Toys & Gadgets

You know, we were surprised these Wii Remote appendages actually made it to the pre-order stage way back in April of last year, a feeling which slowly dissipated as they failed to make it out to real retail. Until now. The 2lb / 1kg Riiflex sleeves for your Nintendo-approved wand are ready to purchase, starting at a cent under $30, though the 5lb variety promised earlier is yet to make an appearance — perhaps it’s become yet another victim of the harsh, cutthroat economics of the Wii peripheral business. Anyhow, if you wanna take your Wii Fitness to the next level, the source link will get the set of two to your door with free delivery, though it might be a bit late in helping you shape up for V day.

Riiflex Wiimote dumbbells cease being a joke, now on sale originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo has already been talking up what a Nintendo DS successor might look like, so it wouldn’t come as too much of a shock if we saw the device in the near term. That’s what EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich believes, anyway. He has a research note out saying that Nintendo will be releasing a new handheld in the next 15 months, and make the announcement within the next eight months. The reasons are numerous, including the need to bone up on online distribution, rampant piracy, and just the regular march of technology that Nintendo is never unaware of — just ask the routinely trounced handheld competition. Unfortunately, there’s nothing “solid” in this report as far as we can tell, so we’ll have to wait for some “unnamed sources” or our cousin’s friend’s dad’s barber to weigh in and tell us how it really is.

Nintendo DS2 to be announced this year, released not too long after? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming

NPD: Wii leads video game industry to ‘biggest sales month ever’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey humans! So Hastings was telling us the truth after all — the Nintendo Wii will be joining the other two game consoles to stream Netflix starting some time in early Spring. Like the PS3, a special Netflix “instant-streaming” disc will be required for the Wii, and it goes without saying that HD’s out of the question since the Wii itself can’t push above 480p. There’ll be no additional fees beyond Netflix’s usual monthly subscription. Time for a game of Mario Kart to celebrate, no?

Update: the Netflix sign-up page is now live! [Via Joystiq]

Wii gets Netflix this Spring, disc required for streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s an interesting one. Siliconera has dug up what it claims to be a Japanese trademark for the term “Zii,” and contrary to what you may expect, the application wasn’t filed by Creative. We double checked the database, and sure enough, the paperwork went through on October 30th — which almost certainly means that this was more than just some day-late attempt to fend off the next-generation of KIRF Wii consoles. There’s obviously no way to tell what the Big N has in mind here, nor if this will cause any kind of friction between it and Creative, but we’ll certainly be keeping an ear to the ground for more. Who knows — maybe the Zii is that HD Wii we’ve all been clamoring for since November of 2006. Or maybe it’s nothing at all.

Update: We’ve done a bit more digging, and it looks as if this here filing may simply be a renewal of a 2006 trademark request. Moreover, we’ve found Nintendo trademarks in Japan for Cii, Bii, Oii and Yii, so it seems the company may just be on some sort of rampage in order to cover its tracks in one form or another.

Nintendo trademarks ‘Zii’ over in Japan, Creative is like ‘zaywha?’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The newer, embiggened Nintendo DSi LL (as it’s known in Tokyo Town) has been available to the kids in Japan since the beginning of the week, and Enterbrain, Inc. is reporting that Nintendo has pushed 103,524 units in its first two days. To perspectivize things, the DSi was snatched up to the tune of about 170,000 units in the same time period, while the PSPgo sold around 28,000 units. To celebrate, the kids at PC Watch have ripped one of these bad boys — and you’ll never guess what they found! (OK, maybe you will.) Check out the link below for the hardcore details — and don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Nintendo DSi LL sells 103k in two days, ripped open in two minutes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, there are plenty of Wii racing wheel options out there, but Exspect’s launching one just for the Wii Motion Plus controller — and just in time for the holidays! The wheel is also compatible with the plain old Wiimote, but sadly, if you live in the States it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to get one of these any time soon. The Racing Wheel is available now in the UK and will run you £6.99 (that’s about $11.67 if you don’t speak “£”) on its own, or £19.99 ($33.35) if you buy it as part of a Wii accessories pack.

Filed under: Gaming

Exspect launches racing wheel for Wii Motion Plus controllers in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the DS Lite will be old ancient news by the time Easy Piano hit the market, but those who’ve learned to be content in life (and have somehow managed to resist the urge to snap up a DSi in place of their older handheld), have probably been hunting for this date. Valcon Games has just announced that its piano-teaching title (and the highly comical / interesting 13-key accessory) will be landing in North America in “early 2010,” but it didn’t go so far as to fess up to an MSRP. Not like it matters — you know you’re totally lining up to snag this during a midnight launch, regardless of how many heirlooms are forced onto Craigslist.

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Easy Piano bringing keys to the DS Lite in ‘early 2010′ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two items of note for future owners of the DSi XL (aka, The Gigantic DSi) Nintendo has slated for a November launch in Japan (and Q1 2010 here in the US). First, if you’ve been wondering just how much bigger this thing is in comparison to the previous version of the handheld, wonder no more. The device has been spied in action on Japanese television, and it really is quite enormous. How big? Well luckily the folks at Joystiq have put together an awesome little FAQ about the handheld (including exact dimensions — 161 x 91.4 x 21.2mm for those keeping count) which addresses all the pressing issues and more. Check out the XL strutting its stuff on video after the break, the bop on over to the ‘Stiq to fill up on notable quotes and quotable notes.

[Via Kotaku]

Read - DSi XL FAQ: Sized up
Read - My Game News Flash on the DSi XL

Continue reading The DSi XL gets sized up, then Joystiq answers your nagging questions

Filed under: Gaming

The DSi XL gets sized up, then Joystiq answers your nagging questions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Since Europe and Japan can’t have all the fun — unless, of course, it’s a black Nintendo Wii — the super-sized DSi XL is also due out in the US sometime in Q1 2010, according to a spokesperson speaking with Joystiq. Still no word on price, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it parallel the slight markup for the ¥20,000 / US $221 Japanese version. Looks like that smaller-screen version isn’t looking so hot for Grandma’s Christmas present anymore.

Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo DSi XL coming to America in Q1 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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