OK, not a real baby. A baby doll, of course. But it takes doll-playing to the next level by incorporating motion control (and balance board support!) into 18 game modes designed to test even the most darling little girl's resistance to saccharine depictions of parenting.

Not only that, this hellspawn will actually cry through the Wiimote's speaker. You quiet baby down by rocking, burping and teaching him/her/it to walk. There's even a feeding exercise. I'm sensing a Wiimote breast pump attachment down the line. And way to make everything creepy, Owen ...

This is the special edition, by the way. The regular game comes with a "holster" so you can attach the Wiimote to any other implement or household pet and pretend that is the baby, I guess. Baby and Me releases Nov. 10. I'm sure Luke will review it when he gets back.

Baby and Me Special Edition Puts Everything Else to Shame [Aussie-Nintendo via Go Nintendo]

Hand it to that guy, he does not deviate from the sales pitch after such a colossally embarrassing f—kup, even with his cohost laughing and, no doubt, a production crew trying to keep it together. And hats off to the director who switched over to the b-roll while they got the pitchman positioned perfectly in front of the TV to cover up the scar the Wiimote left.

Now, $329.90 for a standard Wii bundle and a doubled-up set of peripherals? That's a tragedy. Especially since they pretend it'd retail for $379.99.

Nintendo Wii Gaming System with Wii Sports and 15 Accessories [YouTube via Joystiq]

The mirror makes the hologram appear to be "floating" in air, while the Airborne Ultrasound Tactile Display shoots focused ultrasonic waves to create the feeling of a holographic ball or holographic rain falling on one's hand.

The Wii Remotes? They're used to track movement — just one of many non-gaming use scientist people are finding for Nintendo's hardware.

Touchable Holography [University of Tokyo via @GreatDismal via Pink Tentacle]

According to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, "To tell the truth, I expected them to come up with stuff like this last year. So in my mind they're later than expected." But that doesn't mean he's against his competitors entering this new realm — instead Iwata says he's happy that it's now an industry standard. "I'd like to say to them, 'Welcome to the motion-control world!'"

Nintendo, the exec contents, "will not be standing still" and is "actually looking forward to engaging in that sort of competition." Nintendo is always working on something new, Iwata adds. So perhaps this will push the company's creativity even further?

"However, we still have no idea about when their products will be available, or how much they will cost, or what sort of software they will be used with," he adds. "So, I am not in a position to judge whether they are a threat or not." Good point: We don't know when these motion controllers will be out, and we don't know what games they'll work with — probably because this hasn't been announced. But, will Sony's and Microsoft's motion controllers cost less than three Wii-motes and four nunchakus?

How Nintendo's boss rewrote the rules of the game [Times Online via Endsights]

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata asks just that in the Iwata Asks column on Wii.com. Here's the exchange between Iwata and Nintendo R&D's Junji Takamoto :

Iwata: I suppose the obvious question is: if it offers such huge advantages, why didn't you use it in the Wii Remote from the very start?

Takamoto: We actually looked into the idea of including a gyro sensor at the very start of the Wii Remote's development. But the idea was rejected due to issues of both space and cost which attaching a gyro sensor would entail.

Iwata: I see. But gyro sensors are measuring devices that have actually been around for a considerable amount of time, aren't they?

Takamoto: That's right. They were originally called gyroscopes and were used to measure angle and rotation speed in rockets and the navigation systems of ships. But they were very bulky instruments.

Iwata: They're fitted in the noses of airplanes as well, aren't they?

Takamoto: Right. That's the sort of size we're talking about. And let's not forget that they were also extremely expensive.

You know what's also expensive? Buying all the peripherals Nintendo releases.

The Gyro Sensor: A New Sense Of Control [Wii.com Thanks, Swarmster!]

