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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GoLive2 will be releasing the Wiimote-esque Stix PC controllers in August, 2008. The Stix controllers look, and function, much like the Wii’s wiimote controller. It has a built in motion sensor to register movements and actions, and a touch screen interface for more complicated games. So instead of struggling with keyboard or mouse based controls, people can wave a remote at their PCs.

There are two different Stix models. The Stix 200 works primarily with 2D games you can play for free online. The Stix 400 is more comprehensive, as it can handle the online 2D online games and (supposedly) official “Games for Windows” games. A Stix 100 model is also shown on the official site, but the product depiction and description makes it sound like it could be Stix 200, only for kids.

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Sony announced at CES 2008 that the PSP GPS peripheral will be released before the end of 2008 in both North America and Europe. The PSP GPS, which was described in detail last week in Gamertell’s Important Importables, turns the handheld console into a fully functional GPS unit. The peripheral uses UMD software to generate maps and help people get from point A to point B. The peripheral originally was released in Japan in December, 2006.

There were no prices or release dates set for the software and GPS during the CES announcement. However, the Japanese version of the GPS costs around $60, and a bundle containing the GPS and software can come to about $95. If the North American and European releases of the peripheral have a higher price tag, it might be worth importing a Japanese GPS and buying the appropriate UMD separately.

Of all the various peripherals available for handheld systems in Japan and the US, the GPS is undoubtedly the most useful and has the most potential. I’m most curious to see if this means Sony will also work to have the more recent Minna no Golf games released outside of Japan. Many of the entries in that series also make use of the GPS peripheral.

Read [PSP Fanboy] Site [Sony CES 2008]

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While the DS has won fans the world over with its unusual gimmicks and touching interactive games, the PSP is getting love for its mature games and practical applications. Rather than trying to beat the DS by making the PSP appear even more foolish with strange extras, developers have decided to take the higher road.

With its peripherals the PSP tries to make itself more useful in everyday life. There are no card readers or additional controllers here. Rather than relying on gimmicks, the add-ons are ingenious items that you don’t even realize you need until you see what they can do.

And while the DS add-ons are designed to work only with games, the PSP’s are designed to make life in the real world easier or more interesting. Even when the extras don’t work as well as they claim, they still deserve points for trying.

Sadly, all of the following extras are only available overseas. It is a tragedy, because each add-on could be immensely useful to PSP owners the world over. All of the extras in Japan allow the PSP to act as a translator, camera, television and GPS unit…

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Rock Band and Guitar Hero are two of the leading musical video game franchise and, just because they are both musical games, don’t expect the competition to be nice. In fact the competition seems to be quite fierce with the developer and publisher of Rock Band, MTV and Harmonix respectively, accusing the rival publisher, Activision, of blocking a patch aimed at making the Guitar Hero III controller (PS3) compatible with Rock Band (PS3).

MTV told Next-Gen that Harmonix had handed over a patch to Sony for approval around two weeks ago and it was subsequently approved for release on December 4, 2007. He added that this patch was supposed to make the Guitar Hero III controller compatible with the PS3 version of Rock Band, however, Activision didn’t like the entire idea and vetoed it.

This patch was supposed to be a stopgap arrangement as Harmonix has plans for individual Rock Band peripherals – currently none are available. So the GHIII controller could have provided an easy alternative to gamers, who have to buy the entire $169.99 Rock Band bundle if they want an extra guitar peripheral. Activision hasn’t reacted to the allegations so far.

Read [Next-Gen] Also Read [Kotaku]

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