Wii Wheel + Balance Board = racing simulator
Today in Joystiq: June 5, 2008
Joystiquery
Joystiq Poll: Worst of the XBLA chopping block
Let's talk about those Hummingbird ads ...
Meet the Team: Alexander Sliwinski
Metareview -- Lego Indiana Jones
PSN Thursday: Novastrike, Civ Rev demo, Commando 3, much more
Readers pick best webcomic: The Unhorse
Tomonobu Itagaki: A Blood Splattered History
X3F Week in Review -- May 30, 2008 - June 5, 2008
News
Ninjabee bringing 'city-building' Kingdom for Keflings to XBLA
GameTap Thursday: Cradle of Rome's Astro Fury
It's too hard to find stuff on XBLA, says Microsoft
God of War track hits PS3 Guitar Hero III today
Crysis Warhead dropping exclusively on PC this Fall
Ubisoft to develop games for iPhone, iPod Touch
Florida requests 10 years disbarment for Jack Thompson
EA discontinues work on Red Alert 3 for PS3
Gamestop's Metal Gear Solid 4 midnight launches revealed
Sony bundling Warhawk expansions as single DLC
Five new Guitar Hero III track packs in June, Motörhead up first
Nielsen: Wii usage is second to Xbox 360
SOE reactivates dead Everquest accounts with Living Legacy initiative
Activision, System 3 take the Ferrari Challenge
Survey reveals Rock Band 2 concept box art
The Sims 2 Apartment games coming to PC, DS in August
Grand Theft Auto IV DLC delayed until Fiscal Q1 2009
BioShock ships over 2.2 million
Reminder: COD4 map pack now available free for PC
GTA IV ships over 11 million copies
You can actually watch Duke Nukem Forever on Jace Hall Show
Take-Two quarterly revenues up 163% on GTA IV sales
Itagaki's departure causes Tecmo stock plummet
BioShock movie may be out in time for BioShock 3
The top-selling games in the US over the last 15 years
Take-Two: 'Portfolio balancing' drove GTA IV DLC delay, partnerships possible
Disney's games and internet divisions merging
Third Star Wars character joins Soul Calibur IV cast
Sci-Fi Channel creating an MMO/TV show hybrid
Rumors & Speculation
Culture & Community
MGS4 PS3 bundle on Amazon.com tomorrow
A DIY Mario Kart Wii training wheel
Joyswag: Win our copies of Mario Kart Wii (and some launch swag)
- To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on any of the designated gallery pictures (one, two, three) with your favorite track from the Mario Kart series.
- You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec -- désolée!).
- Limit 1 entry per gallery picture, per person
- This entry period ends at 8:00pm ET on Friday, May 2nd. We'll randomly select the winners at that time (please check your email!).
- For a list of complete rules, click here.
The Mario Kart Wii controller showdown

Keep on Kartin': A Mario Kart Retrospective
Continue reading Keep on Kartin': A Mario Kart Retrospective
Mario Kart Wii: The Unboxing
Celebrate Mario Kart Wii with alternate karts, Wii wheel substitutions
| Alternate Kart Universe | |
| Reinvinting the Wii Wheel |
Joystiq hands-on: Wii Wheel

I twisted the small wheel to turn my racer. Gentle movements steered me around the tracks, and the setup was most sensitive if I held it at a 90-degree angle, with the face pointing directly away from the TV. A button pad pushed the B trigger, giving me a bigger target to hop and turn. I reached the other buttons easily.
But the control felt imprecise because it wasn't mounted to anything. I unintentionally dropped the wheel angle sometimes, making the system less sensitive. I don't know why someone would want to buy one of these, and I expect most gamers will stick with other control methods.
Rumor: Nintendo Wii Wheel MSRP may be $10
Best Buy seems to currently be one of the only retailers we could find that had the product listed and selling for $10 (but we're sure that the Joystiq army of internet detectives can find more). We've contacted Nintendo for confirmation on what the actual MSRP of the Nintendo Wii Wheel is and will update as soon as we receive an answer.
Iwata asks about the many Wii Wheels of Nintendo
Ashida regales that in early 2007 the product development team got the first build of Mario Kart Wii and started messing around with developing a steering wheel. Some 30 prototypes laters the team had a design that was about the size of a real go-kart steering wheel and added a B button to the underside of the wheel for a child's fingers to reach. Mario Kart Wii drives into stores April 27... coincidentally, two days before that other driving game.
Non-Wiimote controls limited for Mario Kart Wii
What maneuvers exactly? We're not quite sure, but the new mid-air tricks probably aren't among them -- A Link to the Future notes that an IGN preview specifically mentions Classic and Gamecube controller users can hit the d-pad to perform those. We find it hard to imagine that the plethora of joysticks and buttons on the alternate control schemes can't replicate the controls of the somewhat button-free design of the Wii Remote. Could this be an effort to encourage more use of the
Continue reading Non-Wiimote controls limited for Mario Kart Wii
Wii Wheel (aka: plastic shell) sold separately for $14.99
If you ask us, that's pretty steep when you consider the Wii Wheel is just a plastic shell; you're better off putting that $15 towards a used Gamecube controller which, praise be to Bowser, will work just fine with Mario's latest racing simulator.
[Via Engadget]
Watch Mario Kart Wii played with and without Wii Wheel
For his part, Totilo seems to be more of a wheelman, but we plan on reserving judgment until we put our own mitts around the attachment. How do you think you'll play?
(P.S. Sorry to our friends in Japan, the U.K. and Canada, as these videos won't load for you.)
Continue reading Watch Mario Kart Wii played with and without Wii Wheel
Mario Kart Wii snakes into stores April 27

Once you stick Mario Kart Wii into your console, you'll be able to compete with up to 11 other drivers online across 32 courses (half of them recycled from previous games). You can also expect to encounter Mii integration, 10 battle arenas, alternate controller support and a festering hatred for blue shells.




























