Nintendo Wii Fanboy's code monkey extraordinaire, Mike Sylvester, stuns us again. His latest Revolutionary column is a step-by-step process of turning the Wii balance board and Wii wheel into a racing simulator, with the aid of GlovePIE and a PC version of Need for Speed ProStreet. Feel free to try this at home.

Yes, we like lolcats. No, we won't stop. Yes, we will consider whatever you say, so long as you check out the highlights for today:

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

Are you still struggling with the Wii Wheel in Mario Kart, despite everyone online who's kicking your derrière while using it? Nintendo Wii Fanboy's Revolutionary columnist Mike Sylvester has a rather, erm, revolutionary idea: a do-it-yourself training wheel to help add subtlety to your turning. Check out the article for more information; a video demonstration is embedded after the break.

Looking for some new wheels? How about two of 'em -- that's right, two Wii Wheels, and we'll even throw in a copy of Mario Kart Wii ($49.99 value) with each (and, if you're lucky, an "I Heart Kart" air freshener), as well as some miscellaneous swag from the NYC launch party (1 t-shirt, 1 sticker and one "driver's license," a $15 value). Just follow these five steps and a winner can be you!

• 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.

There are five ways to handle your racer in Mario Kart Wii: Wii Remote solo, Wii Remote embedded in Wii Wheel, Wii Remote with Nunchuk, Classic Controller, and GameCube controller. But, removing all other variables, which control method is the best? Are there really limitations to not using the Wii Wheel? We decided to pull out the ever-trusty "scientific method" and determine, once and for all, the best kart controller.

Nintendo has said it considers Mario Kart Wii a "bridge game" -- a title that converts casual, Wii Sports-playing Wii owners into a more hardcore, game-buying type. For those bridge gamers, this quick retrospective will help fill you in on the history that has made the Mario Kart series one of the most beloved in gaming. For everyone else, it's a stroll down memory lane and a starting point for discussion about your hopes and fears for the impending Mario Kart Wii.

We got home this afternoon to find a rather large shoebox at our doorstep. Contained within: our very own Mario Kart Wii. We can't simply enjoy our excitement alone, of course, so check out our unboxing gallery. We'll have full impressions of the anticipated racer soon.

Using a baby as a Wii Wheel substitution is not the best idea for either your gameplay or the infant in question. Our sister site Nintendo Wii Fanboy has this and more suggestions for when the Wii Wheel isn't enough. In case you're looking for more Mario Kart Wii-related shenanigans, they've also devised a listing of potential "alternate karts," including what we envision would be the most "kart" race ever: Wario in a rickshaw vs. Yoshi on a pogo stick.

	Alternate Kart Universe
	Reinvinting the Wii Wheel

I had low expectations for the Wii Wheel before playing a few rounds of Mario Kart at the Nintendo Media Summit. The circular chunk of plastic exceeded my expectations. And that's my advice in life: Expect little and be constantly pleased.

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.

GoNintendo reports that the latest issue of Nintendo Power states the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the Nintendo Wii Wheel is $10. It appears that some retailers aren't taking the suggestion to heart, as Gamestop, Amazon and some other stores are selling the glorified plastic shell for $15 separetly from the game.

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.

In a new edition of the contrived Iwata Asks, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and product development guy, Kenichiro Ashida, sit down with president Satoru Iwata to talk about the Wii Wheel shipping with Mario Kart Wii.

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.

Fans of alternate Wii control schemes were obviously psyched when it was revealed that Mario Kart Wii would support a variety of control methods, including the Wii Classic Controller and Gamecube pad. But those fans might want to scale back their expectations, as an updated game fact sheet (posted on Nintendo's press site) claims that players who don't use the Wii Remote schemes will not be able to perform "certain moves" and "some maneuvers."

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 practically useless 'extremely useful' Wii Wheel? You'll know as soon as we do.

If you're just sure Nintendo's Wii Wheel peripheral is going to make your Mario Kart Wii game that much better, you may want to nab a second (remember, one comes in the box). Lucky for you, Gamestop is more than happy to take your money well before the game's April 27th release, with their latest circular promoting preorders for the game and – what's this? – a single Wii Wheel 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]

More than a month out from the release of Mario Kart Wii, MTV's Stephen Totilo was allowed to take the game for a (literal) spin, first employing the accompanying wheel accessory and then playing without. You can see the differences between the two with the aid of the above video and the sans wheel clip after the break.

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.)