Nintendo Wii Fanboy

There seemed to be a lot of mixed reactions when we posted about the Nyko Wireless Nunchuck. Responses were divided between excitement, cynicism, and "huh?" CNET is a fan of the product, though, as the website recently titled it as the "Best of CES" in the gaming category.

We wouldn't recommend placing too much stock in this CES decision. We're not saying that the Wireless Nunchuck is bad or useless, but CES's impressions of the product made it sound like a decent accessory rather than a must-have item. It makes us wonder if CNET made this choice based on a round of drunken roshambo (which is how we make all our decisions here at Nintendo Wii Fanboy).

If CNET is right, though, we can't say we're disappointed about having missed CES this year.

[Via GoNintendo]

SE2 Labs isn't afraid to toot its own horn with the ITC One, introducing this monster of a home entertainment system on its site with, "ITC One. Hello, awesomeness." The AV company has no problem attaching a luxury price to the all-in-one theatre box, either, suggesting a $50,000 tag for a full-featured model.

In addition to the Wii and Xbox 360 packed right next to each other (that can't be great for heat management), the ITC One has an iPod with a universal dock, a 4.3" touch screen, Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, an ICEpower D-Class amp, a DirecTV HD DVR, a Brystron DSP, and enough inputs and outputs in the back to plug in every single device in your home. With all that and more, it's easy to see why SE2 Labs feels it can confidently claim that they've jammed in "every high-end component you need."

Interestingly, the current design doesn't allow users to access the Wii's GameCube ports, so you can cross GameCube compatibility from the ITC One's long list of features. Siliconera had a chance to speak with SE2 at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show, and asked CEO Michael Pyle why the low-end Wii was included with the high-end system. Pyle responded, "It fit in there, so we figured, why not?"

SE2 Labs plans to offer a base model of the ITC One without the Wii and other components for the low price of $19,900. Sounds like a steal to us! Bring your moneybags past the break for a couple more photos of the ITC One.

Looks like the folks at GameSpot got their hands on a working version of Cooking Mama at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and their preview answered a few of our recent questions about the game. It looks like the use of the Wiimote will make the game more immersive, as many more motions can be included, and it seems that they consider the Wii a step up for this game, and more along the lines of what it was meant to be. Cooking Mama: Cook Off features 300 ingredients and 55 recipes -- will that be enough? 55 recipes doesn't seem like that many, but the gameplay is very nuanced -- every little aspect can affect your outcome and your score -- so maybe that's where the replay value comes in.

Good news for those looking forward to the multiplayer, too -- it looks incredible, and very Iron Chef. We anticipate many fun kitchen battles, just without all that pesky clean up. You can get a closer look at the multiplayer aspects in the video of a CES demo.