Nintendo gets into health care with Wii

I don't see what all the fuss is about, Nintendo have chosen an eminently sensible moniker for their upcoming console. After the huge commercial success of the brain-training games on the DS, for the elderly, they have decided to cash in and claim the health / wellbeing niche as their own. They hope that the biggest seller will be a bladder-training game - suitable for both young and old.

Happily the creative, thoughtful brand strategy is set to continue --- Reportedly, a new small form factor virtual reality device is in the final stages of development. To signify its portability and action or 'doing' vibe, it will be called P-DO - P for portable and DO for doing. Nintendo aims to encourage a P-DO lifestyle and hopes that enthusiasts will dub themselves P-DOphiles. I can reveal that its killer-app will be 'Virtual Boy', developed by the previously unheralded QidE Studios. The title is surely an homage to the ill-fated console. There will be tie ins with the Wii's new platformer, to replace the ailing Mario, a Miyamoto produced 'Willy Winky'. Various iterations will follow for other formats, but the first and biggest will be Wii Willy Winky.

Owen Clipsham

Come on, this console name rocks. First of all, lots of people are having fun with it even before its launched. Now hows that for a first? Value for money even before you paid for it.

Ill let you anglophones do the honours, you seem to have the knack of word puns. You can make so many silly names with Wii, it is really great! Try making puns about Xbox 360 or PS2. Or PSP. Try pronouning PSP.

"PPPPFfffffffssssssssspppp!"

And thats even before doing a Daffy imitation (50% more spittle).

Actually you can spell out Wii in the severely sound limited japanese language without having to mangle it, like the "pureesuteeshon" or the "geemukyuubu". If they can manage, the whole world should be able to effortlessly.

Yes, Wii looks silly, and I instantly see people moan about it. But comeon. Its a gamesconsole. It plays games. It doesnt try to prefix or suffix large numbers or impossible letter combinations such as XT or GT.

Think about the connotations of Xbox 360. IS that the temperature F it runs at? The volume of air moved per hour by the fans? Or maybe the wattage? Or is it with a combined compass?

PS3.. What, they ran out of ideas and just keep pumping out the same stuf?

Perhaps Nintendo will again snap defeat from the jaws of victory, completely mistargeting the product and losing support from all but a few devoted (read: indentured) developers. But its not going to be because of the name. People will just call it a Nintendo anyways.

It is more likely because there is a certain segment of mostly western male gamers that scoff at anything without guns or the much lauded, but greatly abused "realism". I am one of the converts, who only lately emerged from the samey world of Counter-Strike, real-time strategy and trite EA fare to find. Nintendo and realized how fun and diverse gaming is if you can, just for a moment, look past the Sony / EA genre stereotypes.

Theres more to gaming than extreme sports, running over hookers and shooting cops, being a covert-op ninja stealth agent warrior or driving brand cars in loops. The DS already showed me that theres much fun to be had with the simple aesthetics of moving things about and see them go pop or ding. Nintendo excels at that.

I hope E3 will reveal more of the only true new thing to happen to gaming for ages.

Soren Svendsen
Denmark

INQ is "sneering limey red-top anti=US rag

I've been reading your site for a long time and its not nearly as anti-american as it is an utter fanboy of ATI over Nvidia (hehe, hey, I like ATI more too... but, I'm also just being objective here). I'd say a decent amount of articles on here are not directly anti-american,,, rather indirectly. Let me explain. The articles are mainly liberal based, and what liberals mainly do is complain about any imperfection with the world that they can find or blame america first (which makes the articles indirectly anti-american).

BUT, I am only exagerating here for humors sake. Yes theres some anti US articles but I've also seen MANY excellent articles on products that originate from American companies. In fact, I've probably seen more good coverage of American born products than I've seen of European products soooo on the other hand, you guys like a lot of things that come out of the US, or at least like what comes out of the US.

I've also noticed that some articles of yours with an anti-american sound to them (namely some articles on microsoft) aren't really anti-american, your just messing around and having fun - a dry sense of humor if you will. Many people probably just don't get it. hehe

From a South Park conservative (we're a new growing breed)

Kane Ray - of Las vegas NV.

Dead Pixels

Hey guys,

I just wanted to know if you had any solutions for this particular problem.

My 20 inch cinema display has a dead pixel, and a couple "distortions" on it as well. I brought it in, and they won't fix it. since when is even one dead pixel acceptable, never mind the distortions?

I understand that the "industry standard" is 2 or more, except, I can't find that anywhere, and on top of that no one at apple seems to know. They don't even know where my display was made!

I once had a similar problem with a canon camera, that is, a dead pixel on the screen. I brought it in, they took it from me and gave me a new one, on the spot! What's all this business of apple support lines where no one seems to know anything?

There is no chart available on line, detailing just how many "dead pixels" are acceptable. each apple rep has given me a different response, some going as far as 8! this one pixel is very annoying, and I'd just like to know, who writes this "standard", who decides that it's ok to do this to people? Why are we paying triple the price for a display, that is of o better quality? I understand it's just the luck of the draw, so to speak. but that's a ridiculous argument when you spend over $1000 on a monitor.

please help!

gryphon

Authenticity of Articles

Hi Mike,

Up for some fun? Then paste this into the Authenticity Checker.

