Here's rule one about owning pets: if you allow them to chew on or scratch one type of thing, they're often going to think similar materials are fair game. Give a cat one of those carpet-covered scratching posts? Sure, lots of us do it, but it's hard to be mad at them when later you find them sharpening their claws in the middle of the dining room rug. The similar nubby texture gets them every time. So it shouldn't be much of a surprise what happened to the Labrador one Colorado family allowed to chew on an old television remote. Not only did the dog eat it, but once that was down, he turned on the next remote-like object in his sights: a Wii remote.
Which he swallowed whole.
The poor pooch started spitting up blood, and once at the vet, vomited up bits of the original remote ... but there was still a mass in his stomach visible on an X-ray. It was only then that the Wiimote-swallowing was revealed. Luckily, the dog was able to expel the controller after having his tummy massaged, and he's just fine after an overnight stay at the doctor.
The Wii in question belonged to the family's son, who was punished for leaving the controller out where the dog could get to it ... but who's going to punish everyone else for allowing the dog to chew on electronics in the first place? Sharp plastic bits probably don't digest so well, after all.
On the lighter side, now we all have an excuse to tell jokes about the horrors of dogs chewing on your Wii.
Earlier this week, we spent a little time talking about some of the best motion-sensing control schemes offered by Wii games so far -- so it's only fair that we dedicate a little time to the worst that you've experienced since launch. We've managed to avoid some of the games that are supposed to be really awful, but can definitely say that about half of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz definitely left something to be desired (and yet, part of the game was fine). We've heard horror stories however, that many games are far worse. How about you? What's the worst you've tried to suffer through on the Wii? Feel free to get into the gory details.
We can only guess that these people think that you are playing Cooking Mama every day, or that there will be many, many sequels -- otherwise, we'd have to call them a little late to the party. And really, were they even invited?
We can understand swords and shields. We can even get behind rackets and bats, though they're a little silly. But ... a frying pan? Spatula? Did someone kill off imagination without sending us a memo?
Fishing rods, tennis rackets, baseball bats, guns -- a year from now, you'll probably be able to transform your Wii remote into a car and zoom around your living room. But are any of the shells and add-ons necessary? Are they useful? We're curious what you think. Which ones (if any) do you want to try, or even buy, and which do you find completely superfluous? Obviously, all Guitar Hero-related paraphernalia is exempt on grounds of being both awesome and necessary. We're talking about straight-up shells here.
Go Nintendo is reporting that some colored Wiimotes could be popping up on retail shelves near you (at least in the UK). A reader who works for UK retail chain Argos snapped up a picture of a supposed SKU for one of the two differently-colored Wiimotes. While we wouldn't put it beyond Nintendo to dish out Wiimotes in different colors (remember E3?), we're not quite sure we think the time is right for that sort of thing.
Brian McConnell left his son, Adam, alone with a game of Wii Sports: Tennis for only a few moments to fetch a drink, but that was all the time the little demon needed. Not even a Wii remote strap could've saved Brian's plasma TV once the three-year-old set his mind on avenging a lost match.
Brian came back to the living room to find his £1,000 television ruined, its 42-inch screen bashed by his Wiimote-wielding progeny. Queue up the darth_vader_nooo.jpg images.
The forgiving father let Adam off the hook with only a light lecture and a two-week Wii ban. That's a lot more lenient than the hanging, drawing, and quartering punishment one of our NintenDadz would've sought.
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!
Just when you thought you were done with all those pesky 'best of 2006' lists, Engadget offers one you might actually care about -- peripheral of the year. As you might have guessed, the Wii remote is one of the options, and just like Reggie, it seems to be kicking ass and taking names. Voting ends April 15th, and it's just one vote per person, so if you'd like to go help let everyone know that the Wii controller is way cooler than the 360's HD DVD drive, get voting.
We sort of feel sorry for the other entrants. Look the Mighty Mouse is cool and all (it's so smooth!), but there's nothing like your Wii remote. Well, except perhaps your remote, but until you're using that to get your Zelda on, we don't want to hear about all that.
Posted Mar 23rd 2007 1:00PM by Eric Caoili Filed under: News
We've been waiting for the Iron Chef license to appear on the Nintendo Wii ever since the cooking-friendly controller was revealed, but the culinary game show is still woefully absent from the system's lineup of upcoming titles. Anxious gamers have had to settle for the next best thing -- Cooking Mama: Cook Off.
Playing off the battle system in Cooking Mama where you can compete with rival chefs, 1UP has a creative piece comparing the Wii and DS versions of the game in a Kitchen Stadium contest. Fans of Iron Chef will be happy to see that the dramatization follows the Japanese show's format closely with an introduction by the Chairman and constant chatter from the commentators. Cook Off'smultiplayer mode and international menu are emphasized during this console-vs-handheld match-up to see which Mama knows best.
Though Cooking Mama: Cook Off's reviews have been middling at best, seeing the Wii game's strengths laid out like this has definitely renewed our interest. How else are we supposed to act out our epic Ronkonkai Chicken battle against Iron Chef Sakai that we've always envisioned in our minds?
