Mario Kart Wii set for North American launch on April 27

After hitting you with the Japan and European launch dates for Mario Kart Wii, we are happy to bring you the news that the game launches here in North American on April 27th. That’s just a mere six weeks away before we can get our hands on all that racing wheel (Wii-l?) goodness. Just a reminder, Mario Kart Wii ships with the Wii Wheel, which is a plastic steering wheel that the Wii Remote can snap right in to, for a more intuitive driving experience.

“Mario Kart Wii transforms one of our most popular franchises into a race that every member of the family can join,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Driving with the Wii Wheel could not be more natural, and this is one place where speeding is encouraged.”

If you prefer not using the add-on, you will be pleased to know that the game works just fine with the Wii Remote all by its lonesome, as well as with the Nunchuk, Classic Controller, and even the Gamecube controller. Similar to Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo went out of their way to ensure that gamers would be completely comfortable, regardless of their preferred style of play.

Just when we’ve just gotten into Brawl, we are already awaiting our next Wii game purchase. I mean, 16 new courses, 16 classic courses, 10 battle courses, and motorbikes? Who’s with us?

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Bleeding Edge TV 259: Reactrix WAVEscape 3D vision system

Have you ever wanted to play your Wii without having to have that pesky Wiimote in your hand? Reactrix hopes that their WAVEscape product might come close to providing that experience. We got a look at it during CES.

The WAVEscape contains a camera that can track the motion of multiple people, distinguishing each person individually. Everyone can use “natural” motion to interact with different things on the screen, including games.

Now, we aren’t sure when, if ever, the WAVEscape technology will be available in the home. It is more designed as a cool diversion that can be used commercially. It’s all about the “engaging advertising experience” - you know, punch the panda and maybe get a coupon?

WAVEscape is the brainchild of Reactriz and TYZX. They plan on having over 100 of these out and about by the end of the year.

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Virtual Console to Release C64 Games for Wii

If you are old enough to remember the Commodore 64, you are old enough to remember how good those games were compared to Pong. While they are simplified compared to most of those released today, they continue to have their own following, evidenced by the fact that you can still play them online. Virtual Console is adding these games to allow Wii owners to play them as well. International Karate and Uridium will be the first two titles offered and VC will add to their line from time to time. While they will first become available on the European Wii Shop Channel, we suspect it will not be long before they move globally.

Read More | Nintendo News

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Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, WiiWare all get release dates

Finally, after a long period of silence, Nintendo has finally made release dates public for a few of their more anticipated products: Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, and the WiiWare channel. First up is Mario Kart Wii, which will launch in Japan on April 10th, and Europe the following day on April 11th. No word yet on the US launch date.

The WiiWare channel, which will be a portal to downloading original games to the Wii, will be available on North American Wii units on May 12th. No word on Japan or European launches for WiiWare just yet.

Lastly, Wii Fit, which has been flying off of shelves over in Japan since it’s release back in December, will launch in North America on May 19th. If you are in Europe, Wii Fit will be available in your neck of the woods on April 25th.

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Hasbro Introduces Switch Shot for Wii

Hasbro was present at the NY Toy Fair this week, displaying its new Nerf toys. Included in the line is their Switch Shot EX-3. The device not only works as a Wii Shooter gun, it doubles as a dart blaster with a module that inserts into its remote slot. You can stow two darts in the lower half of the barrel, which also keeps an N-Strike accessory rail. Arriving in the 3rd Quarter of 2008, you will be able to get a Switch Shot for ~$15.00 or purchase one packed with the upcoming N-Strike game for Nintendo DS (no price determined thus far.)

Read More | Crave

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It Was a Great Holiday for Gaming Companies

The statistics are in and apparently it was a Nintendo Christmas. Approximately 1.4 million of the Wii console systems found their way down chimneys in December, according to a report by the NPD Group. About 2.5 million DS also were purchased. The accomplishment allowed the entire video gaming industry to over $17.9 billion in sales, 43% higher than last year. Microsoft sold nearly 1.3 million Xbox 360s and Sony managed to sell about 800,000 PS3s. As for games statistics, “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” and “Call of Duty 4” each sold over 2 million copies in December alone.

Read More | USA Today

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2007’s Ten Most Popular Episodes of Bleeding Edge TV

We know we are a couple days late, but being the extreme hardcore rockers that we are, we weren’t coherent enough to push out our top 10 most popular episodes of Bleeding Edge TV, Gear Live’s technology video show. Or something like that. Anyhoo, click through to check out the ten videos that were viewed the most in 2007. If we’ve learned anything from compiling the list, it’s that you guys love yourselves some iPhone, Bluetooth, AMD, and video games. Exclusives also seem to strike your fancy.

Click to continue reading 2007’s Ten Most Popular Episodes of Bleeding Edge TV

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Wii shortages continue, Nintendo partners with GameStop on rain check program

I just got off a press call with Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime where the focus was on the availability of the Wii console. Reggie made it clear that Nintendo never expected the success that Wii has been enjoying since launch, and therefore has remained hard to find despite ramped up production. Nintendo is hoping to help out just a bit with a couple of short-term initiatives.

Click to continue reading Wii shortages continue, Nintendo partners with GameStop on rain check program

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Tversity Adds Entertainment Diversity to Your Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360

We can’t wait to try Tversity, free software that will add even more entertainment options to your already multi-tasking PS3, Wii, or Xbox 360. Tversity allows you to stream just about any multimedia from your PC to your TV via your gaming console. Basically, if it can be played on Windows Media Player, it can be played on TV. The software also allows you to stream internet media—audio, video, RSS feeds, podcasts and images—for television viewing. This can be done by entering websites of your choice, or using Tversity’s audio and video guides. And that’s only some of this freeware’s features! Sounds like exactly what we’ve been looking for. We’ll report back after giving Tversity a test run…

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TVersity

via

Chip Chick

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Calm Before the Storm

Alijah started preschool on Monday. This will have been the third school he has attended in his short span of 3 years of being-- oh, my bad, 3 and 3/4 years. The first school he attended was a private clinic mainly for children with developmental delays, and it was a wonderful place that we still miss. The teachers and therapists there were very patient, loving, and nurturing and it is the place that helped Alijah to begin to walk at the ripe old age of 28 months when most children his age had been running circles around him for months. It was a place very focused on setting a routine for the kids and Alijah became accustomed to that and to the friends he was making for the first time. He learned how to sing songs, and use more sign language than what we were teaching him at home to communicate as he barely spoke when he started there, and when he turned 3 he graduated from that school because they only treat children under 3 years of age. We then enrolled him into a public school curriculum, yet still a class that was centered around developmentally delayed children his age, as Alijah still has some speech and social delays. This school and his last school were like night and day to us. The teachers were all great, but it seemed as if they did not have as much time to give the kids the one on one attention we had grown accustomed to. I am sure the private funding in the school he came from made all the difference but to a 3 year old, that doesn't add up to a whole lotta' beans. He was used to things a certain way so it took him a while to get adjusted to the kids and new routines. Besides that fact, this was a whole new class with a whole set of new germs so Alijah was out of school more than he was in class due to catching one thing or another every other week---no exaggeration.

Click to continue reading Calm Before the Storm

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