Gizmodo: wii controller

Mini-mote Wiimote Mod for Mini-Me

Andi Wang — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:20:13 EST

After his last Wiimote-for-hippies mod shut down his site, DHreck is back with another one, and this time his mini-mote and nunchuck mod is for ~~midgets!~~ people who like cute, small things.

As you can see from the photos, the Mini-mote is a minimalistic mod that doesn't change much from the original Wiimote, except that it's everything my boyfriend wants me to be: cuter, smaller, and slimmer.

Head over to the source for more photos and an extensive tutorial. [DHreck]

Man Arrested For Allegedly Strangling His Girlfriend with a Wii Controller

Andi Wang — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:07:13 EST

Daniel Alvarez, 21, of Austin, Texas was recently arrested for allegedly attempting to strangle his girlfriend with a Wii controller. Why? Because she wanted to know who stole the cookies from the cookie jar.

Alvarez's girlfriend, Christina Alvarado, had apparently woken him up after she had discovered her Girl Scout Cookies had gone missing. An angry—and very sleepy—Alvarez began verbally and physically attacking her until they ended up in the living room, where Alvarez pinned her down and proceeded to strangle her with the cord of a Wii controller. When his girlfriend was able to break free and call 911, Alvarez fled the scene but was quickly found and arrested soon after.

Alvarez has been charged with aggravated assault and is currently being held in a Travis County jail, with bail set at $40,000. If charged, Alvarez could be facing up to 20 years in prison.

Lessons learned? Girls: Don't bug your boyfriends when they're sleeping. Boys: Don't eat your girlfriend's cookies! Err, or at least don't strangle her after you've eaten them. [Kotaku]

Subsonic Wii Laser Sword Attachment Destined for Land Fill in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Jack Loftus — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT

One day Wii controller attachment manufacturers are going to run out of plastic, and the world is going to be a better place. But until that day, there's going to be a seemingly never-ending tide of white plastic crap like this "Laser Sword" attachment from French company Subsonic. It's kind of like what Wilson found last year with the Wiimote Light Sword, but adds in a motion sensor so Star Wars poseurs can activate the lights inside with a wrist flick or Star Wars kid ninja move. [Subsonic]

PCs Get Wiimote-esque Motion Controller: The Stix

Kit Eaton — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:46:00 EDT

Motion-controller fans who don't want to get into Wiimote modding now have a way of playing interactive internet games on their PCs with the Stix. No, not the '70s band...it's a new and very Wiimote-esque controller from GoLive2, touch sensitive and launched with a companion website that has hundreds of "free Web-based games," whatever they may be like. The Stix 200 works with these games, while the 400 version looks like it also works with normal PC games. Available in August, press release below.

GoLive2 Unveils Stix, a New Line of Wireless, Motion-Sensing Controllers Set to Redefine PC Gaming

Compatible with Thousands of Free Online Games, Stix Touch-Screen Controllers Bring Active, Motion-Sensing Gameplay to the PC

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. —(Business Wire)— Jul. 1, 2008 GoLive2, the independent gaming division of Playhut, Inc., today introduced Stix, a new line of wireless, motion-sensing gaming controllers for the PC and Internet. Redefining the PC and online gaming experience, Stix are wireless, touch-screen controllers that allow users to play thousands of free Web-based games as well as Games For Windows(R) titles with an active, motion-sensing play pattern. For the first time, players can abandon their mouse and keyboard to experience online and PC games in an entirely new way! Available at retailers nationwide in August, Stix are designed for players six years and older.

"Stix will completely change the way people experience online and PC gaming," said Brian Zheng, President, Playhut. "At purchase, Stix will be compatible with thousands of free online and retail games, and we're adding more games to that list daily. The fun is endless with Stix, and the wide-range of free, supported games makes this product perfect for every member of the family."

Introducing an unprecedented level of active gameplay to PC gaming, the motion-sensitive Stix are compatible with thousands of existing, free online games. GoLive2 will unveil two versions of the Stix available at launch: Stix 200 and Stix 400. Designed for casual gamers, Stix 200 adds active gameplay to 2D online gaming. Stix 400 is compatible with both 2D and 3D environments for the ultimate online and Games for Windows gaming experience.

As a compliment to the Stix product line, GoLive2 has also launched a free, online game portal called Sphere (http://Sphere.GoLive2.com) that provides hundreds of free games to play with Stix controllers. Sphere consists of both internally-developed games designed exclusively for the Stix as well as hosted games from online game developers that support Stix. Sphere also features a search engine that connects users to thousands of compatible, third-party free online games. In addition, users can configure their favorite PC games to preferred Stix settings. Finally, developers of all skill levels have the ability to create new games that harness the unique Stix gameplay pattern.

Stix will be available at retailers nationwide in August 2008, along with the Sphere companion site (http://Sphere.GoLive2.com).

For more information on the Stix line, visit http://www.GoLive2.com.

[Kotaku]

Wii Spray Wiimote Hack Breaks Up The Family Fun With a Little Virtual Vandalism

Jack Loftus — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:30:00 EDT

Check out this Wii controller prototype from Bauhaus-University design student Martin Lihs. The spray paint can-styled casing contains a hacked up Wii controller that's used to manipulate virtual graffiti on a monitor. And since this is an art project, you can bet there are a wide variety of colors, spray caps, and tagging techniques built into the thing. Eventually, Lihs plans to integrate the device into a communal wall as part of his final thesis. It will be a sort of social media/public tagging spectacle that will enable users from around the globe to work on the same piece of art. Best of all, there are no Friend Codes. [Wii Spray via Core 77]

SNES Controller for Wii Unboxed, Looks Incredibly Authentic

Jason Chen — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Nintendo's just started shipping out these SNES controllers to their Club Nintendo members in Japan, and great googly moogly are these fantastic. Not only is it a similar greyish color, but the X Y B A face buttons are exactly the same color as before! What better way to play SNES games on the Wii emulator than with an actual SNES controller!

It's too bad that this is only for Club Nintendo members and only for Japan, but you can see more beautiful shots of the gamepad over at Inside Games. If you want to use your original NES or SNES controllers in the Wii, there's also the RetroZone controller adapters for $19 each. [Inside Games]