Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Peripherals

Nintendo must be pleased as punch with the McDuck-esque mountains of money that their motion-sensitive system has garnered — though they seem to be focusing on making sure their well-received one-handed peripheral is at its waggliest. In addition to introducing the Wii MotionPlus at this year’s E3 press event, Nintendo is apparently looking into swapping out the accelerometer in the Wii Remote, replacing it with newer, faster motion-sensing technology.

This is not only good news for accelerometer manufacturers (who are already wrestling to get their technology into the best-selling controller), but for Wii enthusiasts as well — according to a Nikkei Tech-On article, a manufacturer named Kionix could provide an accelerometer that will noticably improve the Wiimote’s motion sensitivity. However, we hope it doesn’t make it too sensitive — after all, what good is a controller that sits in its room all day, watching Love Actually and listening to James Taylor?

Nintendo considering new Wiimote accelerometer tech originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports

With over 80 laps and a pit/driver change under its belt, Team Cytosport (#06 – Daytona Prototype) is holding down first place in class and first overall, setting a best time of 1:44.919, with average laps coming in around 1:50. Second overall is held by Team Trimtex/Fall-Line (#70 – 2005 BMW M3), followed by Team Green Alternative Motorsports (#87 – M20F). Team Green has the best chance of unseating Cytosport for the top slot, laying down a best time of 1:43.777 and averaging 1:49-1:50 laps. Four laps separate the two, but the day is young, so the spread could diminish quickly if things heat up.

Two teams have caught our eye so far:

• The turbocharged MPME Team Scion tC (#27), which rolled during practice on Thursday, laid down a best lap of 1:58:564 — one-tenth of a second behind Toxidrift Racing Competition Viper (#77).
• Butte College Motorsports (#04), which consists of five drivers and a 30+ member crew from the college’s auto shop class is running an S2000 donated to the school by Honda. After three years of assembly, disassembly and tweaking, the car is set to be crushed, so the students decided that a campaign in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill would be a fitting send off. We couldn’t agree more.

Live results here.

All photos copyright (C)2008 Brad Wood / Weblogs, Inc.

2008 25 Hours of Thunderhill: Mid-day Saturday update originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Downloads, RTS, Sandbox, Simulation, Strategy, Spore

Electronic Arts took it on the chin when it announced its plans for Spore to have DRM programming that many gamers felt was far too restrictive. Now the web site TorrentFreak clams that, even with the DRM set-up, Spore ended up as the most pirated PC game on BitTorrent in 2008.

According to their story, the alien evolution sim was downloaded 1.7 million times on BitTorrent, well ahead of second place game The Sims 2 with 1.15 million copies TorrentFreak claims Spore’s pirate numbers are a record for a game. Of course these numbers come just from one source of info; it may be impossible to know if these figures truly represent the amount of pirated copies out there on the Internet.

[Via GamePolitics]

Is Spore the most pirated PC game of 2008? originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This one’s been around the block a time or two, but sadly, it still won’t be available for use as an in-law stocking stuffer. Black & Decker’s $39.99 TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector packs an infrared sensor that can detect where cool air is being let in around older windows, doors, etc. You simply aim it at a suspect area on your wall or molding, set the threshold for temperature change and comprehend the readout on the LCD screen. Too bad this will be way less useful when it launches in the Spring, but Old Man Winter’s never too far out.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Filed under: Household

Black & Decker TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector finds draft areas in your abode originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, SUVs, Japan, Toyota

Click above for our high-res gallery of the 2008 Toyota Highlander

Toyota has just announced pricing on the 2009 Highlander SUV with its new 4-cylinder engine. The latest entry-level model in the Highlander lineup will arrive at the dealership with a base MSRP of $25,705. That figure cleanly undercuts the price of the Highlander V6 FWD ($27,600) and the Highlander Hybrid ($34,700). The new 4-cylinder engine displaces 2.7-liters and is rated at 187 hp and 186 lb-ft of torque. Mated to an all-new 6-speed electronically-controlled automatic, it’s enough motivation to get the SUV to 60 mph in a claimed 9.7 seconds, yet still return an EPA estimated 20 mpg city and 27 mpg highway (22 MPG combined). For comparison, the Highlander V6 is rated at 18/24 and the Hybrid at 27/25… yes, the new gasoline-fed inline-4 is more efficient than the hybrid on the highway. Look for the new four-cylinder Highlander at Toyota dealers in January.

