Last month rumors began circulating that Nintendo was preparing its own app store to run on the console, though representatives at CES are apparently keeping quiet on that issue. They are also keeping quiet on pretty much everything else. Questions about the console’s inner workings, pricing, release date, and launch titles have gone unanswered. What is known is that the console has HD video output (something sorely missed in the first Wii console), and that it includes a tablet-like controller with a 6.5-inch touchscreen with motion controls and front- and rear-facing cameras. There are several game demos available to play and/or watch on the floor at CES, including a glimpse at a Legend of Zelda game that has many a fanboy drooling.

The console is due out sometime in 2012, probably around Thanksgiving, if the launch of the Wii is any indication. Meanwhile, check out a video (courtesy of The Verge) of the Wii U in action, then let us know what you think in the comments.

Consoles were the biggest troublemakers overall, accounting for more than 60% of the total questions posted on the website. In fact, of the top 7 problematic products consoles took the first three spots. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the most troublesome console, with 5,000 more questions reported than Sony’s PlayStation 3, which in turn had over 30,000 more complaints than Nintendo’s Wii. The biggest problem for Xbox 360 users was the dreaded Red Ring of Death, which signals massive failure of the console’s hardware (usually due to overheating), and was responsible for 45% of reported issues.

Meanwhile, the iPhone topped the list of troublesome smartphones by a wide margin. There were nearly 100,000 complaints about the iPhone, compared to just shy of 40,000 for the second place Samsung Galaxy S. Forty percent of the iPhone complaints dealt with battery life, while a further 15% were concerned with dropped calls.

Apple fared far better in the tablet department, however. The iPad WiFi was at the bottom of the list of tablets, and had less than a third the complaints of the leader, the Coby Kyros. The iPad also got fewer complants than the Samsung Galaxy and the Amazon Kindle, again by a considerable margin.

Did you have any of these problems over the holiday break? Let us know in the comments.

[Source: FixYa]

The line consists of three controllers – two assault rifles and a sniper rifle – and a range of peripherals. The two assault rifles are designed to work just like the PS3’s DualShock controllers, with buttons positioned in such a way as to be comfortable for both right and left-handed players. The sniper rifle is only compatible with PlayStation Move and its corresponding games. Other accessories include a universal gaming backpack designed to accommodate any of the three major consoles – Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii – with a padded main compartment and multiple pockets. The line also includes three headsets: a Universal Gaming Headset with 3D Effect that appears to be compatible with pretty much anything with a 3.5 mm headphone jack (including Xbox 360, most computers, and even iOS devices), a bluetooth Throat Mic Headset compatible with the PS3 and any bluetooth-equipped computer, and a wired Throad Mic Headset with a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

CTA’s announcement does not give any pricing or release date information on any of these items, saying only that they “will soon be available at major retailers.” Given the criticism that has been leveled at violent video games in the past, it will be interesting to see what kind of reception these accessories receive. Rest assured that there will be at least a few accusations of the Army using these controllers to try and sway impressionable young gamers into enlisting. Personally, all I really want to know is whether that bluetooth throat mic will work with my iPhone.

What do you think of these controllers? Will you buy them? Should the Army be in the business of making video game controllers? Sound off in the comments.

[Source: CTA Digital]

Let’s back up a bit. The robot hasn’t really been trained – it’s actually controlled by a human. Oh, that’s cooler? Yeah, you’re right.

Developer Taylor Veltrop spent the better part of 2011 constructing this little gem – a system that allows him to get in the mind of a two-foot tall NAO robot, and use that control to thoroughly satisfy or seriously annoy (honestly, who can tell with cats?) his feline companion.

Veltrop hacked a Kinect and uses two Wii remotes to control the bot’s arms. He then uses a treadmill in correlation with the Kinect to control the bot’s movement. A head mounted display allows him to control the bot’s head as well as see through its eyes.

The result is this: an amazingly elaborate scheme to brush your cat. Enjoy:

And oh look! There are plans for more:

After doing this exercise, it became apparent that the next feature to add is hearing and speaking through the robot. Luckily both the NAO and my HMD have microphones and speakers so this shouldn’t be too difficult.

You can debate whether or not this project deserved a year of someone’s life. Hey, maybe this invention will allow people with extreme cat allergies to interact with kitties via robotic surrogate? Who knows. But one thing you can’t argue is that it’s nice to see a robot given a task that doesn’t threaten human life as we know it.

