Sleek Black Nintendo Wii and Red Hot DSi Coming This Summer

A sleek black Wii and a red hot DSi are coming straight out of Nintendo Japan. The black Wii (or what they call "KURO Wii" to be precise) is particularly interesting as it's been rumored for over almost two years now. Maybe not that very interesting but hey, it sure looks snappy... right? Expect the ¥25,000 black Wii with matching black-colored Wiimote, nunchuck, and classic controller to hit Japan on August 1st and the ¥18,900 red DSi on July 11th.

New Sony PS3 Slim Photos Leaked?

With the Sony PS3 price cut looming around, these rumored photo leaks of the new PS3 slim could make sense. Although the company still denies the Slim’s existence, but it looks like an assembly worker may have risked life and limb to put the truth in the hands of the people. And while these photos are certainly hard to authenticate, it's still hard to ignore that we may be looking at the first images of Sony’s upcoming PS3 Slim. The PS3 logo looks new and beside that, it oddly looks cheap. That leads us connect Sony's desire to cut the PS3's price and be able to compete head-on with cheaper Wii and Xbox 360. Barely no valuable information is available at this point, so we're not expecting any sort of confirmation from Sony and will get by with these photos until any official release is made.

Xbox 360's Innovative Full-body Motion Controlled Gaming

Hot off Sony's rumored motion-sensing PS3 add on, here's another wild one for Microsoft Xbox 360. A tip from someone who allegedly got insider info that Microsoft's at it again to beat the Wii at its own motion-sensing game, which included some of the details from what we were hearing last year. The word is that Microsoft is building a "sensor bar" of sorts, but instead of detecting the waggles of Wiimote-like controllers, it detects full body movement and sound, without any Wii-like controllers. There are two sensors on the bar, along with a mic and a camera, and while nobody knows how it actually works, it sounds pretty impressive. Here's a quick rundown of capabilities mentioned:

* Full body and hand gesture control of games / characters.
* In fighting games you kick, punch, duck, dive, jump and so forth with your body.
* It also picks up small hand gestures like pinching, grabbing and scrolling.
* There will also be video conferencing and games with video.
* Trivia game over the internet with live images of each person playing. When a question pops up, they can clap to buzz in.
* You can "move objects on your screen" and the other party can see what you're doing in real time.
* Sensor detects only the person playing, not folks observing on the couch.



Everything about these new innovations could very well be a tremendous leap where motion-controlled home gaming is concerned and from the sound of it, it could definitely eclipse Sony’s solution which sounds more like catch up than anything else. In both cases however, motion control will definitely be a nice value-add for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners. We just hope Sony and Microsoft aren’t viewing these solutions as game changers — especially where sales are concerned. Sure, the Wiimote might not be unique anymore once these new products hit the market but its just one piece of the equation as far as Wii appeal goes. Of course, this could be real or just another elaborated hoax. But either way, it's only natural for Microsoft to be looking to duplicate -- and expand upon -- the wild success Nintendo has enjoyed with motion-controlled gaming.

GDC Update: Nintendo Wii to Support SDHC for Storage

Today at GDC, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's keynote revealed that the Wii will finally get SDHC support (that means compatibility with bigger SD cards reaching up 32GB) through an update that's available now.

With the new Wii Menu 4.0 update, you can download content directly from the Wii Shop Channel to your SD/SDHC, and the card will show on the Wii's main menu. You can then open the card to see your content in Channel format (up to 240 SD Channels are supported).

The Wii Menu 4.0 as previewed at GDC:


More update:
Final Fantasy is coming to Virtual Console this year. FFI and FFIV should be available before the end of the year, marking the 8 billionth time I’ve paid for FFIV in the past few years.

Upcoming Games for Nintendo Wii and DSi Revealed

Heads up Nintendo fans! Here are some upcoming games lineup for Nintendo Wii and DS, as well as the upcoming DSi.

“Rhythm Paradise” or music themed games will launch on 1 May for the DS, that uses the stylus to tap, flick or slide the touchscreen in time with a rhythm or cue.

Pokemon Platinum Version for the DS that offers wireless play for up to 20 players and is described as an “epic adventure” will be launched on May 22nd

Also due in May is “Punch-Out!!” for the Wii that promises Wii-motion ducking and weaving action for wannabe Wii pugilists

Other releases for the Wii include the “NEW PLAY CONTROL!” series that sees classic games reinvented to take advantage of Wii’s motion-sensing capabilities that will include Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

Certainly looks like a cool line up of games and features for Nintendo enthusiasts to look forward to!

Meanwhile, here are some close up photos of the electric blue DSi circulating around. Check these out.