wii golf

so, after recording the latest episode of tvlgfhf, malcom, vince, adam and i were hanging out at my pad. malcom noticed that i had a wii, and challenged me to a little bit of golf. i readily agreed. he then asked if i wanted to make it a little interesting w/a wager. i did. the bet: dinner @ one of the local restaurants to whoever scored better @ 9 holes.

adam and vince joined the match, although the weren't in the bet. which, incidentally, is good because adam shot the best he's ever done on my wii @ golf. i played well, close to my best.

and let's just say i won't be paying for dinner. and i'll be having the steak (probably).

happy 4th of july

hope you and yours had a fun time. here are two videos from our night.

up first, the sparkler dance:



and here's our cat watching boom blox

mario kart steals it from grand theft auto

today i picked up the best game released so far this year. that's right, i got mario kart for wii. forget grand theft played out 6 years ago, mario kart is legit. not only did i get the game, but i also played it for about 3.5 hours straight. i'm taking a break right now, but i'll be playing it again later.

breaking news

abc nightly news is on the cutting edge...of about 4 months ago. tonight they had a story about elderly people playing wii. way to go.

toothpaste for wii

wii-licious


toothpastefordinner.com

birthday post 2

so, lunch was good. as we ate, we talked about how the neighborhood where the popeye's is located has changed. in fact, we're pretty sure that there are only 3 things in the 4 corners at the intersection that are the same: the popeye's, a carl's jr, and the wolverine boot store. everything else has changed as the neighborhood has changed through the years. heather grew up not too far, so she had a much better idea about what stores were where.

after lunch, we ran some errands. one of the things i got for my birthday was the last issue of mario kart for the game cube. now, i don't have a game cube, but the wii is, in fact, backwards compatable. i used to love playing mario kart over @ brian's place. it's such a simple race game, but it can produce really competitive matches. i was excited to get home and pop it in the wii. when i did, i discovered a small problem. the wii plays the game. the wii remotes, on the other hand, do not work with the game. so, i need to figure out exactly which remote i need to use. is it a specific wii remote for gamecube games, or can i just get some gamecube ones? i can't remember what the connectors for game cube looked like.

i'll need to head over to nintendo.com to see if i can locate proper info.

wii speaks the truth

well, my friday is off to a decent start.

my wii fitness age is now 20. for those of you unfamiliar, you can test your "fitness" on the wii. you can take a test everyday. the optimal age, 20. i hit it today for the first time today.



and, if you look closely you'll see that my last test yielded a...38. consistent, yes?

lightsaber on the wii, please

finally, i will be able to prove to luke that i am his father. and tell the rest of you who your daddy is, too.

man, i love the wii.

"LucasArts to Unleash the Force on the Wii in Spring 2008

Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed™ Coming to Nintendo's Platform with Exclusive Duel Mode

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Sept. 18, 2007 - LucasArts today revealed that Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed™ will come to the Wii™ home videogame system from Nintendo next spring, offering owners the unique chance to live out their Jedi fantasies by wielding the Wii Remote™ as a lightsaber while using the Nunchuk™ controller to torment foes with their Force™ powers.

The Force Unleashed casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game's expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi - and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

The Wii version, in development by Krome Studios, will also add an exclusive duel mode in which players can compete head-to-head with their friends to determine the ultimate Jedi Master.

