Wii Play Review: Not Bad At All!

Nintendo's move of packing in Wii Sports with every new Wii sold in the US proved to be a genius move. Though it was little more than a simple collection of tech demos, Wii Sports can perhaps claim some of the credit for the system's immediate mainstream appeal because it provided built-in proof of the kind of fun, accessible gameplay the Wii was capable of. Less than three months after launch, Nintendo follows up with Wii Play, a similar collection of minigames that lacks that athletic theme as an anchor. Those looking for more of what they got out of Wii Sports will undoubtedly be disappointed because the quality and lasting value of the games aren't as high. There are a few keepers in there, but for the most part the novelty wears off quickly.

Possibly the best feature in Wii Play is the game's prominent and pervasive use of Miis, the simple, caricatured avatars native to the Wii. When you first boot up the game, you're asked to choose a Mii to play as, and from that point on you'll see a variety of Miis--those that reside in your console's Mii Plaza and Mii Parade, along with more-generic Miis produced by the game--everywhere. Considering the paucity of games that employ the Miis, it's a welcome bonus in Wii Play.

There's not much structure to Wii Play beyond the individual games. At first you'll have access to only one of the nine games, and you'll have to play it and then each of the following games you unlock before you'll gain access to all of them. You start off with Shooting Range, which is basically Duck Hunt with fewer ducks, and in it you use the Wii Remote as though it were a light gun. The game consists of several rounds, during which you'll pop balloons, shoot clay targets, juggle tin cans in the air, and, in the final round, prevent marauding waves of UFOs from abducting Miis. The controls are good enough, but the game is not particularly dynamic. The passing references to light-gun classics like Duck Hunt and Hogan's Alley are a nice touch, though they kind of make you wish one of those games had been ported directly.

After that you'll gain access to Find Mii, which is similar in concept to Where's Waldo, though on a smaller scale and with faster pacing. With the clock ticking, you'll be challenged to pick out matching sets of Miis from a small crowd, identify Miis that are out of sync with the others, and find a Mii that you had identified as a "favorite" several rounds earlier. It's not particularly challenging, and it takes its sweet time in turning up the difficulty by having the Miis run or swim around the screen and limiting how much of the screen you can see at once. The biggest problem, though, is the limited number of Miis that are ever onscreen at once.

Considering how much physical fun the tennis portion of Wii Sports was, you might be expecting more than you'll be getting out of Table Tennis in Wii Play, which doesn't require you to serve or even try to score points. Your only objective here is to rally with the other player for as long as you possibly can, which requires you to just keep up with the ball by moving the paddle side to side.

Pose Mii is likely the most abstract minigame in Wii Play, and it also happens to be one of the least fun. As bubbles containing silhouettes of your Mii in one of three different poses fall down the screen, you'll use the Wii Remote to move your Mii around the screen. Your goal is to pop the bubbles before they reach the bottom of the screen. You press the A and B buttons to cycle through the different poses and twist the Wii Remote to line up your Mii with the positions of the silhouettes. There's a little strategy here because you'll see specially marked bubbles that, when popped, will cause all the other bubbles onscreen to freeze in place. Things get tough as the bubbles start falling faster and at crazier angles, and the game mixes up the types of silhouettes it throws at you more quickly, but it's also repetitive and not particularly fun.

Laser hockey requires almost no explanation, because it's just air hockey with a glowing neon motif where you use the Wii Remote to control the paddle, twisting it to hit the puck at different angles. Still, this is one of the better games in the package, due largely to its strength as a two-player game and its conceptual simplicity. The visual style of Laser Hockey is also simple, but the clean, sharp look makes it easier to focus on the action. Billiards is also pretty self-explanatory and fun. It has you aiming your shot with the D pad, then aiming at a specific spot on the cue ball before pulling the Wii Remote back and then pushing it toward the screen, like you would a pool cue. Though it takes some time to get control over the power of your shots, the controls feel pretty good, and it's slick how you can control the spin of the cue ball. The problem with Billiards is its lack of gameplay options--you can play a game with eight balls where you have to sink them in numbered order, and that's it.

Fishing has you going after what appear to be construction paper cutouts of fish in a pond the size of a kiddy pool. It's a neat idea, but it's hard to get a good sense of depth, and it can appear that your lure is in the water when it's really far above it. The game's arts-and-crafts visual style is really the best thing it's got going for it. Charge is another game with a cute visual style but not much in the way of gameplay. In a world where everything appears to have been hand-knit, your Mii will ride a cow down a winding path, knocking down scarecrows and hopping over vaulting gates. You control the cow by holding the Wii Remote sideways--you steer the cow by turning the remote from side to side, move faster by tilting the remote forward, move slower by tilting it back, and jump by quickly lifting the remote up into the air. This kind of control scheme was novel when the Wii first came out, but by now enough real, full-featured games have used it for Charge to not really matter. Lastly there's Tanks!, the one game in Wii Play that you can play with the Nunchuk. It's quite reminiscent of Combat for the Atari 2600 and has you piloting a tank around a field apparently constructed out of wooden building blocks, dropping mines and firing shells at CPU-controlled tanks. The Nunchuk definitely makes it easier to move and shoot at the same time, but even without it, Tanks! is decent, simple fun.

It's not all bad, but Wii Play doesn't hold up as a stand-alone retail game. Nintendo seems to be aware of that, because the only way you can get Wii Play in North America as of this writing is as a pack-in with a Wii Remote. The continued scarcity of the Wii Remote, and the fact that the Wii Play package is retailing for only $10 more than a remote by itself, makes the game's shortcomings easier to overlook. Regardless of price, Wii Play probably isn't going to hold your attention for long.

Games Cheat Codes

Games cheat code (also alleged adapt cipher or backdoor) is a code that can be entered into a computer affairs to adapt the run-time behavior or agreement of that program.

The code may abide of an alphanumeric cord entered via a keyboard, a alternation of pre-defined movements of a bold controller, or any of assorted added appropriate ascribe sequences accomplished by the user. Cheat codes are frequently associated with video games and Live CD accession media, and are sometimes undocumented or contrarily accountable alone through easter eggs.

During Live CD initialization, a user about may resort to application one or added bluff codes to change the booting behavior. These alter from administration to administration but can best generally be accessed aloft aboriginal cossack awning by one of the action keys.

In adverse to the acceptance associated with video games, Live CD bluff codes are not about associated with the abstraction of accepting arbitrary advantage or disappointment accepted rules. Instead such codes are usually advised to abridge accession for altered scenarios including abnormal accouterments configurations or special-use scenarios.