We played the "What if?" game with our friends a lot during our younger years. Our school playground was a montessori arena for cartwheels and slow motion kicks as we acted out, "What if we were Power Rangers?" Tired from our recess shenanigans, we would brood over notes we passed in class, wondering, "What if it rained candy? Seriously, wouldn't that be rad?" We eventually put the childish pastime behind us, realizing that it wasn't appropriate to ask our best friends, "What if I was a guy who wanted to date your sister?"
Buzz Beamer from Sports Illustrated Kids hasn't given up on the "What if?" game yet. In the magazine's latest comic, Buzz ruminates over the possibilities of an over-sized Wii remote. He comes up with some entertaining ideas like Virtual Log Riding and Tossing the Caber. Our favorite is the one where he has a "realistic" wrestling match with the giant remote. That's way cooler than the Hulk Hogan pillow we used to grapple with when we were kids!
Frantic sets of microgames have been the standard of every entry in the WarioWare series, forcing gamers to assess and complete outlandish objectives at a frightening pace. While each title has its own "gimmick" with its microgames (e.g. Twisted!'s motion sensor), WarioWare Touched! and WarioWare: Smooth Moves have the responsibility of proving the newly-launched systems they debuted on. Working with these quick bursts of gameplay, these two games promote how the features of the DS and Wii can be taken advantage of, providing hundreds of examples in an enjoyable, playable format.
The New Gamer has an editorial on the steps Smooth Moves takes to successfully advertise the Wii remote's capabilities. Each five-second game manages to quickly retrain us on how we're interacting with the controller and what's on our screens, using condensed levels of popular games, memorable stances, and familiar situations for these brief vignettes. Because of these design decisions, adapting to the 100+ microgames ends up being more fun than intimidating, vindicating the Wii remote with each satisfying bite of gameplay.
Remember how we used to say that our console was the better one because it didn't incite violence among its fanbase? That was fun while it lasted. Now all we have to go on is the price and selection of games.
37-year-old Kazunari Tanaka is accused of trying to shoplift a Wiimote and a CD from a Bic Camera in Nagoya, Japan. When security guards accosted him, he (allegedly) started punching, leaving both guards injured.
We won't blame the Wii for this crime, although we're sure someone will. People shoplift every day. The Wii doesn't inspire crimes against anything but televisions (against which it instills a murderous rage).
[Via NeoGAF; thematically appropriate image taken from this post]
It's the question Nintendo fanboys often avoid: is the Wii controller just a gimmick? It comes up a lot, this idea that the Wii is an impulse buy (maybe once it's, y'know, around) and that we'll grow tired of random remote-flicking in favor of traditional gameplay. Some have even said the Wiimote lacks the versatility of the DS -- the system to which it is often compared. Having played a variety of games with different control schemes, we're not convinced about that, and can only imagine the Wii's true versatility will be further apparent as devs spend more and more quality time working with the controls. What we want to know, though, is what you think. Is the Wii remote a gimmick, or will it endure?
By way of Japanese source Game Lab, German gaming site GameFront reports that a redesign for Nintendo's Wiimote is in the works. The rumored redesign is to feature a rechargeable battery, as well as gripping to keep those overzealous gamers from putting one through the TV. From the site (post Google translation):
"Nintendo is to work allegedly on a better Wii remote maintenance, which is delivered at the latest in the summer in Japan. The Japanese Game Labo in its rumor column maintains. The revised remote maintenance is to be more easily, possess a better pavement grip and rechargeable its - Nintendo did not confirm the assumptions of the Game Labo."
What do you guys think? Is this honestly going to happen?
The rumor about Mad Catz Wiimotes isn't exactly the most reliable bit of gossip we've heard all year, but it does raise an interesting topic. Would you buy a third party Wii remote? Certainly the lack of regular Wiimotes on store shelves is a problem, but does that balance against the general quality of most (not all) third party peripherals? Is the price a factor? Wiimote and nunchuk sets are somewhat expensive, but is it worth saving a few bucks to wave something like this around? We're trying not to make any many jokes about the wavy shape here, but they're lurking in the tall grass. So what's the verdict on this rumored remote? We want to hear what you think!
Here's rule one about owning pets: if you allow them to chew on or scratch one type of thing, they're often going to think similar materials are fair game. Give a cat one of those carpet-covered scratching posts? Sure, lots of us do it, but it's hard to be mad at them when later you find them sharpening their claws in the middle of the dining room rug. The similar nubby texture gets them every time. So it shouldn't be much of a surprise what happened to the Labrador one Colorado family allowed to chew on an old television remote. Not only did the dog eat it, but once that was down, he turned on the next remote-like object in his sights: a Wii remote.
Earlier this week, we spent a little time talking about 
It's the question Nintendo fanboys often avoid: is the Wii controller just a gimmick? It comes up a lot, this idea that the Wii is an 
