For some of you (like SuperJesseMario) who wouldn't dare to brave the 2-hour waiting line for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess demo in the Nintendo Fusion Tour, footage for the game is always welcome. And will we let two short clips get past our eagle eyes? Nope. Most definitely not.

 

In the latest interview with Iwata (which, aside from a rough Google Translate, still doesn't have an English translation - update soon!), these two clips surfaced. They show combat sequences from the game. The first one has the now-right-handed Link giving hell to a goblin, while the second one has him on his steed and battling some boar-riding baddies.

Notice how, when you engage in battle, the game goes "widescreen" with those two black bars pulled in from above and below. Also, note the red arrow that pops up above the enemy? That's your cue that you've engaged a target. As with a lot of accounts from other people who've played the demos, watching this vid makes you feel as if controls were very intuitive.

To watch the vids, click the "Read" link below, scroll all the way down, and click on the two Zelda pics on the right-hand side!

More exciting than a barrel of monkeys or so say. Hence that's why they titled it Excite Truck, and appropriately so, we think. For those familiar with Excite Bike, the crazy stunts and tricks of motorbike racing are given a make-over and crashed onto 4x4s.

This vid from thehylia shows the Excite Truck demo in the Nintendo Fusion Tour in Anaheim, CA. This game gives a good name to "barreling through the course". Getting to use the Wii clip-on makes the whole gaming experience that much more fun/hectic.

You know how you'd feel so dejected every time you'd fall out of Rainbow Road in Mario Kart? In this game, all those mishaps actually become a treat to watch (and ultimately experience). Splash through puddles five times bigger than your truck, boost up steep slopes, crash on to boulders, fall 50 feet down into a ravine... All these are in the vid below.

Pre-Order: [Excite Truck]

Plumber-idolizer SuperJesseMario is growing up. Remember when he was just a wee homeboy showing all his Nintendo plush dolls and merchandise? Well, slap us silly and call us King Koopa! He's back with a video of his super adventure in the Nintendo Fusion Tour 06.

He was able to demo his WarioWare: Smooth Moves skills on the Wii. Yeah, mustache and costume aside, he still looks silly - especially doing the Hula. But it's a cool kind of silly. And fair enough, he seems to make it look easy. The vid also shows him playing Wii Sports and even gives his insights on how surprisingly sensitive the Wiimote is.

But what would a Fusion Tour vid be without The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess? Unfortunately, he didn't play the demo. With a two hour line that spans all the way towards the other end of the hall, it was smart of him to just interview someone who was able to play it instead. Substantial input on that one. No wonder it's one of the most anticipated games for the Wii.

All of these interviews and insights are up in the video, so click that triangular red button above. If you're not watching it for the games, then at least you should give him some credit for going to the Fusion Tour in full Mario gear.

Buy: [WarioWare: Smooth Moves]

If there's one reason why Brian Crecente is so cool, it's his ability to call up Nintendo and get answers. A responsible parent who loves games, writes about them, and follows up his news himself? Journalism goodness, baby.

Now to the point of this thing. Earlier, we mentioned GameStop being the place to be when it came to the Wii, as they seemed to be the only retailer with Wii demo kiosks. However inconclusive that news might have been, we can now safely say that GameStop isn't the only place that'll have these pretty white demo stands.

Nintendo of America responded to Crecente's questions about Wii demo spots, giving proof that it won't just be GameStop that gets the goods. In a statement by Nintendo, they said that there would be more than one place to try out the Wii, including various store chains. "We expect that anyone who wants to try Wii will be able to through multiple different methods. In addition to retail outlets, Wii will be playable at a number of mall tours throughout the country, the nationwide Nintendo Fusion Tour and other grass-roots consumer events." Now that's good news!

Related to this, Crecente also wheedled some more info out of the Ninty folks. Retailers will be getting either a pre-built demo kiosk with a full set-up, or just the Wii and controllers. The operative, and rather lovely, word here being "retailers." Enjoy the happy news!

Its itsy bitsy size and its magic wand of a remote are what makes up the bulk of press the Nintendo Wii is getting. But not anymore. Even the blue light on its facade wants some share of the spotlight.

In the Nintendo Fusion Tour, some were a bit confused seeing the blue light on the Wii completely turned off. This lead to some far out theories that sparked heated debates on some forums, believe it or not. So GoNintendo has taken it upon themselves to nip it in the bud and got in touch with a Nintendo representative to set the record straight. Well... almost.

See the rep first claimed that the final retail version of the Wii will indeed have the blue light near the media slot turned on. Then he proceeds in saying that it won't be on all the time. It will only be on when you power up the console to be used in lowlight situations. Stressing that the only light that is going to do that is the tiny green indicator light. However, he also added that he's not just 100 percent sure if there is an option to always leave the blue light on.

Is the end or just the beginning of the blue light's 15 minutes of fame? Only you can tell.

We are pleased to tell you that if you are attending the Nintendo Fusion Tour, you will be able to get hands-on with a real Wii, just like the lucky people who were invited to the Wii Party! The great difference between the Wii party and the Nintendo Fusion Tour is that any member of the public can visit the latter and actually have the opportunity to play the console at the event. The NFT will stop at many venues between September 27th and November 11th all over the US.

The NFT will bring you a combination of music and next-generation video games, a combination that should blow your socks off! The lucky people that get to attend a venue for the NFT will also get to play a selection future releases for Nintendo's latest portable console, DS, including Elite Beat Agents.

NFT 2006 features bands such as Hawthorne Heights, with support by Relient K, Emery, Plain White T's, and the Sleeping. On the games side of things you can expect to get your hands on Wii titles such as Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Wii Sports, Excite Truck, Wario Ware: Smooth moves, and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, but this list is subject to change.

Head over to the Nintendo Fusion Tour website now to book tickets!

TSA, the most hardcore Zelda fan on the planet, was the host of the Los Angeles Wii Party and has posted his impressions of it. As part of the Wii ambassador program we reported on a while ago, he and 30 friends were able to play the Wii in a secret Wii Party just one day after the big conference in New York City.

He describes how the event turned out. First, he and his 30 friends all received a phone call at 3:15 PM telling them where they'd need to meet up. Once they arrived at the meeting place, they were got in a van with all the windows taped up so they wouldn't know where they were going (Note: If you are in this situation with a stranger, DO NOT GET IN THE VAN). They were taken to a rooftop with a garage. The place was filled with food and drinks. Then, the garage room opened. What was inside? A bunch of Wiis and games!

The people who attended were able to play with the Wiis along with countless games. The multiplayer games obviously got the most amount of attention. Trauma Center: Second Opinion was a big hit as well. Attendees also received a ticket for a free WiiMote with a purchase of a Wii. There will be a lot more Wii Parties in the coming weeks as well as the Nintendo Fusion Tour which will be open to the public.

Retailers in Australia seem to be reporting that Nintendo is not planning to put Wii kiosks in Australia stores. Instead, they'll be touring Australia in Wii street teams to give people a chance to try the system out in a different environment.

Australia isn't as large as North America, but it's still pretty obvious that not every region will be reached by Nintendo. Although this is better from a marketing buzz point of view, it's not really good for the end user because so many people don't get to take part in these tours. It would probably be best for Nintendo to get Wiis into stores as well. Hopefully they will after launch.

Nintendo has previously done tours like this. The DS, for example, had the DS Connection Tour. Obviously they were successful or they wouldn't be trying it again. If you live in the United States, the Nintendo Fusion Tour which will likely satisfy your need for Wii as well as give you a strong blast of emo music!