Video bold bluff codes commonly change the game's behavior, adapt characters' looks and abilities, skip levels, or admission added hidden features. A prime archetype of this is the Konami Code (↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A Start), which back entered usually gives the amateur a ample cardinal of lives or powerups.

People accredit to these as "cheat codes" because some may accomplish it easier to complete a mission or game, accordingly cheating. Some "cheat codes" may not accomplish it easier, aloof accomplish it added fun, such an archetype would be "spawning" an article like a car or weapon. Or some can change the gameplay like authoritative your appearance larger/smaller. Some aloof change the looks of the game, such as altering the weather.

There are added kinds of cheating accessible for altering your gaming experience, but these can't be begin on a bluff cipher armpit on the web, these accept to be done yourself. This is alleged hacking. Hacking takes abode back it is accessible to ability and adapt the book database of the game.

Cheating can be done (depending on the bold arrangement and/or game) by either access cheats in a bluff cipher area in "options" of a game, or artlessly by acute assertive buttons in a assertive adjustment while in gameplay.

While accustomed bluff codes are congenital into the bold by the programmers, actionable bluff codes can be created by manipulating the capacity of the anamnesis abode for a active game. On video bold consoles, this is done application a bluff cartridge. Users of some aboriginal home computers alleged these codes pokes, called afterwards the command acclimated to ascribe them. In the case of bugs: If a austere game-stopping bug is encountered, a bluff cipher may be able to bypass it afterwards the charge to alpha the accomplished bold over afresh from the beginning.

The bold Micro Machines for the NES had a bug area the bold would benumb if the amateur antipodal over the start/finish band at the alpha of the race. This was due to a distinct aught actuality a one in the code. Discovered afterwards bags of amateur were made, Codemasters, rather than bandy the cartridges away, which would accept been actual costly, acclimated technology from their Bold Genie bluff armament to carbon the cipher in every game.

Games Industry: Struggling with Nintendo Wii Owners?

Everyone knows that the great success, everyone understands that led to a new audience to play (or at least until game consoles - handheld platforms and casual online gaming are pulling in families, the elderly and women in middle age for the year), but there still seems a bit confused about what and how you Wii is a powerful software market for Nintendo's oddity.

The New York Times ran a piece yesterday about how Wii gamers do not buy that many games. Sure, hardly groundbreaking stuff - we know that the console is essentially survives on his extensive in-house titles, and we know that third party devs have had trouble producing compelling games (see here for the last article on the subject).

However, the author points out that even the big-Hitters are not to attract the numbers. Super Smash Brothers, shifted 1.4 million copies in its first week in the States, but sales fell 90% over the next month. Zack & Wiki and No More Heroes have also failed to make much of a dent in the charts.

Partly this is about 'casual' gamers with the same urgency to buying games. Lazard Capital analyst, Colin Sebastian, told the NYT:

"You do not see many of the titles that may reach 30 to 40 percent of the installed base. My in-laws in Texas have a Wii sitting on their living room floor next to the TV, which to me is kind of amazing. They have Wii Sports, a game Brain Age, Wii Play. That's about it. "

But pundits are also placing some of the blame on poorly targeted marketing:

" Game creators have yet to embrace unconventional advertising methods that can reach this broader audience. Nintendo did it by promoting its memory Brain Age game on the radio. "

It's funny, but now that the gaming industry has made contact with this strange alien race of non-hardcore gamers, they do not really know how to speak. Not everyone can afford to hire Nicole Kidman to pretend to enjoy their games at prime time slots TV - indeed, this approach may be advanced for a large part of the new user.

I mean, why is it always assumed that you must go super chic to take over a non-specialist audience? As a freelancer, I accidentally watch a lot of daytime TV, even during ad breaks, I rarely see Wii games touting for business amidst the flow of debt consolidation shysters. Why not? Not all Wii owners read Vogue.

Of course, it's debatable whether it is filling the airwaves with ads would be much difference - the underlying problem, Wii owners simply do not buy that many games, and probably never will. I liked what Mike CAPPS, president of Epic Games, has recently said about the popularity of the console. He referred to it as a viral phenomenon:

"It is a virus which you buy and you play with your friends. So you stop playing after two months, but they buy them and stop playing after two months, but they showed it to someone else who then go out and buy it and so on. "

This reminds me of what Brian Hastings of Insomniac said about Wii in his polemical blog, Ten reasons why PS3 will win this generation:

" Your friend Reggie invites you over a Wii party. It is awesome. You and your friends participate, in whatever beverages are legally appropriate for your age. The next day everyone who went to the party rushes out and buys a Wii. A week later Reggie hosts another Wii Party. This time only half of the group. It is still fun, but there is not so much shoving to get at the Wiimote. "

" The next week Reggie hosts another Wii Party. You tell him you have bird flu. "

Of course, both Brian and Mike are the American school of gritty hardcore shooters, and Brian insist that Wii was a fad is now looking very dated. They have a point about the console of the transitional appeal - plus, their ambivalence speaks volumes about how the industry is confused and factions and its relationship to the machine.

Almost everyone wants love Wii, they just do not know how. And this is not addressed to the love for complicated cases - at least not in the west, where the development of infrastructure are highly attuned to the direction of work in the field of advanced 3D engine and then operate with several boys own adventures.

I may be biased, but I treasure mobile developers will rise up and steal the Wii third-party market. They are used to treat a completely unpredictable audience, they are used to create the kind of bizarre lifestyle / puzzle franchises casual gamers who gulp in their millions, and mobile advertising industries do not hesitate in 'low brow & # 39; Places like the back of magazines, in addition to adult chat lines (heck, most of them write adult games).

That is my prediction. And that's probably the reason why I am not a highly paid marketing analyst, dishing out stat-packed reports on the nature of Wii.

New Wii Games Find a Big Audience

Nintendo is atop the home video game market. The Wii, although less technologically advanced than Microsoft's Xbox 360 or Sony's PlayStation 3, still outsell those machines and is now in more than 20 million households.

So why are retailers with so much effort to sell Wii games?

Take Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was one of the most hotly anticipated video games of the year, he sold more than 1.4 million copies in the first week of its release, in early March, and broke records for Nintendo of America.

"We have a built-in fan base for the Smash, " said Denise Kaigler, Nintendo of America's vice president of Corporate Affairs. "I'm hoping that we can continue to generate success and the reputation of the game."

But sales fell more than 90 percent in the first four weeks, according to estimates by VG Chartz, a team of analysts who study video-game sales.

A number of large retail chains--"including Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us -- have begun to join the Smash Bros. game with Wii machines for online sales, a sign that the basis of hard-core gamers who went looking for the game has been exhausted.

