It’s time for another session of “random shit said by nobody in particular about the next generation of consoles”. Today’s victim is the Wii U which we at least know exists unlike the currently fictional Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4. Nintendo has yet to release hardware specs for its new console but claims suggest that it will be “twice as powerful” as the current Xbox.

That’s a big claim but plausible if the Wii U is to go toe to toe with the next gen of consoles from Sony and Microsoft in the next few years. What’s surprising is that this rumour is pretty conservative compared to the one which led us to believe that the next Xbox will be six times more powerful than the 360. Now that is a wild claim.

A report from UK site Develop claims that a Wii U developer speaking under anonymity has revealed the final hardware to be roughly twice as powerful as the Xbox 360. Apparently, other devs believed the console would be even more powerful.

“I’ve heard [a project designer] complain it’s underpowered compared to what Nintendo announced, resulting in people having to de-scale their plans,” the source told Develop.

Unlike the comically large question marks hanging over Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo will be re-unveiling the Wii U at E3  later this year and probably with some of the titles that developers have been working on so we should see what the console is capable of by then.

There are many names that have been given to Nintendo’s new mystery console so far, including the likes of Wii 2, Wii HD, Project Cafe and even Beem.

Speaking of that last one, Beem came about in a rather peculiar way. Internet peeps have been following up on web registration details and putting together their own little puzzles, seemingly coming to the conclusion that “Beem” is the name for Nintendo’s new console.

How did they reach that conclusion, you may ask? Well, Melbourne IT, the Australian company that hosts the domain nintendobeem.com, according to Kotaku, apparently also hosts the official Nintendo web domains for NintendoWii.com and Nintendo3DS.com. At this point in time, the Beem website doesn’t load and neither does it redirect to Nintendo’s page, which might be an indication that it is a future prospect and will go live at a later stage.

Doesn’t sound too bad a theory. Although further research shows that “Project Beem” was incidentally also the name given to a submission to a Wii 2 mock-up contest that was run by IGN in May. The dedicated gamers over at NeoGAF have been mulling this over. Now, the person in question who made the “Beem” submission, 27-year-old Canberra-based Aaron Carr, has interestingly registered NintendoBeemShop.com and NintendoBeemGames.com, which adds to the speculation fire.

However, now the latest rumour floating around the interwebs comes from Game Informer, who suggest that Nintendo’s new console may just be called “Nintendo”, which is pretty interesting to say the least. Game Informer are a source to think over regarding this matter because they were the peeps who published the first story, back then a speculation mill, providing rumoured details on Nintendo’s new console.

Hopefully, we’ll find out on Tuesday, when Nintendo takes the stage at E3 2011.

Ahead of the  NPD Group’s release of official market data this week, game industry analysts have weighed in with their own sales predictions for the month of April, in the US.

Analyst firms Wedbush and EEDAR both predict that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 will be named the month’s top-selling console, with the “It only does everything, except go online” PlayStation 3 tipped to edge out the Wii.

Wedbush’s Micheal Pachter said in a research note that things aren’t looking great for the 3DS. “The long-awaited introduction of the 3DS has so far had a smaller impact than we originally expected,” he wrote.

“The handheld is off to a slow start, as a lack of compelling software has kept many consumers on the sidelines for the expensive hardware.”

Mostly because Nintendo have released an expensive piece of hardware with almost zero first-party application support. Well fucking played, guys…

On the software front, Pachter expects April sales to be dominated by everyone’s favourite puzzle-orgy, Portal 2, and everyone’s favourite guts-orgy, Mortal Kombat.

Here are the actual numbers for those who are interested:

Hardware sales estimates, Wedbush / EEDAR (year-over-year change):
360 – 315,000 (+70%) / 315,000 (+70%)
DS – 300,000 (-32%) / 325,000 (-26%)
PS3 – 210,000 (+16%) / 215,000 (+19%)
Wii – 215,000 (-22%) / 200,000 (-28%)
3DS – 200,000 (N/A) / 250,000 (N/A)
PSP – 90,000 (+37%) / 80,000 (+22%)
PS2 – 15,000 (-66%) / N/A
Total – 1,345,000 (+13%) / 1,385,000 (+16%)

As is always the case with upcoming releases of anything, except maybe the Driver series, there will be mass hype surrounding it, and a few people trying to troll them all.

Is that the case here? Perhaps. Perhaps not. We can’t be sure, but what we can be sure of is that this picture has ended up on the internet with people calling it a Wii 2 prototype.

This just after Nintendo’s announcement that they are going to reveal the as yet unnamed console code-named “Project Cafe” at this year’s E3 gaming expo.

So if you see something during that reveal that looks like this, just remember where you saw it first… And if not then hey! [Insert troll face here]

Yeah… Unless they’re seriously going retro with this design, I highly doubt this is what they say it is. But hey, who knows.

There are many things that are big in Japan; television manufacturers, motor vehicle manufacturers, Godzilla, the Pacific Ocean, but not many can match up to the multi billion dollar franchise that is Nintendo. Today, they have confirmed the upcoming release of their next console, the successor to the Toy Wii. The still unnamed console, which we’ll call Wii 2 for sanity’s sakes, will be revealed at this year’s E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles in June.

In an official statement, Nintendo said that the new console will go on sale in 2012.

Suggestions are that the new console might only be out after April 2012, since sales of the new system have not been included in the financial forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012.

This is the first announcement of a proper release of the next generation of consoles after we broke the news to you this past week that Sony and Microsoft are apparently waiting until 2014 to release their new consoles.

Code-named “Project Cafe”, this console is rumoured to actually be a powerful machine (and not the toy that the Wii is), boasting specifications that better the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Which is to say, current gen stuff.

