If you or someone you love has been affected by the Xbox 360's red rings of death, consider the new 360 Hot Rock case from the modders at XCM. This clear case mod comes with a temperature gauge and multicolor LED that goes from cool blue to flaming red as your console approaches the melting point. No price point yet, but the Wii version runs about $60, which is most likely what this creature will cost once it's available.
[360 Hot Rock case via Technabob]

Another sports title for the Wii console is being readied for a Japan release, courtesy of Konami. The game we're talking about is their long-running Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball title, confirmed last May to be heading for both the Wii and PlayStation 2. The image on the right would be the Wii copy's packshot you're looking at.

And while the game reportedly isn't going to be too different from its PS2 counterpart, two features that we imagine the Wii owners will enjoy are the game's WiFi capability, and its advertised use of the Wiimote motion controls - sort of like a polished-up, online play-capable cousin to Wii Sports' baseball segment. There hasn't been word on plans to release the game in the US, however, with the Japan port expected to release some time this mid-July (approximately July 19).

 
Someone in the Nintendo universe is pulling an Optimus Prime and doing her own kind of transforming (and we're not just talking about her transformation from Power Suit to Morph Ball). Samus Aran, by way of a press release, just did some sneaky transforming of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption's release date. Not that it matters much, since it was pushed back just a week from its scheduled release.

A few weeks ago, everyone notched Metroid Prime 3 with an August 20 release. Even the scan from Play magazine said so. But, as some readers of GoNintendo point out, in the same press release where the US release of Phantom Hourglass was announced, a little portion at the bottom was included, indicating the delay of Metroid by a week.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass follows hot on the heels of another classic Nintendo franchise with amazing new controls. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the third installment of the hit trilogy, launches with motion-sensitive controls...

Filed under: News

Eight time's a charm, apparently, as Nintendo was quick to serve up a piping-hot press release tooting their own horn, declaring that Mario Party 8 is the fastest-selling entry in the series. In little over a month since its May 29th release in the United States, the title has sold over 550,000 copies. Nintendo's George Harrison sees this as a victory for both the franchise and Nintendo's new console, stating the "overwhelming response not only reminds us how much fans absolutely love the Mario Party franchise but also proves the unmatched ability of the Wii system to attract new players."Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: News

Furu Furu Park, Taito's self-referential minigame collection, is coming to the US courtesy of Majesco. Normally, we're all GRR TOO MANY MINIGAMES. But this one's got Arkanoid bits in it, so it gets a pass.

In other words, Taito has figured out the winning formula for making us care about a minigame collection: well-designed gameplay making it look like old games. It may even be fun, with games like Super Karate (in which you waggle karate moves), Safe Cracker (The Wiimote becomes your, uh, combination lock dial!) and Bubble Bobble (which is Bubble Bobble!) Man, that version of Bubble Bobble looks sharp.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Dear Giz readers: As you may know, last week wasn't normal. We were a little bit preoccupied with the launch of a certain Apple product, and judging from the traffic, you were too. It didn't mean we threw all the other news out the window. But it does mean a lot of it got swept under the rug.
In a normal, iPhone-free week, you might have been buzzing about announcements from the other big mobile carriers: T-Mobile introduced HotSpot @Home, a way to save mobile minutes by talking over Wi-Fi. Verizon Wireless upgraded its nationwide EV-DO data network to a faster Rev. A status. Sprint announced a follow-up to the LG Fusic names Muziq. (OK, maybe some of these stories were intentionally buried.)
In gaming news, Sony made some rumbles about the return of the PS3 SIXAXIS Rumble controller, while the Wii got itself a billiard cue.
D-Link was the first to get not one but two products approved by the Wi-Fi Alliance as draft 2.0 compliant for 802.11n, meaning guaranteed...

Nintendo has once again sent round a list of new releases for their North American Virtual Console service. These titles all go live today:

Super Mario Bros. 2 - Mario, Luigi and the whole gang are back for another sidescrolling adventure. In this NES original, players pick up and throw items at enemies to clear levels spread across seven worlds. Each of the characters also get their own special abilities, like Luigi's extra-high jumps and Toad's mad digging skillz. You can get this title for 500 Wii Points.

Ecco: The Tides of Time - This is the sequel to the Sega Genesis title Ecco the Dolphin. This time around, the time-travelling dolphin Ecco must defeat the Vortex Queen and restore the time rift he caused before the world is forever changed into a mechanical world. Ecco: The Tides of Time is available for 800 Wii Points.

Dragon Spirit - Players take control of Amur, who takes the form of the legendary Blue Dragon, in this vertical-scrolling shooter for th...

All of us are closely monitoring the next-gen console race, and some may even think that they know the outcome. But that's just for the meantime.

According to DFC Intelligence, a marketing research and consulting firm focused on gaming, the console wars is just getting started. It all depends on whether or not the hardware manufacturers manage to fulfill their shipment goals for the next year. If they all do, DFC said, none of the systems will have more than 40 of the market shares by next summer.

When speaking about the PlayStation 3, DFC stated that it is quite hard to assess a product that is meant to last for a decade, so it's best to expect something different after a couple of years or more. It is just a matter of letting game developers get a feel of the PS3's full potential.

Another interesting point to note is DFC's prediction that none of the competing systems (all together now, folks: Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) will get the same level of succe...

Filed under: Contests / Giveaways

... reader Nathan! After leaving a comment over at the giveaway post, he, like many of you, was left waiting and wondering as to whether he would win the game or not. There was definitely a lot of others who wanted to get their hands on the game and who could blame them? It's a great game!

Don't be too hard on him folks, as you'll get your chance to win a free game from Wii Fanboy soon enough. Again, thanks to all who entered, congrats to the winner, and thank you all for reading Wii Fanboy!Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Rumors

var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_universe_really_is_full_of_Katamari_rumors'; Remember the rumor that Beautiful Katamari was going to roll onto the Wii? It won't die. It's come back again, this time with psychotic reasoning behind it.

IGN's Matt Casamassina has "100 percent reliable" word from mysterious, anonymous sources that Bandai Namco is planning a version of the game on Wii. As the story goes, they encountered difficulty porting Beautiful Katamari to the PS3, so Namco decided to scrap it and create a new Wii version instead.

This is really the part that arouses our suspicion. A port is too hard, so they switch over to an all-new game? It just sounds like an excuse to troll the PS3 and make the Wii look better at the same time. It may be true, but we're not taking that reasoning as an explanation for anything.

We still aren't sure we should even care, with no Keita Takah...