Nintendo Wii Fanboy

It's astounding that, despite all the eBay auctions we've followed and Nintendo oddities we've researched, there are still so many Famicom accessories out there that we've never seen, much less heard of. Thankfully, an obsessive Japanese collector has put up a page documenting these rare controllers and peripherals, like Hori RF adapters and Disk System cleaning sprays. Check out the Hyper Shot Zapper-clone pictured above -- can you believe that Bandai made a submachine gun for the Famicom? Jump past the post break for more Famicom odds and ends.

Cyber Gadget's new Wiimote add-on covers your d-pad with a thumbstick. We doubt this will improve the Wiimote's effectiveness in fighting games, but it might make the controller slightly more comfortable for people who just started gaming in the last two console generations, and for whom the d-pad as primary input is weird and alien.

We remember going to the state fair once and buying an adhesive joystick that went over the NES's d-pad. That wasn't a good idea on our part or the manufacturer's! This thumbstick at least won't leave sticky residue all over your d-pad. If you're interested in the Cyber Gadget Remocon Stick, we found an $8.49 preorder link at YesAsia.

Newsweek has got a bit of an exclusive look at the upcoming Need for Speed: Carbon for the Wii. Why them? Bah! But some interesting details were divulged nevertheless.

As expected, the default control configuration for NFS: Carbon is the one of simplicity, found also in Excitetruck and a mini-game in Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. Turn the Wiimote on its side, and viola, instant steering wheel. But for you pros out there, there are three alternatives for your particular racing style. The first involves holding the Wiimote at a 45 degree angle, tilting forward to accelerate and back to brake; the nunchuk is tilted left and right for steering. The second and third have the Wiimote held at a 90 degree angle; acceleration is handled by tilting forward as before, but now braking is mapped to the Z button on the nunchuk. One of these two uses the motion sensing in the nunchuk for steering, the other merely uses the analog stick.

Anyone else think these options are cool as hell, (partially) mimicking a stick shift configuration?

[Thanks, Marc and Dave!]