Nintendo is threatening to start another odd-game trend this Christmas when its Wii Fit game and mat arrive in Japan on December 1.
It will cost around £36 there [double that for here, at least] and comes with a ‘Wii Balance Board’ [above] – think weighing scale – filled with sensors to recreate your actions in the virtual world. The board will even take into account your BMI (Body Mass Index) and report on your progress as you leap, twist and contort yourself into a ‘new’ improved you
The Wii Fitness software contains over 40 training activities, divided into four main areas: Aerobic Exercise with 10-minute exercises, Yoga Poses for balance and stretching, Muscle Conditioning, and lastly, Balance Games like heading footballs and ski jumping.
Us fat Europeans will be getting the Wii Fit sometime in the New Year, hopefully in time to help shed all those extra Christmas pudding pounds before Easter arrives.
If just reading about it tires you out, you may be better off using your Wii to become an armchair Jedi.-Martin Lynch
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I loved this one-off PSP when I first covered it back in July and now, I’m happy to report that it has sold, although unhappy that it’s not to me.
This stunning, customised God Of War PSP went up for auction on eBay in July, with the goal that some of the money was going to charity, but what’s even better is that the buyer of Kratos’ handheld is none other than Ready At Dawn, developer of the forthcoming God Of War: Chains Of Olympus game for the PSP. Even better, they gave the designer Ramon the red carpet treatment. Here’s what the company said:
“We couldn’t let this one pass so we used our ninja eBay sniping skillz to outbid all the competition and claim this really cool piece of hardware all to ourselves…while at the same time doing something cool for Child’s Play. But we didn’t stop there.
In order to make sure the PSP wouldn’t get damaged during shipping, we flew its creator Ramon over to Southern California to hand-deliver it, meet the team and get to play the soon-to-be-released Chain of Olympus demo. We’re passionate people and we like passionate people so we were all super jazzed to meet the guy behind this one-of-a-kind handheld.”
Remember, they were ‘super jazzed’. You read it here. Dude.-Martin Lynch
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Just as Manhunt 2 has been asked forced to lay down its cleaver – again – by the BBFC, the government has just sanctioned a report into the link between games violence and the effects on the nation’s whipper snappers.
TV shrink, Dr. Tanya Byron is to head the ‘Byron Report’ which will last for six months, acting as a ‘call for evidence’ into violent computer games and their effects on kids and also how to protect them from inappropriate online material. Speaking at the launch, Byron said:
"Video gaming and the internet themselves are a very positive and important part of children's and young children's growing up and learning and development. But it is also about saying where are the risks?"
New technology is giving kids opportunities to learn, have fun, be creative and communicate in ways that previous generations could only dream of. But many parents still feel ill-equipped to help their children navigate this technology safely.
"By issuing my call for evidence today, I want to start a debate about how Government, industry and society as a whole can support parents to guide our children into the virtual world, with the same confidence as when we show them how to stay safe in our local community.”
More education for parents regarding games will be high on the agenda, especially since many of them don’t bother looking at age ratings before they buy their kids games. Odd really, when you think that the age classification symbols on games are the same ones used on DVDs which, ironically, they probably use when choosing movies for their little cherubs. Go figure.-Martin Lynch
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I’m generally happy with any gadget that comes in black, the shinier the better, and I’ve yet to be lured to the White Side Of The Force, courtesy of Apple and a million imitators.
Still, there are many who wouldn’t mind a white PS3 to go with all their other angelic gadgets and Terence Conran-inspired living rooms.
Sony has announced that Japanese gamers – and only Japanese gamers for the moment – will be getting a ceramic white PS3. The new 40GB white console will go on sale over there on November 11th, so you can expect the eBay bidding wars to commence about 10 minutes later. It will cost around £180 - £95 less than UK shoppers will be paying for the new cut-price, 40GB black console.
Sony will also use the occasion to launch the new DualShock 3 wireless controllers – also in black and white – which will see the return of good vibrations. Again, Euro gamers will have to wait until Spring for the return of rumbling.-Martin Lynch
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
