Toshio Iwai, a media artist from Japan and the creator of Elecroplankton, had collaborated with Yahama to produce a completely new instrument: the Tenori-On. Tenori-On. Toshio Iwai says the Tenori-On was developed with “particular attention being given to the beauty of the light & sounds, the ease of performance, and as a musical instrument of the future.”
The Tenori-On features a 16×16 LED button matrix. There are six modes of performance and sound/light: Score Mode, Random Mode, Draw Mode, Bounce Mode, Push Mode, and Solo Mode. Compositions are made of “Layers” and “Blocks”, where sounds made in each layer will be played in order of the position of the button pushed.

Tenori-On Specifications:

• Sequencer
  • Gate Time: 10 - 9990ms
  • Octaves: -5 / +5
  • Tempo (BPM): 40 - 240
  • Scales : 9 types
  • Transpose: -7 / +8
  • 6 x Performance Modes: Score, Random, Draw, Bounce, Push, Solo
  • Other Functions Clock, power-save, synchronized performance with two TENORI-ON instruments, recording, TENORI-ON song playback
  • Maximum Active Notes Push Mode: 64
  • Random Mode: 64 points
  • Draw Mode: 64 points
• Tone Generator
  • Tone Generator Type: AWM2
  • Maximum Polyphony: 32 notes
  • Preset Voices: 253 (239 normal, 14 drum kit)
  • Effects: 2 processors
  • Reverb: 10 types
  • Chorus : 5 types
  • Sampling: 3 voices (Raw audio with a maximum length of 0.97 sec, up to 16 samples per voice using the supplied TENORI-ON User Voice Manager software.)
• Card functions: Save, Load, Rename, Delete, Format
• Controller & Display
  • LED Buttons : 256 (No function)
  • Function Buttons : 10 (L1-L5, R1-R5)
  • CLEAR, OK, CANCEL Buttons: 1 each
  • Jog Dial
  • Display: 122 x 32 dot graphic LCD device
• Sound:Stereo Speakers 1-Watt output power
• Connections
  • Line Out/Phones: Stereo minijack x 1
  • Mini DIN: MIDI Out: for external device control, MIDI In for synchronized performance using two TENORI- ON instruments
  • Card Slot: SD Memory Card compatible
  • DC In: Connector for PA-3C, PA-130 or equivalent
• Power Supply
  • 6 ‘AA’ alkaline batteries: (not supplied)
  • AC Adaptor: PA-3C, PA-130 (supplied)
• Dimensions: 205 x 205 x 32mm
• Weight : Approx. 700g (without batteries)
• Supplied Accessories: Mini DIN cable, CD-ROM x 1, PSU, Quick Guide, Installation Guide

The Tenori-On was offered in a limited test market in the UK for £599.00 (about $1,200 USD). Artist like Bjork have used the Tenori-On during live performances.

Nintendo made th biggest sales amongst all game systems, hand-held and game consoles, during the last week of pre-Christams, with the sales of Wii and DS Lites being higher than all game machines on the market.

During week prior to 23 December 2007, Japan’s Media Create organization has recorded sales of DS Lites at a total of 279,551 units. The sales of each gaming machine in Japan is summarized in the chart below.

Japanese Consoles Sales

Source: Media Create

The Wii, coming in second, had a weekly sales of 232,907 units. For the last four weeks, the total rises to 593,286, well behind the DS Lite’s 794,529 but ahead of the PSP’s 522,521 sales. Sony’s handheld notched up sales of 171,804 units last week, down on the previous seven-day period’s tally.

PS3 sales were down to, to 58,167 units. Japanese consumers aren’t taking it to the their hearts. Gamers are, however, suggested by the steady weekly sales, mirrored in the continuing demand for the Xbox 360 and the PS2, which racked up weekly sales of 7908 and 20,391, respectively.

Four-week sales totals for the PS3, PS2 and 360 are 197,102; 64,106; and 31,977, respectively.

Reevoo, a group that collect opinions from product consumers, has awarded the 2007 Customers’ Choice Award to the Nintendo Wii.

The Nintendo scored an overall staggering rating of 8.78 out of a possible 10, whereas Sony’s PS3 landed on a slightly lower score of 8.25, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 sank at the bottom of the three at 7.65. The Wii also won the award for best game titles, with a cumulative score of 8.08, with the Xbox 360 scoring 6.81 and PlayStation 3 scoring a 5.71.

Many owners of the Wii like the console for its user-friendly controls to player of all ages and its ability to physically involve the players in the games. According to reviews by consumers, the PS3’s strongest points include the integration of Blu-Ray capability, while the Xbox 360 excelled only in scores regarding graphics and design and failed in other areas.

“The Wii has been an absolute phenomenon this year and Nintendo would have cleaned up if availability had been better this Christmas” said Reevoo CEO Richard Anson.

