Fujifilm Corp. and Nintendo Co. Ltd have collaborated to launch a new photo printing service exclusively for the Nintendo Wii gamers. The  "Wii Digicam Print Channel" is available only to Japanese Wii users and lets them upload images from SD cards to receive customized photo products like prints, business cards and photo books.

The Price List is:


* Photo print - L / 3R sized (127 x 89mm / 5" x 3.5"), ¥30 including tax
* Business card - Standard Japanese business card (91 x 55mm / 3.6" x 2.2"), ¥500 including tax for a set of 30 cards
* Photo book -
o A4, 6-page ring bound (297 x 210mm / 11.7" x 8.3"), ¥2,480 including tax
o Square, 20-page ring bound (152 x 152mm / 6" x 6"), ¥1,575 including tax

via digitalcamerainfo 

WiiBrew is proud to present the Wii Pack Generator! For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept of a Pack Generator, I'll give you a quick rundown. The Wii Pack Generator is a web based utility that allows you to select from the most recent, up to date, and high quality homebrew for your Nintendo Wii and create a custom pack. All of the homebrew you select will be added into a .zip or .exe file with the correct structure for easy, ready to go extraction onto your SD card.

Get homebrew on your Wii, the easy way! Just select what you want, download, extract to the root of your SD card, and run using the Homebrew Channel! Don't have the Homebrew channel, but have Twilight Princess? Have no fear, we've got you covered. Just download the necessary files at the top of the homebrew list, run the Twilight Hack (we've got a video tutorial if you don't know how), and the Homebrew Channel will be installed automatically for you. Ready to start downloading? Then simply click the Wii Pack Generator banner or follow the link below. Special thanks goes out to BrentBizzle for his hard work with updating and filling the Pack Generator to make all of this possible!  If you like our Pack Generator or need help, be sure to join our forums and let us know!  We always appreciate getting new members in the Brewology community!

via .brewology 

It's finally happened. Nintendo realized that there are many wasted batteries in their wireless Wii remote controllers. To solve this problem they tied up with Sanyo Japan to create a custom battery pack based on Sanyo's eneloop concept. Now your gaming will no longer be interrupted by constantly switching out batteries.

Their idea is to replace the back of your current remote with this pack. You never have to take it out again. Instead when you're finished playing you place it in a charger stand, or cradle, that doesn't even touch the battery. It can even charge through the silicon Wii remote jackets that Wii released last year. Just put it in the stand and in 220 minutes the battery is ready to go. Stands can be daisy chained so that remotes can be charged sequentially (not simultaneously) from a single AC adaptor. Now you don't have to have four plugs to automatically charge all four remotes overnight.

We're very happy to see this development, but the sad part is that they'll only be available in Japan for now. You people around the world, be sure to voice your opinion that we all need this licensed battery back and charger!

via akihabaranews 

Sometimes, it really sucks to be the little guy (especially if the big guy you're up against is Nintendo). Take Forbis Technologies, for example, who came out with the Weemote (and trademarked the name in 2000) long before the Wii even launched.

Nintendo never officially refers to the Wii's controller as a Wiimote, and always calls it by the full name Wii Remote. Retailer and blog outlets such as ourselves are the cause of the problem, however, as we constantly use the unofficial nickname. Ever since the term "Wiimote" caught on, though, the Weemote's sales have "fallen considerably."

Game Politics recently talked to John Stephen, who owns the firm that manufactures the Weemote. Not only has the term Wiimote managed to cut into Weemote sales, but also, the company has been forced to spend a lot of money and resources protecting its trademark. The firm recently sent out over 100 cease-and-desist letters to retailers and resellers, asking them not to use the term "Wiimote" anymore (here's an example). If the firm doesn't take such actions, they'll lose the trademark by default. In either case, they lose something, making it a lose-lose situation of sorts for Forbis.

Ideally at this point, Nintendo would just buy the trademark from Forbis and the small firm would rebrand the company. Of course, Nintendo refused such an offer -- as Stephen explains, "The reality is we have no leverage and they are already getting a free ride. So I guess their position is why pay for something that is already free!"