Retailers confirm the sharp decline. "We sold a few thousand copies in the first week, " said Xavier Pervez, an assistant manager at a GameStop in Fairfield, Conn. "It's down considerably now, maybe 100 in each of the last few weeks."

Toys "R" Us has its sales staff to warn customers that some Wiis can not read, the Smash Bros. disc, and refuse to exchange the game if the customer later claim is defective. Some parents who are warning that just as happy to buy another game. But Nintendo Wiis some claims are subject to interference, and Toys "R" Us sales staff said few customers are discouraged from buying or holding of the game.

"The number we got back to the return was relatively low, " a saleswoman, Christina Giori, said. "Maybe eight copies of the 500. It's something Nintendo's really trying to act on."

A number of games that get critical acclaim in recent months, particularly the cartoonish action-adventure game Zack & Wiki and the off - kilter action-adventure No More Heroes, have yielded disappointing sales.

During the first three months of the year, but three other Wii titles broke the list of the top 10 best selling games compiled by the NPD Group, a research firm: Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero III and Wii Play, a sports game that comes with the purchase of a much-needed additional game controller. The Wii can not be behind the success of all those titles, though, Guitar Hero, for example, sold 2.2 million copies for the Wii, but 2.8 million copies for the Xbox 360 and almost 5 million euros for the two versions of the PlayStation.

The problem is that in marketing the Wii, Nintendo cast a wide net and caught more than the big fish. The Wii's innovative motion-sensitive controller and a lower price than the rival machines appeal to a wider audience than the traditional market of young male hard-core gamers. Younger children, women and older consumers, who traditionally have not been requested by the video game industry, have discovered video games via the Wii --simply not that many of them.

This new gamers are satisfied with the games they have frequently go no further than the Wii Sports game in the machine. They don't buy new games with the fervor of a traditional gamer who is constantly looking for new inspiration.

The average Wii owner buys only 3.7 games per year, compared with 4.7 for the Xbox 360 owners and 4.6 for the PlayStation 3 owners, said a Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Lessee. "It reflects the broadening of the demographic, " he said. "Nintendo's market doesn't feel the same sense of urgency to buy every game that's coming out."

"You don't see a lot of titles that may reach 30 and 40 percent of the installed base," Lazard Capital said one analyst, Colin Sebastian. "My in-laws in Texas have a Wii sitting on their living room floor next to the TV, which to me is kind of amazing. They have Wii Sports, a game Brain Age, Wii Play. That's about it."

Part of the problem, analysts say, is that other game makers have yet to embrace unconventional advertising methods that can reach this broader audience. Nintendo did it by promoting its memory Brain Age game on the radio.

"Advertising on GameInformer and 1up.com just isn't achieve this target, " said Mr. Lessee. "When you have a game like Zack & Wiki or Boogie, which the hard core and doesn't reach of the masses, then you're trouble."

yet increasingly, not all third-party publishers have found the Wii market difficult to crack. Multi games like Ubisoft's Rayman: Raving Rabbids, a cartoon action-adventure, have found receptive audience.

Hudson Soft has success with titles such as Sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, jigsaw puzzles and fishing games.

"The nature of the person who buys a Wii is not the same kind of person that buys a PS3 or Xbox, " said John Greiner, the chief executive of Hudson Entertainment, the North American branch of Hudson Soft. "You need to be very specific if you have a game design and target not only the gameplay mechanics for that user, but also markets for that kind of a product launch."

Hudson has also benefited from a particularly close relationship with Nintendo. Hudson developed Mario Party 8, consistently one of the Wii's top sellers, and is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Wii Virtual Console, which costs users to play classic video games.

Nintendo itself seems primarily focused on expanding this casual audience, while continuing to deliver to prosecute its most beloved franchises such as Mario Kart Wii, the latest incarnation of the popular driving simulator, which will be released next week .

Ms. Kaigler, the spokesman for Nintendo, says the company hopes Mario Kart will serve as a "bridge title" between core gamers and casual fans, with the help of a steering device in which a Wii controller can adapt.

Wii Fit, an exercise game due next month, is expected to more marketing dollars than any game in Nintendo's history, Mr Lessee said --and the money is not is spent wooing young men. "Wii Fit is not just aimed at hard-core gamers," said Mr. Lessee. "It's certainly focused on the Oprah crowd. I bet they sell one million units per week for every pound Oprah says that she lost on it."

About Wii Accessories

Since the release of the Nintendo Wii in november 2006, the company sold more than 9 million consoles worldwide, according to the NPD Group. Do you think that the Wii is the second most desired gift on Amazon's wedding registry? His popularity should come as no surprise, given the fact that it is highly interactive, promotes exercise, and welcomes friendly competition (we have thrown a few Wii tournaments here at PC Magazine).

Despite the occasional Wii-related injury (yes, who like Band-Aids handy), the innovative console has managed to transform gaming. Even family night has changed from board games to video games. Just this last Wednesday, Nintendo MyWiiStory.com launched a site where Wii owners can post stories about how the Wii has changed their lives.

It does not look like the Wii rage has been delayed because the reports of shortages and all! And judging by the handful of crazy Wii accessories, we stumbled on lately--"chrome casings, remote retractable cuffs, and more--" There seems no end in sight for any console this rage.

Here are a few of the products can be found in the current 10 Wacky Wii Accessories slideshow:

Retractable Wii Sports cuff
Unless you fat-up to your hand with butter, there really needs a retractable Wii Sports Cuff? Confirm the Wiimote to the adjustable band, sliding it on your wrist, and at any time that you believe that the Wiimote will slip out of your hands, the cord will attract up to 13 inches. It sells for $ 5.99 at HandheldItems.com.

Xcm I-Case for Wii (Chrome)
Admit it: You wish you could cover your Nintendo Wii in chrome. And thanks TotalConsole.com, your wish can come true. The I-Case for Wii ($ 39.99) from xcm is a replacement event that gives your Wii that silvery, shiny "I'm cool" look. Not in chrome? The I-Case is also available in the crystal blue and black.

Now look at the rest of our 10 Wacky Wii Accessories story, including Wii controller Airplane Stand, Cooking Mama Kit, ThinkGeek's WiiHelm, DecalGirl's Wii Skins, Billiards Pole for Wiimote , Wii Combat Pack, Pedometer Step Counter Gauge for Wii Sports, and Handmadefun's Trick or treat Wii Monster.

Battalion Wars 2 Review

Battalion Wars 2 is an RTS action game for the Wii. Like its predecessor, you carry on a handful of units and must take on your enemies and destroy them achieve victory. The story is a continuation of BW1 for the GameCube.