The high demand for a Wii was more than overwhelming for Nintendo, causing a massive shortage of the popular console this past Christmas and for a short period of time to come. Stores who have eager to sell their soon-to-arrived stocks of the Wii consoles offered rain checks to anyone wishes to pay for the Wii’s worth upfront and be guaranteed a Wii by the end of January.

Other retailers took advantage of the shortage by selling their remaining stock pile on eBay for high price rather than in their stores.

Wii Remote Wrist Strap Replacement Information

NOTE: The following wrist strap replacement information applies to certain Wii video game systems and individually sold Wii Remotes purchased before December 31st, 2006.

Nintendo is offering to replace the original version of the wrist straps for the Wii Remote with a newer version. We have received some reports that when consumers swing the Wii Remote with the original version of the wrist-strap using excessive force and accidentally let go, the cord connecting the controller to the wrist strap can break, potentially causing the Wii Remote to strike bystanders or objects. Because Wii consoles shipped starting in early December 2006 already utilized the newer version of the strap, you will need to determine which version of the strap you have before ordering a replacement. To determine if you need the newer version of the strap, or to place an order for a replacement, click here.

1. Wear the wrist strap. Make sure that all players using the Wii Remote are wearing the wrist strap and that it has been tightened using the strap lock. When sharing the Wii Remote between multiple players, please be sure each person using the Wii Remote takes the time to properly put on the wrist strap. Wearing the wrist strap will help prevent the Wii Remote from flying across the room if you accidentally let go of it during game play.



2. Hold the Wii Remote firmly and do not let go. Even while wearing the wrist strap, make sure you don’t let go of the Wii Remote during game play and do not use excessive motion. For example, in Wii Sports bowling, the proper way to let go of the ball while bowling is to release the “B” button on the Wii Remote—DO NOT LET GO OF THE Wii REMOTE ITSELF. If you are having so much fun that you start perspiring, take a moment to dry your hands. If you use excessive motion and let go of the Wii Remote, the wrist strap may break and you could lose control of the Wii Remote. This could injure people nearby or cause damage to other objects.
3. Give yourself plenty of room. You will probably move around while using the Wii Remote, so be careful that all areas that you might move into are clear. Make sure that furniture, objects and people are out of the play area so you don’t accidentally bump into them while playing. Also, as indicated in the Wii Operations Manual, it is recommended to stay at least three (3) feet from the television.



4. For more information about Wii safety, click here.
5. Whether you’re playing new favorites, classic hits from the past, creating Miis, sharing photos with friends and family, or using any of the other great features offered by Wii, have a great time and please be sure to play safely. Now go play!

Credits to Nintendo Wii

A year after launching into the gaming market, Wii has gained the reputation of many new game console wanted.  But the problem is, why is it so hard to find a Wii on our market. All of my friends who wanted a Wii for Christmas looked all around the area just to find a Wii. Results? Well nobody found them. I know many of you know this, but is so hard to find a Wii to buy for your friends and family. But theres always one solution. Money is the trick. If you got money and guts, you can always go onto Ebay and find a Wii for couple hundreds or thousands, and therefore you will have a Wii for Christmas. Now, if you found your Wii I would like to say, congrats. Because a lot of other people did not find them. People even sat infront of Futureshop for the whole night, hoping that they will somehow find one in stock! But nah, Futureshop didn’t have them either. Heres my suggestions, if you are looking for a Wii and you are willing to pay any price. Go on Ebay and bid, and hopefully you will find one.

It’s that time again and everyone is hoping they will get everything they want on Christmas morning, but will Santa and his elves be able to pound out enough Wii to stuff everyone’s stocking this year? Everyone is trying to get their hands on a Wii and some of its popular games during this Christmas season, but amongst all the buzz around Nintendo’s console, Sony and its power-house gaming console has been given the silent treatment for its relatively disappointing performance to this day.

It has been a few years since all three of the next-generation game consoles has been on the marketing and there’s no doubt that each has appealed to a different group of audience; however, the Wii, to this day, still has the momentum to grab more market share, a fact that is clearly apparent this Christamas. What can Sony, Nintendo’s biggest competitor, do to regain confidence from its fans to boost its next console’s sales that will come out? We have given it some thoughts into this and have narrowed it down to ten fundamental steps.

1) Power Overwhelmed, Speed Undermined, Accuracy Blurred, Doom Insured

Speed and accuracy is the key to winning any fight, not power. As any gamer who has played any fighting game will tell you, that character who is able to deliver hits quickly and accurate is always more powerful than an enemy who is just sheer power. In the war between Nintendo and Sony, Sony’s muscle-bounded machine has lost simply because it lacked speed and accuracy.

You might argue that Sony has had a head start with launching its console before the Wii and it had fans from its previous console, the PS2, so Sony should have won, according to my logic. Sony has not accurately analyzed its target market with the PS3, since an intended user of the game system is a rich, loyal, and hardcore gamer between the ages of roughly 13-35. You and I might know someone who has one of the three qualities of a typical intended user of a PS3, but there are few gamers who have all these traits. As you can see, Sony designed a machine that clearly over-estimated its target market; thus, the PS3 only attracted a minor percentage of the gaming community, leaving many untapped gamers to look for an alternative next generation gaming experience else where.

