Controller colors are so exciting, aren't they? Not really, but I'm duty bound to inform you that Wiimotes are now being made available in blue and pink flavors. At least in Japan. The new Wiimotes look like poisonous candy and will be on sale in Japan on December 3, where they will retail for ¥3,800 (US$42) apiece.

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family (also known as the nightshades). The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat, and maize. Long term storage of potatoes requires specialized care in cold warehouses and such warehouses are among the oldest and largest storage facilities for perishable goods in the world.

On Destructoid, we won't just settle for ten words and call that an article. We'll get at least two paragraphs, any way we can.

Remember that ugly/fugly/fug ugly limited edition GameStop-branded Xbox 360 controller from way back when? Why am I even asking -- how could anyone forget?

Major Nelson reminds us that the black and red beast nears ever closer. The $70 wireless controller plus Play & Charge Kit bundle begins shipping on Monday of next week. Oddly enough, the device is being offered for pre-order at this time.

Who would want to reserve such a th--I don't even want to know.

You may not have heard, but Sega's got this new thing called PlaySEGA, which is a browser-based service that lets you play old Genesis games and such. To both promote and enhance that experience, they're now offering the thoroughly awesome (color choices and dumb logo aside) USB Saturn pad you see above. 

You can try the service, free of charge, for up to 10 days. If you decide you like it and want to sign up for a three-month membership, the $14.95 you pay for that will also net you this worthy USB clone of the greatest controller ever. Of course, you could always just sign up, cancel your subscription after three months, and come away with the badass Japanese Saturn controller for only $15.

No word on whether this thing will work with your PS3 or 360, but I'd guess it probably will on PS3, as the DIY USB Saturn pads have been known to function pretty well. Probably not so much on 360, but hey, it works with a PC. And either way, you're only out fifteen bucks and you get to sample three months of great online games in the process. Sounds good to me, how about you? 

[Via HotBloodedGaming - Thanks Kreyg!]

I admit, I like fancy flash drives. I haven't purchased one yet because the price is typically rape for the extra decor, but I've certainly smiled when I've seen an innovative one. Sighted at Gizmodo yesterday, this NES mod has the NES controller transformed into a flash drive which requires a security code to access its contents. The access code? The Konami code, of course.

Clever, yes, but easy to carry around in your pocket, not so much, Still, this little nostalgic nod earned a smile from me. I wonder why no one's made a USB stick that just looks like a tiny little NES controller? I'd buy that in a heartbeat ... if it wasn't ridiculously overpriced because of its coolness.

Whenever I play Rock Band, I always use my 360 Guitar Hero 2 controller. Reasons include a functional strum bar, a solid design, and consistent functionality. That's a nice thing about the Rock Band/Guitar Hero divide, for as long as they undercut each other, those mics, drums and guitars are going to work together, by and large.

Well, I had a chance to speak with the Creative Director of DJ Hero, FreeStyleGames's Jamie Jackson, and I asked him about his game's proprietary controller. DJ Hero plays very unique, after all. Would his turntable be able to work with other games in the future, much like Guitar Hero/Rock Band?

"No," he says, after a short pause. "DJ Hero is DJ Hero. If someone needed to use our controller, then they would basically have to rip our game off." 

Of course, to be fair, the two DJ games currently announced, DJ Hero and Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, are very different products, with very little shared between the two. It would be nice to not have to buy a whole new slew of peripherals, however, which has the potential to limit sales for both games.

Unique controllers for videogames are all the rage these days now that Guitar Hero and Rock Band have shown that a game can sell profitably despite requiring them. Why stop with music games though? If a game needs a special controller for it then it should have one. Conforming to a platform's given controller is sooo last year. To hear Kenichiro Imaizmu, one of the Metal Gear Solid producers, such was the thinking of Hideo Kojima when he was first developing MGS4. The dev team tried coming up with a plethora of different ways a person could interact with the controller Imaizmu said in one of a series of videos Microsoft released showcasing developers talking about Natal.

