Wow. I was looking forward to grindhouse lightgunner HOTD: Overkill plenty already, but now I’ve seen this forthcoming special edition, I’m even more hyped.

Eurogamer is reporting that the game is now due for a February 13th launch in Europe - somewhat earlier than expected - and then this special edition Bang Bang Box shows up on Amazon Canada.

Various internet reports suggest the Bang Bang Box has also been confirmed for release in Sweden, which would suggest that it will be landing in all PAL territories (apart from Germany) soon. Expect a press release from Sega imminently. In the meantime I’m going to get excited about dual-wielding these ace new Hand Cannons and kicking some serious zombie ass. (While chewing bubblegum, obviously.)

Oh, and that date? It’s a Friday. Friday the 13th. How wonderfully apt.

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According to this translation of a piece on Japanese site Inside-Games, the Wii remake of Monster Hunter G will launch on April 23rd in Japan, and will come with a demo of the highly-anticipated Monster Hunter Tri.

The game will cost just 3990 yen (£24.73), which equates to the same as the two Biohazard remakes. This feels slightly less of a con given that G never appeared on GameCube and that it comes with a demo that’s likely to be a very big deal in Japan.

Capcom will also be releasing a special Monster Hunter G Starter Pack, which contains the game, the demo and a special edition Classic Controller - pictured above - for the sum of 5220 yen (£32.36).

No word of a western release, but I’d say this one is pretty likely to stay in Japan. Tri might be a different story, though - I’m sure we’ll hear about that more nearer the new game’s launch later in the year.

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After a bit of a shaky start (involving the site breaking down as soon as the thing opened) Club Nintendo has finally opened its doors to US gamers. This is A Good Thing - Club Nintendo in Japan has offered eastern gamers some incredibly cool gifts over the years, while us westerners have had to put up with mobile phone wallpapers and Mario Kart handkerchieves. Well, perhaps not the latter, but that’s not far off the kind of overpriced tat we used to be presented with when registering our Nintendo Stars.

Anyway, Americans now get the chance to own the splendid Game & Watch Collection for DS (a mere 800 ‘coins’), or the two Animal Crossing-themed goodies above - a DS card holder and stylus set, and a pack of playing cards for 600 coins and 500 coins respectively.

Europe’s started getting some cool stuff too, amazingly enough. Though we’re still not getting it as good as the Japanese - they get points for every game they buy, whether it’s published by Nintendo or not.

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Coming across very much like a blend of the official Classic Controller and a PSP, the Blaze Classic Wii Controller is an alternative option if you’re looking for ways to play your old GameCube games or those classics from yesteryear on the Virtual Console.

Weighing in at £14.99, however, it costs the same as the official model, and in my experience I’ve never used a third-party pad on a Nintendo console that’s bettered the official versions. Which doesn’t necessarily make it a bad purchase, but it seems as if it’ll only benefit those unable to get hold of the in-short-supply Nintendo controller. It does remind me that Nintendo should release a wireless version of their own Classic Controller, though. Will we see anything like that next year, or does Nintendo not quite care enough about the core gamer to bother? With MotionPlus on the way in the spring, it might just be an official peripheral too many for Nintendo, particularly given Satoru Iwata’s insistence that the company wasn’t planning on releasing any more new controllers.

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Subsonic has released info and pics of its latest two peripherals for Wii. The first is a lightsaber which no doubt due to copyright issues has to be referred to as a Laser Sword, which lights up either constantly or when you swing the remote. Nice idea, but to be frank the people who buy these things are imagination-free idiots. Though it’s maybe just about acceptable if you have kids. Maybe.

The second accessory is the Wireless Nunchuk Adaptor, which allows for “up to 50 hours of game autonomy” on 2 AAA batteries, which aren’t provided. It also makes your nunchuk about twice as big, so it’s a bit like holding two remotes. Considering half the appeal of the original nunchuk is in its ergonomic and lightweight design - and given that the cable between the two is plenty long enough for every game you’ll ever need it for (unless you’re doing some really bizarre and wrong movements while playing) - this has to be one of the most pointless peripherals I’ve seen.

Might be good for the one-handed control of Opoona, but then again you’ve got Nyko’s wireless adapter which is smaller and almost certainly better. Ah well.

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Thought the extraneous accessories situation on Wii couldn’t get sillier? Wrong! Peripheral-maker ezGear has created a set of four instrument-shaped remote shells, representing a violin, a conductor’s baton, a saxophone and drumsticks/xylophone mallets, for Nintendo tune-em-up Wii Music.

