Remember that Wii Speak microphone that Nintendo announced at E3 for Animal Crossing socialization, and then everyone promptly forgot about? Well, shuffled in with its other announcements yesterday, Nintendo announced the Wii Speak channel, that will allow for up to four people to voice chat directly without all that pesky fishing and digging and tea sipping and cute getting in the way. Unfortunately, literally nothing else is known about the feature -- we're curious if we can use that USB mic we got for karaoke, and we're sure you have burning questions of your own, but Nintendo's clearly going to debut this feature and the related hardware in its own sweet time.

[Via Joystiq]

So you've got a spare Microsoft Surface and Wii Balance Board laying around, whaddya do? Well, you could try stacking them on top of each other and hope that big-ass table doesn't crush your little plastic Nintendo toy, and with some code slapped on what you'd end up with is pressure-sensitive surface computing. This clever little concept was cooked up by Josh Santangelo from "Stimulant." In his demo, featured after the break, he rocks Surface from side to side while colored spots roll back and forth, using a physics engine he developed for MS Silverlight. It's a great start and we would love to see this resourceful hack put to good use -- beyond that of a totally awesome yet ridiculously expensive tilt-a-maze game, minus the maze.

Yeah, the solution seemed pretty obvious to us, and now it looks like Nintendo's willing to admit it. Nintendo will be solving its little Wii Shop game storage overflow problem by opening up the SD card slot for storing and playing games from (with DRM galore, we're sure). The update will hit in the Spring of next year, and don't forget that 2GB maximum when stocking up on the little buggers. It's not exactly as exciting as a new DS, but we're really glad Nintendo's going to do the right thing here, instead of building yet another peripheral to clutter our lives with.

Look, we're talking three years from now, anything could happen by then. Singularity, jetpacks, you name it. So a teensy bit of HD graphics from Nintendo doesn't seem like too much to ask, does it? The filthy-rich company is purportedly showing off just such a Wii-followup to developers and publishers in the industry, who are nicknaming it "Wii HD" for the time being. A true sequel to the Wii, the followup will apparently stick with the core competencies (motion controls), while beefing up visuals (yes, please!), digital distribution, local storage and including backwards compatibility. The only hard evidence cited by What They Play, which originated the rumor, is that Nintendo's R&D spending has grown dramatically since the launch of the Wii. We're sure that cash is also being poured into the new DS and a number of other projects, but it's really not much of a stretch to figure Nintendo's working on a Wii successor two years into the Wii's highly-successful life cycle. All we've got to say is that a few of these improvements really shouldn't wait until 2011, and still others are long overdue.

[Thanks, JC]

Bad / good news, folks: Nintendo is / isn't working on a pedometer peripheral that will / won't integrate with its Wii / DS console. The company has famously stated that it doesn't plan to release "a whole lot more" accessories for the Wii, which means we've got at least one or two to look forward to, and this could be one of 'em. The images surfaced on a European trademark registry site with very little supplemental info, but we do know it's a pedometer of sorts. If we're lucky, this is something that'll integrate into the existing Wii Fit setup, perhaps alongside a software update to manage more info about our unhealthiness than just how far we can jump on a pair of imaginary skis, but it's probably just as likely that we're looking at a Wii Fit sequel, or perhaps a DS version (a handy companion to that new DS?) designed to lure us out of the house. No telling, really, but the peripheral does appear to be wireless... and wholly evil.

[Via Joystiq]

Retro game lovers, don't ever say Nintendo isn't looking out for you. Only months after hearing that the Wii's Virtual Console would be getting Sega Master System and Commodore 64 games, in flies word that at least one heralded SuperGrafx title is on its way, too. Granted, the Ghouls 'n Ghosts (or Daimakaimura, as it were) port is only slated for release in Japan at the moment, but we're keeping our increasingly less limber fingers crossed that it'll head to other parts of the world in short order. There's also no telling if any other titles from the console's library will be headed to the Wii, but given that we could count 'em all on two hands, we'd say chances are decently high.