"We tried running electric shock waves, install a pulse reader ... we also tried to build a controller that's receptive to the strength of the [player's] grip," he divulged. "We tried a lot, even a transforming controller." Given the Metal Gear series' penchant for involving the player in unique ways this isn't that far off the beaten path, but if Kojima was considering a pulse reader it makes Nintendo sound a whole bunch less crazy. Of course I think their use of the technology would have been/is completely different.

And since I rarely get to combine my love of videogames and my love and James Bond I really must add that Kojima's theoretical controller would have been shocking. Positively shocking. 

Is the fabled Wii Classic Controller PRO on its way to the North American market? Koei seems to think so. As pointed out on Siliconera, the comany's fact sheet for Samurai Warriors 3 mentions it twice, saying that the game takes total advantage of the new controller.

This wouldn't be a big deal, except that Koei is saying this in the English fact sheet; the same one we ourselves were sent. Samurai Warriors 3 ships with the controller bundled in Japan, and with the way Koei is touting its greatness in the aforementioned fact sheet, it sounds like they really want us to play it with this thing as well. Judging by all the hype, we'd be surprised if North America and Europe don't see a similar bundle when the game hits our shores in 2010.

Personally, I'd really like to have one of these. Word is, the new Monster Hunter Tri plays gorgeously with it, and I've seen a few Capcom employees singing its praises on Twitter for a while now. What do you guys think? If it's not released on its own, would you pick up Samurai Warriors 3 just to get your hands on this controller?

Sony revealed during their second press conference of the day that a bunch of older PlayStation 3 and PSN titles are getting updated to support the new Motion Controller. Here's the full list of what we can expect to work with the Motion Controller when it's released Spring 2010, so far:

• Little Big Planet
• Ape Escape
• Echochrome 2
  
• Eccentric Slider 
  
• Sing and Draw
  
• Champions of Time 
  
• Motion Party
  
• The Shoot 
  
• Tower
  
• PAIN
  
• Flower
  
• Hustle Kings
  
• High Velocity Bowling
  
• EyePet

The list above contains games that were already released and brand new titles made for the Motion Controller in mind. 

Resident Evil: Alternative Edition was also announced during this segment and it will make use of the new Motion Controller wand thingy too. We'll have more details on Resident Evil: Director's Cut later in the morning. In the mean time, what do you think about this? Happy that Sony is having these older games work with the new controller?

[via Joystiq, image via G4]

In another case of fine patent database snoopery by Siliconera, it's been discovered that Namco-Bandai is developing an inflatable drum controller for a Wii version of Taiko no Tatsujin. 

The accessory is inflated like a beach ball, and the Wiimote is then stuffed inside like the file your aunt hid in the cake she baked for your uncle Charlie in prison. There's already a Taiko no Tatsujin game on the Wii in Japan, so this could either be a way to save on manufacturing and shipping costs to bring that game stateside, or it could be a new game altogether.

The Wiimote hovers inside of the inflated device, and taps are registered through vibration on either the top or sides of the "drum." I don't know how well that would work out, but it looks like thy're doing it anyway. Personally, I'm just happy to have more Taiko no Tatsujin. Take a look at some diagrams of this thing in the gallery and let us know what you think of it.

Mad Catz makes some sexy controllers, and it was announced last month that they'd be bringing that sexy to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with some sort of controller or peripheral designed for the game. Yesterday we got info on all the dirty controllers and peripherals and, boy, are they... ugly? Don't get me wrong, I get the whole camo theme, but these are not that visually pleasing to the eye, especially when compared to the SFIV controllers.

It's not all about looks, though. The Mad Catz MW2 controllers (both for the PS3 and 360) have some rubber grips to make you more comfortable, and, more importantly, two extra buttons on the back of the controller that can be re-mapped to handle action buttons or thumbstick commands meaning that sprint or melee can be more easily performed. I'm sold right there as I hate clicking down the 360's thumbstick to perform actions. Other than the redesigned controllers for each system there will be a camo Bluetooth headset for the PS3, a camo mouse for the PC along with two camo keyboards and of course faceplates for the 360. Most of the items come in both black and white camo.

