For all of you out there who have been irritated by the wired Nunchuck attachment for the Nintendo Wii remote, the answer to your prayers is here. Nyko, a company that specializes in gaming peripherals, has announced the Wireless Nunchuck.
This product comes in two parts, a wireless version of the Nunchuck which looks very similar to the Nintendo original, and an attachment for the Wii remote. This allows the add-on to communicate with the remote using the 2.4GHz wireless frequency. It will be showcased at the upcoming CES tradeshow in the US.
Because it isn't standard with the Wii console, don't expect games to be designed for this new-found freedom. But if developers do take advantage of it, we can think of some possibilities that would have been impossible with the original tethered Nunchuck. Star Jump Exercise Adventures, anyone?
The last time we saw a HotSeat game simulator, it was a relatively bare-bones setup, at least compared with some others on the market
back then. But with competition getting increasingly insane, it clearly
needed to upgrade its offerings--lest it be named HotSeat for reasons other than
intended.
BornRich says the HotSeat 275 is a "two-seater that features a "Sony Slim PS 2 with controller, 8MB
memory card, two Dolby 5.1 surround-sound speakers with a remote control and
subwoofer unit, a copy of Grand Turismo 4 and two Logitech Driving Force
Pro force-feedback wheels with pedals"--inhaling now--"PS2 mounting bracket, two
swinging-away consoles and two cup holders".
If all that still isn't enough, it can accommodate various media players and even more speaker systems for players
ranging in height from 3ft to 6ft6.
Something tells us that whoever buys this system will be toward the latter
end of that scale, as it comes with a list price of US$4,375. Compared with last season's Ford twin-simulator at US$19,000, however, it's a bargain.
If peripherals as mundane as cable boxes and portable hard drives can draw the attention of artists and fashion designers, then certainly a home audio system can, too. And if the photo accompanying this item is any indication,
Olive Media isn't shy to make a splash of its own.
The company has updated its highly regarded line of digital
servers with a model that features the artwork of designer Karim Rashid. The Opus Nš5 Karim Edition comes in four variations, which are explained in classic art-speak by the creator himself: "I designed four unique digital graphics patterns
symbolic of our corybantic digital age. Omni-directional like sound, the
patterns emphasize the 'voluminous' beats that radiate from music. The repeated
elements are symbolic of binary notation enveloping a perfect container of
sound."
We had to look up "corybantic" in the dictionary and got this helpful definition: "being in the spirit or manner of a Corybant." Thanks a lot, Messrs.
Merriam and Webster.
US Soccer Federation, take note: If you want the sport to be as popular here as it is in the rest of the world, start marketing more products like this.
We know as much about futbol as we do about figure skating, but we'd be the first in line to get one of these soccer ball remotes that are sold in the UK. And it can actually be used as a ball to play with, according to Gizmodo, though we wouldn't recommend that if it was the only remote in the house.
It supposedly can be used for all brands of various devices, including TVs, DVD players, and satellite boxes. The ball has a range of 7.6m but, as the product listing says, "you can kick it much farther".
As if there aren't already enough alien eyeball speakers to keep us awake at night, now they're descending from the ceiling to prey upon us as well.
The pair of Venus speakers shown on the left can be stacked and suspended with a built-in cable system, housing both woofer and tweeter in their evil orbs. It's one of two ceiling-hanging systems just released by Everything But The Box, according to AudioJunkies, the other being the Sputnik 12S subwoofer pictured at right.
It's only a matter of time before the invasion begins. You've been warned.