Gamertell

Nintendo has created a new Wiimote accessory designed to make the Wiimote even more accurate and easy to use. The Wii Motionplus was introduced at the Nintendo E3 2008 press conference and attaches seamlessly to the bottom of the Wiimote.

The Wii Motionplus is a little accessory block which works with the accelerometer and the Wiimote sensor bar to improve control. It precisely determines the angle, position and movement of players arms with even greater accuracy to allow for easier game controls. It supposedly gives a 1:1 response for a player’s actions to the actions in the game.

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You know how you can talk to your DS’s tiny microphone and look like a crazy person? Soon you’ll be able to look slightly more sane and sing to your Wii.

At its E3 2008 press conference, Nintendo introduced the WiiSpeak microphone. It’s not an attachment to the WiiMote, which would seem to make sense, but instead an external device that attaches to the Wii (cue Nyko’s wireless peripherals department) and sets on your TV, table or where ever your vocal chords can reach.

It’ll also be used for chatting across games (eg. Animal Crossing: City Folk) and probably for other in-game features. An exact release dat has not been announced but it is expected to become available Fall 2008 and will retail for $30.

Read [I4U] Also Read [Electronist]

NOTE: Image borrowed from Electronista‘s web site.

During the Microsoft press conference, Nintnedo snuck out a press release for a new WiiMote attachment called the MotionPlus.

This tiny attachment clicks onto the end of the WiiMote and is supposed to add more precise control. Here’s the little bit Nintendo has released so far (Nintendo has already prmoised to reveal a bit more on stage at its own press conference)…

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Title: Guitar hero On Tour
Price: $49.99
System(s): DS
Release Date: June 22, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Activision (Activision)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for lyrics.
Pros: Portable version of the familiar franchise gameplay, plenty of songs and good use of the touchscreen.
Cons: An uncomfortable, ergonomic mess. It’s hard to hold and often too difficult to divide attention between two screens. Play with caution.
Overall Score: One wrist up, one painful wrist down; 75/100; C; * * 1/2 out of five. 

With the popularity and vast appeal of the Guitar Hero franchise, it’s no surprise the game is making way to handheld systems. There are, of course, some physical obstacles to overcome when going from a nearly full-size guitar-shaped controller to a teeny weenie palm sized system. Unfortunately, not all of them were overcome with Guitar Hero On Tour for the DS.

Click through for the painful review…

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Check out the gallery: Guitar Hero On Tour photo gallery

Since the first Guitar Hero was released back in 2005, we’ve all had to clear out some room in our closets to store our beloved plastic instruments. As time went on, the number of music peripherals has doubled. Wired guitars, wireless guitars, microphones and now drum sets, the demand for a single set of universal instruments is higher than ever. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen anytime soon.

The drum kit that will ship with Guitar Hero: World Tour will more than likely not be compatible with the Rock Band brand of drums. Ion, however, has come to the rescue by introducing a new high-end drum controller set exclusively for the Rock Band series.

Dubbed the Drum Rocker…

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For gamers on the go there is a bit of a problem. Laptops don’t really allow much in the way of upgrades, especially with the graphics cards. However, ATI announced that it is developing the first external graphics cards for people who dabble heavily with multimedia and graphics.

The ATI XGP will have to be connected to a laptop via PCIe 2.0 port connection and will take a laptop from everyday computing to hardcore gaming capabilities. To start,…

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Konami is credited for being on the front lines of musical rhythm games. It has produced hits including the DanceDanceRevolution Series and the guitar-based title Guitar Freaks. Konami is hoping to take back its throne when it releases Rock Revolution later this year to compete with Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2. Much like the members of a real-world rock band, there’s little love between game companies when it comes to music. Case in point: Konami is suing developer Harmonix over the instrument designs used in Rock Band.

According to Bloomberg, Konami is claiming Harmonix violated several of its patents from…

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Pangea Software announced that its award winning games, Enigmo and Cro-Mag Rally, are now available for the Apple iPhone 3G and iPod touch as of July 10, 2008. Pangea, founded in 1987 by Brian Greenstone, is an Austin, TX, based company focused on creating original software for the Apple, MacIntosh and iPhone platforms.

The first game announced is Enigmo, recently named best iPhone game at…

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The team behind the R4 slot one flashcarts think piracy is wrong. Well, at least when it effects them. They’ve had enough with knock-off R4 flashcarts, and have decided that, after September 15, 2008, they will change the programing in the R4 kernels so they will only work on official R4 carts.

Let’s say you already own a fake R4 cartridge. Well, you better not update the firmware for it after September 15. The new update will not only not work with the fake card, it will also turn your DS into a very expensive brick. R4’s development team has issued a firm statement that owners of the fake carts who ignore their warnings and render their DS units useless will have to complain to the shop they purchased the fake cart from.

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Shop Goodwill has an auction today that represents classic gaming at it’s best. At 8:50AM PST, Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana put an Atari 2600 with all of the necessary cables and accoutrements. The bidding started at $5.00, and since there’s only been one bidder, it is still at $5 (at 7:36 PM CST June 30, 2008).

The highlight of the auction is the collection of 16 games which come with the system. Pretty much every game is an amazing title. So if you bid, you’ll also be getting Asteroids, Centipede, Chopper Command, Crackpots, Defender, Grandprix, Joust, Outlaw, Pac Man, Pitfall, Pitfall II, Robot Tank, Space Invaders, Target Fun, Q*Bert and Yars’ Revenge.

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