Quotable Quotes on the Wii

The Wii is Nintendo's cash-cow nowadays, but I'm not really a fan of the console. However, I must admit that Nintendo did something right this time, compared to the whole Gamecube thing. The following quotes came from me, from just one conversation earlier tonight:

"I don't like the idea of waving my remote at the television; I only do that when it's out of batteries" - referring to how some games require you to move the Wii-mote around.

"I jog twice a week, play badminton and do weight lifting, no Wii is gonna give me that" - replying to the misconception that the Wii is an exercise machine.

Nintendo Collectibles

It's a pretty interesting month for Nintendo related collectibles but I've yet to get any of them. First up is the Animal Crossing Character Keychain (Theater Version) collection. Released by Banpresto and featuring 8 characters from the game, it's pretty expensive (USD 4.99 each) compared to whatever Yujin has released in relation to Animal Crossing. Details on purchasing are available at Play-Asia (click here).

Next up is the nostalgia inducing Super Mario Bros keychain collection. These are by Nintendo and are selling for USD 4.99 each. Details on purchasing are available at Play Asia (click here)
I learned the meaning of a new term today while looking up the following item. The Japanese word "sofubi" stands for "soft vinyl" in English and it's used to describe the Nintendo Super Mario Bros. Sofubi Figure collection. This collection consists of the mushrooms featured in the game and while the Super mushroom is sold separate from this collection, the rest are selling for USD 2.49 each (note that they measure 3 to 5 cm in height).

Purchase details for the Sofubi collection can be found at PA (click here)
Pokemon fans would probably take notice of the Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl Nintendo DS Card Case by Banpresto.They are pretty unique as these card cases take the form of pokeballs which open up to show the card slot and a pokemon inside! Purchase details, as usual, are available at Play-Asia (click here)

Stand Magnet-ed

That word in the title would probably earn itself several disputes on the Scrabble board, but no matter as I'm reviewing a particular Nintendo DS accessory which I"ve grown fond of rather quickly. The Magnet Stand is a simple solution to my problem with trying to have the DS propped in a manner which doesn't require me to lean forward from my seat to observe what is going on in BOTH screens.

The Magnet Stand came with the rest of my stuff on Tuesday and it came in a simple white box. However, if you've seen the user manual for the Japanese Nintendo DS, you'll find that it's illustrated with cartoons. The same goes for the Magnet Stand as it is an official product; the cartoons depicting the proper use of the stand is located at the back of the box.


This is the bottom partion of the stand, known as the feet. The feet has two strips of pretty strong magnets (hence the name Magnet Stand). These magnets help the unit to remain fixed onto any metallic surfaces including white boards.


This is the top portion of the Magnet Stand. It has a Slot-2 interface which is used to secure the DS to the stand.


The stand opens up (ala Transformers), and the picture above is a rear shot of the stand. The slant of the stand can be adjusted to up to 4 different degrees. When not in use, the entire unit is collapsible, allowing for easy storage in my bag. The picture below is of my DS and the stand.

The only problem that I've faced is that the Slot-2 of the Nintendo DS has to be left empty as it is used to secure the DS with the Magnet Stand. This prevents the user from utilizing the Rumble Pak or playing GBA games.

However, I'm very satisfied with my purchase and the item is still on sale at Play-Asia for USD 7.90 (here)

Raining Down On The Wii Parade

A friend of mine asked me today which next-gen console I would rather get. Most people would expect me to pick the Nintendo Wii given that I'm a proud owner of a DS, but I've something to say that would make Nintendo fanboys cringe. Price point aside, the release of the Wii as Nintendo's next-gen console is in my opinion is a faux pas.

Fanboys will be keen to point out that aside from me being an idiot, the Wii features innovative gameplay due to its unconventional controller which incorporates motion sensing. Fanboys fail to realize that throughout video game history, innovations introduced by Nintendo like this have always been successfully implement by rival consoles.

Examples include the analog stick introduced in the controller for the Nintendo 64 as well as the rumble feature provided by the Rumble Pak. These features were incorporated into the Playstation 2's controller, the Dual Shock 2 as well as the controller for the Microsoft Xbox. With current advances in technology, it is likely that these two companies to introduce these features in their next-gen consoles, the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

As it is, the Xbox 360 is a compelling option. Currently priced just below RM 1500 for the Premium Package, it is cheaper than both the Wii and Playstation 3 on Malaysian shores, both of which are parallel imported into this country. Already a mature platform due to its one year head start on Sony and Nintendo, the Xbox 360 has an impressive library of games (I would like to play Gears of War, Viva Pinata and PGR 3) and has amazing graphics and processing abilities that overwhelm that of the Wii and currently delivers one of the better online experience among the 3 consoles.

