Tag Archives: NintendoWii
The Power Egg is unlike any drone you’ve ever flown before
Normally, when you think "quadcopter", you think of the standard block-shaped mass of propellers, struts and landing gear. But nothing says they have to look that way. In fact, one drone company from China is taking a radically different approach...
Nintendo Wii production to cease ‘soon,’ at least in Japan
Manufacturing of the aging Wii game console will end "soon," Nintendo of Japan says. Kotaku spotted the note on a product page for the Wii on Nintendo's website, which reads "Manufacturing is scheduled to end soon." It's unclear if this affects worldwide production or just Japan, but we've asked Nintendo for more info.
The news doesn't come as a huge surprise, though, as Nintendo's new game console comes with the ability to play Wii games built-in. A recent update even added the ability to play said Wii games directly on the Wii U gamepad screen -- the main selling point of owning a Wii U. It also doesn't hurt that tens of millions of Wiis are already out there in the world, Nintendo having finally sated the years-long demand for the seven year old console.
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Via: Kotaku
Source: Nintendo of Japan
Nintendo confirms Wii Vitality Sensor’s death, says it produced inconsistent results
Oh Wii Vitality Sensor, we hardly knew ye... in that we didn't know you at all. Nintendo introduced the pulse-sensing Wii peripheral at its E3 2009 stage show, and said we'd hear more in "the future." That future never came, despite occasional assurances that the device still existed. During a recent Q&A with Nintendo head Satoru Iwata, an analyst brought up the device once more, and Iwata said it encountered too many issues in quality assurance testing to bring to market.
"We have not been able to launch it as a commercial product because we could not get it to work as we expected and it was of narrower application than we had originally thought," he told investors. According to Iwata's estimates, approximately 90 out of 100 people were able to use the Vitality Sensor without a hitch, though he (thankfully) requires that it work with "1,000 of 1,000 people." However, he admitted "but [since we use the living body signal with individual differences] it is a little bit of a stretch to make it applicable to every single person." He'd still love to make the Vitality Sensor a reality "if technology enhancements" allow, but thus far, testing renders it "insufficient as a commercial product."
In other Nintendo news, Iwata assured investors that he will continue to monitor employee cafeteria quality-related concerns. Seriously though, that was a question.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, HD, Nintendo
Via: VG24/7
Source: Nintendo
Nintendo to retire Wii network services in Japan, including the Weather Channel
No one disputes that the Wii is old, but old enough to retire? It seems so, at least in the case of a number of its internet services, which Nintendo has scheduled for closure on June 28th. An End of Life notice to Japanese customers reveals that a total of six channels will be put out to pasture, including News and Weather, as will the the ability for Wii Friends to exchange data over Wii Connect24. It's not clear whether these terminations will apply globally, and in any case Nintendo explicitly says that other key services will continue for the time being, such as the Wii Shop Channel. Nevertheless, the latest iteration of the Wii -- the Wii Mini -- wasn't able to connect to any internet services from the outset, so it certainly seems like the game company wants to shift its focus to the future -- and maybe that isn't such a bad idea. The source link has further details along with the obligatory "sorry to everyone" message.
Source: Nintendo (Japanese)
Amazon Instant Video now live on original Nintendo Wii
Though Nintendo Wii U owners have been enjoying access to Amazon's Instant Video library for some time now, today Nintendo and Amazon launched the service on the original Nintendo Wii. To gain access, all you've gotta do is snag the Amazon Instant Video application from the Wii's Shop Channel and sync up your Amazon account in a few basic steps (as seen above). There's also this Amazon page where you'll head after syncing the account on your Wii. And then there's this final step where you tell us why you're still using a Wii for such things.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, Amazon, Nintendo
Source: Amazon, Twitter - @NintendoAmerica
Editorial: Why America’s most popular gaming genre likely won’t work on Nintendo’s new console
When first-person shooters made the transition to consoles from PCs over a decade ago, they weren't very good. Or even just good. Despite being today's go-to genre for blockbuster console game franchises (Call of Duty or Halo ring any bells?), the first-person shooter got a rough start on consoles. Game developers -- used to the precision allowed by a mouse/keyboard setup -- had no idea how to design shooters with console gamers in mind. Early approximations like Nintendo 64's GoldenEye and Perfect Dark from Rare were held up as the gold standard for years, while PC gamers snickered and stuck with their superior control mechanics.
Bungie's sci-fi shooter Halo: Combat Evolved heralded the launch of Microsoft's Xbox in 2001, and it marked the end of Nintendo's short-lived console FPS dominance. The first Halo game and its developer Bungie Studios are to thank for the modern console FPS -- a streamlined, slower version of its PC progenitor that stands on its own. In the decade since Halo: Combat Evolved launched, Bungie and many, many other game development studios have honed and perfected FPS gameplay on consoles, to the point where it's the leading sales genre in the US (for the past five years, with the exception of 2008, according to NPD). Nintendo, however, has taken a back seat in this genre -- starting with the GameCube and even more so with the Wii, Nintendo eschewed first-person shooters for the better part of the last decade. Beyond the company itself not publishing or developing within the genre (the lone exception being its Metroid series), third-parties mostly offered watered down ports for the last two Nintendo consoles.
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Peripherals, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo
Editorial: Why America's most popular gaming genre likely won't work on Nintendo's new console originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsNintendo Wii console drops to $130 in two-game bundle
With both the holidays and the Wii U fast approaching, Nintendo has decided to drop the price of its older Wii console to $130 when sold with Wii Sports Resort and Wii Sports. The cheaper package should arrive in the States by October 28th and will ship in black (alongside black Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers), thereby replacing the current New Super Mario Bros. bundle that sells for around $150.
Nintendo Wii console drops to $130 in two-game bundle originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 08:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nintendo | Email this | Comments Satoru Iwata talks Wii U design, guts a console for context
Nintendo's top dog Satoru Iwata recently sat down with some of his R&D crew to talk about designing the Wii U, and unfortunately, a console was sacrificed in the process. The discussion focuses on what changes they've made this time 'round, including the new multi-core CPU and GPU module, and how they fitted more cooling gear in a body smaller than the Wii as a result. In addition to some nice teardown pics for illustrative purposes, they muse on moving to HD, part testing, case design and how the GamePad is more of a companion than a controller. We don't want to spoil the whole bit, so head to the source link for the full transcript, or check out the gallery below if you just want the visuals.
Satoru Iwata talks Wii U design, guts a console for context originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Iwata Asks (Nintendo) | Email this | Comments Nielsen says game consoles get men to use TV more: hurray, we think
We're not sure if we should always cheer figures that reflect sedentary behavior. Still, chalk one up for greater (if superficial) gender equality. Nielsen finds that, as of this past March, men who owned a modern game console like the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or Wii were using their TVs almost as much as women: while males in the broader population typically spend 37 fewer minutes in front of the big screen every day than females, that gap shrank to a negligible 11 minutes when console use came into play. Unfortunately, the agency doesn't say just what's getting men to tune in for that much longer. Gaming is the most likely culprit, but a raft of streaming video options could have some of those refined couch potatoes watching Hulu or Netflix instead of playing one more round of Gears of War. If consoles have people of all genders spending more time together, we're in favor of it; given that men still spend over twice as much time on consoles as women, though, it's clear there's still a bridge to cross if we want more of a balance in the kinds of TV activity we enjoy.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Alt, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo
Nielsen says game consoles get men to use TV more: hurray, we think originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 13:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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