Technologizer

Nintendo DSi XL, For the Elder Gamer

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Occasionally, I wonder how I’ll continue playing video games as I get older. My hands will probably slow down, and my vision could fade, but until now I never figured console makers would release hardware specifically to accommodate the aging gamer. That’s what Nintendo appears to be doing with the DSi XL, a larger version of [...]

Nvidia Tegra in Next Nintendo DS? So?

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

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As with any hot gaming rumor, I’m compelled to write about the reports of an Nvidia Tegra chip in Nintendo’s next DS handheld. But deep down inside, I don’t really care. Unless Nintendo is changing the way it approaches gaming consoles, the underlying technology doesn’t matter as much as the big picture. The Wii staked its [...]

It’s On! Nintendo Prez Knocks iPod Touch

Monday, October 12, 2009

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As the iPhone and iPod Touch look more like portable gaming platforms, I haven’t tired of watching Sony and Nintendo flail. They’re like two incumbent political parties having identity crises in the face of a new competitor who’s hogging the spotlight. The latest round of this partisan bickering comes from Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, [...]

Browser-Based Wii Fun

Thursday, October 8, 2009

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Cloud-based services are changing everything about computing–and they’re having an impact in some pretty unexpected places. Such as the Nintendo Wii, where some clever folks are utilizing the console’s Opera browser to deliver nifty little free games that even take advantage of the Wii Remote and provide online play. Jared Newman has rounded up ten [...]

10 Awesome Free Wii Browser Games

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

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Nintendo recently made the Wii’s Opera Web browser free to all, perhaps realizing that only a fool would pay $5 for it. But even with the Internet at the command of your Wii Remote, it’s not clear what to do, especially with no support for Hulu and premium content withheld from YouTube. Why not play some [...]

Wii Price Drops, Sony and Microsoft Beat Chests

Thursday, September 24, 2009

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Nintendo finally responded to the pressure from Sony and Microsoft, cutting the Wii’s price to $200, effective this Sunday. There were plenty of warning signs – store circulars, retailer’s internal e-mails, and plain old common sense — but now it’s official. I’ve said my piece about the Wii’s holiday prospects, but I had to chuckle today at [...]

Mario, and Why the Wii Will Still Reign

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

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It’s been rumored lately that Nintendo will cut the Wii’s price from $250 to $200 some time this month. That wouldn’t be a surprising maneuver, as Sony and Microsoft have recently tinkered with their own home console pricing. But at first, I laughed off the news. Nintendo doesn’t even have a killer app for the holidays, [...]

5Words for Tuesday, August 11th 2009

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

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Like 5Words? Subscribe via RSS. More on Trim’s (possible) future. Labels’ new format for albums. Gizmodo: Don’t preorder Windows 7. Microsoft won’t kill IE 6. Will Sony Ericsson make netbooks? Nintendo patent: ridable, inflatable horses! Windows 7 on ancient PCs. Meet “Caffeine,” Google’s new engine. We need a Verizon iPhone. Zune HD prices leaked. Cheap!

Fifteen Classic Game Console Design Mistakes

Monday, August 10, 2009

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Video game systems may be toys of a sort, but they’re also complicated machines. They require precision engineering, specialized hardware design, and careful industrial design to successfully achieve what seems like a simple goal: to play games on a television set. Throughout the history of home game consoles, each generation of machines has [...]

Nintendo’s Wii Vitality Sensor: Vaporware?

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

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Okay, so it’s becoming clear that Nintendo doesn’t know exactly what to do with the Wii Vitality Sensor. The gadget, which supposedly measures pulse and other vitals from a player’s finger, was briefly introduced at E3 to a curious, if not bewildered press. Two months later, Nintendo brainchild Shigeru Miyamoto still won’t say how, exactly, [...]

Wii Getting Hollywood Movies (In Japan)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

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Nintendo is getting closer to a streaming Wii video service that would translate well to Western audiences. In Japan, where the Wii’s video channel launched in April, Hollywood films will be available through the same service that powers Blockbuster’s on demand offerings. Sonic Solutions, with its Roxio CinemaNow service, will partner with Fujisoft, which handles Nintendo’s [...]

Classic Console Gaming Goes Portable

Friday, June 5, 2009

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Wandering the backwaters at E3 can yield some surprising finds, like the Hyperkin booth. The company, which sells accessories for most current and older-generation console systems, was showing off its month-old FC Mobile II, a portable game system that accepts original, 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges. The $60 package includes a light gun and two [...]

Few Surprises From Nintendo at E3

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

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Nintendo didn’t look like a trendsetter at its E3 press event today. Instead, we got an earful of cockiness. The Wii and the Nintendo DS have the broad appeal that Sony and Microsoft can’t capture, and Nintendo knows it. Today, the theme was “everyone,” with the slogan “everyone’s game” repeated several times throughout the presentation. But with [...]

Nintendo Announces Wii Biofeedback Sensor

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

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At the Nokia Theater in downtown LA this morning, Nintendo’s E3 press briefing for its new lineup included the expected cast of characters for its Wii and DS platforms. Among the announced products were more than one new Mario game, a new Metroid game, and a new feature for the DS which allows you to [...]

The Obligatory E3 Wish List

Friday, May 29, 2009

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The run up to the Electronic Entertainment Expo is always full of predictions, rumors and promises, but I’m tired of peering into the crystal ball. Instead of guesswork, here are my wants and needs for the games industry’s biggest trade show: From Microsoft: Word on the street is that the Xbox 360 will get a motion-sensing [...]

Book of Nintendo: Thou Shalt Not Emulate

Friday, May 8, 2009

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If we can all agree that an Intellivision compilation for the Nintendo DSi would have been pretty neat, than we can all mourn together, because it’s not happening. The reasoning is most peculiar. Nintendo says games from two of its virtual storefronts, WiiWare and DSiWare, must not run under emulation — that is, software that pretends [...]