[Via Joystiq, image courtesy of ClassicGaming]

It's admittedly difficult to take a company named Thrustmaster seriously (especially on casual Friday), but given that it has recently pumped out what are likely the two best Wiimote accessories of all time, we'll give it a pass this go 'round. Speaking of, we'd like to point out that these two have been around the block a time or two, but that doesn't make the red and blue dueling Glow Sabers (each packing 17 LEDs, mind you) and the Dual Trigger Gun (complete with Nunchuck holster!) any less gnarly. The Glow Saber 2-pack is available right about now for $34.99, while the Dual Trigger Gun (shown after the break) should land in short order for $17.99.

A double shot of bad news for the Wii hacking set today -- not only do new Wiis appear to have a modchip-proof layer of epoxy around the DVD-ROM IC chips, Waninkoko has abandoned the Wii Backup-Loader project. The modchip news isn't all that surprising -- Ninty's been fighting a losing battle against chip devs for a while now, and gluing things down with epoxy is a logical solution -- but Waninkoko quitting is a bit of a shock, since we just caught wind of the Wii Backup-Loader a few days ago. Apparently he's not happy that it was leaked this morning, so he's dropping it, but surely an outpouring of affection in comments will change his mind.

[Thanks, Linh T]

Read - New Wiis have epoxy-locked DVD-ROM chips
Read - Waninkoko abandons Wii Backup-Loader

It's a common issue, really. Having to peel that sticky, icky silicone skin from the Wiimote each time you try to swap out the batteries or plop it down in a recharging station is a real pain, but TeknoCreations has a better way. By utilizing a contactless induction charging system, its InCharge remote charger can actually reinvigorate Lithium Polymer battery packs that are encased within those newfangled silicone grips that the Big N recommends so heavily. The system reportedly offers a 25-hour battery life, and unlike contact-based chargers, the aforementioned dirt and grit won't gum up the juicing process. The InCharge Wiimote charger should be available real soon for $34.99, and for PS3 owners feeling all left out, fret not -- the company just received certification to go forward with a similar product for the SIXAXIS.

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Read - InCharge Wiimote
Read - InCharge PS3 certification

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and now we're hearing that the infamous Wii Backup Loader -- the hacks that allow you to run "backup" Wii games without a modchip -- is out riding the 'net thanks to an overzealous beta tester. At this point, only the patient and hardcore should apply as the v0.1 loader is in a very (very) early beta and apparently still buggy. The rest of you should just wait for the final release assuming Waninkoko doesn't just throw up his hands in disgust and abandon the homebrew community already irritated by the introduction of warez.

[Thanks, David E. and Joey C.]

Read -- The download
Read -- The leak

We just never got the hang of that little blue robotic man, with his arm-blaster and his wall jumping and his awesome friends, and the Nyko Wing helped none at all: we managed to kill they guy about five seconds after picking up the controller. Still, it's a nice little chunk of plastic. It's much more natural in the hand than that funky Classic Controller, and seems rather high-quality for a Nyko product, but the d-pad is too mushy for our taste, and the whole assembly seems a tad too light. Either way, we're sticking with Mario.

Ruh roh. Those wildly flung patent infringement claims tossed out by Hillcrest Laboratories could have some merit, but even if not, it'll be the ITC making the call. The US International Trade Commission has given itself the green light to investigate the allegations made by the aforesaid company, which state that Nintendo infringed on four of its patents in order to make obscenely large quantities of cash with the hot-selling Wii. There's no telling how high (or low) this is in the agency's priority list, but we'll be keeping an ear to the ground for some sort of resolution, regardless.

Read -- Video
Read -- Exploit described

Two things: first off, craptastic pool cue Wiimote accessories are already widely available, and secondly, couldn't you just duct tape a controller to your favorite real cue and achieve almost the same thing? Terrible ideas aside, RealMotion has just revealed that it will be shipping a RealMotion Pool Cue companion accessory for its upcoming title, American Pool Deluxe. Reportedly, the unit is a "meticulously crafted cue built specifically to take advantage of the Wii remote's accelerometer technology for real precision and fun," but we'll have to envision it until the company gets smart enough to distribute a photo. Or is it really that embarrassing?

[Via IGN]