Ken Moore likes to fiddle around with things. His latest project turns the Wiimote into a theremin, which is one of the earliest electronic instruments and the first that is actually played without touching. Above, you'll see a video of Ken providing a tech demo and brief history lesson on the instrument. Past the break, you'll see Ken attempt to do the theme for the original Star Trek show.
Ken Moore goes where no man has gone before, turns Wiimote into theremin
Ken Moore likes to fiddle around with things. His latest project turns the Wiimote into a theremin, which is one of the earliest electronic instruments and the first that is actually played without touching. Above, you'll see a video of Ken providing a tech demo and brief history lesson on the instrument. Past the break, you'll see Ken attempt to do the theme for the original Star Trek show.
Continue reading Ken Moore goes where no man has gone before, turns Wiimote into theremin
Echoes of Time gets spring release in North America
Square Enix has announced plans to release Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time in North America next spring. The cross-platform ARPG will let players of the DS and Wii editions fight, level up, and build junk together, regardless of which console they're playing on. Both versions will come out on the same day, because that's kind of the point. Worryingly, GameStop has the Wii game priced at $10 more than its DS cousin -- in Japan, both cost the same.
Lumping DS and Wii players together means both games are pretty much identical (minus some on-screen furniture), but also allows us to pass the DS gallery off as a Wii gallery. Handy!
[Via press release]
VC Monday Madness: Metal Slug 2
Wii Fanboy says: do not download
This week, we've only got one new Virtual Console game to check out. But, thankfully, it's a pretty good one. It might not be recommended to download (9 bucks, ouch), but you all should find a way to play it, because Metal Slug 2 is good. How about Metal Slug Anthology, which is under $20 at most places, including Amazon? Yeah, we suggest that.
Each week, we here at Wii Fanboy like to check out the latest Virtual Console releases in our VC Monday Madness feature, in the hopes that you can make the most sound decision possible regarding purchasing retro titles from the Wii Shop Channel. If you're looking for more retro goodness, check out Virtually Overlooked, which talks about games that should be on the Virtual Console.Unsurprisingly, Wii Fit sells big on Black Friday
Any of you snag a Wii or Wii Fit to gift someone this holiday season?
[Via Gamasutra]
Plattchen developer announces another weirdly-named WiiWare game
Bplus was the very first company to announce a WiiWare game, Plättchen -- Twist 'n' Paint. It came out over a year later ... and didn't turn out to be worth waiting, or paying 1,000 Wii Points for (much less the 1,500 Bplus charged in Europe).
Bplus apparently wasn't discouraged by the poor critical reception. They're back with another WiiWare game with a similarly inscrutable title. Niki -- Rock 'n' Ball is a very retro-style single-screen platformer in which the character controls a rolling ball that can transform into a rock. Each level contains ZeLeLi pearls that the player must pick up, while defeating enemies, in order to open the exit.
Bplus has yet to announce a price for Niki. Hopefully they've learned from the Plättchen experience.
[Via WiiWare World]
Sonic and the Ludicrous Body Armor
The latest fifteen screens of Sonic and the Black Knight suggest that Sega has learned nothing from the critical response to Sonic Unleashed. Many reviews heavily criticized the werehog melee sections, but praised the running bits. So why are Sonic and Knuckles now exchanging scimitar swipes?! Sega's fascination with turning Sonic games into some kind of cartoony God of War baffles us.
Mind you, one possible explanation for this trend cropped up in the latest IGN 'Three Red Lights' podcast, where Sonic Unleashed developer David Clayman argued that a Sonic game featuring only running stages would last around three hours, such is the hedgehog's speed (full transcript here). In which case, may we politely suggest a WiiWare Sonic game, David?
[Screens via press release; Indoor Heroes link via Go Nintendo]
Nintendo making six bucks on every Wii sold
Macquarie Securities analyst David Gibson has used Science to calculate that Nintendo makes $6 from every Wii console snapped up by the public. It's long been known that Nintendo profits from its hardware, though how much has never been revealed.If Gibson's sums are accurate, that means Nintendo made almost $4.2 million of profit from North American Wii hardware during October alone. Six dollars, for the record, is what we almost earn in a whole day of blogging. That kind of money will get you one-fifth of this amazing Wii Music add-on set!