The Wii 2 will use a novel controller interface which utilizes a traditional d-pad and buttons scheme, together with a large touch-screen input. However support will remain, for Wii Remote-style controllers.

In the written statement, Nintendo said: “We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held from June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.”

The announcement has confirmed many reports and rumours on various sites. According to Nintendo, there will also be more details shared at that time.

We’ll be covering all related news as it happens. So keep an eye out.

Behold, the Tron Limited Edition Controllers from Performance Designed Products.

The same people who brought us the AfterGlow controllers, PDP has done it again with these awesome Tron controllers. The Xbox 360 Controller is pretty much the same wired controller that you normally get ecept for its sweet design scheme complete with orange light-up accents. It apparently represents Clu, the baddy in the new Tron: Legacy movie and the Black Guard, his elite fighting force. It also features performance enhancing counters and soft-touch rubber grips.

Then there’s the Special Edition Wii Controller which features the same soft-touch rubber grps as the Xbox controller and performance enhancing contours but more importantly blue light-up accents in a cool design.

Both controllers have produced in limited numbers, 20 000 of the Wii controllers and 250 of the 360 controllers. Each is so exclsuive that it comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity and every single one of the limited edition controllers has already been sold.

So while you may never lay hands on one, it is still better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

Yoshio Sakamoto, the creator of Metroid, has recently said that Nintendo’s next console will leave gamers with their ‘mouths open’.

During an interview with Spanish gaming site 3DJuegos, Sakamoto said that Nintendo will continue to grab audience attention with its next hardware.

“At Nintendo we always have the obligation to surprise users with a new game console,” he said.

“We have never done what others have. We prefer to create something new that catches attention, and I think this will continue this time as well. Surely the new Nintendo machine will leave you all with your mouth open.”

Just keep in mind that Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata recently said that the next console “may be three years from now, five years from now or eight years from now.” Also, back in June, he said that the Wii 2 is not needed right now, and that it would only be launched should the Wii run dry of new ideas and the ability to surprise gamers with its technology.

It looks like Treyarch still have an ace in the hole with upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops – and that’s the announcement of co-op.

The developer’s community manager Josh Olin has told Gamerzines that it still has yet to reveal a co-op mode. However, despite his revelation that the game will feature one, Olin did not go into any specifics, so we’re going to have to wait for the official announcement if we want details.

“We haven’t revealed the co-op mode yet,” said Olin, speaking at gamescom.

“I confirmed that part of the Prestige and Hardened Edition copies of the game is the four World at War Zombies levels playable in Black Ops co-operatively, but that’s all we announced.”

He added: “As for what our actual co-op mode is that ships with the game, we’re not ready to reveal that just yet.”

A co-op mode wasn’t announced in the multiplayer details blowout for Black Ops, but quite a number of exciting modes were.

Stay tuned.

Okay, not exactly. Later this year, THQ will be launching its very own Wii tablet aimed at 6-12 year olds.

Officially called the uDraw game Tablet, it measures 9×7 ” or roughly the same size as a Wii and can be used by connecting the tablet to a Wii remote. a stylus then allows users to draw or play games. It comes standard with uDraw software which is essentially like a slightly more complex version of MS Paint. Titles such as Pictionary and Dood’s Big Adventure (that title makes me sad) are available as well for $29.99 (R236) each.

Nintenod has abosultely nothing to do with the peripheral but was optimistic about the new peripheral: “We are impressed with THQ’s innovative design and focus on bringing a new gameplay experience to the Wii owner with their uDraw GameTablet,” said Steve Singer, vice-president of Licensing for Nintendo of America, in an official statement. “Nintendo is committed to providing fun and unique experiences and THQ’s uDraw GameTablet seems destined to continue that trend.”

THQ has yet to confirm a release date and price for the peripheral.

[Source: Kotaku]

Interested in Glow in the Dark gaming peripherals? Well, if you just nodded, you’re in luck. PDP, or Performance Designed Products, has created illuminating controllers which can be used for gaming.

The controllers are available for Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 where they all glow a different colour, and look pretty good — in the box.

The AfterGlow controllers boast LED lights which cause a glowing effect. Meaning, you’ll never lose it in the dark.

Following this, PDP decided that while glowing in the dark is one thing, feeling and control is another. This being said, PDP has actually modified the layout of the Wii and PS3 remote to be more comfortable. For example, the PS3 remote looks like the Xbox 360 remote.

Pricing, if this ever hits South Africa, will amount to about R400.

Sony predicts that Microsoft and Nintendo will launch their new home consoles before it gets round to unleashing the fourth generation of PlayStation.

The three platform holders are still to publicly discuss a new iteration of their core gaming hardware, which leaves gamers to speculate over what technology a ‘Wii 2′ or ‘Xbox 720′ may contain.

Shuhei Yoshida, Sony’s Worldwide Studios boss, said that despite the fact that four years have passed since the PS3′s global debut, it still had a “longer lifecycle”ahead of it compared to that of the Xbox 360 and Wii.
“Naturally, in my opinion, Microsoft will make the first move. Or, because Nintendo’s approach was not to upgrade much on its basic hardware – Wii doesn’t even support HD resolution – so they might be the first to move.

“Probably we should watch these companies, in my opinion. Because PS3 was later than Xbox, and is more powerful, so it has a longer lifespan.”

[Source: CVG]

What’s that? You want more Taylor Swift? Well then I’ve got bad news for you and of Taylor’s biggest fan dean0…

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is coming and this time there isn’t going to be any of the pop princess rubbish we’ve seen since Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero. Our friends from Activision (Read: Neversoft and RedOctane) have learnt their lesson from poor sales of the last few title releases and have gone back to their roots, that is this time it’s all shedding to Rock.