Control is a big part of this game, because it offers a unique experience that I have yet to come across, even on the Wii. Most commands are issued with a combination of the A button and the D-pad, such as attacks, monitoring, wait, etc. The motion sensor can also find and disable what you control unit in the middle of a battle, along with the provision of what I think it is a very accurate crosshair. The only problem I came back with the controls were a number of aircraft that can barrel roll, speed up / down, and do other special maneuvers.

Part of this game, that's not the best graphics. But if you are like me, you can hardly find that, and come to enjoy the graphic style of BW2, because the gameplay is great. The game is in no way the most graphically powerful one of the console, but it's not the worst. It contains detailed, but simplistic environments that recall something of an improved Wind Waker. Although I should also note that every plane, every tank, and any form of infantry unit has its own unique model and varies even with faction.

The game play for BW2 is what I love the most. It also offers an RTS type of game, but they are more action-based, not on the height of buildings that you have. Of course help the buildings, making you faster and with more units reinforcements. With land, air, sea and ground vehicles and infantry there are many ways to each mission. You can strike a bomber plane or use a mortar at long distance. More in close range combat? Try the Flame Veteran and his flame thrower to take note of enemy infantry. Not only are you a variety of units, but each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and to win this game you have to learn to play them all.

Nintendo Wii Review

The good: Revolutionary controller design offers unique motion-sensitive gameplay options; built Wi-Fi for a free online services and the gameplay; Virtual Console has great nostalgia appeal; compatible with all GameCube games and controllers, built-in SD slot for storage and viewing photos, including Wii Sports game; most affordable home game console.

The bad: Controller eats batteries and takes some time to get used to, online gaming and community features hobbled by terrible "friends code"; nunchuk controller sold separately, not on the advanced HD graphics and surround - sound found on the Xbox 360 and PS3; Requires a wired receiver unit placed near the TV with wireless controllers; can not play CDs or DVDs.

The bottom line: It lacks the graphics power and rich media capabilities of the Xbox 360 and PS3, but the Nintendo Wii's unique combination of motion-sensitive controllers and the emphasis on fun gameplay of the ultra - affordable console hard to resist.

Club Nintendo At Australia

Last month (in April), along with the release of Mario Kart Wii, Nintendo of Australia launched the Club Nintendo program.

Late last month, Nintendo of Australia declared that they were carrying the Club Nintendo program, originated in both Japanese and European markets, to the Australian market.

Next to the release of Mario Kart Wii, Club Nintendo launched. Players were able to get the code found in the game container and register it on the Club Nintendo website in exchange for star points. Newly, Wii Fit also saw release in Australia addition, yet another title that could be registered for Star Points.

Star Points can be converted for Nintendo goodies from the Stars Catalogue, which is only existing to Club Nintendo members. At present the only market without Club Nintendo is the American market.

Australian gamers who own either Wii Fit or Mario Kart Wii preserves register their games now at the Club Nintendo website.

GET INTO CLUB NINTENDO WITH MARIO KART Wii

Australia, 24 April, 2008 -

Reward yourself with Club Nintendo, now you can turn your Nintendo games into Star points with Nintendo’s new loyalty program. Available now, Club Nintendo allows you to earn and swap Star points for exclusive Nintendo merchandise not available anywhere else. The first game that allows you to register for Club Nintendo is Mario Kart™ Wii.

Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit™ and future participating products will come with a unique PIN code which allows you to register that you have purchased a particular game, and that’s when Nintendo rewards you. Simply visit www.club-nintendo.com to input your unique code and join Club Nintendo where you will receive Star points credited to your membership account. Use your Star points to redeem Nintendo goodies from the Stars catalogue, which is only available to Club Nintendo members.

The Stars catalogue is not yet available to browse, however you can still register your product/s and reserve your Star points. Nintendo will email you once the full Club Nintendo website is up and running, so you can then redeem your Star points on premium items from the Stars catalogue, and that’s when the fun begins!

Join Club Nintendo and gain access to the exciting world of Nintendo today! If you do not own any Nintendo product yet, you can still register to receive our Nintendo newsletter to be kept up to date with all the latest products, visit: http://www.nintendo.com.au/.

MLB 08: Games Hit It Out of the Park

The congressional hearings on steroid use are over, and the boys of summer are prepared to play ball. For those who love America's pastime, video-game baseball proffers the big names and stadiums, as well as genuine gameplay, minus the debate. There are two new releases, and they're presented across all platforms.

MLB 08: The Demonstrate

When it appears to Sony's game consoles, no one does baseball enhanced. MLB 08: The Show excels on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PSP, creation it a must-buy baseball game. From the lifelike facial features (right down to Todd Helton's beard) and fluid on-field movement of the high-definition PS3 game to the intensity of the PS2 and PSP versions, this Show is absolutely worth the price of admittance.

Sony recognizes its audience and speeds up the sport with the perfect mix of arcade action and realistic simulation. In the simulation department, umpires have dissimilar personalities and call games another way. Unique animations for each player take such details as a batter's stance and his home-run celebration to life.

You'll also get every statistic conceivable as well as data showing players' propensities.

Sony has enhanced the "Road to the Show" mode, which lets gamers put an avatar into the game and work their technique up from the minor leagues by performing specific offensive and defensive feats in shortened, action-oriented games. This mode alone is addictive, but the game also includes "Franchise," "Season" and "Rivalry" modes (relive those Sox vs. Yankees series). Kudos for being competent to save a game at any point and come back later, which more sports games should recommend. In fact, the only thing holding this title back from pitching a perfect game is sloppy collision detection, which occasionally results in players running through each other.

Major League Baseball 2K8

The only way to play a simulation baseball game on Wii is with the Major League Baseball 2K franchise. 2K8, available across all platforms (including Sony's consoles), offers a varied bag of gameplay.

The Wii version, the first simulation present for Nintendo's popular console, hits one out of the park on the first try. Anyone who has played Nintendo's pack-in game Wii Sports Baseball recognizes that pitching and hitting is just simple fun with the motion-sensor controllers. 2K Sports brought this to life with its arcade game, The Bigs, and has additional physical play to the full baseball simulation. Pretty much everything from the next-generation versions of the fresh game are in the Wii version except online play, the new virtual 2K Cards, which let you to unlock All-Star teams, and the skill to play in the minor leagues (90 teams and 20 stadiums are in the next-gen editions).

When it appears to the other versions of MLB 2K8, the Xbox 360 game has the best visuals, but the game suffers from jerky camera movement, which is bad on the PS3. And even though player visuals are lifelike and the stadiums are stunning, the similar details aren't always in place for animations, and the crowds look terrible up close.

What's new are analog stick controls for pitching plus enhanced batting and fielding and base running. Although these controls work fine for pitching (a fastball is a slow down-to-up motion) and hitting (it's essentially a mini-game within the game), the fielding and base running takes time (and outs) to get used to. The old-school button options are still accessible, but it's nice to attach real skills to this virtual sport with the analog sticks.