Oh, and just in case you're planning to look really official after you put on your night vision goggles, Mad Catz is offering a throat communicator for the 360. You'll be ready to sit on your couch in full army garb in no time! Full info and pricing after the jump.

Check that bad boy out. Mad Catz have just announced their newest Tournament Edition Fightstick today, and as you can see above, it features artwork from Marvel Vs Capcom 2. Hot on the heels of their Femme Fatale stick, this one will be available for Xbox 360 and PS3 in Fall 2009.

Mad Catz have been working closely with Capcom on these sticks, and both companies seem quite happy with the final result. Hopefully we'll agree when we get our hands on them. Each piece will be distributed in individually-numbered Collector's Edition packaging, and are loaded with features you can read about in the press release afte the jump. Not least of these is a set of 8 delicious 30mm Sanwa buttons. Mmm, Sanwa.

I know I want one. Get a closer look at it in the gallery and let us know what you think.

When we saw the PlayStation motion controller unveiled at E3, it certainly looked interesting, but Sony didn't give us much to go on. Details? There were none. They were like here's this thing you can wave around. Now we know what's up, thanks to an interview with PlayStation R&D man Richard Marks. No, not the singer/songwriter.

The interview, found on the PlayStation.blog, takes us through the development of the PlayStation Motion Controller. Toward the end, you get to hear about some of the updates to the controller, including the addition of an analog trigger and rumble support.

As for the analog trigger, Marks says that it fits the bill for picking items up with varying pressure. Think of it as a control for grip power. The placement on the controller looks as if you'd grab something like you would with a pair of tongs. That could be neat. Marks calls the action a metaphor for squeezing, and teased at some unannounced usages of this capability.

The rumble gives you tactile feedback, just like any other controller these days. 

Marks also touched on how the device detects what you do with it. It seems that a camera tracks on-screen placement and 3D depth, while internal sensors give angles and tilt. The combination, they say, gives this controller a new level of accuracy. From what we saw in this video, the control looks highly accurate.

Watch the full interview below.

I am writing this particular post at 2 a.m. in the morning, and so at this moment my 360 controller, which is sitting right next to me, is looking like it might make an excellent pillow. I'll just rest my head here and then... oh god! The joystick is in my ear! The joystick is in my ear! I need to get to a hospital. Perhaps I should have gone with something more akin to the above image (be prepared for shirtless nerd if you follow that link), then I wouldn't be bleeding profusely from my head.

Sadly, that amazingly comfortable looking pillow was simply a one-off creation from a loving and caring girlfriend (my fiancee fell back asleep when I asked her to drive me to the hospital). The pillow was made by Crafty Heidi for her man, Joe. It gives him lumbar support, but if you want lumbar support you'll have to go elsewhere. You know, like ebay. Here you can find some far less sizable, but still shaped like a 360 controller, pillows. Maybe you could save that money though and send it to me. I have a feeling that removing a 360 controller from one's head might be pricey.

Last week we all went down guns ablazin' as everyone duked it out over what the better FPS gun was. One side was armed with a gravity gun, and man did they do a lot of damage. Unfortunately, the other side was equipped with a portal gun, and dodged just about all the incoming attacks. I loved reading the very logical discussion over the very illogical game physics and concepts applied in our own world, proving many robotic readers have certified Dtoid debate degrees. Once the energy field dust settled, here were the final results:

• Gravity gun (28 votes) -- No cake for you!
• Portal gun (67 votes) -- Cake winners! Just kidding!

This week we widen the scope for a debate that focuses on not just two weapons, not two games, but two entire game series. Let me repeat myself: this is a Guitar Hero series versus Rock Band series debate. To choose a winner this week you must ponder plenty of playlists, half a dozen instrument controllers and their corresponding interfaces, and enough extra audio and visual information to make an A/V club member cream his or her RCA connectors.

Which series do you like better as a whole, and why? What aspects or individual games of the series made up your mind? Give it some serious thought, get your bando' friends to share their opinions as well, and check back next week for the winner.

Bonus Question: What was one thing you did not enjoy about the series you voted for?