So you could almost say that GH: Warriors of Rock will be a sequel to GH: Legends of Rock. Most of the features from GH: 5 have been incorporated, but lets be honest, we only care about what we’ll be jamming to…

And here’s a little taste:

Fatbob Out!

The word from Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma is “The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword won’t be easy.” This was said after Shigeru Miyamoto had previously spoken of the need to make Legend Of Zelda games more accessible.

“I do not want to make Zelda easier,” Aonuma told Game Informer. “Easy to me does not equal fun. I want puzzles where people have to think about it, and when they solve the puzzle, there’s that feeling of accomplishment. That’s something that’s really valuable, that concrete feeling that when you accomplish something [in the game], it feels like you’ve done something worth doing. If the game is too easy, the accomplishments aren’t valuable.”

“When Mr. Miyamoto says easy, he doesn’t mean simple. He means easily – this is the difficulty of the language here. It’s accessible, and you know how to do things, if not necessarily what to do. You may have a series of puzzles to figure out, and it may be difficult to decipher the meaning, but it’s not difficult to accomplish what you need to do.”

Finally some Wii news that doesn’t involve anything ‘bad’.

[Source:CVG]

Nintendo doesn’t need to release a successor to the Wii right now. That’s according to the CEO of the company, Satoru Iwata.

During an interview with BBC, Iwata made it clear that Nintendo won’t be releasing a new console until it has “run out of ideas” for its current hardware. However, he did admit that the Wii 2 is already in development, which is no shocker.

“Whenever we launch any new hardware, we start working on the development of the next hardware, and the Wii is no exception,” Iwata said.

“When we run out of ideas with the current hardware and cannot give users any more meaningful surprises with the technology we have, that’s when we will launch the new hardware.

“But do we need to launch a successor to Wii right now? I don’t think so.”

Cool – or not cool? That’s up to you, but this definitely makes it all the more interesting to see what the Nintendo Wii is planning in the foreseeable future.

I’ve never really had any problems with Wii controllers but then again, my hands are of average size. Third party outfit, Power A, has now taken into their own hands to make Wii controllers for those with slightly more delicate appendages.

The aptly named MiniRemote and MiniChuck are said to be 35% smaller than conventional controllers and should be a perfect it for those individuals with diminutive appendages. They will be available in a number of different colours and should cost around R450, if they make it to SA.

The controllers are even MotionPlus compatible. Just don’t let your friends see you with one of them because you know what they say about guys with small hands…

Those brave enough to buy the upcoming Sesame Street Wii games, will receive probably the best attachment for the Wii Remote to ever be invented. When purchasing Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure and Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival (!) you will be rewarded for you troubles with not one but two plushy Wii Remote covers. One in the style of Elmo and the other resembling everybody’s favourite, Cookie Monster.

These are the first Wii games that I’m actually looking forward to.  Wait, let me re-iterate: the games will be pathetic, meaningless and stupid. The covers are what I’m interested in. It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

People say that the holiday season, namely Christmas, is a major cause for suicide. But this is wrong. Clearly it’s Nintendo factories — else the firm wouldn’t be looking into mass suicides, would they?

Over the past few months there has been 16 suicides at Nintendo. The Japanese giant said that they would investigate resources at Foxconn, one of the Chinese-ventures responsible for manufacturing the Wii.

Reports stated that staff would rather die then work inside the factory.

To be honest, sweat shops are aimed at saving money — not lives. But nonetheless, this is really sad.

Well last October there was some chatter about a Wii accessory spotted at a trade show in China. China? Probably some generic control right? WRONG!

Well this controller, which resembles a Heckler & Koch MP5 sub-machine gun,  will actually be available for the world to see at E3 (Intentional Rhyming). That’s right the MP5 Wii controller, well the plastic shell anyway, shall be on display at E3.

Innex has announced today that they have secured distribution rights for the RapidShot by Komodo.

Guess the Wii’s “realism’ just went up a notch?

[Source:Destructoid]

What is the stupidest peripheral that the Wii has ever had? No, you’re wrong. This is. It’s called the the Wii Wings and has been made for the game Bird’s-Eye Bull’s-Eye which involves players flapping their arms to guide their flying Mii through a series of targets in the sky.

The Wings are not all though, your Mii also takes some of the shame by being dressed as a chicken and one reatiler of the peripheral claims that “The Wii Wings take your flying experience to another level.”

Riiight. Of course they do.

Within a few months, the PS3 will have its Move and XBox will have its Natal. What this means for the Wii is that it will lose its dominion over the motion control gaming sector and possibly become redundant since nobody wants to play games in Standard Definition and poor graphics when they play them in HD for the same price.

It has therefore become something of a mystery what will happen to the Wii. Will it shape up and survive or will it fall from its plush pedestal? Head of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, was able to shed some light on this. He claims that the minute a console is complete, they begin work on its successor. This does not mean that the much rumoured Wii HD will be hitting us any time soon but Iwata rather said that there is a still plenty of work to be done on the current console. In other words, there is still more that can or needs to be done on the current Wii.

“As soon as a new system is complete – from the very moment it is complete – we’re thinking about the plan for the next game machine,” said Iwata at a recent Q&A session. “We believe there’s still more we can do with the Wii.”

Iwata has also confirmed that the Wii is in the planning stages. Despite this, Nintendo’s US boss, Reggie Fils Aime, maintains that Nintendo will only consider the Wii 2 realistically when a developer comes to them with an idea that can’t be executed on the current Wii.