Amazon Top 10 Wii Purchasing

Interested as to what the top 10 Wii games are over at Amazon? Next-Gen.biz has the rundown and we’ve taken the Wii facts and repasted it below:

01. Wii Fit*—Nintendo
02. Mario Kart w/ Wii Wheel—Nintendo
03. Wii Play w/ Remote—Nintendo
04. Super Smash Bros. Brawl—Nintendo
05. Guitar Hero III Bundle—Activision
06. We Ski*—Namco Bandai
07. Super Mario Galaxy—Nintendo
08. Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party Bundle—Konami
09. Carnival Games—Global Star
10. Game Party—Midway

Carnival Games is still holding on!! Cool to see We Ski and Wii Fit up there, other than that, no real surprises.. I don’t think we’ll ever not see a top 10 list without having Wii Play on there will we?

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Nintendo Getting Richer!

Nintendo hasn't just been sitting attractively on its laurels these past twelve months. Nope, the Kyoto firm has kept itself engaged by generating giant wads of filthy lucre, in gameness for when it takes over the world with Satoru Iwata as our new superlative overlord, and Shiggy his merciless, iron-fisted deputy.

The company has released information of its full year outcomes for the period ended March 31st, 2008, and do you know? Nintendo is rich. Profits shot up by 47.7 percent, while retailings rose by 73 percent (to ¥1.67 trillion, or $16.1bn). Damn!

Not only that, but the Wii sold 18.61 million consoles in the last monetary year, taking it to a lifetime total of 24.45 million units (and, as we're now in late-April, we can securely assume that that figure has approved the landmark total of 25 million). On the software front, the console now has 26 million-sellers (up from five last year), 1.8m Japanese consumers risked their hamstrings by picking up Wii Fit, and Brawl sold 4.85 million units in the U.S. and Japan (and might even sell a few more when it launches in Europe this June).

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles WiiWare Is Begin!

Square Enix has officially established that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As a King will be completed available for the WiiWare download service in the US.

Other statements include its plans to release downloadable content for the game, with prices collection anywhere from 100 Wii Points to 800. The former will grant you access to things like new clothes, while the latter will grant you the talent to control an completely new race.

Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Square Enix unveils its first WiiWare title, delivering an all-new adventure via direct download
• Scenario created by Motomu Toriyama, the acclaimed director of the upcoming FINAL FANTASY XIII
• Groundbreaking graphics optimized for the Wii enable players to journey through a world filled with memorable characters and architectural splendor
• Rebuild a nation by building houses and shops, carefully considering the best interests of the citizens. If the player’s nation regains its former glory, the secrets of the land may be revealed
• Enlist adventurers with varying levels, jobs and profiles to carry out dangerous missions in return for rewards
• Be mindful of the passage of time, and plan each day accordingly in order to efficiently carry out construction efforts

You can get Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King on May 12th when the WiiWare launches in the US. The game will set you back 1500 Wii points.

Wii Game's 2008 Release Schedule

Nintendo haven’t had numerous top titles this year but they’re looking towards the potential with a release schedule of 2008.

January sees the release of:

• PDC World Championship Darts 2008 (Oxygen Games), 11th January 2008
  
• Wii Chess (Nintendo), 18th January 2008
  
• Zack and WikiT: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Capcom / Nintendo), 18th January 2008
  
• Donkey Kong Jet Race (Nintendo), 25th January 2008
  
• Hamster Heroes (Data Design Interactive)
• Kawasaki Jet Ski (Data Design Interactive)
  
• Kidz Sports: International Football (Data Design Interactive)
  
• Urban Extreme (Data Design Interactive)
• NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (SEGA)
  
• Ghost Squad (SEGA)
  
• Last Ninja (System 3)

February sees the release of:

• Battalion Wars 2 (Nintendo), 15th February 2008
• No More Heroes (Rising Star Games), 29th February 2008
• Call For Heroes: Pompolic Wars (Data Design Interactive)
• EARACHE Extreme Metal Racing (Data Design Interactive)
• Bleach (SEGA)
• Kawasaki Snow Mobiles (Data Design Interactive)
• London Taxi: Rush Hour (Data Design Interactive)
• Pool Party (SouthPeak Games)
• Destroy All Humans 3: Big Willy Unleashed (THQ)
• Spongebob: Atlantis Squarepantis (THQ)

March sees the release of:

• ATV Thunder Ridge Riders & Monster Trucks (ZOO Digital Publishing), 7th March 2008
• The Wizard of Oz (ZOO Digital Publishing), 7th March 2008
• Naruto Wii (tentative title) (TOMY/Nintendo), 28th March 2008
• Bomberman Land Wii (Rising Star Games)
• SEGA Superstars Tennis (SEGA)
• Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (SEGA)
• MX vs ATV Untamed (THQ)

Q1/Q2 sees the release of:

• Harvest Moon Magical Melody (Rising Star Games/ Nintendo)
• Worms: A Space Oddity (THQ), Q1 2008
• PES 2008 (Konami), Q1 2008
• Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), Q2 2008

Spring sees the release of:

• Dancing stage HOTTEST PARTY (Konami)
• Iron Man (SEGA)

These are predictable release dates so they are possible to change. Tell us which one you are looking forward to most by leaving a comment.

Wii Menu Obtains an Update to 3.2

For those of you who have their Wii sitting in a gloomy room, all alone-like, you may have detected what showed to be an unearthly blue glow originating from the darkness within supposed room. No, it isn't aliens approaching to acquire you to the potential we all dream of, where Donkey Kong is president of the world and we all live on a diet totally made up of our enemies, ala Kirby. Instead, your Wii has received an update!


This newest update, which carries the Wii Menu to version 3.2, now adds a negligible feature to the Disc Channel. Once a game disc has been loaded into the console with an update on it, there will be a announcement streaming across the Disc Channel, much like how the Wii Shop Channel now streams discharge information for Virtual Console games.

Minor update, we recognize, but we're more disturbed about this probably placing an end to those "Twilight Hacks" the kids have been going wild over. Someone would like to get on that and check for us?

Game Preview: Call of Duty 3

I’ve played a few dissimilarities of the Call of Duty series, opening with CoD 1 for the PC and a little of it’s sequels on the console systems and was concerned in seeing how the game held up on the Nintendo Wii. The controls were also somewhat I wanted to check out as I’ve heard mixed responses and have played Far Cry and Red Steel for the Wii and came away from both of those quite under-whelmed in this department. Of those two games, I would have to declare Red Steel performed a bit better, but I had heard with some modification, you could get the Call of Duty controls spot on.