[Source: The Auto Channel]

Continue reading Four-cylinder Toyota Highlander priced at $25,705

Four-cylinder Toyota Highlander priced at $25,705 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

As evidenced by our weekly sales charts, the Xbox 360 is finally making some (see: any) headway in Japan, strengthened by a recent salvo of Square-Enix releases on the system. As such, Microsoft finally has the customer base to justify exporting a feature that Americans have been enjoying for over two years now — the Xbox Live Video Marketplace.

According to Famitsu, the Video Marketplace will be landing on Japanese 360s sometime next year, bringing with it a new slew of Japanese films and anime. Simmer down, Naruto-ites — said content will be region-locked, leaving you to make due with your unsophisticated American programming. Unfortunately, the service’s Japanese release date is fairly vague — is an anticipated quarter too much to ask for a launch window? Come on, Microsoft. Help a 兄弟 out.

Xbox Live Video Marketplace opening in Japan next year originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: FPS, Multiplayer, Trailers, Left 4 Dead

One of the best things about Valve’s recent zombie co-op shooter Left 4 Dead was the game’s cinematic intro movie which was released on the Internet just before the game itself shipped to stores. The game’s official blog site now has an article that takes a look behind the scenes at how that intro cinematic was made.

This was the first time that Valve had actually created an intro movie for its games (they normally start in the game itself) and they did several animatics to test out several concepts before they settled on the final version. Things like a romantic link between Francis and Zoey were dropped as were some elements that were considered to be too comedic.
Download HD Left 4 Dead Intro Cinematic (312 MB)
Check out all Left 4 Dead downloads

Behind the scenes for Left 4 Dead’s intro movie originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade, Rumors

In Xbox Live Arcade news that exists in the grey area between rumor and factual information, word on the interwebs is that Q Entertainment’s Meteos Wars and Namco’s PowerUP Forever will be headed to the XBLA next Wednesday, December 10th.

The news actually comes from the official developer / publisher websites, including Namco’s official PowerUP Forever page and Q’s newly launched Meteos Wars website. The only reason we’re slapping a rumor on these games’ rather official release dates is the fact that Microsoft has been known to make last minute XBLA release switcheroos. In our eyes, until we hear XBLA release dates from Microsoft, they aren’t official.

[Thanks, sacra]

Source – Meteos Wars
Source – PowerUP Forever

Rumor: Meteos Wars and PowerUP Forever XBLA bound next week originally appeared on Xbox 360 Fanboy on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s actually kind of amazing how much dough Microsoft has spent over the past little while in an attempt to polish its image in the minds of the general populace, and as if those “I’m proud to be a PC” and completely incomprehensible Gates / Seinfeld spots weren’t enough, the Redmond-based outfit is about to roll out its own clothing line (dubbed “Softwear”) this month. And no, we’re not kidding. Not even a little. Microsoft has purchased the assistance of Crispin Porter & Bogusky in order to ensure the results are actually desirable, and it has also hired rapper Common as a spokesman. We can’t definitively say the shirt you see above is as fly as Pharrell’s Gizmondo Enzo tee, but we’d rock it. We’d rock it hard.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Filed under: Wearables

Microsoft to push cool factor with retro-inspired clothing line originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports

UPDATE – 11:13 AM PST: The green flag has dropped and the race is underway.

Click these colored words here for live results and scoring.

We’re a few minutes away from the start of the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, so we took the opportunity to stroll through the pits to see the cars and crews about to take on North America’s most challenging enduro.

The Scion tC we reported on yesterday is up and running, although slightly worse for the wear after an off-course excursion at turn 8 during qualifying put the turbo’d coupe on its roof. The Mazda contingent is out in force, with every generation of MX-5/Miata and RX-7 represented and ready to mix it up with Fords, Hondas, BMWs (including an utterly fantastic V8-powered E46 — our bad, it’s not racing, it’s for sale) two Fun Cup cars and everything in between. Hit the jump to check out the (poorly formatted) qualifying results that puts Team Cytosport and its Daytona Prototype on the poll. We’ll have more images once the race gets underway, but check the gallery to get a virtual walk-through of the pits.

Continue reading 2008 25 Hours of Thunderhill: Qualifying and a stroll through the pits

2008 25 Hours of Thunderhill: Qualifying and a stroll through the pits originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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