Another aspect of the 360 that interests me is the ease in writing software for it. Sure, aspiring developers will have to pay an annual subscription fee but not many console makers are willing to do that and instead make developers pay for expensive licenses and development kits.

I'm looking forward to getting one this year, and a HDTV to go along with it, bar any problems.

Connect the Pegs

Trust the Land of the Rising Sun to come up with something quirky. Some call it a puzzle, some call it weird, some call it "some more Japanese stuff", just what are they referring to? These are some comments I got for a push-peg puzzle which I purchased just recently with my copy of Winning Eleven DS (review here).

Produced by Tomytec of Japan, the push-peg puzzle that I purchased is one part of 6 puzzles that make up the Dot-S Collection Nintendo Version. This Nintendo licensed collection commemorates characters from notable game franchises such as Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong.

Each push-peg puzzle comes with a push peg board and quite a number of pegs for you to recreate the pixelated form of a particular video game character. The one that I've got features Link from the Zelda series. I was provided with enough pegs to depict Link in two different kinds of poses, one from the front and the other from the side.


Additional "recipes" can be found at the Dot-S website, although you may need pegs from more than one puzzle to actually accomplish some.

To get your very own push-peg puzzle at Play-Asia.com, click here!

Pity the Kid

This just in from the BBC website about a kid who got arrested for opening his Christmas gift, a Nintendo game console, early. The person who called the men in blue... his mum:

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Arrest over opened Christmas gift

A South Carolina mother has had her 12-year-old son arrested for opening his Christmas presents early.

The boy was taken into custody after his mother discovered he had entered his great-grandmother's house and taken presents from their hiding place.

The boy was handcuffed and taken to a local police station on petty larceny charges.

The boy's mother, Brandi Ervin, told the Associated Press news agency she had acted to teach her son a lesson.

"He's been going through life doing things... and getting away with it," she said.

He had repeatedly taken the present, a Nintendo video game console, from its hiding place in his great-grandmother's house.

Hyperactive

The boy, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is already facing an expulsion hearing at his school for attempting to hit a police officer assigned to the school last month.

The boy's case will be presented to York County's Department of Juvenile Justice, which will decide what action to take.

Ms Ervin told the Associated Press she hoped the authorities could scare her son into behaving himself.

"It's not even about the Christmas present," she said.

"I'd rather call (the police) myself than someone else call for him doing something worse."

Original article over here.

Electrifying Plankton

Most reviewers of Electroplankton would stop short of calling it a game due to the strange nature of its design and gameplay. Basically, the game, for the lack of a better word, features various kinds of colourful plankton which you can manipulate via the touch screen of the Nintendo DS using a stylus to produce music!

As for me, the chance of becoming a conductor for a bunch of plankton, and not an orchestra no less, is pretty hard to pass. A recommended way to play Electroplankton is to hook up the Nintendo DS with a speaker system so that you can listen to your musical creations. If you want to replay your creations, it would be best if you have a sound system with recording facilities as one thing this game lacks is a save option.

The package containing the Japanese version of Electroplankton and an Animal Crossing gashapon arrived today intact from Play Asia. The packaging for the game is certainly beautiful and the larger than normal box contains a pair of headphones along with the typical plastic case that accompanies every Nintendo DS game.

This is the larger than average box:

This is the back of the larger than average box:

Among the contents of the box is the typical Nintedo DS cartridge box:

The contents in the Cartridge Box include a rather thick manual and the game itself:

Get your copy of Electroplankton at Play-Asia.com!

Smooth

Sleek, Powerful and Sexy are just some of the adjectives used to describe Sony's handheld console, the Playstation Portable (PSP).

I had the opportunity to play around with one and even though it was less than 5 minutes, at least two out of three adjectives were found to be true. The unit had the sleek feel of a current generation iPod and the wide screen completes the sexy look.

However, this being my first time with the console, I had some trouble getting used to the controls. All this while I did not realize that there is a row of buttons underneath the wide screen and any of my attempts to work the unit like a Nintendo DS ended in failure.

The unit was loaded with a web browser and the wide screen did justice to viewing web pages on a handheld console but the same thing cannot be said about the text input. A handphone-style input screen was provided in place of a normal QWERTY-styled keyboard screen when I attempted to enter a web address. This isn't really intuitive if the same interface is used to type out an e-mail.

The PSP uses something called a Cross Media Bar for its default interface and at one glance at the options available, anyone would realize that this piece of hardware is really quite an amazing multimedia device. However, navigating the Cross Media Bar is something to get used to and in terms of usability, it is almost the same as the Nintendo DS' setup screen which I find to be irritating at times.

I managed to get an UMD game to load during my time with the console but it took too long and I thought I had broken the unit. As I started to walk away, the game loaded but I had no time to test it out.