I'm no patent inspector or IP attorney, but what's being described here looks like an application of the Wiimote, not some new hardware or peripheral. By using the Wiimote inits pointer mode, kids (or those with developmental disabilities) work on activities such as identifying shapes, recognizing letters and colors and animals. The software will offer some audiovisual cue and the little tyke will use the Wiimote to register the correct answer. For example, What is Mario fondling in this picture? That's right, he's fondling a SKUNK. (OK, he's fondling a cat.)

Using the Wiimote's motion capabilities, kids can simulate certain chores or personal hygiene tasks, reinforcing their necessity and teaching responsibility for them. Mario and Pikachu are depicted in the filing as characters involved in this game. The application also makes reference to other licensed characters, like Dora the Explorer and Bob the Builder.

Siliconera found the filing yesterday. This isn't proof of an actual product under development. Nintendo could also be working on something along these lines that comes out completely different. But it does give a good hint that Ninty's taking a hard look at the edutainment market.

Is Nintendo Taking a Big Step Toward Edutainment [Siliconera via Joystiq]

The IGN podcast, which is often privy to Nintendo announcements before they're announced, stated, "Nintendo is internally struggling with Wii MotionPlus, trying to figure out a few hiccups."

These "hiccups" would mean that Wii Sports Resort would be pushed back along with the Wii MotionPlus add-on. This would make sense someone as the game is MIA on Nintendo's upcoming games list.

All of this Wii MotionPlus delay talk is pure bunk, says Nintendo. Why? "No date was ever announced for MotionPlus — so technically it can't be delayed," Nintendo told game site CVG. Oh ho ho. Foiled by a technicality. Rats!

Wii MotionPlus not delayed, says Nintendo [CVG]

A Wavebird-like adapter would be attached to the GameCube console, which would interface with the wand remote. There appears to be two separate sensors points on the television.

The wand remote in the patent drawings looks surprisingly similar to the finalized Wii-mote.

There is also a patent drawing for a tennis game — which includes a drawing of Mario. Early shades of Wii Tennis, no doubt. So somewhere along the line, Nintendo decided to turn this add-on into the impetus for the console we now call the Wii.

Update: Miyamoto has talked about the early incarnations of the Wii before. This newly released patent simply confirms earlier suspicions.

Nintendo Patent Reveals [Siliconera]

User THeOReos joined Instructables on Christmas day just to show us how to put this bad bastard together. Disappointed with the variety of gun cases available for the Wiimote, he assembled his own using "an old air-soft MP5." He says it took three days to assemble, which sounds easy. But I have trouble with IKEA's assembly instructions for illiterates, so I still brand this (and any other mod project) a "difficult" with the attendant warning not to fuck up your Nintendo hardware unless you know what you're doing.

Also, gotta love the placement of the weapon next to the loving family pictures. I hope that's his wedding at left and his wife at right.

WeeP5 Advanced Zapper [Instructables via TheTanooki]

In studying how stroke victims re-learn physical tasks, the researchers found that the motion sensors in the WiiMote compared favourably with the existing systems. Tests are continuing with data being gathered from high-end kit to help the evaluation.

“It’s the only part of the system we really need,” says Marcia O’Malley, director of Rice's Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Laboratory, "We’re already grabbing motion data from the Wiimote,“so soon we’ll be able to measure a range of motion and then turn it into a mathematical model.”

Wii bit of fun at Rice University has serious intent [Rice Unicersity via Edge]

The very definition of 'Neat Hack', Ken Moore shows us his DIY Wiimote Theremin with a virtuoso rendition of a piece traditionally associated with the instrument - the theme from Star Trek.

It's not, in actual fact, a real Theremin. Rather than radio frequency oscillations, Ken uses tiny LEDs on the tips of his fingers (hence the gloves) that trigger the Wiimote's infrared sensors. Still damn cool, though and if nothing else takes my dream project of Theremin Hero one step closer to reality.

More Wii Theremin Videos [Ken Moore Design]

In deference to our sister site for this great get, you can see the second one on the link.

