But, not all titles are destined to get that touch of Wii magic. And, what if you never had a chance to try some of them? Well, unless you've got a suitcase buried in the back yard, there are a few titles that might be a bit out of reach, according to the list over at Video Game Price Charts.
Of all of them, which would you say is the "must own" title?
To promote the release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, Capcom is offering an exclusive Tatsunoko vs. Capcom 2009 calendar to retailers. The calendar will feature original artwork on each two-month page, as well as a Shinkiro cover that varies by store. The limited-edition calendars will be handed out with purchased copies of the game starting on the December 11 release date.
The Bic Camera/Sofmap version of the calendar features a group portrait, the Geo version features Ryu and Ken the Eagle, and the Imagine version's cover features Doronjo and Morrigan. And the exclusive "JC" edition features these preview images printed out and stapled together with some calendar pages from Word.
Paul Henry Smith is one smart dude. He has created the Fauxharmonic Orchestra, a simulation of a real orchestra, brought to you by the Wiimote, Balance Board, and his brain. We're not classical buffs by any means, but what we're hearing (and seeing) is pretty impressive. We have on criticism, though. It looks like Paul is wearing his shoes in the video. Dude, you're going to scuff your very expensive peripheral!
Why? NOBODY KNOWS. Maybe he desperately misses the days of blowing in slots. Whatever reasons he had, this is now up on eBay, with bidding starting at $49.99. The auction notes that the mod is "100% working!" (uh ... good?) and that the Wii's blue lights still illuminate when it's switched on, which we have to admit is kind of neat. Also, the seller calls it a "Wii64." Hmm. See more of this peculiar beast past the break, and more illustrious Wii mods here.
Although we regard this golden statue of Link and Epona as tacky, we're clearly in a minority. Despite being the most expensive item ever in the European Club Nintendo shop (15,000 Star Points, thank you), it sold out in the blink of a Goron's eye.
How rare is this, exactly? Our guess: pretty damn rare. We've never seen one on eBay. But now it's back in stock, chintzier than ever, and ready for some lucky collectors to swipe. It's still 15,000 Star Points, and we suspect this latest batch will go quickly, so long as somebody out there has resisted splurging their Star Points on Wii Points.
How about you, North Americans? Would something like this catch your eye when Club Nintendo launches in your neck of the woods later this year?
While it prepares to wheel out Club Nintendo in North America later this year, Nintendo has decided to torture us one last time with stuff we can't have.
Every year in Japan, Platinum and Gold members in the Japanese program get a free gift. This year, Platinum members have three to choose from, including the snazzy golden Wii Wheel you see above. This takes us back to GoldenEye's multiplayer, and us petulantly refusing to play unless we could steer Oddjob with the only gold-colored N64 controller in the house. Also up for grabs is a Super Mario Cap, which Nintendo reports is too big for girls and schoolkids (but not adult male bloggers), and a Club Nintendo Calendar 2009, which will be the only option for Gold members. That's better than our only option, which is to own nothing.
All very lovely then, and all very out of our reach ... but for how long? Go past the break for a look at the cap and calendar.
With it being Friday and all, what better way to kick off your weekend than an awesome homage to both Mario and Louie Armstrong? The above video, expertly crafted by YouTube user BrentalFloss, is one of the best homages we've ever seen. Frankly, if it doesn't make your heart flutter, then you're a cold, hollow shell of a human being. Also, you probably aren't a big fan of good stuff.
A new series of Rayman Raving Rabbids toys is being allowed to run wild in European stores (by "run wild" we mean "sit motionless inside packages"). To coincide with the release of Raving Rabbids TV Party, Ubisoft announced plans to release figures of smiling and screaming Rabbids, along with critters dreed in Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell garb. A Prince of Persia figure is visible in the preview art but not mentioned in the press release.
Coolest of all, Ubisoft will sell a box including the four Rabbids mentioned along with a blank Rabbid designed for DIY decoration. This Rabbid is available on its own on ubiart.com right now! Dea Ubisoft: American gamers have space on their meticulously organized, dusted shelves as well!
The keen-eyed Sega fanatics over at Sega Nerds picked up on something interesting. See the image above? Notice anything? There's a Dreamcast! Apparently, Robotnik likes to take a break from hunting down Chaos Emeralds every now and then with a game of Lucky Hit.
We may be a Wii-based gaming blog, but we love the Dreamcast. And we're glad that Sega took the time to toss the system into Sonic Unleashed like they did. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some people to question about a black car. You know, the one on the day of the incident? Have you seen it?
You know what? We were all kinds of ready to pick up All Star Cheer Squad. The day it released, we were waiting at the GameStop, with our money in hand, ready to pick up the title. In the end, we didn't, because, really, how were we to know if this was the ultimate cheerleading sim? Thankfully, a real cheerleader has stepped in and told us what to think!
Natalie, a cheerleader with the New York Jets Flight Crew, put the game through its paces, stomping on the Balance Board and using the Wiimote and Nunchuk to bust poses all over the place. Her final verdict? Well, she enjoyed it, but you're just going to have to watch the video past the break for the rest of her thoughts.
Seriously, though, somebody should tell her that Nintendo doesn't suggest wearing huge boots while using the Balance Board. Doesn't she know how expensive that thing is?
GameDaily has put together a cool gallery of different Nintendo-themed carved pumpkins, just in time to celebrate the holiday today. We suggest you take a break from nibbling on chocolate and other candy goods to check them out. And, yes, our favorite is at the top of this very post.
While some musicians might snobbily mock those who spastically flail around on Guitar Hero's plastic controller ("Like, lol, why not just learn to play a real guitar?" is something we read far too often), others embrace our hobby, and use elements of it to further their own music.
Rob Morris is one such person. According to his collection of YouTube videos, Morris regularly performs with a Wii Remote duct-taped to his Stratocaster, where it doubles up as a whammy bar. This in turn allows him to add tremolo, or bend the pitch of his notes by up to an octave -- all by using the attached Wiimote's accelerometer. And look, here comes the science: this is achieved by "sending the Wiimote data to a computer running Max/MSP, which then sends data via MIDI to a Digitech pedal."
Ooookay. It's another Wiimote hack that we don't really understand, but it sounds pretty cool!
Since we all know Wii Music is not a game, but a toy, the target audience has to be the really young. Why else would Miyamoto be at a Japanese preschool, showing off the title? But, hey, we have to give it up to Shiggy and Nintendo. If there's a great way to gather interest in a title, it's with a dozen or so cute, smiling children.
If spending $100 on a new plastic instrument and Guitar Hero: World Tour isn't enough, Red Octane is offering up a deluxe bundle for those that need to lose that extra cash, but don't want to go in for the entire band kit. For $109.99, fans will get a custom guitar bag for their new plastic axe, as well as a Guitar Hero keychain. We're not sure if that's worthy of an extra $10, but for those of you who are really worried about scuffing up their new Guitar Hero guitar, it's an option.
Remember the Mega Man 9 press kit? Of course you do -- a better question may be "Have you been able to drive the Mega Man 9 press kit out of your thoughts for even a single, restful second?" Well, if you're freaking out about this item, you should take your nervous energy and put it to good use on Capcom's Mega Man forum.
The Capcom Unity staffers are picking worthy fans and handing them redemption codes for free press kits. The item is apparently hidden in the store somewhere, priced exorbitantly, but we haven't been able to find it. If you are in the mood to spend money on one of these, there's always eBay.
We love a lot of GameCube games. In fact, when Play on Wii was announced, it felt like a dream come true. See, we imagine many GameCube games being retooled for Wii. Now, we're glad its actually happening for some of those games.
