No, you witch, I *haven't* dropped my hips!

If you've spent any amount of time with the "push-up and side plank" exercise in Wii Fit or Wii Fit Plus, you've likely heard, oh, about a thousand times (if not more), the following question: "Have you dropped your hips?"

Whenever I hear it, I feel like picking up the nearest heavy object and throwing it at my on-screen, mannequin-esque trainer. As I don't want to replace my TV every time I use Wii Fit, I grit my teeth and mumble obscenities under my breath rather than give in to my fantasies.

Why mention all of this here--and now? Well, I worked out using Wii Fit for the first time in more than 40 days a few hours ago. And despite the fact that I had to hear that damn question about a hundred times (along with helpful comments like, "Don't forget to breathe!") in the span of a half-hour, I enjoyed myself.

OK, "enjoyed myself" probably isn't the best way to describe how I felt--in general, I don't enjoy sweating profusely and feeling like I'm going to die--but I know I'll enjoy how it makes me feel (and look) in the long run, as few exercises kick my butt like doing a few sets (of 20 reps) of push-ups and side planks.

Are any of you fans of Wii Fit or Wii Fit Plus? If so, what are your favorite exercises? Also, have you firmed up, gained muscle or lost weight thanks to the time you've spent with Nintendo's most famous "non-game"?

Monday, Jan. 18 = the gayest day ever for American Wii owners

You know why? That's when Muscle March will be added to WiiWare! (I didn't pull the date out of my butt, by the way--I found it right here.)

Oh, and it gets better: The powers that be at Namco Bandai Games America Inc. (that's quite a mouthful, isn't it?) have decided to sell the game for a measly 500 Nintendo Points (or $5, if you prefer to deal with actual currencies).

In case you've been living in a cave (hey, it happens) and, as such, you've never experienced the macho magnificence that is Muscle March, here's an "infomercial" that shows you everything you need to know about the title (and then some):

I know what you're thinking: I don't want to wait. I want it now!! Well, wait you must. In the meantime, you could busy yourself by checking out the official(ly hilarious) Muscle March site. Or you could head over to Twitter and read through King Pedroso's amazingly insightful tweets.

Whatever you do, be sure to do it while wearing your favorite pair of Speedos :)

The baddies in Zengeki no Reginleiv are *this big*

Have you ever dreamed of battling baddies as big as houses? If so, you'll get your chance when Nintendo's Zengeki no Reginleiv is released (in Japan--boo!) on Feb. 11.

You'll also get your chance to battle baddies the size of water buffalo, giraffes, sailboats and pagodas. At least, I think that's what this trailer is touting:



I know Nintendo of America doesn't have the best track record when it comes to localizing the smaller releases of its parent company (e.g., Another Code: R, Captain Rainbow, Disaster:Day of Crisis and Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse), but I'm hoping they'll buck that trend in this case.

Nintendo of America thinks you're ready for Beyonce's jelly (again)

Last April, Nintendo of America paid "Single Ladies" crooner Beyonce an exorbitant amount of cash (or not) to promote Rhythm Heaven. The result: A pair of TV ads showing the former Destiny's Child frontwoman playing (and seemingly enjoying) the Tsunku-designed DS game. Here's one of them:

Surprisingly, the ads didn't lead to success on the sales charts. In its first month on store shelves, Rhythm Heaven sold somewhere south of 91,000 copies, according to NPD Group. In its second month (May 2009), it sold less (much less, probably) than 110,000 copies.

That's the last time Rhythm Heaven appeared on NPD's sales charts, which suggests the title hasn't followed in the successful footsteps of its Japanese counterpart. (That game, known as Rhythm Tengoku Gold, has sold nearly 2 million copies since its release in June 2008).

Anyway, to make a long story short (I know, too late), the folks at Nintendo of American don't seem to be all that bothered by Beyonce's lack of selling power. Case in point: Yesterday's announcement that Jay-Z's better half will soon appear in a pair of TV ads pushing the company's Style Savvy game.

Should the spots fail to spur Style Savvy sales (try to say that three times fast), maybe the powers that be at Nintendo will give "Friends" funny lady Lisa Kudrow (and former Personal Trainer: Cooking and Professor Layton pitchwoman) another go.

I'd buy this PSP in a heartbeat ...

... if it were commercially available:

Sadly, it's not. Instead, it's the creation of an artistically inclined Katamari Damacy (and Noby Noby Boy) fan.

Sure, the Keita Takahashi-esque faces that have been painted on the screen might make it hard to play (or at least enjoy) most games, but I'm pretty sure it'd still be worth the moolah.

(Via tinycartridge.com)