Gibson also states that Microsoft breaks even with the Xbox 360, while Sony loses cash whenever it sells a PS3. Sadly, he doesn't say how much Sony drops, so we can't point and laugh.
[Via MCV]
Best of Cyber Monday deals: Wii
Head on over and check out the page here.
Miyamoto still hopeful Wii Music will catch on
It's no secret that Wii Music hasn't been selling too well, but Miyamoto still has hope that the game will be a success. "I think a very large audience can enjoy Wii Music," Miyamoto said, adding that when Nintendo demoed the game, "many took to it." That can't really be said for the critics, however, who've not enjoyed the game overall.
"I really appreciate that the gaming media has a different view of anything as new as Wii Music today," Miyamoto stated. He said these scores help show "how different and unique Wii Music is" and that he has this "big ambition" for the game and "that it can eventually be something very influential so that it might be able to influence what music means in the world."
It's a pretty lengthy interview, so click here to read the whole thing. It's always nice to get a glimpse into Miyamoto's mind.
Watch children enjoy Taiko no Tatsujin Wii
The kids in this ad are totally enthusiastic, but we'd be even more excited than these two kids if we walked into the living room and found Taiko no Tatsujin Wii and two drums. These imaginary parents (of the future, since the game comes out December 11) were able to just go to the store and purchase the game, whereas anyone hoping to elicit an "Ohhhh, Taiko da!" (It's Taiko!) from us would have to order an import copy of the game and surreptitiously install homebrew software on our Wii.
The point is, basically, that we are intensely jealous of these children and their adorable, Taiko-tolerating cat. The girl just twists the knife by declaring that it's "like an arcade." Oh, right, they have arcades too.
Wii was most desired eBay item on Black Friday
The second most-searched item was probably picked up by most of the same people -- Wii Fit sold 1,059 units at an average $140 price. Congratulations to everyone who "won" one of these items, we guess! Although it's kind of sad to think of all those people either getting rid of their Wiis or grabbing them from stores for the express purpose of eBay markup.
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Top 5: Infections
After visiting friends and relatives this Thanksgiving, I was left with something special inside. Was it fond memories? Was it a deeper connection with those who I love? Was it several containers of leftovers? Sure, I received a fair share of those, but the most significant thing I received this Thanksgiving was the flu.
I should have known. At least five different folks I saw over the course of the day claimed to be recovering from some form of the dreaded virus. Sure enough, by Friday evening I was sweating and freezing at once, aching all over, and debating on which end to point at the toilet (too much?).
Whenever I get sick, I tend to feel very isolated. While everyone else was out enjoying their four-day weekend, I was tethered to the bed. But it didn't take long for me to realize that I'm certainly not alone. Everyone gets sick sooner or later, and no one is truly immune. In fact, even our video game counterparts have their fair share of sicknesses that affect their goals. And thankfully, just like said counterparts, the infections are usually brief. Here's our Top 5 sicknesses to avoid.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up. Retail and download releases for the week of December 1st
Gallery: Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars
Continue reading Retail and download releases for the week of December 1st
Fatal Frame IV may disturb Europe in February
Nintendo of Europe's apparent decision to publish this makes Reggie's snub seem just a bit more painful, though we believe that it would be good business for the newly-combined Tecmo/Koei to publish it in North America themselves.
Wii Warm Up: Disaster planning
But should it? Do you think the game has a better chance here than in other regions? Would you have any expectation of sales, especially given Reggie's low confidence (and thus low likelihood of promotion)? Personally, we want to play it and we don't much care if Nintendo of America profits on it or not. They've got enough money, but we don't have enough copies of Disaster. Feel free to speak from the position of "armchair business analyst" or "person who wants to play a game"!