[Hat Tip to Engadget]

According to Nintendo, they have sold more than 4 million 3DS units since its launch in early 2011. What’s even more impressive about this feat is how it matches up with Nintendo’s prior hardware successes. The 3DS wins out when you compare its first 9 months with the first 9 months of the insanely popular Wii.

In 2011, Nintendo sold over 4.5 millions Wiis and 3.4 million more of the DS family. This puts the total 2011 hardware sales at over 12 million, a feat that they have accomplished for five straight years.

“One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising.”

The holiday 3DS sales were bolstered by games like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, which became the first two 3DS titles to sell over 1 million units in the U.S.

As far as the Wii goes, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ended up as the 45th Wii game to sell 1 million copies in the U.S.

In 2012, it looks like the PlayStation Vita will attempt to challenge the 3DS for consumers’ dollars. Sony’s new handheld just launched in Japan and is scheduled to debut in the States on February 22nd.

Have you had the chance to try out the Nintendo 3DS? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

The Wii U, announced in April and unveiled at this year’s E3 game conference, continues Nintendo’s focus on innovation in the way games are played. Nintendo’s first Wii console, which launched in late 2006, constituted a significant shift in the so-called console wars. Before the Wii, Nintendo had been engaged in a game of one-upsmanship with Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s Playstation 2, both of which sported comparable technical specs and a game library more geared toward older, more hard-core gamers. With the Wii Nintendo altered its entire strategy: instead of perpetuating the graphics and processing arms race with Sony and Microsoft, they chose to pursue a more unique and intuitive control system, targeted at the casual gamer market that the Xbox and Playstation had all but ignored.

The strategy worked well. The Wii enjoys a significant lead over the competition in global market share (though Microsoft is top dog in the US). What’s more, the Wii brought motion control to the world of gaming, as Microsoft and Sony have since developed their own unique versions of the concept (Xbox Kinect and Playstation Move, respectively).

The Wii U is set to launch sometime in 2012, and is expected to be HD compatible (like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, but unlike the current Wii). Many details are still unknown – pricing for the console, pricing for the app store, and a more specific release date chief among them. Whenever it launches, though, the Wii U looks to be an exciting addition to the gaming world. Check out the console’s E3 trailer below, and let us know what you think in the comments.

[Source: The Daily]

We are working hard to make sure you can get Hulu Plus on every internet-connected video screen in your life.  And we are actively teaming up with some of the largest platform partners in the world to make this ambitious goal a reality. Soon, Hulu Plus users will have one more way to watch popular TV shows and award-winning movies anytime and anywhere because Nintendo today announced that Hulu Plus is coming soon to Wii and Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo has entertained millions of families for many years. With devices like the Wii and Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo has earned diehard fans and loyal customers through the Company’s innovative approach to entertainment. Now together, we’re going to bring a new level of world class entertainment right into your hands and home. For less than 8 dollars per month, you’ll be able to enjoy the entire current season of popular shows like Dancing with the Stars, Modern Family andGlee in addition to a huge library of classic TV shows and award winning movies.  Whether you’re at home or on-the-go, Hulu Plus on your Wii and Nintendo 3DS will provide thousands of TV episodes and hundreds of movies whenever and wherever you want.

Here’s a comparison of what Hulu Plus offers vs. regular Hulu:

Other gaming consoles Hulu Plus is currently available for include Xbox360 and Sony Playstation 3. The entire device list can be found here.

Hulu says it will soon have more details about the Wii and 3DS launch.

Of course, Nintendo is quite excited about the launch, because it does a great job of keeping them up with the Joneses in regards to being a viable option in the mobile device industry.

“The new Netflix application looks great, plays great and is a fantastic consumer experience,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “It gives Nintendo 3DS owners access to an amazing wealth of movies and TV shows, which they can watch conveniently from thousands of free Wi-Fi access points across the country. Nintendo 3DS truly offers something for everyone.”

Another aspect of interest is the unique monitor size of the Nintendo 3DS, which might present some peculiar results when you queue up a movie. As pointed out by the PCWorld blog:

It’s not clear what resolution or ratio videos will stream at (the 3DS is capable of 800 by 240, but that’s a bizarro 3.3 to 1 ratio).

Whatever the case, such a capability only adds to the appeal of Nintendo’s hand-held device, something that already receives a warm reception, at least from the Amazon crowd. The application has already enjoyed it’s live launch, and is available from the Nintendo 3DS, according to Nintendo’s announcement, anyway.