It’s anybody’s guess how much longer the good old Wii will be around for but it definitely needs to come soon before nintendo loses its fanbase to the big bad next-gen behemoths.

[Source: ComputerAndVideogames]

The Wii has always been the family console. The one that can be used for family games night instead of Monopoly or Scrabble. It is therefore safe to assume that the indigenous habitat of this creature in many homes is the family room ie. the one with the TV and coffee table.

It is with this in mind that Spanish developer, Korner Entertainment, is proud to announce their latest addition to Nintendo’s WiiWare; The Wii Fireplace. It is basically a virtual fireplace that is intended to make your home seem that much more homely. Features that are not included with this amazing piece of software are fire, warmth, realism (despite claims that it is ‘hyper-realistic’) and pretty much anything else that makes a real fireplace useful and awesome. The thumbnail I used is what a real fire should look like.
Why anybody ever saw a need to make something like this is beyond me but the idea is to put it on and let it ‘warm’ up the atmosphere of your room although it will probably make the family room pretty boring since you will not be able to watch TV with this thing on.

hyper-realistic’) and pretty much anything else that makes a real fireplace useful and awesome.

Not long ago, we were all devastated by the story of a little girl who shot herself when mistaking her step-father’s gun for the gun attachment that she was used to playing with from their Wii. It seems that one group of people is going to do something about it. Psyclone Games, who are currently working on Wii title Bass Pro Shops: The Hunt, have taken it upon themselves to have a much safer and child-friendly Wii gun by the time their game is released in June. Firstly, it is preferably not to be called a gun. Secondly it should not look like a gun.

These were some of the things that were written down at Psyclone’s recent meeting on the topic. Of course, when playing any kind of shooter on the Wii, you want to have some kind of gun facsimile to wave around. Thus far, they have come up with a rather sci-fi looking rifle that would not be out of place in Halo.

Below is a comparison between an existing Wii gun peripheral and a real gun. Would you be able to tell the difference? As a toddler?

As yet unnamed, this gun is actually quite well designed as it incporporates the Nunchuk where the trigger of a gun would normally be with the main controller in the barrel section. It also looks rather comfortable  and cool to have around.

One thing is for sure, no 5 year old will mistake a gun for that.

The Diffusion Group has been hard at work crunching figures to come up with solid figures showing which console is online more than others. While we’re always hearing about the same stats, such as Xbox Live has so many players and PS3 sold X amount of consoles, it’s nice to know that someone has come up with new figures.

The latest study shows that PS3 players enjoy online play more than any other console.

78 percent of PS3 gamers hook their console onto the net to talk to friends, and play against each other.

73 percent of Xbox players hook their console up, while only 54 percent of Wii owners feel the need to plug themselves into the information superhighway.

The only suspicion behind PS3 beating Xbox could be because the PSN is live, or because it has Wi-Fi built in.

[via:kotaku]

EA recently announced at the 2010 GDC that it would be releasing a new version of its Sports Active title previously seen on the Wii. The new version comes complete with leg and arm bands with motion sensors attached so you can therefore have a full body workout. Other upgrades include a heart monitor as well as an online hub from which users can track their fitness and share data with others. DLC will include new workouts and exercises.  EA Sports Active 2.0 is due for release in the 3rd quarter of the year with no specific time as yet.

The WiiAuto Pistol is a peripheral for the Wii similar to the WiiZapper that many of you may be familiar with. The difference is that while just about every Wii peripheral is easily distinguishable as such, the Pistol is shaped almost exactly like a real gun, has very similar textures to a real gun and is even the same colour as a real gun. Now this is fine for those players who want realism but it is not fine when it looks very much like the loaded weapon that you might just leave lying around your house.

On top is a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol and underneath it is the WiiAuto Pistol. As you can see, the two look very much alike and certainly would look identical to any 3 year old.

On Sunday 7 March, 3 year old, Cheyenne Alexis McKeehan was ambling about her house in Wilson County (Tennessee) when she came across what looked like the fun little Wii peripheral, the WiiAuotPistol. Unfortunately it turned out to be a loaded Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol. You see, as a result of the WiiAuto’s realistic look, Cheyenne was led to believe that all objects of that shape are toys. So, it was that little Cheyenne had her last playtime on Sunday when she mistook the semi-automatic pistol which her step-father had left on a low table somewhere. Strangely, her mother was just a few metres away when the incident happened but must have thought that the toddler was just playing with the WiiAuto until it was too late.

This case is full of strange things though because the official police report states that the 3 year old Cheyenne had learned how to use the gun by playing with the WiiAuto Pistol just a few days earlier. Now I’m in no position to judge but is it not just a little unethical to teach a toddler to shoot let alone allowing them to play a game where they have to shoot things. Then again, the gun was being used by the step-father to check for trespassers and this was in Tennessee. Rednecks. Also is it not just a little irresponsible to leave a loaded firearm within reach of a small child, especially when they know how to use one.

This seems to be a tragedy brought about by poor-parenting, stupidity and plain negligence. It pains me to see such a young child die due to such idiocy.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was recently questioned about the future of the Wii, where he was asked if HD is a possible solution for future models. Many Wii fans would like to play games with better graphics, and this might even interest a few new people to buy the console.

Iwata said that the Wii will in fact sell with something new, and he didn’t shoot down an HD idea at all.

“If asked if making the Wii compatible with high definition — just making it compatible with high resolution — will get players throughout the world to buy it,” he said, “I would of course say, ‘Do you think it would sell with just that? It needs something new.’”

Uhm, that line was translated. So, if you’re having a hard time understanding… You know why.