The graphics I knew wouldn’t be competing on the level of the XBOX 360 or the PS3, but as long as the game was fun and kept me playing a variety of situations, I knew the graphics would take a backseat to the possible gameplay. Set in 1944 World War II during the Normandy Breakout, Call of Duty 3 offers a full game of single player military action, but don’t come into it hoping for multiplayer as there isn’t any. No split screen, no online, nothing in the department of playing with your friends so hunker down and get ready to take aim solo in these missions, soldier.

Graphics
Overall, the graphics in Call of Duty 3 do a very fine job of conveying a sense of being in a war zone. There are fantastic explosions, fire effects, and smoke billowing from blown out buildings and carcasses of bullet riddled tanks and other vehicles that really help add to the atmosphere. I have to admit I went into the game expecting worse graphics than what is presented so it was refreshing to see how well the game was pulled off on the Wii system when compared to other platforms. The intermissions seem to use a mix of in-game graphics mixed with realistic maps of the areas and descriptions to help set the mood of the situation you are facing before you start the next level. I even noticed some smaller, but equally impressive effects that add to the experience as a whole like the motion blur effect that occurs when firing the mounted weapons or the attention to detail in not only the events going on right in front of your face, but also the things going on in the background. I saw nothing in the game that detracted from the fun you have when playing so long as you are going in with realistic expectations and not looking for graphics along the lines of what a PS3 can produce. Better than GameCube and PS2, perhaps on the level of an XBOX 1.

Sound
The sounds fit perfectly into making you feel like you are in the middle of a battle zone including the whizzing of bullets that just missed your head to explosions that occur when a plane crashes into a building. You can sometimes even use audio positioning by listening to where shots are coming from to place where the enemies are. There is little that is more frightening than being a foot soldier and hearing a tank rumbling down the street outside as you are trying to keep low inside a burned out building. Music is also worked in quite nicely offering your typical orchestrated military fanfare which adds to the tension and helps build up the more exciting parts. You will also notice other minor sound effects that occur when you are struck by bullets or grenades that explode near you; things like the sound the tank turrets make as they take aim, or the distinct sound each weapon makes. Everything about the sound and music is on par with what is needed to help immerse the player in the environments that are being conveyed in the game.

Gameplay
Playing Call of Duty 3 is quite easy given the control scheme the game uses, especially if you have played other first person shooters in any fashion. You start off in base camp with a tutorial meant to help familiarize you with the controls. After you get handhold on the controls, the display, and how to work the rifles and grenades, the game whisks you off into a slew of missions offering a nice variety of situations with more than simple run and gun type shooting. Sometimes you will be on the ground fighting shoulder to shoulder with your fellow soldiers, other times you will be helping a tank spot targets, basic up close fighting with your rifles, using mounted guns to take out multiple enemies, and holding positions until reinforcements arrive. Most of the game does rely on the tried and true formula for the Call of Duty series which can be compared to a haunted house of sorts as you make your way from area to area taking out the enemy in one spot before moving as a group to the next. There are checkpoints along the way to ensure you don’t have to start a mission all the way over in case you die during battle. The AI in the game is more than substantial as you’ll notice bad guys taking cover and flanking you at times, constantly making you think and rethink your position. When the missions first start, you are often tossed into a nightmare situation for any soldier, thrust straight into a battle full of gunfire, grenades, tanks, explosions, smoke, fire, and death possibly right around every corner. The variety of gameplay compiled with the multiple scenarios you come across make for a fun time playing a soldier during World War II.

Controls
For CoD3, you will be using the Wii Remote to aim, look around, switch weapons, and other actions while the Nunchuk allows you to move your character around in the 3d areas. Played from a first person perspective, it can take a moment to become acquainted with the controls, but it’s nothing that takes too long. You can also fine tune the controls in the options, which is highly recommended, as in the beginning, the controls felt a bit “loosy-goosy” for my tastes and needed to be tightened up. You can also use the Nunchuk to lob grenades and switch weapons if you wish along with a few other abilities available in the options you can customize to your preference. The controls in the game handle well and feel more intuitive and natural than any other FPS I have played for the Wii to date and served the game justice.

Wrapped Up
I got pleasure from my time as a soldier fighting the Germans in World War II era battles while playing Call of Duty 3. It offers a great way to see a first person shooter that maximizes the distinctive Wii controls. The graphics and sound were more than ample for the experience and in the end, I would suggest the game as a weekend rental just to see what it’s all about. The lack of multiplayer limits the game from having any kind of long lasting fascination and is sorely missed, particularly when balanced beside its other console counterparts. If you’re looking to see how a FPS works on the Wii, or enjoy military or WWII shooters in any fashion, definitely check out Call of Duty 3. Great game indeed!

Do You Want Free Wii? Please Read This!

Do you want free nintendo wii? I'M NOT JOKING! It's real, dude! I found a great website, YourNintendoWii4Free.com. It's simple, just select your free stuff you want, sign-up, try out advertiser offers, and then receive your free gift. It's really simple!

However, how is this possible? In exchange for users registering with an advertiser (also referred to as "completing an offer"), they are compensated for sending advertisers new customers. They then offer you the free gift from a portion of our compensation as a Thank you for using our site.

Examples of advertisers' offers include a variety of free trial offers, advertised products for purchase, credit cards, and subscriptions to membership services. The costs vary by offer. Some are absolutely free and can be discontinued without any further obligation while others may require a small purchase. Please review all advertiser terms thoroughly before registering. If you have any questions regarding any possible charges or advertiser terms, they do encourage you to contact them before hand to ensure that you are fully aware of any associated costs and/or obligation.

About obtaining a gift, they offer two methods to obtain your free gift, points and referrals. With a points account, you obtain your free gift by obtaining credits through trying their advertisers offers. Upon fulfilling the requirements of each offer, you will receive the advertised point amount for that advertiser. Once you have accumulated enough points for your desired item, you may place your order and your chosen item will be sent to you! The full item and shipping costs are covered by your earned points and you will never receive a bill, invoice, or charge from us for your item or shipping cost.

When participating with refferals method, you are required to complete at least one (1) of our advertiser offers and refer a couple others to do the same. Please view the following list for required referrals. After you have completed at least one offer and referred the required amount, you must submit your account for review. During this time, they will simply check to ensure that you and your referrals have complied with our Terms and Conditions. Once it has been reviewed, if the Terms have been followed, they will approve the account. You may then order your FREE item and we will ship it to you. Shipping is on them too!

Interesting?

