Nyko, the company  that appears to be on a non-stop mission to beautify Wiis around the world, has today announced that its best-selling Wand controller is now available in five new colours, with each colour being available only as an exclusive at selected retail outlets in North America. The Wand previously came in five colours: white, blue, black, pink and purple, and will now be available in five more colours at the respective retailers:

• Gamestop: Green and Orange
• Walmart.com: Yellow
• Fry’s: Red
• Meijer Supercenters: Grey

This is what Chris Arbogast, marketing director for Nyko Technologies, had to say about the new Wands:

“These new colour Wands will provide even more ways for consumers to personalize their gaming setup. We had originally released these colours only in Japan, and due to popular demand we’re proud to now offer these options in the US.”

All Wands have matching buttons and silicone jackets, and feature Nyko’s Trans-Port technology, which enables compatible peripherals to communicate digitally with the Wand.

The new Wand colours are available now for an MSRP of $29.99.

Game accessories developer Hyperkin has today announced the launch of its Sound Plus Sports kits for the Nintendo Wii. The peripherals, which fit onto your Wii Remote, all have an internal sound device that simulates the noise a baseball bat, tennis racket or golf club makes when it comes into contact with its target.

The units are available in white, blue or pink foam, and are all Wii MotionPlus compatible.  Each kit includes two of each bat, racket or club, as with the Baseball Kit with Sound Plus pictured here.  This is what Steven Mar, Hyperkin’s Marketing Director, had to say about the kits:

“The Sound Plus was created to add a new level of sensory immersion to the Wii experience. Hearing each swing, the simulated sound of contact, adds a whole new level of fun and excitement to playing Wii sports games.”

Each Sound Plus Kit has an SRP of $19.99.

Electronic Arts and Sakar International has today announced that they are teaming up to create new sports and fitness accessories for the Nintendo Wii. The EA Sports accessory line-up includes Wii-compatible golf clubs, tennis rackets and baseball bats for use with game titles such as EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis and EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and 11. The products come in various packages, such as father/son, junior set, and pro set golf clubs that extend up to 24” or 36” for realistic gameplay. All accessories attach to the Wii Remote, and some of them are compatible with the Wii MotionPlus add-on.

As far as accessories for EA Sports Active are concerned, the new range will include wrist and ankle weights, fitness cords and dumbbells, armbands and legbands. All devices are cable-free and compatible with Wii MotionPlus. The EA Sports Active Starter Kit comes complete with a bag for the Wii Balance Board, a yoga mat, fitness cord, armband and legbands. The EA Sports Active Gym Kit includes a gym bag and yoga mat with a fitness cord and wrist/ankle weights. This is what Glenn Chin, vice president of brand marketing at EA Sports had to say about the new line:

“The new line of EA Sports peripherals and accessories for the Wii provides consumers ways to demonstrate their fandom for their favourite sport through these unique EA Sports offerings.”

All the products are due for release in the spring, with SRRs ranging from $14.99-$39.99.

Are you a Wii gamer who has extra huge thumbs? You are?! Well, Shinobii Technologies could have just the product you’ve been looking for. The company has today announced the Xcross Remote, which is specifically designed with an extra wide direction pad. The Xcross Remote is fully compatible with all classic Nunchuk controllers and add-ons such as Wii MotionPlus, and comes complete with a free wrist strap and silicone sleeve. It has a wireless play range of up to five metres or 16 feet, as well as the usual built-in speaker and vibration features, and an accelerometer for full motion control. It looks as if it only comes in black at the moment, so if you want one to match your nice shiny white original Wii then you’re out of luck!

The Xcross Remote is available now for €29.99 from the Shinobii website and will also be available in stores in the US and Europe in mid-February.

Following on from the recent announcement of a Monster Hunter Tri bundle featuring the Wii Classic Controller, Nintendo has announced that the game will be fully Wii Speak compatible,  meaning that players can use the microphone-based accessory to speak to their friends over the internet and share their knowledge of monsters’ weaknesses or discuss hunting strategies, all in real time.

As always when it comes to the Monster Hunter franchise, the monsters are one of the best thing about the game, and this is what Nintendo has to say about the monsters in the first ever Wii MH game:

“Every monster in the game behaves uniquely, based on meticulous research of real-world creatures. Like real creatures, their stamina will lessen if they fight. If their strength is depleted, their movements will become slower and they will need to begin to prowl to find food for energy. Packs of smaller monsters will attack larger monster and are part of a food-chain system where the strong feed on the weak – and you have the privilege of witnessing it first hand or joining in.”

Monster Hunter Tri will be available in April 2010 to buy either as a standalone game, or in two different bundles: one containing a black Classic Controller Pro, and one including a Wii Speak accessory and a black Classic Controller Pro.

Today is a day of double celebration! Not only has Capcom finally released its long-awaited Nintendo Wii-exclusive fighting game Tatsunoko VS. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars in North America (it’s out on January 29^th in the UK), Mad Catz has also released the licensed Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom Arcade FightStick to go with the game. It really does look like a beautiful thing, doesn’t it? Mad Catz’ previous FightSticks for the PS3 and Xbox 360 have been extremely well-received, so it’s great to see the Wii finally getting this quality piece of kit too.

The FightStick features newly developed high-performance Joystick and Action Buttons, alongside some gorgeous artwork from famous Japanese artist Shinkiro featuring characters from the game, including Street Fighter’s Ryu and Chun-Li. Each button has Dual-speed Turbo functionality, complete with LED indicators, which enables gamers to execute moves with lighting speed. The eight-button arcade configuration will feel very familiar to arcade fighting- game veterans, while an integrated D-Pad switch allows gamers to alternate between D-Pad and Left or Right Analog Sticks for maximum compatibility. There’s even a locking switch provided to prevent accidental operation of the Home button or Turbo settings.