Logitech has announced its new G27 racing wheel peripheral, and it almost looks nicer than what's probably in your actual car. This serves to replace the G25, and makes some improvements over that predecessor as well. The new wheel face now has six buttons instead of two, and the shifter has a centering spring and better engagement feel, with a new diagonal-cut helical gear system.

The new RPM/shift indicator has a 10-LED display that developers can use to show redline or anything they choose. The pedals have also been upgraded with an option for horizontal adjustment, and taller standoffs to make for smoother downshifting. If you want all the smaller deets on what's changed since the G25, Logitech has a blog post up that can serve your needs.

The G27 is compatible with both PC and PlayStation 3. No word yet on a release date, but it will retail for $300, and is available now for pre-order direct from Logitech. I think I'll stick with my Dualshock 3. Any serious business racing fans out there looking forward to this?

I love all the old retro appeal of my original Atari controllers, but I tell you what, you tell me I can play with a grenade controller instead and those old things would get retired for a while. I mean, it's a GRENADE. It's even called The Terminator. How badass does one's gaming experience get?

We spotted these over at CrunchGear today. Made in Denmark, they were posted on the Flickr page of a user named Klonoaxero who says he picked up from a friend. Rare find! I notice the packaging reads "design patent pending". I guess it might have been hard to talk parents into buying a controller that could be chucked at the heads of little brothers and sisters if a "Hey, I wanna play MY game" fight got too nasty.

My favorite thing about growing up with a Nintendo 64 were all the different controller colors there were to choose from. Each member of my family got their favorite color and used it exclusively during our nightly rounds of Mario Kart 64. There was red for me, black for mom, green for the older sister, blue for the little sister, and my stepfather was content with the original gray. We even picked up a spare translucent green along the way for guests to use. It may seem a little silly, but each of us grew really attached to our color, deeming them good luck to their rightful owner and a curse upon anyone else who picked them up. It was a nice little extra to our family gaming time.

Sadly, there hasn't been that much color variation in console controllers this generation outside of the Xbox 360. But it seems that Sony is aiming to change this. A while back, they announced "Deep Red" and "Metallic Blue" DualShock 3 controllers, and now that the release date of October is drawing near, we finally have a picture showing what these colors look like. One is a nice royal blue, and the other a standard but pretty red. It's only two new colors to add to the black, white and silver colors that are currently available, but it's a start.

Now that you know what they look like, which one do you want to go for? I'm really liking the red myself, since, well, I have quite a history winning games with a red controller between my hands. And once I have it, no one else can touch it. No one!

[Via Joystiq]

Robomodo president Josh Tsui said some interesting things about potential applications for the skateboard controller his company made for the upcoming Tony Hawk: Ride. According to a post over at Kotaku, Tsui made comments about the typical sorts of games we're all expecting, snowboarding and surfing, before offering up something a little juicier: Silver Surfer and Hobgoblin.

This is not anything resembling confirmation that titles such as these are in development, but the potential is exciting. I'd love to fly around as the Surfer and wield the Power Cosmic, performing my duty as a herald of Galactus. Playing a game where I'm the Hobgoblin, indiscriminately pumpkin bombing Manhattan is pretty appealing too.

Activision's partnership with Robomodo makes the them quite possible too, what with the company's long history of publishing games based on Marvel properties. Would you be interested in playing games like this using a board controller?

They say that everything worth inventing has been invented. While cool, this Nintendo Entertainment System controller doorbell fails to disprove such a notion.

Although the controller has been rigged in such a way that hitting any button, including the d-pad, causes the doorbell to go off, the result is simply a standard ring. As GossipGamers suggests, the Super Mario Bros. theme would have been more fitting, but I would have gone with the Mega Man 2 boss intro song just for the hell of it.

There's one thing I can't help but wonder about, and that's how many people will see the NES controller and somehow be able to resist its charm. I get the feeling that the poor guy's doorbell is going to be ringing constantly.

Like semi-futuristic technology that *exists* and is actually purchasable? Enjoy groping robots? Tired of me asking pointless questions? Then here's something you might find interesting: Valve's added support for the Novint Falcon 3D controller to Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Half-Life 2: Episode 1 & 2.

