According to TechDigest (where we found this Top 10), these videos will have you convinced that you want a Wii. So we watched them again ("again" because these are old). Some of them were cool. And some of are scary and sure to drive die-hard Nintendo fans nuts. You've already most of these or maybe even all of these. But here, together in one QJ post for the first time, are...

The official trailer. Charming. Cute. Fun. The perfect introduction to newbies about what the Wii is all about, and a nice video for the rest of us who just can't wait to get our hands on the real thing.


Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto explains why it's called a Wii. A lovely and fun video from Kotaku.


Wii Drumming. Looks like fun. Sounds awful for a while, but then it sounds funky.


Wii vs PS3. Like the great "Mac and PC" ads from Apple, this one is, um... we have no more words left to explain this. Please keep this away from small children and people with weak heart...

President Satoru Iwata and the Wii team have been sharing with us their cool knowledge about the Wii development process (as well as their future plans). The latest installment of the series is dated October 5, and it looks like this time it's Iwata in the hot seat. You can find the interview at Nintendo's Japanese web site (click on the read link below). Trust us, it's a long interview and the Babelfish and Google "translations" are awful:
The software compilation of Wii ('Wii Sports' is from the next time!) starts. As a chopstick resting during this serialization, it is a little long, is, but if you can read, you think. Please, we ask may.

So we're waiting for a good translation (we'll post it as soon as we get one). But until we get our hands on a good translation, we might as well do a recap. The Wii is coming out soon, and this has been a long series of interviews, so it's time to review where the Wii started from.

Do you remember when Chris Ko...

Nielsen Entertainment reports something that that most of us gamers already know. The third annual update to its Active Gamer Benchmark survey finds social elements are becoming more and more important when it comes to the overall game experience, with some 56 percent of roughly 117 million gamers in the U.S. playing online games, and some 64 percent of those being women (again another "doi!" but women being gamers and them not being recognized is a whole different topic so I won't go into that).

The study goes on to say that so-called Active Gamers spend more than 5 hours a week playing socially (that no doubt includes Xbox Live and WiFi gaming), with gaming teens being involved socially within the game by as much as seven hours a week. The survey by the way, defines "Active Gamers" as gamers being 13 years or older, and who own a gaming device and play at least 1 hour a week.

The survey also found that older women (your mother) comprise the largest part of causal ga...

  

In the sunny shores of Wii-land, a couple of box art have washed in, and today, we've got a net full of these fresh fish. And unlike the fabled Red Steel box art from before, all of these are official, gathered by IGN from Nintendo and other third party developers. Some of these might look familiar, just like the box art in a different platform's version. But mostly, all of them are a treat to look at.
It's a smorgasbord of games, from across all genres for the Wii. You got action games, party games, games for kids, sports, shooters, and all that jazz. Let's see what we have, shall we?
Avatar: the Last AirbenderMarvel: Ultimate AllianceRed SteelSuper Monkey Ball Banana BlitzBarnyardMadden 07Tony Hawk's Downhill JamCars Monster 4x4 World CircuitMetal Slug Anthology Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab.
Keep your eyes peeled so that by the time the games come out, you'd already know which of those games on the rack you're going to get. ...

Filed under: Gaming
It's time again for one of our favorite segments, CE-Oh no he didn't! For this week's episode, we're going to talk a little bit about the PS3. Now, we all know that the new PS3 isn't going bring the rumble to our favorite upcoming Sony gaming console. But what we didn't know was why -- yes, yes there were claims that it had to do with interference of motion sensing, or lawsuits from Immersion, but we hadn't gotten a clear reason straight from the horse's mouth, particularly when surveys suggest fans would be willing to pay for it. However, a recent interview by GameDaily Biz with SCEA prez Kaz Hirai says that it's yet another reason altogether:

"Is it technically feasible? Absolutely. But the balancing act that you need to do, is to be able to present the controller to the consumer at an affordable price."

Affordable? Please. Joystiq points out that a G-Pad Pro for the PS2, which has motion sensing and vibration, costs $3...

Just a few days ago, we saw a trailer for Spike's upcoming survival horror game Necro-Nesia. Today, IGN posted some screenshots of the Wii game. There still is a lot that is unknown about the game, such as why is the player fighting for dear life against giant bugs.

Although the screens are pretty small, you can see a little of what is to come, such as the characters that you will be interacting with, and some of the freakishly huge bugs you'll have to put down. Even though there is no release date for the game yet, go ahead and check out the screenshots by clicking on the thumbnails below. And when more news become available we'll be sure to keep you informed.

    
    

   

In  the beginning, Nintendo was targeting to produce 6 million units of Wii by the end of 2006. Competitors Sony and Microsoft are not giving this much care though, saying all the flurry will be over for the Wii after Christmas. But back in UBS, world-leading wealth management firm and semiconductor analyst Alex Guana is reporting otherwise.

According to the reports he filed, Nintendo already built 2 million of its console by the end of September. You'd think now this is just simple math: 2 million made already, 6 million target number (compute, compute)... 4 million units to go. Wrong! Guana stated further that Nintendo is actually planning to build 9 million units more, at the most.

Hmm, if this reports are true, it seems that things are looking very well and sun-shiny bright for Nintendo for them to do that. It has always been predicted that the Wii will indeed take the bigger slice of the console market. The remaining question now is how big or how small.&nb...

Filed under: News
According to some silly subscription-only news service (briefing.com, for the unabashedly curious), Nintendo has completed production of some 2 million units in Q3 alone. Nintendo, remember, had only promised 4 million by the end of the calendar year, and 6 million by fiscal year's end (March 31st). But with all of October and half of November to roll out the units, the figures may jump up even higher. The report claims that Nintendo has at least 7 million planned for Q4 production, and even up to 9 million seems feasible. That's potentially eleven million Wiis by year's end.

It seems that the later-than-expected release date of November 19th was not a result of hardware shortages, but rather to give software developers a chance to properly finish their titles. While all these consoles sitting around, having tea and just waiting for the 19th is a nice picture, it's also important that Nintendo maintain the image of must-have and hard to find....

Filed under: News
If you haven't been to the Red Steel site lately -- hell, even if you have! -- get over there and check out the updates. If the site is any indication of the quality of the finished game, we're sold. Times ten. From the music to the sound effects, down to the new feature of the Wiimote and aiming reticle, everything on the revamped site is pitch perfect. And don't forget to train with the sensei. It's always a good time to be a disgrace to the world of martial arts. That was a compliment ... right?Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: News
There's a long and glorious tradition in America of heading down to Mexico to get certain ... things ... that you may not be able to find here quite so easily. Like fireworks! Not heroin. Right? Well, now it's fireworks and the Wii. If you're terrified that through some anti-miracle of evil, you may not be able to get your hands on a Wii come launch day, you can always preorder one in Mexico from Sanborns for a whopping $4,699 pesos (about $425). ¡Ay caramba!

[Via Siliconera]Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments