Gamertell

Product: 4x Quad Charge Station for WiiMotes
Price: $44.99
Rating: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 80/100; B-; * * * out of five.
Pros: Charges four WiiMotes at once, removable power cable, looks pretty cool and works well.
Cons: No wrist strap slots, difficult to read charge status LEDs and sometimes hard to properly seat the WiiMotes.
Overall: A good option for those who like to have four charged WiiMotes at the ready. Not for finicky, power-conscious gamers.

Keeping your wireless controllers ready and charged can be a problem for some gamers. You have the odd controller sitting around that invariably loses its charge mid game and you have to either plug it in and wait (and usually watch everyone else continue with the fun) or scurry around the house like a squirrel in the Spring unearthing scattered batteries.

Accessory and peripheral maker Penguin United has attempted to solve the problem for Wii owners with the 4x Quad Charge Station. It charges four WiiMotes at once, which is nice, but the setup does have a few flaws…

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When Wii Music was unveiled to the gaming public at the E3 Media and Business Summit, it was quickly panned as lacking the style and substance of established music franchises such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Its reputation certainly wasn’t helped with Shigeru Miyamoto’s demonstration of the game at the show.

As Wii Music nears its release date, opinions on it have ranged from spectacular to subpar. Whether or not gamers will embrace this product remains to be seen. However, they will at least know just what they are getting, as 48 of the proposed 50-plus songs are…

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Who says your too old for video games? Not the residents of Morningside assisted living community in Hopkinsville, KY (USA). They enjoy getting up in the morning to join their fellow seniors in a nice frame of Wii Bowling . They even create their own Mii avatars to personalize their experience.

Some choose to bowl the traditional way, swinging the WiiMote to knock over as many pins as they can. One particular lady, Shirley Woodward, decided to stay seated and try out the game “granny-style.” Either way they play it, they are having fun doing something they might not be able to do in real life…

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Nyko is known for its video game peripherals, and it has shown with the Cord-Free at E3 2008 that it is still thinking of gamers best interest. The Cord Free is a Nintendo Wii accessory - a small device that attaches to the base of the wiimote and nunchuk to make the nunchuk wireless. It’s normal retail price is $19.99, but if you stop by Amazon you can get it for $14.99.

The Cord-Free consists of two parts. There is a small box that attaches to the base of the wiimote, and a small box/sleeve that connects to the base of the nunchuk. Once connected, and loaded up with 2 AAA batteries, the device lets players experience cordless gaming for almost 6- hours.

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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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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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Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Seven reasons I’m not buying Final Fantasy Tactics A2
  “I adore Final Fantasy games. It is definitely one of my favorite game franchises and Square Enix is easily one of my favorite developers. I own every game in the series and a few of the remakes…“ MORE »
• Dark Knight Bat Pod Tour coming to Kings Island Amusement Park
  “  UPDATE: The time has been shortened to Noon to 2 PM. The Bat Pod will then be moved to the Showcase Cinema de Lux & IMAX movie theater in Springdale, OH,…“ MORE »
• DirecTV offers free Game Lounge preview weekend
  “ To help celebrate the Fourth of July 2008, DirecTV is offering a free preview weekend of its Game Lounge interactive channel for the long weekend (July 2 through 6, 2008, CH 110).  …“ MORE »
• Playstation Store Update for the week of June 27 to July 3, 2008
  “    The biggest order of the day for the Playstation Store last week, undoubtedly was the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database, which is a compendium of everything in the…“ MORE »
• Play PC games with wireless Stix controllers
  “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…“ MORE »

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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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Make magazine makes me want to make more stuff. The most recent issue of this DIY mag has three juicy game goodies in its pulp-based publication: The Multari handheld Atari 2600, Pixelmusic 3000 video generator a la the Atari 2600 and four WiiMote hacks for making audio tracks (and involves Macs).

All three fall into the Way Frackin’ Kewl category of do it yourself projects, so click through and check them out now…

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An MTV article quotes an anonymous source as saying that a Xbox 360 version of the WiiMote has been under development since last summer and will be launched by the end of 2008.

The source went as far as providing MTV with a sketch of the last prototype of the new motion-sensing controller for the Xbox 360 that it claims to have seen. The controller’s design bears a striking resemblance to the WiiMote…

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