Overall, Iwata has agreed that the Wii needs something new, and HD might soon be a requirement, along with something else that’s ‘new’.

[s:joystiq]

Nintendo execs have apparently said that they were given the option to benefit from the same technology which powers Microsoft’s Project Natal, however they declined as camera technology was a bit too pricey.

A trustworthy source around the matter said that Nintendo’s boss, Satoru Iwata saw the technology at the end of 2007 where he was not interested. The insider also commented on Microsoft’s Natal, and the companies promises as Nintendo said that they “remain unconvinced Natal will deliver on the more sophisticated elements of what Microsoft is promising at the price they’re aiming for.”

This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard about Nintendo being familiar with the technology.

[s:kotaku]

2009 was said to be an interesting year for console gaming, as new technologies saw numbers turn sales figures around. The most significant change the console world was Sony’s PS3 Slim which boasted reduced pricing and more compactness.

The PS3 Slim allowed Sony to enter a market which would be a lot more competitive for Microsoft as the pricing would be very similar.

Following the console changes, the year 2009 saw new titles being released where some were exclusives for a specific console. Exclusive titles are meant to boost sales for a certain console, so the companies would try their best obtain the best exclusives.

The following sales figures depict what happened during the year 2009:

PlayStation 3 — 12 510 554 units sold
Xbox 360 — 10 244 185 units sold
Wii — 21 382 298

The main reason behind the PS3′s improvement over the Xbox was mainly due to the Slim. Nintendo sold the most consoles, however it does not fall into the same league, or price range as the other two.

Microsoft are slightly upset that their console did worse last year when compared to 2008, however they are aiming to boost sales with the edition of super bundles, Project Natal and extra Live subscription packages.

Capcom recently landed in some hot water after they chirped that they are so over Wii. However, after extinguishing the fire that was rage, the company then commented by saying that it is so difficult to cater for the Wii community.

Chris Kramer said that, “If you’re not Nintendo, it does seem harder to make money on the Wii today compared to the PS3 and the Xbox 360.”

The solution seems to be less titles with better quality. Chris said that Capcom will release less titles in 2010, however they will be a lot better. There might even be the point where people stop developing for Wii completely.

For those who like to customise everything from their consoles to their watch straps, you will be pleased to know that EA games have signed multi-year licence agreements with three electronic accessory manufacturers. The accessories are EA SPORTS-branded and available for consoles, mobile platforms and even PC. This will also include EA SPORTS Active’s line of “interactive fitness products” which more than likely means the Wii but could also include Xbox since Project Natal is out soon.

Sakar International will produce Wii and Nintendo DS accessories such as a “Nintendo DSi(TM) Football Kit” consisting of a game case, earphones, skin and stylus with football-like textures and materials. As well as other football products such as sports-themed MP3 players, digital cameras and computer keyboards and mouse pads with graphics resembling a football field.

Accessories 4 Technology's Wii Fit gear -Expect football themes-

Sunflex Europe has started production on more than 20 products and Accessories 4 Technology will produce for all platforms including iPod. Vice President of Brand Marketing at EA SPORTS, Glenn Chin said the partnerships will “improve our consumers’ experience and deepen their connection to the fabric of sport”. So if replacing your controllers with sports themed branded ones will connect you to your sport game of choice then you can expect the first batch of products to be released around autumn this year.

[s:EA Games]

Some dude at Capcom recently screwed up quite nicely after he commented on the Nintendo Wii. Mr Antione Seux said that hardcore gamers had abandoned the Wii and that the future of Capcom would be invested into the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Ouch. Capcom Europe is now trying to one-eighty these comments saying nice things about the Japanese made console, how nice of them!

“Further to comments made in a recent article on French website Gamekult, Capcom would like to confirm its commitment as a multi-platform developer and publisher of interactive software,” states the publisher.

Guess who just lost a few friends on Facebook.. … As if Facebook is important!

Good news for all you Guitar Hero fans out there! A new GH is coming out if you didn’t know, and as always it promises to be orrsum! As with the last releases, it will have lots of different multi-player options and modes to keep things interesting when jamming with friends. Availability, if the useless people @ take2 are to be believed (Ed: I wouldn’t), should be early March next year for us South Africans. If you’re importing, the US is soon! Just before Christmas, to be exact 22/12/09.

The new Guitar Hero has got an awesome line up of songs that will have you clicking playing your guitar, bashing your drums and even wailing. Who wouldn’t want to jam to classics like:

	Offspring, The – Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)
	Billy Idol – White Wedding
	Weezer – Dope Nose
	Queen – I Want It All
	Fountains of Wayne – Stacy’s Mom I’d Like to <censored> (Ed: Oi you can’t write that!)
	Blink 182 – First Date
	Judas Priest – Painkiller
	Third Eye Blind – Semi-Charmed Life
	Queens of the Stone Age – Sick, Sick, Sick
And the list just goes on and on.

Pretty Orrsum? Yeah that’s what I thought at first as well.

There is just one thing that is going to ruin this title. It includes 25 songs from some yesteryear band that nobody’s ever heard of. Yeah it’s Guitar Hero Van Halen. Now I’m sure you have two questions.

Firstly who is Van Halen? And secondly is it wrong to have feelings for a hot cousin? While I can’t answer the question surrounding if having feelings for your hot cousin is wrong I can tell you who Van Halen is.

In short, Van Halen is some American crap rock band that has a whole bunch of members with the surname Van Halen, and their lead singers David Lee Roth and Sombody Hagar leave and rejoin the band every so often. They’ve sold lots of albums apparently although they were never really big outside the states. A song of theirs you’d recognise? I couldn’t find any.