Niero was impressed by the controller all the way back in 2007, but as you can see from the image above, there's now a pistol grip attachment for the Falcon that adds a whole new level of realism to the whole ordeal. Judging by this video demonstration, capping people has never been so enjoyable (and safe).

If there was one thing the arguably pricey controller needs, it's more supported games, and this latest batch is admittedly rock solid.

The United States Armed Forces love videogames. Between the training simulators created for actual training purposes to the America's Army series of games intended for recruitment, we see the military using our hobby in all sorts of ways. Now, they're using game controllers to direct the actions of unmanned vehicles.

Lockheed Martin's Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment (MULE for short) is an all-terrain vehicle on crack. The gear-carrying drone can traverse difficult terrain with ease using its advanced suspension design. The damn thing is even capable of rolling over obstructions and gaps of up to a meter in size. MULEs can be programmed to reach their destinations on their own or, as seen in this video found by CVG, directed manually using an remote control -- in this case, an Xbox 360 controller.

This is all well and good, but not exactly the MULE I had in mind for the hardware. Check out video of the thing in action after the jump.

I've held on to this for a little while now because I didn't want it to get lost in everything that came out of E3. I was surprised that I didn't really hear anybody talking about it at the show. That up there is the Peregrine and, while it looks like a sleeker version of the Power Glove, this thing appears to actually do what it claims.

Peregrine is a USB input device for mapping keyboard commands. Three contacts are found on the tip of the thumb, the meat of the thumb and along the palm. Running all along the fingers are conductive leads -- up to four per finger -- that, when touched to one of the contact points, issues the mapped command for that combination of lead and contact. There are over thirty combinations (far more are possible but impractical from an accuracy standpoint).

And see that little pad thing on the back of the glove? That's the heart of the device. It attaches magnetically so that users won't have to remove the glove to make a fridge or bathroom run. It also stores all of the configuration settings in flash memory so that the Peregrine can be taken to any computer that uses a keyboard and work right away.

Originally designed for the purpose of data entry using two gloves, it was determined that the learning curve was too great when trying to represent the entire keyboard but the possibilities for RTS and even MMO gamers are very intriguing. I, for one, can't wait to try one out when it releases in fall of this year. It's currently planned to retail at $129.99.

What do you guys think? Big pimpin' or big waste of time?

As reported earlier this week, Sony announced and demonstrated their motion controlling technology for the PS3. While the news, by Internet standards, is now eight billion years old, we still have the video coverage from Sony's conference for you to peruse.

Yay! 

When Sony showed off their SIXAXIS back in the day, it was pretty lame. Still is, actually. But, as Sony is announcing right now at their press conference, Sony has bigger plans for PS3 motion controllers.

It may be hard to see in the photos, but Sony is developing a motion controller that utilizes the Playstation Eye to track one-to-one movements of both the player and the controller. While still early in development, the tech demos shown reflect true motion tracking and included multiple types of games that can be enhanced from the motion controls. 

While the presenter stressed that the appearance of the controller is not final and won't look as it does above, it is supposedly so precise that you can write with it. It wasn't stated when this controller will be released, but when it is Sony will also join Nintendo and Microsoft in the motion control arena. 

[Picture totally screencapped from IGN's live feed.] 

Rumors have been swirling that Microsoft will be launching their very own in house motion controller come E3. Third party companies are already all up on it so why wouldn't Microsoft get in on it themselves or at least design games for it? Signs are pointing to the rumors coming true as Microsoft has put up a job listing that sounds like its for someone who wants to work with motion controls.

The listing states, "Are you interested in shipping innovative games that will change the way people play? If so, we want you to join our team to work on an amazing next-generation project, built from the ground up, in Microsoft Game Studios. We are building a NEW GAME STUDIO from the ground up that will revolutionize both WHAT you play and HOW you play. You have the chance to get in on the ground floor and work with professionals responsible for some of the industry's greatest innovations to date. (Emphasis in the original.)"

Let's run down the key points: built from the ground up, revolutionize how you play, innovate ideas. Sounds exactly like the PR line for the Wii and its motion controls don't it? Of course motion controls are totally original, just ask Bill Gates. 