"The Wii is a great platform for The Force Unleashed, because the console's motion-oriented controllers really bring the game to life," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts. "We've worked hard to make the Wii version of the game unique in order to truly let you unleash the Force."


thanks to kotaku and boing boing gadgets.

wii're wii'ning

nintendo is about to overtake microsoft in sales. and it's due to the wii revolution (i got mine last saturday). sony killed their brand with their overpriced gamble (ps3), which people still tell me is technologically superior, but does that make it worth it? xbox has had it's advancements, and is still a good system, but even it's expensive. the wii? hey, let's not kid ourselves, cost a good amount of money. but, it slides in @ the least expensive of the new systems.

what makes wii worth it? i mean, the graphics aren't as good. the game selection isn't there yet (although they do have a lot of games and have the biggies like madden 08). it's not in hd or blu-ray. but what wii does, it does well. they keyed in on more interactivity. you get involved with the game physically as well as mentally. it's more like actually doing the activity. sometimes you work up a sweat. your arm is sore. honestly, i'm getting a minor work out playing wii. i've considered learning to use the controller with my other hand so that i get a little more balanced work out. sure, there are games you're just using the buttons, but most take a very active hand. really, the wii works mainly off your movements. and, it gives you input back through the sensor (something sony claims that they couldn't manage with their responsive controller).

this system is drawing in people that normally wouldn't play games. my wife, heather, will play the wii, although not as much as i do. gamers like it as well. i know 2 semi-serious gamers (jimmy & adam) and they both have them. i have two other friends (nick & kasey) that may play video games, but i doubt either obsessed about the ps3, game release date of madden or whatever. but they both have wii's. and, since the wii connects to the internet, we have the ability to play online. or, like adam and i have done, trade characters wii've created. shoot, we send messages, too.

the wii offers different channels you can check. i have the news channel on mine. i was surprised the quality of news (from national to international to celebrity stuff). i also loaded the everybody votes channel, where you can take part in polls, and predict what other people will vote for. silly, but fun. the online also offers a chance to buy other games, but i'm not going that far yet.

and as for games and graphics, they're still good. it's not like the quality or quantity is bad, it's just not quite as good as these other "super" systems. but i'd venture that they're as good as the ps1 and the first xbox. and game development takes time (ask ps3).

"Almost 10 million Wii consoles have been sold since it went on sale at the end of last year and it is poised to overtake global sales of the Xbox 360 within weeks. Perhaps more crucially, it will reach the 10m mark in half the time it took Microsoft."

wow, that's amazing. so, if you make a quality product, and price it right, it sells? unheard of. honestly, when the both ps3 and xbox 360 were coming out there was so much hype. we had a large scrum break out at the best buy in fresno at the ps3 release. all i heard about the wii was that it was going to be more interactive. and the gamers i heard talking all were dissing the graphics. shoot, i echoed these same sentiments. what's happening with those other systems? well, they're sitting on shelves in stores. they're slashing their prices. the wii? it's out of stock. really. try and find one. no retail outlet (best buy, target, walmart, circuit city, etc.) carry them in their online stores. you've got to wait for them to be advertised in a sunday ad, and then hope you get yours quick enough. they'll be back out of stock within a week, and not restocked for probably a month. in the fresno area, we have 7 target stores. now, i don't know how many each store gets in, but when they advertise, they sell out. once i decided i was going to plunk down the money, it took me about 3 weeks to successfully locate one in fresno. i know other people have been able to get them quicker, but that's just a matter of the right store in the right week.

madden 08

so, the latest version of madden football comes out tonight at midnight. i guess. maybe it just comes out tomorrow when stores open. i'd get one, but i don't have any sort of video game system. but, it's been interesting just seeing different "manly" cable channels talking about the game. or, half-listening to the last podcast from the sports guy, which was about madden 08. it was his worst yet.

i mean, i like video games. and, maybe when i get a system i'll get madden. okay, i know i will. but i'll also get fifa, legend of zelda, raymond's rabbits, and whatever else. and, if i get a wii, i heard they're also backwards compatible to gamecube. so, maybe my friend brian will loan me his copy of mario cart until the wii version comes out (i heard they have a version on the way). but, is the release of a video game so important that you devote a whole night of your network talking about it at each break? or that you devote a whole podcast from a major sports network to it? well, i guess the answer is yes because both were done. come on people. it's a video game. it's a well done video game, but it's still just a source of entertainment.

i think we need to stop overhyping the little things in life.