This text had been classified as inauthentic with a 13.9% chance of being authentic text.

Paste any text in the textbox. The chance that your submission is a human-written authentic scientific document will be output. Text over 50% chance will be classified as authentic.

Your entry is too short. Too short is your entry. Entry your is too short. Is too short your entry. Your is too short entry. Your entry is too short. Too short is your entry. Entry your is too short. Is too short your entry. Your is too short entry. Your entry is too short. Too short is your entry. Entry your is too short. Is too short your entry. Your is too short entry. Your entry is too short. Too short is your entry. Entry your is too short. Is too short your entry. Your is too short entry. Your entry is too short. Too short is your entry. Entry your is too short. Is too short your entry. Your is too short entry. Your entry is too short. Too short is your entry. Entry your is too short. Is too short your entry. Your is too short entry. Your entry is too short. Too short is your entry. Entry your is too short. Is too short your entry. Your is too short entry. Your entry is too short. Paste any text in the textbox. The chance that your submission is a human-written authentic scientific document will be output. Text over 50% chance will be classified as authentic.

I really had fun in proving that it doesn't work (hint -- it passes as Authentic or as we Intel folks like to say Genuine).

Regards
Igor

Aging Rockers sue Sony over downloads

In your article you write:

"...when the bands signed their contracts, it was long before the days of MP3s and filesharing, so their contracts include references to charges like packaging, loses due to breakages and restocking costs."

This is accurate, but misses the real issue behind this suit. The issue is about consumer rights over items that are sold vs. licensed.

It's not that the contract didn't anticipate digital downloads, it's more that the contract the band has with the labels provides for a different royalty rate, depending on whether the music is licensed or sold.

Now, and this is the interesting bit, consumers, when they purchase a CD, gain a number of rights over their purchase. The legal principle is that once someone sells you CD, they no longer can stop you from doing whatever you want with it, as long as you don't copy it. I.e., you can play it wherever you want, you can give it to someone else, you can sell it on (say to a used music store).

Now, if you look at iTunes music (or any other digital download), you'll notice that you can't sell it on, transfer it to somewhere else, and you can only play it on approved devices.

So, how have the record companies justified this restriction in our "First Sale" rights? By claiming that, when we purchased the music we weren't, in fact, sold a good, but rather *licensed* it.

So, the lawsuit is basically around the fact that, to their artists, Sony is claiming it's a sale, but to their customers, Sony is saying it's a license. They can't have it both ways.

Name supplied

Anti-Americanism

You know this I'm sure but don't take what any Anti-Everyone else sentiment from an american. They are loosing their grip on the world's influential status as they once had but I guess their appearance which oddly enough means everything in the US, but means absolutely nothing when it comes to any other country. With the attitude of to bad so sad I don't care, I want money!!! How can they expect respect, FYI to any future conquering global dominator, respect is earned not beaten out of people. If respect is beaten out of the people then the second your down everyone starts kicking but if respect is earned then people will give it even if you're down and will help you get back up. Just the way it is.

Name supplied

The comment about "I am sure they make it all up" is totally false since I've been reading your site every day for the last 5 years (even before the INQ there was the register, and when Mad Mike Magee left I followed him to the Inq) and well the info I've read over the years have really broadened my understanding of the IT industry as a whole. In other words The Inq doesn't just talk tech but talks everything around the whole industry. Not just the geek stuff but also the manufacturing, business, statistics, viruses, trade shows, trends, .... as you can see you guys cover it all not just geek talk for geeks.

That whole comment about the Computer being a American invention is totally BS.... uh it was a German engineer who at the time a type of mathematician engineer who were called "Computers" because their job was to calculate very complex mathematical equations who was the inventor of the modern day computer. His reason for creating it was to not have to do the tedious repetitious tasks in the calculations. Anyway with these kinds of omissions Americans are considered very arrogant and people don't like arrogance.

I once had a funny experience playing Counter-Strike Source on a Canadian server where there was about 3 Americans connecting to it who were making fun of the French people (we are in Canada eh, and we have 2 official languages eh) who were playing for about 2 hours straight. After being tired of hearing their BS I made a comment about "Wasn't it the French who gave you as a gift your symbol of freedom, the statue of Liberty" and well I'll tell you that I can't repeat what they said back since it would be totally inappropriate to post on the web. Anyway it just goes to prove how the US will take help when they need it but very soon forgets who their friends are and screws everyone if it is profitable.

You guys done good!!!

keep it up and don't worry about some small minded people.

Name supplied

This is lovely, Mike.

But your correspondent may have missed the twist Yup, as far as I can make out, the wonderful Shelley Goodman and her shellytherepublican.com is (in a bittersweet sad-but-hilarious way) for real.

However "Tristam Shuddery" is almost certainly a troll. Shelly herself (who has evidently completely failed to spot the spoof) places the author here, where Tristam's profile reads as follows:

"I am recently retired IT manager from Tuttle-City, Oklahoma. Now that I have retired, I can spend more time with my grand-children, plus devote my life to God, and America."

Doesn't "Tuttle-City" and "IT manager" ring a bell?

Your devoted admirer,
Chris