Wii

Well, finally had an MRI last week to determine what is up with my right knee, and my doctor called yesterday to give me the news: small tear in the medial meniscus, a sprain in the medial collateral ligament (MCL), and a femoral bone bruise. Looking back, I'm almost positive it was from that fall on our stairs which I initially thought only hurt my back -- but I twisted sideways as I landed and probably had my right leg planted.

Next will be a visit with an orthopedic doc to determine if I can just go do physical therapy rehab, or if I need surgery first. Knock on wood. From what I've read about it, I need to keep up the HI-RICE, do some exercise like walking and light cycling to keep up the healing blood flow, and just try to stay cognizant of how it's feeling so I don't overdo it and re-injure things.

Here's a picture of the mother of all Wii accessories MRI machine, and then one of some unidentified internal portion of my knee, which may include an alien embryo.

Hey, it's me in Rock Band. :)

Dig my axe! Not as cool as this one but still.

Here's Denyse:

1414 is my "street name" ;D

Alas, it was a friend of Hans's who has the Wii and game, so we are unable to progress our careers. But maybe someday! :)

Hardcore Casual reviewed the Wii soccer game Mario Strikers Charged recently and liked it well enough to call it "a worthwhile purchase."

I don't have a Wii, though if I were to buy a new console in the vaguely near future, Wii might be the one. Pretty sure this particular game wouldn't be on my to-buy list, but, as Hardcore Casual says,

As with many other Wii games, you can’t exactly point to one factor of why it’s entertaining, but it is, and you keep coming back for more.

Extensive article published today in ArsTechnica Articles/Culture, by Jeremy Reimer: "How the Wii was born"

The Nintendo Wii represents a bold new direction for the company, one that came as somewhat of a surprise. The integration of a motion-sensitive controller combined with the decision to go with a more modest technological improvement in processing power and graphics were both risky decisions, and the jury is still out on how successful these gambles will play out. Recently, Ars received a translation of an interview from a Japanese magazine with some key executives and engineers at Nintendo. The topic of discussion was the reasoning behind the company's design decisions with the Wii, and what benefits they expected to receive from these decisions that would give them an advantage over their competitors....

Looks like lots of great details -- I'm looking forward to reading it later in full.

And this, dear friends, is another reason why my next gaming console purchase will be a Nintendo:

Sword Controls For Zelda - Swing the Wiimote to control Link's sword.

Nintendo has made some major changes to the control scheme for the Wii version of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Speaking to Japan's monthly Nintendo Dream publication, producer Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that the game will now allow players to swing the controller for sword slashes.

At E3, players used the B button to swing Link's sword, with Nintendo explaining at the time that players would likely get tired having to actually swing the controller. "Upon actually playing it, it's more interesting this way," said Miyamoto to Nintendo Dream about the new control scheme.

via /. Games

Wii's classic games to be priced less than US$10

Nintendo President Saturo Iwata spoke yesterday at a Japanese marketing event (Japanese source), revealing information about "virtual console" pricing and the Wii's relationship with the DS. Iwata revealed that games for Nintendo's "virtual console" that will allow Wii owners to play old titles on their consoles will be priced at ¥500 and ¥1,000, roughly US$4.50 to US$8.99. For reference, classic retro games for the Nintendo GameBoy sold for upwards of US$35 for some titles, US$19.99 for others. Uptake was understandably low, as gamers were reticent to pay that much for old content....

From the picture Iwata is painting, it's clear that the Wii is designed to profit not only from new games sales but also by working closely with the DS, and placing an emphasis on inexpensive classic games purchased online. It's hard to underestimate the worth of Nintendo's back catalogue, and the addition of classic Sega and Turbografx titles adds considerable appeal for gamers who cut their teeth on Nintendo's early consoles....