So in short, you can drop R600 to play the awesome guest acts and ignore Van Halen or hope these songs get included by our friends who make Rockband.

FB out!

P.S. Shout out to my band Ubertaner (Lead Guitar), Cheeezy (Bass) and Bukris on Vocals

With the fairly recent price cuts of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox360 it’s only logical that Nintendo would follow suite. It was announced that the Nintendo Wii console would receive a nice price cut of $50 (about R370) on the 27th of September this year. Nintendo’s official words on this matter are as follows: “Beginning Sunday, Sept. 27, the world’s most popular home video game system gets even more appealing. On that day, Nintendo’s suggested retail price for its record-setting Wii drops by $50 to $199.99. The new $199.99 Wii price point delivers the full iconic Wii gaming experience, including the motion-sensing Wii Remote controller, Nunchuk controller and Wii Sports software, and furthers Nintendo’s mission to expand the gaming universe by making video games accessible to more and more consumers.”

It’s worth mentioning that Nintendo have not revamped any existing or created any new Wii bundles. So you probably won’t see the recently released Wii MotionPlus gadget included in a bundle and neither will you see any newer games replacing the bundle-stapled Wii sports game. While a price cut for the Nintendo Wii was expected it’s still nice to see it become a reality. I’m not entirely sure of the new price for South Africa, but I guess that will become clear in the upcoming days. In my personal view, this price cut doesn’t really get me interested in purchasing a Wii, even though there are some really awesome titles on it that I would really love to play. Perhaps if and when a new, upgraded Wii console is released…well, there’s me hoping. You can expect this to be the last price cut for the current generation consoles. Well, at least for a long time.
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- Azhar “Tody” Amien (click to email me if you have any questions)

Logitech South Africa has leased news and pricing on their new Premium Music Game Controllers for the Wii console. The new Wii controllers from Logitech will be expanded for the Guitar Hero game, where the company has added a new wireless guitar and a wireless drum kit.

The new controls will be designed for full compatibility with the new Guitar Hero 5 game, as well as the up and coming Band Hero.

“Logitech’s premium guitar and drum controllers have made it easier for Guitar Hero gamers to get into the music with even more realism,” says Romain du Gardier, Sales & Marketing Manager – Southern Africa developed countries, Indian Ocean Islands, Nigeria and Ghana“. Now if you love to rock out on Wii, you’ve got the gear to match your level of commitment to the game.”

The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Wii and the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Wii are expected to be available in the South Africa in December for a retail price of R 2499.00 and R 2499.00 respectively.

Along with the news of the Wii kits, Logitech has released the same upgrades for the Xbox 350 Console.

The new guitar and drum set will work with the Guitar Hero 5, and Band Hero games for the future.

“When you’re ready to upgrade your controllers or expand your band, you’ll want to rip on Logitech’s new drum controller,” says Romain du Gardier, Sales & Marketing Manager – Southern Africa developed countries, Indian Ocean Islands, Nigeria and Ghana“. With the Wireless Drum Controller you can mark time, keep the backbeat, colour up your riffs and crash down on the cymbals. Made for Xbox 360, the new Wireless Guitar Controller and Wireless Drum Controller and let you rock out to all your favourite songs.”

The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Xbox 360 and the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Xbox 360 are expected to be available in South Africa in December for a retail price of R2499.00 and R2499.00 respectively.

Check out the full press releases below:

Logitech Unveils Premium Music Game Controllers for Wii

Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller, Logitech Wireless Drum Controller,

Licensed for Guitar Hero

SOUTH AFRICA, Johannesburg. – Sept. 9, 2009 – Expanding its line of premium music game controllers to Guitar Hero® gamers on Wii™, Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today introduced the Logitech® Wireless Guitar Controller for Wii™ and the Logitech® Wireless Drum Controller for Wii™. Licensed by Activision Publishing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), both controllers feature the high-quality materials that you’d expect to see in real guitars and drums, and are designed to let you take advantage of all the latest features of Guitar Hero games including Guitar Hero® 5 and the soon-to-be released Band Hero™.

“Logitech’s premium guitar and drum controllers have made it easier for Guitar Hero gamers to get into the music with even more realism,” says Romain du Gardier, Sales & Marketing Manager – Southern Africa developed countries, Indian Ocean Islands, Nigeria and Ghana“. Now if you love to rock out on Wii, you’ve got the gear to match your level of commitment to the game.”

Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Wii

The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Wii features a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and metal frets. So you’ll look good while you shred, the new Wireless Guitar Controller presents a dazzling white finish with a glossy-black pick guard on a one-piece contoured wood body.

The noise dampening design of the strum bar and fret buttons minimizes audio distraction, and lets you focus in on the music. The guitar controller also incorporates a touch-sensitive slider on the fret board (located on the neck) to help you rack up the points by tapping notes.

Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Wii

The Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Wii features three fully adjustable drum pads and two cymbal pads. Each piece can be positioned to fit your reach and suit your style – and the quiet and responsive drum pads deliver a lively feel that won’t distract you from the music.

For better gameplay, the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller uses a recessed-rim design that helps make it easier to score points and avoid accidental rim shots. The kick pedal uses a stainless steel surface and an adjustable spring – providing a highly durable, responsive drumming experience.

When you’re ready to play, the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller sets up quickly and folds flat in seconds. You can start playing within minutes of opening the box and when the show is over, the set can be easily stowed away.

Both the Guitar Controller and Drum Controller are licensed for Wii so setup is a cinch – your Wii Remote™ snaps into the controllers, and both products feature an analogue stick for navigating menus.

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Wii and the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Wii are expected to be available in the South Africa in December for a retail price of R 2499.00 and R 2499.00 respectively.