The FightStick connects directly to the official or Mad Catz Remotes, meaning that it doesn’t have to be connected to the console.

“Capcom is pleased to continue working with Mad Catz to introduce the FightStick to the Wii community and allow fans of Tatsunoko VS. Capcom to experience the game in the way it was meant to be played,” said Christian Svensson, vice president business development & strategic planning at Capcom. “Many Wii owners are already enjoying Capcom fighting games via the Virtual Console facility and with the launch of Tatsunko VS. Capcom, we thought it important to give our fan base the opportunity to play with the Arcade FightStick.”

The Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom Arcade FightStick is available now for $79.99.

As if Monster Hunter fans weren’t already excited enough about the imminent arrival of Monster Hunter Tri, the first ever Monster Hunter game on the Nintendo Wii, Capcom has today announced that in North America the game will come bundled with the new Classic Controller Pro for the Wii. The controller’s more traditional control configuration means that players can choose to have that old-school authentic feel when they’re playing the game if they so wish.

“Monster Hunter Tri has made a huge splash in the Japanese market, and we’re confident the bundle with the Classic Controller Pro will give fans in North America plenty to get excited about,” said Steve Singer, Nintendo of America’s vice president of Licensing. “Gamers of all kinds enjoy playing games on Wii. Monster Hunter Tri delivers an incredible new experience on Wii, while the Classic Controller Pro gives players even more control options for their favourite Wii games.”

The new controller, which was previously only available to the Japanese market, comes with a second row of shoulder buttons, and ergonomically friendly grips, and plugs straight into the Wii Remote. It will be compatible with over 450 Wii, WiiWare and Virtual Console games. The Monster Hunter Tri bundle will only come with a black controller, but both black and white controllers will be available separately at an S.R.P. of $19.99 each.

The Monster Hunter Tri Classic Controller Pro bundle will be released this April for an S.R.P. of $59.99. The game will also be available without the controller for $49.99.

Peripheral manufacturer Blaze has today announced that it has secured the rights to produce Fitness First branded fitness accessories for the Nintendo Wii. Fitness First is the world’s largest gym, health, and fitness club group, with over 550 clubs worldwide spanning 19 countries. The company has obviously decided that it was time to grab themselves a slice of the current Wii fitness trend, which has seen over 20 million Wii Balance Boards sold worldwide.

“The group is on a mission to make the world a fitter place so products which enhance our core business fit into this perfectly,” said David Langridge, head of group marketing at Fitness First.

The accessories which are currently available from www.blazeeurope.com and all leading games stores in the UK, range from the Fitness First Silicon Skin (£9.99), designed to provide a better grip for your Wii Balance Board, the Fitness First Wii Fit Yoga Mat ((£9.99), meant to reduce impact and lessen strain on muscles and joints, and the Fitness First Wrist/Ankle Weights (£9.99), which provide added resistance for your Wii Fit workouts.

All three accessories are also available together in the Fitness First Wii Fit Workout Kit for £24.99.

Kamikaze Gear has today announced their Wireless Charging Dock Duo, which charges two Wii controllers at the same time via induction technology.  Of course the best thing about this latest wave of induction chargers is that there’s no need to remove the silicon sleeve or Nunchuk from your Wii Remote. All you need to do to charge your Wii Remote cordlessly is insert the included rechargeable battery pack into your Wii Remote, then lie it flat on the charging dock. The dock, which is available in both black and white, depending on your console, will also charge your Balance Board battery, and is compatible with MotionPlus. The dock can also be directly connected to the power adaptor to enable charging when the Wii is switched off.

The Wireless Charging Dock Duo will be available in European stores this January for €29.99. Alternatively, if you only have one wireless controller, you can buy the single Wireless Charging Dock which is out now in stores for €19.99.

Nyko has just announced that they’ve revamped their Charge Base IC for the Wii, with it now being able to take up to four controllers at one time. The Charge Base Quad IC uses induction technology to charge up to four controllers, and as with the original Charge Base IC, the Quad enables Wii Remotes or Wands to be charged without having to remove silicone sleeves, Wii Motion Plus, or other attachments, and I’m sure those of us who’ve struggled to get that pesky cover on and off can all say ‘yay!’ about that! The unit features dual charge indicator lights and a powered USB port that can be used for charging other devices. It comes in both nifty black and classic white, and will be available at select retail stores nationwide in North America from March 2010, at an MSRP of $49.99.

Peripherals manufacturer Nyko Technologies has today announced several new products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, one of which is what Nyko claims to be “the most advanced and user-friendly controller on the market for the Wii.” The Wand + features Full Motion Technology built directly into the controller, enabling full 1:1 movement tracking that is compatible with all games utilizing the Wii Motion Plus attachment. Nyko says that by having the Full Motion Technology already built into the controller, it avoids some of the irritations than can occur when using dongles and add-ons, such as incompatibility with docks and other accessories, and the need for custom sleeves. The Wand+ also features Nyko’s award-winning Trans-Port Technology, which enables key action buttons to be digitally replicated on other devices and pass sound and vibration signals to attached peripherals for the ultimate immersive gameplay experience.

If you like how all that sounds and fancy picking one up, the Wand+ will be available at select retail stores nationwide in March 2010 for an MSRP of $39.99.