With E3 just around the corner, the Turntable-based Game Wars are coming to a head. In one corner, we have Activision’s much-talked-about DJ Hero; in the other, Genius Inc.’s Scratch. Both set for release later this year, and both of which we’ll see at next week’s E3.

Today, we present to you the controller for Scratch. The controller features a free-spinning, touch sensitive turntable with a crossfader, along with “5 Akai Pro MPC-style drum pads” (this means “buttons,” to us gamers). The turntable will be used to manipulate music in real time, with the drum pads used to trigger game samples. The game will ship with pre-loaded samples, but you’ll also be able to record your own, using a compatible USB microphone (which, from how it sounds, won’t be shipping with the game).

So what do you think of the look of the Scratch deck versus what you’ve already seen from Activision’s offering? Next week, we'll have a chance to (literally) go for a spin with the deck. I think it's ultimately all about the gameplay; let's hope it holds up that end of the bargain.

Playing games on the Classic Controller for the N64 on your Wii is fantastically wrong. If you've ever tried to play through Sin & Punishment with that thing you know there are some games that require the unique design of the N64 controller. Hell, Even though holding the Wii Remote sideways in order to play Super Mario Bros. on your Wii is functional there's just a certain je ne sais quoi missing from the affair. If only every Nintendo controller ever (barring the Virtual Boy) could hook up to the Wii.

Oh look, they can! Innex will be producing the 3-in-1 Virtual Retro Adaptor for the Wii. The converter will function with the NES, SNES and N64 controllers from first or third party sources. The N64 controller will have analog controls too. The adaptor simply plugs into the Wii's GameCube controller slots and then your retro controllers plug into it. Getting those retro controllers is entirely up to you, but if you're a gamer worth your salt you've got an old NES controller laying around somewhere and your N64 is most likely still under your television. 

While we've known about DJ Hero since late last year, but beyond the title and the fact that the game was in development, details were somewhat scant (unless of course, you want to go to that official site and listen to endless cheering). However, on the official Twitter page for the game, some new pictures popped up a few hours ago: the very first images of the turntable controller!

It's cool looking, no doubt, but I can't help wonder how it will feel to actually work with. I'm also curious if it actually turns or you just fiddle with the three buttons on top -- it looks like the latter. It's hard to tell the size since there's no point of comparison, but I'd imagine it can't be life-sized -- that's be kind of a pain to store, after all. Who knows? What do you think of this thing?

Have you ever wondered what airport security sees when you're traveling some place with every console you own? I do that all the time and have wondered it often. Sadly, peaking around is strictly verboten and so fulfilling that dream has been impossible -- until now.

Someone (here's hoping its some resident who is misusing his hospitals x-ray machine) has x-rayed a whole ton of gaming consoles so we can all see what the insides look like without taking our precious gaming consoles apart. The Wii classic controller looks like a robotic owl, no? And look how much space is wasted in the Atari and the N64. Of course we all remember the first videogame console ever, the coconut (if anyone can logically answer why that is there I'll give them an internet hug).

One look at the remote above, and I have to admit I feel my heart sinking a little. I like my 360 exactly how it is -- it doesn't need motion control. Well, that's only the way I feel: enthusiasts of the Wii's control scheme may be wishing their 360 had a remote to work with. Thanks to Performance Designed Products, this remote will be compatible with the Xbox 360 later this fall, and a PS3 version may be coming in the future as well.

Instead of waiting for developers to work on titles specifically designed for the remote, PDP has actually decided to design their own with the help of UK developers In2Games. Called Squeeballs, it's a distinctive looking minigame collection that features 11 different games. I like the look of the games, but the fact it's a minigame collection makes me cringe a little, I'll admit. Anyway, check out the trailer for Squeeballs after the jump.

The GameTrak Freedom will be in Q4 of this year. There's no pricing set as of yet, but we'll likely find out fairly soon. In addition, PDP also unveiled a product called the SmartStylus which can be used with the Nintendo DS. it basically sounds like a stylus that vibrates to me, which moves into dirty territory with frightning swiftness the more I think about it. We'll bring you more on that as it comes, but for now the product is still awaiting licensing from Nintendo.