And… The Real for Xbox

The Real Deal for Xbox 360: Logitech Unveils Premium Music Controllers for Guitar Hero®

Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller, Logitech Wireless Drum Controller:

Licensed for Xbox 360

SOUTH AFRICA, Johannesburg. – Sept. 9, 2009 – So you can really rock out to Guitar Hero® on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today introduced the Logitech® Wireless Guitar Controller for Xbox 360® and the Logitech® Wireless Drum Controller for Xbox 360®. Licensed by Activision Publishing (NASDAQ:ATVI), Inc., both controllers feature high-quality materials, and are designed to let you perform at your best on Guitar Hero games including Guitar Hero® 5 and the soon-to-be released Band Hero™.

“When you’re ready to upgrade your controllers or expand your band, you’ll want to rip on Logitech’s new drum controller,” says Romain du Gardier, Sales & Marketing Manager – Southern Africa developed countries, Indian Ocean Islands, Nigeria and Ghana“. With the Wireless Drum Controller you can mark time, keep the backbeat, colour up your riffs and crash down on the cymbals. Made for Xbox 360, the new Wireless Guitar Controller and Wireless Drum Controller and let you rock out to all your favourite songs.”

Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Xbox 360

The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Xbox 360 features similar materials found in real guitars – including a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and metal frets. So you can focus on the music, the Wireless Guitar Controller features virtually silent strum bar and fret buttons through the use of rubber dome technology, the same material used in Logitech’s award-winning keyboards. The guitar controller also incorporates a touch-sensitive slider on the fret board (located on the neck) to help you rack up the points by tapping notes.

For your convenience, Logitech’s new Wireless Guitar Controller lets you jam at a range of up to 30 feet from the console. And you’ll look good while you’re shredding – the Wireless Guitar Controller will be available in an eye-catching orange finish with a glossy-white pick guard.

Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Xbox 360

The Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Xbox 360 features three fully adjustable drum heads and two cymbal pads. Each piece can be positioned to fit your reach and suit your style. Offering a realistic playing experience, the new Logitech Wireless Drum Controller provides quiet, responsive heads that deliver a lively feel, won’t distract you from the music, and are designed to let you take advantage of all the latest features of Guitar Hero games.

But Logitech has not just replicated typical drum heads. For better gameplay, the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller uses a recessed-rim design that makes it easier to score points and avoid accidental rim shots. So you can give it all you’ve got, the kick pedal uses a stainless steel surface and an adjustable spring – providing a highly durable, responsive drumming experience.

Delivering up to 50 hours of battery life on two AA batteries, the Wireless Drum Controller gives you enough juice to perform a concert’s worth of hits, encores included.

The Logitech Wireless Drum Controller sets up quickly and folds flat in seconds. You can start playing within minutes of opening the box, and when the show is over, the set can be easily stowed away. (Roadies are not required)

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for Xbox 360 and the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Xbox 360 are expected to be available in South Africa in December for a retail price of R2499.00 and R2499.00 respectively.

E3 is just around the corner and there are rumours flying around the interwebs of what is going to be announced.

Here is my list of what I think is going to happen:

*Sony
-PSPGO!
-PS3 Slim
-Lots of God of War 3 footage

*Microsoft
-Next Gen XBox announced
-Halo 3 ODST footage
-Motion controller
-Metal Gear coming to XBox 360

*Nintendo
-New core IP
-Mario Galaxy 2
-New Zelda game
-Kid Icarus game
-Pokemon Radon/Argon for DSi featuring 200 new Pokemon
-New IP requiring another new peripheral

*Gameplay footage of Alan Wake

*3D Realms
-Bankruptcy was a hoax
-Duke Nukem Forever given a solid release date

*New Killer Instinct announced

*Lionhead
-Black and White 3
-Something Peter Molyneux considers groundbreaking, the internet thinks not

*Maxis
-New SimSomething game

*Valve
-Counter Strike 2(tribute to 10 year anniversary of Counter Strike)
-Loads of news for Half Life 2: Episode 3

*Sega
-Another useless Sonic game announced

What are your E3 predictions?

Yes, it is indeed true. The PlayStation 3, Xbox360 and Nintendo Wii have a combination of more than 100 million consoles sold – as of 28th March 2009. This announcement comes as quite a big surprise for quite a few reasons. Firstly, we know that the next-gen consoles are far from cheap, marking themselves as the most expensive consoles, and yet the sales are incredibly high. Secondly, this spectacular feat has only been achieved by two other console generations before – the PS1, N64 and Saturn generation and the PS2, Xbox, GameCube and Dreamcast generation. There is, however, a third generation that achieved this (if you include handheld consoles), that being the Game Boy, Nintendo DS and PSP, but these handhelds have quite a large range of time between their releases.

So as it stands now, the worldwide sales count are as follows:

1. Nintendo Wii – 50 million (leading console)
2. Xbox360 – 30 million
3. PlayStation 3 – 22 million

The Wii is still the best selling console of the next generation. Whether it’s the factor of it being cheaper, catering for a wider audience, being a much loved machine – or all of these, the fact is that Nintendo have definitely made a huge success with their console. On the other hand, the Xbox360 is in second place with the PS3 tailing closely behind it, but only time will tell how these results will change in the future.

[For an in-depth analysis and further details visit: VGchartz]

Researchers have recently discovered that people that constantly play action games are actually improving their eye sight. The video-game training which players under go actually improve their ability to notice subtle differences in shades of gray, and this might help people that find it difficult to drive at night.

The quick pace from action games causes the brain to process visual information a lot more efficiently, and this allows all improvements to the brain to last a few months after the game play has stopped.