Halloween Wii Dogs Make Us Laugh, Shed Single Tear [Gizmodo]

Obama Asks America To Put Down Their Wii Controllers And Help ‘Make History’ [Multiplayer]

In games like SF or VF, all of the movements and inputs are extremely precise, and timing is crucial. I wanted to appeal to a broader audience than the general fighting-game crowd. There's also the issue of the Wii controller. It's difficult to do those sorts of precise movements when you're waving something around. That's why we opted to do more of a competitive action game.

Waggle, waggle, punch. Elsewhere in the interview, Igarashi declares his undying love for the Nintendo DS platform, but points out that making only DS games might not be the best business plan. It may be. You really can't be 100 percent about things like that.

Interview: Konami's Koji Igarashi [Kikizo] [Pic]

Tokyo-jogging [Official Site via Digital World Tokyo]

The study is a little more subtle than other research involving the Wii (training surgeons, for example) — the motion sensors might be useful for monitoring patients' progress in physiotherapy. Apparently, one of the biggest challenges patients face is constant discouragement from not being able to see, or really understand, the progress they're making. The motion sensors can also tailor exercises to a patient's range of motion.

The research is based on a previous study in which motion-capture technology was used to analyze the walking patterns of children affected by cerebral palsy. The Wii's sensors offer a scalable way to examine and monitor patients. It's envisioned that patients would first be examined using a full-camera setup in a lab, and then switch to a home monitor that incorporates cheaper motion sensors such as those found in the Wii. There's a video of this at the link below.

This isn't the only instance of consumer technology leading the way in other fields of serious research. Not by a long shot. For example, my favorite Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Carl Wieman of the University of British Columbia (formerly Colorado), used diode lasers like those found in CD players to help create the first Bose-Einstein condensate in 1995. Sometimes, you send a guy into space and get back Teflon, Tang, Velcro and Dippin Dots. And sometimes you develop Wii Sports and get back new forms of therapy.

Stroke Patients to Test Sensors [BBC]

No, I mean who really has everything - like, there is literally no Wii-related consumer good that they do not own apart from the one you are going to buy them.

Can we cautiously recommend the Hori Remote Controller Pocket? It is a smalll cardboard box that you can put your WiiMote and Nunchuck in. It's got 'Wii' written on the front in the correct font and everything. Er, that's it.

Even the National Console Support store, who are the ones trying to sell the thing on import seem mystified. Observe their high-pressure sales technique:

Anyone can fashion a similar pouch from an empty tissue box, a wonton soup container, a paper bag, or the cardboard box that your GA-KO Alarm Clock arrived in. Sure it won't look as nice as Hori's rendition but the functionality is the same and the cardboard box is free.

Sure, it's only $9, but there is a global recession on, for goodness' sake!

Remote Controller Pocket [NCSX via Wonderland]

"Of course we're incredibly pleased - delighted would probably be a better adjective - that Nintendo approached us... but it's not an exclusive relationship," Virginia told us. "I can't get into details about other folks that are interested in this technology, but as you might imagine of course there is more interest out there."

We've heard rumblings about Microsoft and Sony exploring motion control in the past, and those rumblings should only get louder now that the tech is available to make it actually work.

MotionPlus tech not exclusive to Nintendo [Eurogamer]

We expect Nintendo to divulge more at its E3 press conference tomorrow.

NINTENDO INTRODUCES THE WII™ MOTIONPLUS
July 14, 2008
Nintendo's upcoming Wii™ MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote™ controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space. The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player's arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion. Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play. The Wii MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo's commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone. Nintendo will reveal more details about the Wii MotionPlus accessory and other topics Tuesday morning at its E3 media briefing.

Anascape sued back in 2006 and went for the kitchen sink, claiming Nintendo and Microsoft both infringed on controller designs they had patented. Microsoft settled with Anascape. The original suit against Nintendo covered everything from the Gamecube forward — the Wavebird and the Classic, plus the Wiimote and Nunchuk. The case decided in May found infringements only on the former two not the motion-sensing controls in the Wii. Still, $21 million is not pocket change.

Nintendo's Appeal on Reduced $21M Verdict Denied [QJ.net]