nintendo-wii posts (Subscribe to this feed)

David Hasselhoff, representative of talking cars and safe beaches the world over, recently told a very funny story to MTV Multiplayer. He says he's one to "play celebrity cards," and when his daughter said she wanted a Wii, he got busy. Calling up his local game store, The Hoff was told that no systems were left, but was quickly able to charm the clerk into admitting that the store had held one system back. "Hold that game. I will be over in 30 minutes," he said, eventually showing up to the store where a very shocked employee declared, "Knight Rider! Dude!"

Obviously, the store sold him the game system, and we imagine his daughter was incredibly happy that her dad used his celebrity to get it, but wouldn't it have been faster to just call up Nintendo? We heard Iwata's hooked on a feeling.

Publishing giant Ubisoft has announced its acquisition of Vancouver-based Action Pants Inc., along with plans to utilize the studio on a new sports game exclusively for Wii. Considering that most recent publisher news has concerned layoffs, we're pretty happy to report the birth of Ubisoft's first in-house studio on the west coast of North America.

"The creative talent at Action Pants made the decision an easy one," said Ubisoft's executive director of worldwide production studios, Christine Burgess-Quemard. Co-founder and executive partner at Action Pants Inc., Simon Andrews, shared the excitement and said the two companies have "similar values." Considering those "values" have included Ubiporting crappy games to the console in the past, let's hope these two skip the foreplay and get right down to the nitty gritty: creating actual worthwhile experiences on the Wii.

[Thanks, Tom!]

You wouldn't think the House of the Dead series would need a lengthy explanation, but Sega disagrees. Pre-ordering The House of The Dead: Overkill nets gamers a 32-page comic book, illustrated by Steve Copter of punk-band 'Black Mekon' fame. Available in traditional paper form at GameStop or digitally from Amazon, the comic stars Overkill protagonist Agent Washington and stripper-extraordinaire Varla Gunns, and details events that occur just before the start of the upcoming game. Here we thought the only explanation needed with House of the Dead was: "Shoot everything that isn't you ... and don't accidentally shoot any survivors."

While attending Sundance, the actor caught up with the MTV Movies Blog and talked briefly about, you know, movies. Turns out he isn't in town for that so much, instead showing up for what he assumes is some last haven for the Wii console. A kind of sanctuary for the Wii or something.

Good luck finding that Sony Wii, guy. Just remember to pay for it. You don't want to be in any more trouble. Check out the video past the break.

A couple of criminals recently hit a Gamestop, snatching up as many Wii and PS3 consoles as their thieving little arms could carry. It's not disclosed where this Gamestop is located, so we can't pinpoint the place this robbery occurred, but know that these two dudes made off with quite a considerable amount of consoles. Sadly, the authorities have not caught up to these two yet. So much for a happy ending, eh?

Head past the break to see the store surveillance footage catching them in the act.

Online analyst Hitwise is reporting that folks in the UK who're searching online for the perfect gift are searching for Wii Fit. With Reggie saying there won't be that many on store shelves, we can't blame them for heading online to try and track one down for the holidays. As you can see, the second item that UK shoppers seek is the Wii. Two years in and it's still going strong. We're expecting North Americans are searching for the same two items right about now.

Are any of you trying to pick up Wii Fit or the Wii this holiday? Is it a gift for a friend, loved one, family member, or yourself?


[Via CVG]

Before we get started, doesn't a "waggle suit" sound like the funnest thing anybody could possibly own? Yeah, we thought so too.

Anyway, Ohio-based Motiva says that the Wiimote violates a patent of that it filed in 2004 for "technology used to create a 'Human Movement Measurement System' comprising a hand-held tracking device in communication with a base station that can be used to create an interactive gaming experience, among other capabilities."

It's apparently such an obvious violation of the patent that it's only taken the company two years of the Wii appearing on every television station and magazine cover on the planet to notice it. If we seem vindictive, it could be thanks to Motiva's counselm who said, "Using someone else's technology without permission is theft. Nintendo makes video games where you get to play a thief, but that doesn't give them the right to be one."

What is he even talking about? Wario? We have no idea.

We've got some great features and other original content that went down on the Nintendo Fanboys over the past week. Below, you'll find some great content to jam into your eyeballs from the world of Nintendo, so skip this unimportant text and hit the links below to check out our best stuff from the last week.

DS Stuff

• Bury the Shovelware: Drake and Josh Talent Showdown
  We play the bad games, so you don't have to!
• Gaming to Go: Elite Beat Agents
  Our weekly feature on the best pick-up-and-play DS games out there
• DS Fanboy Review: N+
  Go, ninja, go!
• Show and Tell: Dress from the best
  Our weekly features looks at cosplay
• 'A' for optimism, 'D' for style: The Red Bull BC One DS
  A new limited edition handheld hits the scene

Wii Stuff

• Mod that: 5 of our favorite Wii consoles
  The cream of the crop of Wii mods
• Born for Wii: Sam and Max Hit the Road
  We tell you why we want it on Wii
• Wii Fanboy Review: Mario Super Sluggers
  Hit the diamond with Mario and co.
• Top 5: Games for your day off
  Our weekly list feature checks out 5 great games for your day off
• It's-a Mario World: In the batter's box
  We celebrate Mario Super Sluggers in our weekly feature
• Revolutionary: Most Deceptive Kontraction
  The man, the myth, the legend, Mike Sylvester, works his magic
• Point/Counterpoint: Does Clone Wars need MotionPlus?
  Two bloggers square off and debate the issue

For many of you, your dream came true yesterday, as one of the most desired titles for the Virtual Console released. We figured it was appropriate to ask about any other games you wanted to hit the Virtual Console, so what are they? What game are you dying to see release on the Virtual Console?

For many, Animal Crossing: City Folk looks a lot like the original GameCube game, both from a presentation standpoint and included features. Sure, Animal Crossing: City Folk has some new stuff, but none of it is really that innovative or indicative of the franchise going into any kind of new direction. It's basically the equivalent to treading water. But, it turns out that popular opinion may not be justified, as some new details regarding the game can be found in the upcoming issue of Nintendo Power.

First of all, those of you who spent time with Animal Crossing: Wild World on the DS, you can transfer your avatar over to the new game. Another cool DS-to-Wii feature will allow you to "take your travel data and download it to your DS." We've no idea what that will entail exactly, but it sounds promising.

As for the Wii game, the holiday-themed events will be returning. Jingle the Reindeer will be back for Toy Day and a new character, Zipper T. Bunny, will make an appearance for Bunny Day. Sound promising!

Wha? What is this? Well, to offer you a more streamlined recap of the goings-on in the Nintendo world, we've combined the DS Lite and Wii Fanboy Weekly recaps into one powerhouse, now dubbed Nintendo Fanboy Weekly. Hopefully, you'll like the new approach.

But enough of that, check out our links. They're homegrown with the finest original features and old coffee grinds.

The Best of DS

• DS Fanboy Review: Bangai-O Spirits
  Treasure's latest is an absolute, uh, treasure
• Point/Counterpoint: The Worth of Chrono Trigger DS
  Really worth the high price tag?
• Gaming to Go: Planet Puzzle League
  See why this one's perfect for the on-the-go gamer
• The DS Life: Captionz Needed
  Kitties and DSes = awwwwwww
• Show and Tell: Put it on
  Our weekly look at the latest creations from the DS community

The Best of Wii

• Wii Fanboy @ EA Summer Showcase: Nerf-N-Strike
  Our hands-on writeup of the peripheral and game
• Want to watch DVDs on your Wii? Let us show you how
  Our step-by-step guide on watching movies on your Wii
• Wii Fanboy @ EA Summer Showcase: Boogie Superstar
  Our hands-on writeup of EA's next installment in the franchise
• Born for Wii: Rogue Squadron
  The game gets re-imagined for Wii
• VC Monday Madness: Mega Man and Neo Turf Masters
  I'm like the best Mega Man player in the world
• Point/Counterpoint: Pros and Conduits
  We debate the hype surrounding The Conduit
• Revolutionary: Special Effects
  A technical look at why games look good

Despite NoA's VP, Denise Kaigler, showing us all a graph with some lines on it, group manager of corporate PR at Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, David Dennis, wants us all to know that the information presented in Kaigler's little chart is wrong. To help set the record straight (and also point out how awesome is company is, we guess), Dennis offered up the following tidbits of info:

• Total third party sales for the Xbox 360 since launch is currently 67,929,999 units, followed by the Wii at 33,394,311 units and the PlayStation 3 at 19,976,325 units.
• Third party sales for the Xbox 360 since the launch of the Wii and PS3 is 54,065,728 units, still almost double the Wii's 33,394,311 units.
• If you take the total number of units sold and divide that by the number of titles released since November 2006, the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are selling more units per title on average than the Wii. This puts the Xbox 360 at 217,252 units per title, the PS3 at 156,065 units and the Wii at 132,517 units.

We have a feeling that any company can spin sales figures the right way, in their favor, but no matter how you slice it, the Wii is still on top overall. So take that, competition!

[Thanks, jimb!]

Bungie and Microsoft have been attached at the hip for awhile now. Some gamers are Halo haters, a lot more are Halo lovers (folks do like to buy those games). While the likelihood of Halo releasing for other consoles is pretty darn slim, any future projects from the company could see release on platforms other than the Xbox 360.

During an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Bungie's lead AI programmer, Damian Isla, didn't discount the possibility of his company working on other systems, stating that for now "we are working on Xbox 360 with Microsoft but I don't know beyond that." His own interests lean toward the Wii, however, as he lauded it for its interface and appreciated the industry "moving in a direction where a much more casual gamer can come and pick up your game and wave a wand at a screen rather than learning ten different buttons to play Halo with the current Xbox 360 controller. That's really exciting and I think that's a very positive trend for the industry." We guess Damian isn't a subscriber to the Scott Steinberg philosophy of gaming.

We couldn't agree more, Mr. Isla. We couldn't agree more ...

[Via Videogamer]

Nintendo has announced Wii Sports Resort, a sequel of sorts to the most popular title on the best selling console system this generation. It will include the previously announced Wii Motion Plus controller, and allow players to experience a fun "day at the beach" -- there will be a frisbee game, as well as a jetskiing experience, and a... sword dueling game?

Nintendo plans to replicate the success of Wii Sports and Wii Play, and throw in a new accessory with the pack as well. The game is set for a release in spring of next year.

During their announcement of Animal Crossing: City Folk at E3, Nintendo announced a new "community microphone" called WiiSpeak -- from the look of it, it sits on your television right on top of the sensor bar, and Nintendo says it'll let you speak with other players around the world.

Here's hoping they enable other online activity with the microphone as well. Finally, some Mario Kart voice chat? Yes please!