About Wii Controller: Wiimote

There’s no doubt that Nintendo Wii has the most distinctive controller of any console of all time. Known as the Wiimote, it more looks a lot like a TV remote control than a typical games paddle. At first glance it seems like a very easy device with no many buttons, apparently too few to effectively play modern games with. First impressions are very misleading. The Wiimote has movement sensors inside it, meaning that merely waving the controller in the air is a means of input in itself. The Wiimote also features force feedback, meaning actions in the game can cause it to growl for a more immersive emotion. It also has its own speaker, permitting for a depth of sound never before heard on any console. Yeah!

Qualified PC gamers will know that the only technique to control certain types of games is using the mouse. Up until now games consoles haven't been capable to contend with their ungainly controllers, most remarkably on first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) games. The Wiimote is the only controller for a console which can match and even exceed the effectiveness of a mouse.

The Wii is not all about games though. When powered on the Wii interface will include Wii Channels, a gateway to interactive features and using the Internet. Sound’s great. The Wiimote is a spontaneous position device suited well for this function as well. When needed the Wiimote can be joined with a second device to seize in your other hand. This second device features an analog stick and its own motion sensors that are autonomous from the main Wiimote. This is effect gives the user '2 hands' in the game, allowing for great ways of interaction.

This is the Wiimote linked to the analog stick 'nunchuck'. They're wireless other than the cable that connects them together. Powered by 2 AA batteries, up to 60 hours of usage is feasible. To sustain backwards compatibility with elder consoles the Wii also comes with a classic style game pad. Additional good news is the Wii also has sockets to connect a standard Gamecube controller, which is the easiest controller I've practiced so far.

Game Preview: Super Smash Bros. Brawl!

It's really hard to believe! But it's been nine years since the original Super Smash Bros. conveyed some of the most iconic Nintendo characters together for frantic battles, and approximately seven years since its sequel Super Smash Bros. Melee was released. Maybe even harder still to believe--and a evidence to the series' reputation and longevity--is that these games are still being played faithfully to this day. But no matter whether you're a diehard Smash Bros. fanatic or a neophyte brawler, you'll be satisfied to know that Super Smash Bros. Brawl includes a plethora of remarkable characters, features, and game modes, and is more easily reached and fun than ever before.

For the inexperienced, Smash Bros. is a multiplayer-centric series of fast-paced 2D combating games that features a cast of characters from all over the Nintendo universe. If you've ever established yourself quarrelling with a friend about whether or not Mario could beat Link in a one-on-one match, Brawl is the game that will let you reconcile the issue once and for all (the answer of course is that Kirby would eat them both). Characters such as Ike from Fire Emblem, Meta Knight from Kirby, Fox McCloud from Star Fox, Lucas from the unreleased-in-the-US Mother 3 (Earthbound 2), Pikachu from Pokémon, and many more are all on the roster in Brawl, boosting its size up to an impressive 35 total characters--14 of which are concealed and must be unlocked. For the first time, the list of visitors includes third-party, non-Nintendo characters such as Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog, and all of them bring their own signature fighting styles and moves to the game.

Smash Bros. has constantly been one of the most accessible fighting games on the market because of the effortlessness of its controls, and Brawl is no dissimilar. There are fundamentally only two attack buttons (one for normal attacks and one for special moves), and depending on which method you tilt your control stick when you hit them, they can create a variety of effects that include the ostensible "smash" attacks. In the interests of user responsiveness, Brawl recommends four potential control schemes, which guarantees that everyone can play either way they like; Wii Remote and Nunchuck, Wii Remote alone, Classic Controller, and GameCube Controller are all regularly symbolized. Each of these methods are similarly feasible, and fans of Brawl's antecedent will be pleased to know that the GameCube controls remain unmovable.

Combat includes up to four players scuffling on video game-themed stages. The goal is to bang your enemies out of the arena with one of the abovementioned smash attacks. The quantity of damage each character has continued is calculated in a percentage, and the higher this percentage is, the farther he or she flies when hit. Battles are fast-paced, frenzied, fun, and often shameful orgies of chaos, which makes Brawl a perfect party game. But just because the game's mechanics are so basic compared to traditional fighters doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of profundity to be found for those willing to invest the time.

All of the characters have their own strengths and weaknesses, and learning how to defend yourself while enchanting advantage of your opponents' flaws goes a long way toward protecting a victory. There can be a shocking amount of strategy involved, from knowing when and how to assault to make sure that the terrain of the sometimes over-the-top levels works for you rather than against you. But all that said, Brawl is an amazingly well-balanced game in which even a brand-new player can come away the victor against a hard-bitten veteran.

All through combat, a variety of types of items will seed on the battlefield for use by the first player to reach them. Some, such as the beam sword, are disgusting in nature and enhance your attack competences, while others are healing and will lower your damage meter. Many of these items are from the different games the characters originate from, such as the fire flower and the super mushroom from Super Mario Bros. Even though a lot of them have been attributed in the previous Smash Bros. games, many new ones appear in Brawl, including the superspicy curry, which creates your character respire fire for a time. Also worthy of a mention are the various support trophies, which summon non-playable characters such as Tingle from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker or the 8-bit racers from Excitebike to help or hinder you. Some things--especially the hammer, bob-omb, and warp star--could be measured game-breaking due to their abilities to impose fatal wounds practically all of the time, but these items and any others can be toggled off in the options menu before a match starts.

In reality, customizable is the name of the game, given that a wide diversity of parameters can be attuned when contributing in the special brawl mode. Gravity, fighter size, and game speed are just a few of the options, with some of the more bizarre possibilities being whether or not your characters are made of metal (which makes them much heavier and thus harder to KO) or are practically undetectable. Both special brawl matches and regular battles let you modify which items are permitted and how frequently items will spawn, what kinds of handicaps--if any--are in place, how stages are chosen, and more.

Teams can be formed if you so desire, and the types of brawls that can be started include timed matches in which the one who scores the most kills and the least deaths wins, stock matches in which the last player standing wins, and coin-collecting matches in which the number of coins everyone has when time is up determines the winner. Tournaments are a snap to set up due to a built-in mode that facilitates up to 32 players on a single Wii, and there's even a rotation mode to help up to 16 players figure out how to take turns. In short, there are factually dozens of ways that you can battle in your bed room.

Great News From Takao Sawako: Wii Fit at GDC!

You might not be expecting it based on its success in Japan, but Nintendo's Deputy GM in Entertainment Analysis & Development, Takao Sawano, was pretty unconvinced about Wii Fit's potential for success. Sawano headed up the team that developed Nintendo's Balance Board, which comes up to with the game. His lecture, "Wii Fit: Creating a Brand-New Interface for the Home Console," recorded the history of this enthusiastically expected product from setting up to release, and revealed some new features that European and American gamers can be expecting in their versions this spring.



