Nintendo Wii Fanboy

On June 26, a patent application from Nintendo was published on the USPTO's database. The application details a strange-looking controller with the button layout of the GameCube pad and a big rectangular cavity in the middle. Could we be looking at the future of the Classic Controller, or even the next implementation of the GameCube controller for Wii owners?

No, we couldn't! This application may just now be published in the U.S., but it's based on a Japanese patent application from 2005. This is the past of the Classic Controller, from back when Nintendo was talking about "shells." That cavity is for the Wii Remote, of course, or, as the application puts it, "an imaging information arithmetic unit."

[Via Destructoid; thanks, Blackfreefall!]

Cruising around the CES show floor, Siliconera's Spencer stopped in his tracks when he noticed this full line-up of Wii weapons. Fit for an entire Ghost Squad, these weapons will offer a solution for those who really don't want the Wii Zapper or Link's Crossbow Training. We can imagine ourselves diving around our living room with the shotgun, pretending we're in the Metroid Prime 3 teaser trailer from E3 2006.

[Via Go Nintendo]

If you've been impatient and decided to go with a third-party solution for your plastic gun-like needs, you might have stumbled upon the same issue as the gentleman in the video above has. His solution? Chop that thing up. In cutting it down, the device is now more functional for himself.

Barely a mod, we know, but it might be a solution some of you who have picked up the plastic shell could be looking for.

[Via Wii Hacks]

Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.

We are all aware that the Wii prints money, but while it's filling Nintendo's coffers, it's also spitting out greenbacks for game publishers and peripheral manufacturers. The expansion aspects of the Wii extend beyond anything we've seen before in a Nintendo console, and some companies are making a killing by exploiting that.

Will the creativity of these peripheral companies be put to use in creating innovative products for enhancing our Wii gaming experiences, or will we be stacking up more R.O.B.s in the closet to collect dust?

Adding color to your console no longer means you'll have to void your warranty by breaking it open. While more complicated mods have you pulling off panels to replace the Wii's shell, GT Coupe's "crystal clear cases" -- available in blue, pink, green, white, and black -- allow you to just slip the system into the plastic housing for the desired hue. Each case come with a blue-LED-lined, cooling-fan-equipped stand to accommodate your refitted console.

DealExtreme lists the Dazzle Colorful and Luxury Kit at about $30, but only has the pink case in stock. You can find the other colors for much cheaper ($22) if you're willing to make your purchase through eBay. Head past the break for a couple more photos of the kit.

Considering that most light gun games for the Wii already have some sort of on-screen crosshair to indicate where your remote is pointed, there aren't many reasons why you'd want to buy this laser-sight-equipped pistol shell.

Sure, you could scare the bejeezus out of the federal agents inconspicuously parked across the street, or maybe act out that scene from the "Dre Day" music video, but after a few minutes of tomfoolery, you'll start to feel a bit foolish about your purchase. In addition to forking over $8.39 to order the item, you'll also have to pay for shipping, handling, and the two AAA batteries needed to power the red beam.

The Wii logo on the packaging's bottom-left corner is fantastic, even more ridiculous than the Wü branding we've seen on other China-manufactured accessories. The customer reviews on Superufo's product page are likewise hilarious: "Good! And worth buying it! I have bought one more than two years and it still work well, I am very glad with this." Two years? Not bloody likely!

[Via DCEmu]

Evolving from the designs of Team Xtender's past mods, the ii-Hot Rock case aims to do more than just light the Wii with colorful LEDs. The $62.95 shell comes equipped with a digital thermometer that displays the console's internal temperature, and the LEDs shift with that measurement. Every 5° change pushes their hue towards either a colder or warmer glow, luminescing a light blue at sub-28°C and glaring klaxon red when temperatures over 55°C are detected.

If you're paranoid about overheating consoles, a mod like this would be perfect for quickly warning you to either shut your system off or execute an emergency saucer separation, putting distance between you and the rest of the starship before the Wii's warp core breaches. Let's all hope it never comes to that. Set a course past the post break, and check out a couple more photos of Team Xtender's ii-Hot Rock case.

If you happen to be a Wii owner who secretly yearns for the cancelled PS3 "boomerang" controller, then boy have we got something for you. Wrap your meaty man-hands around this bad boy and your Excite Truck experience will be ... uh... like nothing Nintendo ever wanted you to experience. Brilliant!

And no, this doesn't even come complete with convenient recharging abilities. It's just a plastic boomerang shell.


[Via CVG]

Team Xtender, the group behind the chrome casing and Black Knight Wii mods, plans to diversify its line of I-Case replacement shells with a more colorful look. The mod manufacturer has posted photos of its concept models in their new outfits, dressing the Wii and its stand in red, yellow, green, blue, and pink.

Nothing has been finalized yet, so don't expect to see these vibrant kits on the market for a while. The I-Case's pricing has been a little more competitive than the SHOCKii's ($40 versus $50), so we're glad to see some competition in the replacement shell market. Click past the post break for more glamour shots from the Wii runway.

[Via DCEmu]

When we last previewed Xtreme Enterprise's replacement shells for the Nintendo Wii, we only caught a glimpse of the prototype faceplate and side panels, leaving us to wonder how the completed product would turn out. The Singapore-based company finally released photos of the assembled casing earlier today, daring us to find a flaw with the SHOCKii's design. We think you'll agree after seeing them that there isn't one to be found.

The shells are constructed with composite polycarbonate and ABS plastic, fitting together exactly like the Wii's original frame. Xtreme Enterprise has had a lot of time to perfect its process, using the same material for its Nintendo DS and nunchuck replacement casing. You can pre-order the full replacement shells in five different colors: Cool Black, Dreamy Blue, Strat Clear (semi-transparent), Dynamic Red, and Astro Yellow. All of the cases are priced at $69.90.

Head past the post break for photos of the SHOCKii's Cool Black shell.

While most are satisfied with the sterile white casing of their Wii, many still pine for the variety of color options Nintendo originally promised. Gamers looking to add a bit of spice to their vanilla systems will welcome SHOCKii, a collection of replacement Wii cases from the same people behind the CHUCKii nunchuck shells and SHOCK DS Lite cases.

Singapore-based XTreme Enterprise has put up the first photos of their prototype "cool black" casing. The ABS plastic faceplate, buttons and controller panels manage to not look cheap at all, despite the planned pricing being equivalent to "a Wii/DS game." The final SHOCKii cases will be available in Astro Yellow, Dreamy Blue, Dynamic Red, Cool Black and Strat Clear.

NDSCentral.com, which has long offered case-mod replacement shells for the DS and DS Lite, is getting ready to open up a new section for Wii case mods. Replacement shells for the Wiimote, nunchuck, and Wii unit itself are now available in black, red, yellow, blue, and translucent. Though the shells are covered in acrylic paint, as opposed to the high-gloss finish of the original units, the added color is just sure to go with your outfit. The shells for the accessories are quite cheap ($14.90 and $11.90 USD for the Wiimote and nunchuck, respectively), so if you're feeling iridescent, head on over.

(Don't forget to pick up a tri-wing screwdriver to affix the mod!)

[Thanks, Capt. Castellanos!]

Gamasutra scored an interview with Pandemic's Josh Resnick, the second Pandemic member to speak their opinions on the Revolution. While more focused on the joining of the two distinct development houses, there is some talk of the Revolution. In asking about the difficulties the Revolution presents from a developer's point of view, Josh said "I don’t think it’s going to be as easy to take a product from one console to the Revolution, and so I think we are going to be looking to see how we can tailor our products to that platform. But we do that also with other platforms as well, it’s just that the Revolution may challenge us even more."

One of the initial concerns after the Revolution's remote was shown was just how third-party titles would be ported over to the console, something Nintendo stated would be easy provided a shell was acquired by the user. Josh's statements show a bit of reluctance toward porting over their established franchises to the Revolution and instead reaffirm the belief that the Revolution will see fresh titles, exclusive to the platform, from development houses.