Watching someone play Wii Music is faintly amusing as it is, but there’s a certain abstraction to the playing which makes it a little less daft. But wailing on fake plastic music-makers, which only cater for - at my reckoning - around ten of the game’s sixty instruments, seems like an even more pointless waste of time and money than those Cooking Mama kitchen implements.

Nonetheless, there’s clearly a market for this sort of thing, and if you really can’t do without a saxaphone shell when tooting along to the Animal Crossing theme, then you can reserve the pack here for $29.99. And I’ll concede that perhaps the violin isn’t such a bad idea.

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The Nintendo Stars Catalogue hasn’t been known for its quality gifts in the past, but the current update actually has some decent stuff on offer - assuming you’re awash with spare points, that is.

For 3850 points, you can get your hands on the superb Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack - or, even better, pay an extra 1000 points for the platinum version which has all the game’s music as opposed to the main orchestral themes for each galaxy. It’s one of the best soundtracks ever made, really - if you’re a serious Nintendo fan, you owe it to yourselves to grab this if you can.

If you’ve even more points burning a hole in your invisible Wii wallet, then you could always go for a gold Twilight Princess statue. Those less well-endowed in the points department may have to settle for a Wii Fit winter scarf or hat.

Head on over to this page to get hold of said items. Or just to cast an envious eye over things you’ll never have unless you pay over the odds on eBay.

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Eurogamer has a piece up clarifying the situation regarding Wii Speak, which caused certain internet-goers to get all flustered when they thought they wouldn’t be able to get hold of the peripheral second-hand.

(Though why you’d want to buy a second-hand peripheral I don’t know. Games are one thing, but controllers and other accessories I’d never consider getting pre-owned. Maybe you’re different, but it just seems a bit weird to me.)

Anyway, I digress. Nintendo had the following to say about the matter: ”Nintendo can confirm that when consumers purchase the Wii Speak accessory, they are provided with a Wii Download Ticket with a unique number. The ticket, which can be redeemed via the Wii Shop Channel, will enable the user to download the Wii Speak Channel free of charge to a single Wii console. Any consumer who may have misplaced their Wii Download Ticket number for the Wii Speak Channel or require a new number following a Wii exchange may contact their local Nintendo Customer Services department, where they can request a replacement Wii Download Ticket number.”

So that’s that, then. If you’re getting a preowned Wii Speak, then you’ll still be able to download the Channel. Praise be.

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If you’re rich/popular enough to own four remotes and are chewing through packs of Duracell faster than a chaingun spits bullets, then peripheral maker Nyko has a brand new solution, with its forthcoming Charge Station Quad offering an easy way to make sure all your controllers are ready for a multiplayer sesh on Wii Sports.

It’s an updated version of the company’s popular Charge Station, with two further docks, NiMH batteries (no, me neither) and special rubber-gripped battery covers in black, grey, blue and pink, allowing you to instantly see whose is whose.

It’s available across the US in December - no details of a European release just yet - for the bargain price of $49.99. Well worth the outlay if you’ve got family and friends over for Christmas, particularly if you’ve just got Wii Music in, too.

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Electronic Arts today announced details of EA Sports Active - essentially EA’s own take on Wii Fit, but it’s actually much more interesting than that.

Far from just a straight clone, EA Sports Active looks to provide a different kind of fitness experience to Wii Fit - and all without requiring the Balance Board (though the peripheral is supported).

It’s clear that EA has spent some significant time on R&D with this, as the press blurb and accompanying video proves. Rather than provide a series of disconnected exercises, in EA Sports Active you’ll be able to specify targeted workouts - used to focus on whichever area of your body needs the most work. While there aren’t as many activities as in Wii Fit (”over twenty” EA claims) it seems they’ll be more varied, and will be supplemented by regular downloads.

Intriguingly, it’s bundled with two peripherals - a resistance band which you place under your feet to make bicep curls and the like more difficult, and two leg straps, used to attach the nunchuk to your leg so the software can recognise your full body movement instead of just your arms. (The spare is so another player can join in simultaneously.)

It promises full one-to-one body movement, thirty day custom exercise plans, and the option for new peripherals for future exercises. Evidently EA sees this as more platform than game, with a ‘football version’ planned for release at a later stage. There’s a packed-in nutrition book, and it’s all endorsed by Bob Greene, personal trainer to Oprah Winfrey.

So yes, this is going to be big. It’s certainly one of the most intriguing forthcoming prospects on Wii, and from the sounds of things could provide a more thorough and effective workout than Wii Fit. And it’s out in March, so we’ve not too long to wait to see whether Nintendo has indeed been beaten at its own game.

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