Sawano kicked off the presentation with a warm greeting and a montage of ads for Wii Fit which are airing in Japan at this time, viewing both the game and people of all ages and demographics playing it. He asked the viewers, "after watching the ads, do you have an idea of what it's like? It has been two-and-a-half months since release, and sales still increase. As of last weekend, it has sold 1.4 million copies in Japan." He supposed those numbers to skyrocket when Wii Fit comes out in Europe on April 25th, with a Stateside release a few weeks later on May 19th. The next slide in his presentation demonstrated the Wii Fit package, which includes the Balance Board and the game software.

Even though the lecture definitely provided to attract the crowded room to pick up the game in May, the reason of the session was mostly to focus on the ideas that the new controller presents. The lecture broke down the Balance Board's history, features of the Wii Fit software, the specs and features of the Balance Board (mainly for developers thinking about using it in games), and promising future implementation of the Balance Board for applications other than fitness software."Even I look at it," Sawano said, "and I feel like it's something that should have come out as a part of the system. It looks as though it's inevitably linked with the hardware. Unfortunately, it wasn't borne of the classic business class textbook tale." He illustrated us a slide of iconic designer Shigeru Miyamoto's ideas for the Wii, well sooner than the console's release, and respectfully demanded that no one take pictures, in case Miyamoto-san get cross with him. Although the diagrams were in Japanese, there were parts that pointed out the future of Nintendo's casual titles. In one corner, there was a picture of a ping pong racket, fishing rod, and two remotes. Sawano said that this idea became Wii Play. A analogous diagram was below it with a tennis racket and a baseball. This idea became Wii Sports. The final diagram that Sawano pointed out was "The Health Pack."

The idea, Miyamoto told Nintendo staffers, was that he liked stepping on the scale every morning to ensure his weight. He considered that zooming in on body management and weight control with a playable scale would create a great game. The sentiment, according to Sawano, was not general. Among the questions that others asked Miyamoto: "Would you turn on your TV and system just to weight yourself? "Do you want to weigh yourself with everyone around?" "Can you get an accurate measure if you have your clothes on?" "Don't you have a scale in your bathroom that can do the same thing?"

Miyamoto's answer? "I have fun just weighing myself and collecting my weight data, so this idea is bound to lead to something interesting!" Sawano conceded along a few more encouraging words from the man behind Mario for miserable developers stuck in bad projects: "Developers must always approach their projects with the belief [that either] they're making a platinum hit or it'll be doomed."

Want to listen to MP3s or watch video on your Wii?

Winamp, the long-standing free media player for Windows, has just been updated to version 5.5 for Winamp's 10th anniversary. The update carries major revolutionizes to the player, as well as a new single-skin interface that sorts throughout albums, artists and songs, similar to iTunes.

What Wii owners will be most concerned with in this new update is Winamp Remote, a fresh free service that lets you to access the music and video files stored on your computer from any Internet web browser in the world, including the one on the my lovely console, Wii. Through the Wii Internet Channel's Opera web browser, you able to obtain advantage of this streaming service. Winamp has gone so far as to design a special Winamp Remote web interface specifically for web browsers on television screens.

This creates Winamp the easiest way to get media from your computer to our Nintendo Wii. All you require to do is download Winamp 5.5 (or higher), install the player and the Winamp Remote add-on to your Windows-based PC and make a Winamp account. After that, you able to access the Winamp Remote website from the Opera browser in the Wii, input your login information (you can use a keyboard for this now, thanks to the recent Internet Channel update), and have streaming access to all the music and video on our computer, or at least the folders on our computer that you particular as shareable in the Winamp Remote settings.

There are a diversity of ways to search through and sort your music. You can decide to search through music by albums (complete with album art) or artists. You can also search by typing the name of the file or song via a search box. Mostly, you have all the sorting and searching power on your Wii as you would as if you were using Winamp at your computer. That’s wonderful!

The playing interface is comparable to that of YouTube. It's a flash player that streams in a selected file, and the album art for that music file (if there is one) will show up in the video pane whereas the music plays. Off to the side there is a banner ad, but it's a small infuriation that can be unnoticed given the service to do this is totally free. You'll be capable to manage the volume level, pause, skip tracks forward or backward or view file information. From what I've sampled on from my computer, the audio excellence playing the music over the Internet and through the Wii's browser sounds pretty similar to the speakers on my computer. That's remarkable.

You able to even stream video from your computer to your Wii via the Internet. Once more, just like YouTube, picking a video from one of your folders will start a streaming playback via a flash player, even though it will begin playing instantly rather than buffering a little bit to make sure a smooth playback. With some of my smaller video files, the audio and video playback was incredibly high-quality. When I attempted to stream some of my larger files, though, the playback was choppy, though still tolerably watchable. The audio was also a little tattered, but not to the point where it would mess up it.

Obviously, since the files you are streaming to the Wii are placed on your computer, and these files must be routed throughout Winamp Remote via the Internet to your Wii browser, the quality you'll eventually get by using this process to play media on your Wii fully depends on the upload speed of your Internet connection. I attained the above outcome with a courteously fast upload speed on a cable Internet line. If you have a DSL connection with better upload speeds, you'll likely acquire better performance, particularly with the streaming video.

There are other orderly things the Winamp Remote interface provides that may make it worth your while to try it out. Even if you can't stream things to your Wii over your Internet connection, you may be capable to do so on your friend's Wii. Even on a different Wii browser (or any computer, for that matter), all you would require to do is login with your Winamp account information and you'll have access to the media on your computer, even if it's miles away. And if you and a friend both have Winamp Remote accounts, you'll be able to listen to each other's music—Winamp has completed it possible for friends to distribute their music and video libraries with each other. If you have more Winamp friends, you'll have more media accessible to you, all available on your Wii through the console's Internet browser.

For your attention, all of this is totally free, very simple to use, and takes only minutes to setup. If this sounds like a little you'd be interested in, you able to get all the particulars over at the

Winamp and Winamp Remote websites.

Introduce My Console: Nintendo Wii!

Why this great console is so cool??

Wii is not just a gaming console, it's a explanation to get together with your friends and family and have fun today's hottest and greatest games. Wii recommends legendary Nintendo franchises like Mario, Zelda and Metroid, as well as all new classics like Wii Sports and Wii Play. Create your own Mii great character to star in Wii games. Play friends online over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or utilize the Internet Channel to surf the net from your bed. You able even download classic Nintendo games using the Wii Shop Channel. Great isn’t it? Take a look around and see why your TV is not complete without Wii.

Hello, WiiLovers!

Do not hesitate! Please just read and play some great games! YEAH!!