Are you interested in using a remote to play the 360? If so, why?

[Picture Via IGN]

Mmmm, red 360. Red is not only one of my favorite colors but the shade of my Japanese PSP, and if I didn't already own a 360 I'd be all over the red one. More good news recently popped up for European gamers -- the controller bundle in the matching red will soon be available for sale (Friday, March 13th to be exact).

The limited edition bundle will come with matching play and charge kit and will retail for £39.99. A little pricey, sure, but if you're th ekind of gamer that wants a red 360 in the first place, here's to betting you're willing to drop the cash to get four matching controllers so your friends can come over and bask in all your pimp glory.

[Via Virgin Media]

I love everything about the look of the Super Famicom, and I can't deny I have a few original controllers hanging around my house somewhere. That being said, fans of the design like me may be attracted to this new Classic Controller from CodeJunkies, which can be used with your Wii and retails for $19.99. Also comes with Turbo fire!

I like the idea, but at the same time I think I'd rather own real Famicom products than lookalikes (although I can't use the real thing with my Wii, so I can see why this would be an attractive prospect). If you decided to skin your Wii with a matching theme though, I'll bet you'd elicit some oohs and aahs from guests with similar interests for sure!

Monster Hunter G is finally coming to Japanese Wiis this April 23rd, and no doubt it will sell a billion copies due to the country's obsession with the Monster Hunter series. For 3,990 yen, you score the game plus a demo for Monster Hunter 3 tri and a promotional game card.

If you want to spend just a tad more, you can shell out your 5,240 yen and get a special edition of the Wii classic controller in blue with the game logo on it.It's not bad looking, but the appeal of the Monster Hunter series still goes over my head -- I played the two PSP games, and while they were far from poor, I didn't feel the intense addiction that thousands of other gamers obviously do. On the other hand, getting addicted to buying the toys from the series is a no-brainer.

It has also been confirmed that the game will require Wii points to play online, but there is no set price yet. We'll probably hear more details on that very soon.

If you're into Monster Hunter, can you help me to understand the addiction?

[Via Cubed3]

Earlier this afternoon, Dexter345 tipped us on the strange fact that this horrid-looking Wiimote from Nyko took home the CES award for Best of Show. In true Dtoid fashion, this led to an email thread a mile long, throughout the course of which we discussed videogame controllers in general.

Which ones do we love? Which ones do we hate? How does Dexter like having a torrent of nonsense destroy his inbox for the day? How would YOU like it? Hit the jump to find out. 

A few days ago we told you that Nyko has a new Wii remote in the works. Not to call anyone out, but some were quick to write it off as a poor knockoff when we ran the story. Days later, this device won CNET's "Best of CES" award for Hottest Video Game Product of 2009. To get the lowdown, Nyko had us over to check it out.

Guess what? It's pretty slick. We didn't conduct a full-blown test, but we did get to check it out and play a bit of Wii Sports. We instantly noticed an improved hand feel over the standard Wii Remote when we got our hands on it. The underside "B" button is rubberized for an improved grip and feel. And the buttons, although square, are easier to hit and feel responsive. 

The Trans-Port technology we reported on earlier promises to be pretty neat, too. We managed to get our hands on a protoype gun controller (shown in our gallery). It looks like Nyko's Perfect Shot, but upgraded for the Wand. Of course, using the Trans-Port technology, the triggers were changed from mechanical to digital, improving the feel and response time of the gun. This makes any previous mechanical-based Wii gun tech look and feel clunky in comparison. 

We'd want to play with the Wand a bit more to make a full judgement, but we like what we've seen so far. Our impressions are that this is a much better controller than the standard Wii Remote.

When it comes to all things CES, words only mean so much. Anyone can claim to have the hottest, most feature-packed device on the planet, but you truly need to see the product in question to believe.

CNET got its hands on the Sixense control system, which is essentially a Wii remote with the accuracy of a Bullet Hell aficionado. The remote utillizes a technology called TrueMotion to measure exactly what position the controller is in, allowing for much more realistic on-screen movement.

