressive results. Now a company called Motus has created a controller that works like the Wiimote on PCs and non-Wii consoles.

Dubbed "Darwin," the controller uses gyroscopes and accelerometers for tracking motion and is said to be more accurate than the infrared system used by the Wii, according … Read more

Wii virtual console releases for this week

These two releases are sure to spark some childhood memories. Who doesn't remember plunging $20 in quarters on a little game called Operation Wolf?

Operation Wolf (1989, NES, 500 Wii points): What started as an arcade light-gun game eventually made its way to the NES. Battle through stage after stage and defeat the terrorists before you run out of bullets and grenades. Columns III: Revenge of Columns (1993, Genesis, 800 Wii points): What many describe as the long lost cousin of Tetris, Columns was the Genesis' flagship puzzle game. By the time the second sequel hit, most of the … Read more

Report: 'Rock Band' headed for the Wii

The Guitar Wars saga continues.

In the epic battle with Activision's Guitar Hero, Electronic Arts has reportedly disclosed that a version of arch-rival Rock Band is heading for the Wii. Gamespot reports that EA's chief executive mentioned the news in a conference call yesterday after the company posted its latest quarterly earnings. (MTV Games is the official publisher of the game, but EA distributes it.)

"In terms of pacing the next few quarters, you're probably well aware of the more than $2.5 million music downloads that have occurred on Rock Band," Gamespot quoted CEO … Read more

PaRappalliteration: Major Minor's Majestic March coming to the Wii

Once upon a time, in the age of the Sony Playstation, a strange rhythm game appeared. It was called PaRappa the Rapper. It told the story of a flat, cartoon puppy who wanted badly to be a rap star. The game wasn't especially popular against titles like Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VII, but its charming humor and bizarrely infectious music garnered a cult following. The game eventually saw a sequel on the Playstation 2 and, more recently, a remake on the Playstation Portable. To this day, a stuffed, singing PaRappa doll sits on a shelf in one … Read more