Stephen knows that Nintendo's success from the word "Wiimote" has been mostly unintentional, but wishes the mega-company would do the right thing and purchase the trademark, even though they're not under legal obligation to do so. In the real world, though, the chances of that happening are slim to none.

Who knows, maybe the Big N will go and surprise us. But until then, our heart is breaking for the little guy.

via nintendowiifanboy 

Wii MotionPlus -- the Wii Remote attachment revealed Eurogamer), Nintendo's Katsuya Eguchi confirmed the one possibility under consideration is to update the Wii Remote to include the MotionPlus technology.

As to looking at whether or not it will be an attachment or built-in -- we're always looking at how hardware should evolve and where we should take it," Eguchi said. "Unfortunately, I don't have a definite direction to give you today, but it's something we'll be looking at."

Sure, all of the people who already own a Wii (and in case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of them) will still have to buy the add-on for any games that support it, but at least building it into the controller would help Nintendo keep its user base from getting too splintered. But Eguchi said that the company is considering limiting MotionPlus support to a select number of games. "[It] might be good to keep it as an attachment we only use for certain software."

Eguchi also stated that he doesn't believe MotionPlus is in some way an acknowledgment that the original Wii Remote isn't satisfactory. "Of course, you always want more, and as we were working on [Wii Sports Resort], we thought it would be nice to have more than what we had," he said. "But we're not dissatisfied with [the original Wii Sports] at all. We're very happy with what we did."

via news.yahoo 

Wii Rock Band Drum Kit Pics

Though few suspected otherwise, it was confirmed a while ago that the Wii was destined to receive its own set of drums upon the upcoming launch of Rock Band on the console. Early pictures revealed the drum kit to be composed of Wii-matching white plastic, but exact details as to possible differences with the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions remained unknown. Today we got the chance to put the new Wii drums side by side with an original-release Xbox 360 version to see exactly how they compare.

In truth, the Wii Rock Band drums are composed of the some components used in the remodeled kits now supplied with 360 and PS3 versions of Rock Band. This means they're rocking the newly strengthened kick pedal and the somewhat softer drum pads. Compared to the original drum kit that shipped with the early units of the game, the changes are relatively obvious, as the much thicker spring in the Wii drums' kick pedal illustrates.
 

Wii owners planning to adopt Rock Band on their Nintendo machine should be glad that they'll be receiving the upgraded drum kit, as owners of the early shipments of Rock Band on the PS3 and 360 must wait until their drum kits break to upgrade to the new and better components. Those who have yet to buy Rock Band for any system shouldn't fret, as at this point, any new Rock Band stock for any of the systems will include the new drum kit. As such, if you have the option, buy Rock Band for any console that's not the Wii, as you'll get the same drums (in black) and have access to downloadable content.

via gear.ign 

Wiispray prototype graffiti controller for Wii

Nintendo’s non-traditional interface for the Wii console lends itself to any number of odd controller hacks and designs, and the latest is this prototype Wiispray can.  Part of Martin Lihs’ final thesis at Bauhaus-University in Weimar, Germany, the can-style casing contains a dismembered Wiimote coupled to a nozzle button.  It can be used to manipulate an on-screen virtual spraycan, with different paints and color options that are controlled by realistic graffiti movements.

Although still early in the development process, it suggests another type of game platform and a fresh twist on the tired “art” app.  The success of custom controllers for specific titles suggests that gamers are interested in a more realistic interaction than permitted by a standard joypad.  Lihs plans to integrate a communal wall for collaborative graffiti in the eventual software title, that would allow ‘players’ to work on the same art project.

Rather than a specially designed can, though, it would seem easier to make a Wiispray ‘caddy’ into which the Wiimote could slot.  Some clever thinking could link the nozzle button to one of the Wiimote’s controls via mechanical rather than electrical means; price would also be reduced....

via slashgear