Developers have had the tools necessary to integrate TrueMotion into their games for over a year now, and come this December, when the Sixense controller ships, a few PC titles will support the tech.

Crysis, Call of Duty 4, and Madden were listed as examples of compatible games, but Sixense says we won't be seeing a console version of its remote until 2010 at the earliest. I must say, I'm liking what was shown in the video demonstration.

Vile sinners, gaze in awe and wonder at this instrument of darkness, and ask in confusion and horror why your Lord has forsaken you. This ... beast ... is the twisted brainwrong of Nyko, a third party Wiimote being hailed as "the most advanced Wii remote yet."

The Nyko Wand is similar to the Nintendo product we are all familiar with, except it looks a bit like it was designed by half-crazed, starving Oompa Loompas on the back of a thirty day coke binge. It uses Trans-Port technology, a term Nyko probably made up on the day, to add extra functionality to compatible devices. 

For example, the Nyko Wand will work with a new pistol grip that allows full force-feedback and a way to access the 1 and 2 buttons without having to reach over the top. Another major innovation is the gigantification of the buttons, which Nyko claims will enhance usability when the remote is strapped into one of the many gaudy accessories available on the market.

It's also batsh*t insane, in case you haven't noticed.

It's been awhile since Nintendo filed suit against third-party peripherial manufacturer Nyko over their Kama wireless Nunchuk controller for the Wii. Yeah, those kinky ones. Nintendo had beef with the product, calling it a copy of their offering, calling infringement on their designs and trademarks. Imagine that! They also didn't like that it carried the word "nunchuk" in its name.

A press release today says that they've worked it all out. They don't really say how it all went down, but we do know that Nyko's Kama controller, winner of an award at last year's CES, will continue to be sold. 

And now, two vague canned statements from the companies:

"We are pleased to have resolved this dispute," said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. "The Nunchuk and Wii brands are familiar to consumers worldwide, and Nintendo is dedicated to vigorous defense of those brands."

"Nyko Technologies is proud to be an industry leader in gaming accessories," said Herschel Naghi, CEO of Nyko, "and we will continue to develop exciting products for the benefit of the gaming community."

Here's an interesting bit of kit being shown off at Tokyo Game Show. This is the FragFX 2, designed by SplitFish. It's a PS3 controller designed for FPS games which provides the benefits of a mouse. Note the nunchuk-like apparatus on the left end, the plastic mousepad (which may or may not be attached to the nunchuk; it's unclear from the photo) and the four Playstation buttons along the thumb-side of the mouse.

Somewhat surprising to me is that there's some criticism of the device coming out. Ian Dean of Playstation World Magazine has been quoted saying, "It defeats the point of playing on console, really. If you want to use a mouse and keyboard play COD4 on a PC, the PS3 pad is perfectly set-up to play FPS." He goes on to suggest that, "it's a gimmick few PS3 owners really want." 

I can understand the concern from console players that the introduction of this peripheral could unbalance play, as we all know the advantages of using a mouse in an FPS game. That said, I don't want to play Call of Duty 4 or any other FPS on my PC. That's why I own consoles. Just because I play my games on consoles does not mean that I would not prefer to play these titles with the control scheme best suited to doing so.

There are a few questions I have about it, though. If the device works as it is being touted, would you consider buying one to step up your game? Could this sort of thing create a bit of an arms race as people attempt to maintain equal footing? Or, alternately, could it hurt the FPS space by limiting the number of players interested in playing with people who might have an advantage simply because of their controller?

[Via TechRadar]

I'm not normally one to be overly interested in a controller of all things, but this sexy new red Xbox 360 pad has caught my eye. A limited edition run, this new pad boasts a shiny paint job and the new Play & Charge cable for easy recharging. Plus it now matches the color of your console's inevitable red rings! The peripheral and charge cable will set you back $64.99.

We already heard about a controller with an improved D-Pad hitting Europe this year, but it's not known if the design specs are the same as this one, which doesn't mention anything about a new D-Pad. Either way, here's the full sales pitch from Microsoft: