The Wii is ushering in a new era for Nintendo, not just technologically, but also in their business relationships with third party developers. Not only is Nintendo poised to smash their "kiddie" image (Resident Evil 4 helped on the Gamecube, but it in no way compares to Manhunt 2 for Wii), but it's looking like third party developers won't have to justify their love for Nintendo anymore. The company is opening up and letting them learn how to use their Wiimote for the most pleasurable experience possible.

The NY Times explores Nintendo's sudden outreach using Namco Bandai as an example, saying that the "usually aloof executives" came to the publisher a year ago with an "appeal for their support." Namco Bandai's COO, Shin Unozawa says, "I had not seen that attitude from them before ... Nintendo was suddenly reaching out to independent developers."

We've seen some arrogant statements from American Nintendo execs, but the Wii seems to be Nintendo's contrition machine. Despite being more open to publishers, Nintendo refused to comment on their new approach to the NY Times. Although the Wii is selling incredibly well, the games haven't broken out of the gimmicky mold yet. When Metroid and Mario Galaxy hit later this year, we'll get the first real dose of what a game designed for the Wii can offer, instead of the Gamecube techno-ports we've had so far. And by next year, we may begin seeing solid titles from third party developers. Here's to hoping Nintendo learned from their past mistakes and makes the Wii what the Gamecube could have been with support form third party publishers.

After bursting onto the scene with 34 titles in the Wii's first two months, Nintendo today announced they would "continue the flow of fun" with ... 12 new Wii games through March. Wait, what?

We understand that things tend to slow down a little in the months after Christmas, but even accounting for that the Wii's first quarter line up is kind of lacking. A few potential standouts like SSX Blur and Sonic and the Secret Rings are left to flounder among the usual mess of licensed crap (TMNT, Bionicle Heroes, Meet the Robinsons) and warmed-over third party games reworked for the Wii controller (Tiger Woods 07, The Godfather, and Blazing Angels, which was originally listed as a launch window title). What's more, Nintendo's Wii Play (a game which hit Europe and Japan in early December) is both the only first party game on the Wii's Q1 list and the only game we're likely to see for the system in all of February.

It might be a little early to declare Reggie's "no game drought" promise a failure, but this faint trickle of early games is, frankly, not that inspiring. Keep reading for a complete breakdown of the Wii's amazing "flow" for the next few months.

Oh boy, where to start? Maybe it was just that their previous gamepads were selling wireless to a wired world, or perhaps the good folks at Logitech just felt weird about building a gamepad that felt so light; either way, they've decided to give their new ChillStream controller a little something extra to distinguish it from the me-toos in the third-party controller rat race.

Yup, they added fans into the controller, to keep your sweaty mitts cool. If this strikes you as an especially gimmicky move for one of the more reputable peripheral manufacturers, you're not alone dear reader. Maybe the extra weight and a potentially lower third-party cost will be enough to drive frugal gamers into the arms of the ChillStream ... or is that ChillStream into the arms of frugal gamers? The controller doesn't have rumble, it presumably has motion sensitivity, it doesn't appear to be wireless -- oh yeah, it has fans -- and it carries a suggested retail sticker price of $39.99. How much is that "affordable" first-party controller going to be?

[Via CrunchGear]