Over at the 3DS applications section, the Netflix link still has a “coming soon” attached to it:

The new Netflix application for Nintendo 3DS displays movies and TV episodes in 2D on the system’s upper screen. Users will soon have access to an additional library of select movies that can be viewed in 3D without the need for special glasses.

While the service is indeed free, naturally, interested users must be a member of Netflix’s streaming service subscription. Just watch out for the upcoming price increase.

It has been rumored for about a month that this price cut was coming, and today Nintendo has confirmed it.  The current Wii bundle available in stores costs $199.99 and includes copies of Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort.  The new bundle will cost $149.99, be available in either white of black and include Mario Kart with a steering wheel.  Some stores, such as Best Buy have already begun selling the old bundles for $170.  They will be discontinued.

While still selling plenty of consoles, Nintendo has seen the Wii decline as of late.  The console sold over 10 million units in 2008, followed by 9 million in 2009.  2010 saw only 7 million Wii sold.

Last month, Nintendo confirmed their next generation console will launch sometime in 2012, but will demo at this year’s E3 gaming expo in June.  The new system, referred to as the “Wii 2″ or even “Project Cafe” by insiders, is rumored to be a giant leap for Nintendo.

Some rumors have the new device as capable of full 1080p HD, fixing the problem of graphical inferiority which turned many hardcore gamers away from the original Wii.  It is also said that it will greatly increase performance.  Some other rumors involve a new controller that could possibly have a DS-like touch screen built right in.  Catch a full rumor roundup here.

But Nintendo isn’t giving up on the Wii, in light of the exciting buzz surrounding “project cafe.”  The price cut is meant to spur sales of the Wii, especially for families and new gamers.

“There is quite a bit more volume to be sold on the Wii home console,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime to USA Today. “And the way we are going to get there is by offering the system at this low price and by including a key software title like Mario Kart.”

“From our perspective, there are literally millions of consumers getting into the video-game-playing age,” Fils-Aime said. “And there’s no better system for those entry consumers than the Wii.”

The two big Wii competitors, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3, have had their news follow different trajectories as of late.  Last week, Microsoft reported strong Q3 earnings, thanks in large part to the Xbox and Kinect.  Their gaming division grew 60% year-over-year, a staggering figure.

Sony has seen better days, as the PlayStation Network outage continues and yesterday they reported that the hack that shut it down also compromised credit info for users of their PC gaming division, Sony Online Entertainment.

Yesterday, Game Informer reported that they had confirmed with multiple sources that the new console will be capable of HD gaming. Also, Nintendo is reportedly showing the system to publishers already in an effort to get them familiarized with the specs so developers can begin working on games before the new console is officially announced.

“Nintendo is doing this one right,” said an anonymous source. “[It's] not a gimmick like the Wii.” What else, beyond graphics, this may imply about the system is unknown. What kind of controls the system will support (we imagine a need for both classic analog configurations and motion controllers) or what level of software and infrastructure Nintendo will provide for online gaming is also unknown. However, it’s a positive sign that the system might be more than just an HD Wii.

Well, more details about the controls and graphics are emerging today.

The new Nintendo console is being codenamed “Project Cafe” (I know, right?) and IGN has some information on the controller, according to their sources:

According to our sources, the new Nintendo controller will feature dual analog sticks in addition to standard d-pad and trigger buttons. It’ll mirror a Gamecube controller in general function but not in specific form.

French technology site 01.net has some more specific details as well.  According to the site, the new console will support all Wii peripherals and run Wii and Gamecube games (!!!!!).

Translated on the Develop game design site, “CPU is custom IBM PowerPC with three cores, GPU should be an ATI from the R700 family, with a shader unit at version 4.1. Ram should be at least 512 MB.

The most interesting and possibly the farthest-reaching speculation involves the new controller having a 6 inch touch screen, capable of moderate graphic output, with a front facing camera and a built-in sensor bar.

If any or all of these rumors prove accurate, then it shows Nintendo is targeting the hardcore gaming crowd, which basically translates to young to middle aged men.  Historically, a large majority of the games offered on the Wii tailored to a non-traditional gaming crowd – the very young, the old and women.  Adding HD capabilities and ratcheting up processing speed would signal that they are serious about competing with Sony and Microsoft for the hearts and minds of hardcore gamers.