Just how does it work? Well, players are constantly changing their brain’s pathway which is responsible for the visual processing, this causes the brain to adapt so that it can work a lot more efficiently, resulting in better eye sight.

This study was proven to work mainly on action games or games which need a lot of hand eye coordination, as the tests resulted with the players playing action games featuring an average improvement of 43%, while the players playing Sims 2 for the test had no improvements.

No to carrots. Yes to games.

[via:technorant]

It all seemed very sudden, as enthusiastic readers of the ‘PlayTech’ magazine (formerly known as Play the Zone) realised that this year’s February issue was missing. PlayTech, a South African multiplatform magazine, has been around for over a year and has been quite a popular magazine in that time. However, for those wondering what happened to it, I’m afraid there is very bad news. The PlayTech magazine, unfortunately, will no longer be published as of February 2009.
Apparently the reasons behind this are economical issues that have affected multiple media service delivery organizations. The result of this is that the publication of the magazine can no longer be maintained.

However, there is some good news with this. That being that PlayTech is not finished, as they have plans to utilise the web and continue to provide gaming content through a type of online magazine. The shift from actual magazine to digital media might be a great move, or it might not, but at least we know that we haven’t seen the end of PlayTech.

[See official details at: PlayTech.co.za]

There’s a lot of talk speculating a new Nintedo Wii by 2011 that will truly be the next generation Nintendo Console. Rumour has it that Nintendo has been giving brief presentations and hints at the new console. Apparently the new Wii is going to be an entirely remade and enhanced version compared to the first, and rumour also has it, yet again, that the console is named the Wii HD.

The key point regarding the new console, however, is that you’re going to be experiencing graphics equivalent to the Xbox360 (high definition) and a much better console in general. The change is said to be similar to that of the Gameboy and Gameboy Advanced. Personally, if I may, I don’t see this as much of a shock since it was bound to happen eventually anyway, just some might argue sooner than they’d have thought – time goes quick, doesn’t it?
Breaking this future console down, however, it’s still going to be the Wii and it’s still going to play like the Wii. It’s just going to be a dramatic improvement as to what’s already here.
That’s it for now, at least, and we’ll just have to see what’s in store for the Wii as more information inevitably leaks out to the public.

Is the time drawing near to say goodbye?

Get the full in-depth article here at: WhatTheyPlay

Call of Duty: World at War will feature a brand spankin’ new multiplayer map pack for the Xbox 360 PS3 and PC. The maps will be available in March and for an undisclosed price you will be able to add “Nightfire”, “Station”, “Knee Deep” and “Verrückt (Zombie Asylum)” to your map list.

Full descriptions are available below..

Nightfire

• In “Nightfire,” players take to the streets of a war-ravaged Berlin with only the flames of the burning city to expose the enemy.

Station

• “Station” offers a bombed out underground train station littered with hidden passageways and destroyed subway cars.

Knee Deep

• “Knee Deep” takes place on the island of Peleliu in a once tranquil village turned chaotic Japanese command center.

Verrückt (Zombie Asylum)

• The fan favorite 4-player co-op Nazi Zombies Bonus Mode returns with “Verrückt,” a terrifying Zombie asylum featuring more weapons, perks via the addition of Perks-a-Cola machines, electroshock defenses and the endless zombie horde.

Dennis Kim, the director of licensing and merchandise for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver has revealed the plans for Sega’s Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games.

“Last year, 2008, they had a very successful game using Mario and Sonic at the Beijing Games, as well as a multi-sport simulation type of game,” Kim said. “That’s what’s being discussed and planned for Vancouver. We are feeling optimistic about sales because of the Beijing experience.

The first version of Mario and Sonic was one of the best-selling games released on the Wii console.

Kim later added, “They (Sega) want to get a real sense of accuracy, particularly with the landscape and the venues and the look of the Games.”

The AGASA Weekend Cup IV has been won by miNt Gaming.

After a postponed final round, the games between miNt and bravado gaming started at 18:00 on the 7th of February 2009.

52 minutes into the game mother nature took over as a huge storm hit Cape Town, causing a power surge which dropped a few players. The teams managed to reload from a 37 minute save game, but only to have sLoJ immediately drop.

After another reload, the teams tried again, only to have LeMoN-GrasS and saidin drop shortly after the restart. A few minutes later machine dropped, followed by Blizzy from bravado quitting.

This led to a win by miNt Gaming.

But, the games were not over, as bravado entered to finals with a 1-0 lead over miNt.

The tie-breaker took place at 16:00 on Sunday, the 8th of February 2009, where 22 minutes into the game machine and saidin from bravado dropped.

Due to there being no save game, and miNt having the clear upper hand with levels, items and towers, bravado decided that they will not argue for a remake.

Congratulations to miNt Gaming for winning the first AGASA Cup of 2009.

Match comments available here.

[source: bravadogaming]

Wii owners will be happy to hear that EA Games are looking to increase their Wii development. The latest news from EA comes from John Riccitiello, who said said that it costs the gaming manufacturer a lot less to create games for the Wii than it does for the current-generation consoles, such as the X-Box 360 and PlayStation 3.

According to Riccitiello, “development is typically a third to a fourth as much for a Wii game than it is for a PS3 or an Xbox 360 game.” This kind of makes us think, why do companies even bother about high-definition games.

Riccitiello then went on to explain that the reason for Wii games being developed for less is due to the developers “producing less art than for high-definition games.”

As a result of all of this, EA will now give more attention to Wii than they would the 360 and PS3 combined.

So this means that we will be able to expect more intense games, such as Dead Space for the Wii console.

[source: joystiq]