As the saying goes, you got to hit your enemies hard and fast. PS3 has had a big head start in comparison to the Wii, yet during its reign as the supreme next gen game system on the market, the speed as which the games that followed the system could only be described as sluggish. Instead of launching familiar game sequel along with the launch of the system, Sony entered the market with just a few good hits that are targeted mostly at males who loves FPS, violence, and sports. Compared to the games on the Wii, the PS3 games have clearly missed out on a big group of potential gamers on its first year of launch.

Solution: A game system is only as good as its games and is one of the areas the Sony R&D team needs to invest some money on. We cannot be sure kind of control system Sony will include in its next console, but Sony must not launch its next system unless it has some popular game titles to launch with. Sony should build up a modest library of games, not based solely on only several types of games and next gen graphics, before doing the launch of the actual system. Don’t rush the process, but instead wait for the perfect moment to strike fast and accurately.

Ever since Nintendo’s new gaming console “Wii” launched the market, it was basically impossible to purchase. However, there’s one way, and that’s EBay. That’s if you are willing to pay that much money for Wii. Nevertheless, one year after hitting the world’s most competitive market, USA. Surprisingly, Wii have been out dueling most of their competitors, including Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

With only weeks remaining, Wii will soon surpass all Japanese GameCubes ever sold. Why? That’s the question. Why. Surely, from PlayStation One to the newest PlayStation 3, Sony’s been dominating the gaming marketing throughout the last 8 years. Partly because they had the ability to attract gamers and adapt to the new gaming era, as they stole their market from Nintendo’s NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). And shortly after that, Microsoft entered the battle with Xbox, which ended disastrously. Until recent, the launch of Halo3 which attacked not only the Gaming Industry, but also the Entertainment Industry, where Microsoft demanded that “Halo 3 is one of the biggest Event in the Entertainment Industry” as they expect Halo3 will surpass Hairy Potter. And then, they spend over millions of dollars advertising this “Game”.

Now, finally, this is where Wii comes in. Throughout all these years, the battle have been between Sony and Nintendo, well, excluding the recent Xbox 360. When Wii first came out, where was the advertisement? Where were all the people? What happened to the price? That’s the answer. Nintendo had no plan in spending over millions of dollars advertising this Console. People just waited hours and hours for the stores to open and go crazy over it. Yea and? Well this is the important part. Wii was keeping it down and limiting the amount of product on the market, which made their Wii so precious to the Gamers. Despite the fact that Wii has already entered another Era of Gaming, where Sony’s just building with what they already have.

Now, when did we start playing games with our whole body moving? At least my first time was playing Wii. C’mon people! This is one of the newest things ever, what else can u say? Doesn’t these results tell you that Wii have already out dueled his competitors? Here’s what you should get your family for Christmas: Nintendo Wii.

These are some games we think would never have a chance of making it to the market. They are fun to read and play, but stupid to buy for real.

World War Wii

With the new realistic AK-47 Wiimote holder, you’re ready to go deep into terrorist territories in search of barrels oil used to unlock new countries for world domination. In suicide multi player mode, you and your friends try to sneak pass each other to blow up each other’s oil fields before the other player does.

Wii Plumbe

Mario has done everything except his job, being a plumber. In Wii Plumber, you have to use your wrench Wiimote holder to fix all the leaking pipes in the house before the whole house floods with water. Finish the game in hard mode to unlock Mario’s extremely low-rise jeans.

Wii Traffic

Helping kids safely cross the street is no easy task in Wii Traffic. With your Stop-sign Wiimote holder, you direct elementary children over thousands of different roads such as molten lava pavement and land-mine-filled crosswalks. Press down on the Wiimote and swing the Wiimote holder to toss your virtual Stop-sign at the kid to knock him out before he runs into a group of rampaging rhinos and Michael Jackson.

Zidane’s Pro Headbutt

Imagine GTA but with Zidane and unlimited head butts. In Zidane’s Pro Headbutt, you play as Zidane, after the 05’s Fifa World Cup, where he became a hitman for the rich and powerful by helping them head butt their enemies in public for total humiliation. You will play in famous places like Madagascar and Uruguay. In the game, you have to sneak pass police and security guards until you’re within range to deliver a critical head butt to the chest to the target in front of reporters. If you don’t like doing the missions, you can cruise around town head-butting anyone that gets in your way.

After completing each mission, Zidane is awarded with gold, which he can use to perform operations on his head to turn it into gold, steel, marshmallow, pillow, spikes, and many more. When you finish the game in hard mode, where you head butt the president, you will unlock “Gravity Zidane”, which has the ability to attach any object found on the street on his head like ketchup bottles.

A mad Canadian father sold his son’s impossible-to-find Wii video game for $9000, retailed for $90, after finding his son smoking pot.

The pot-smoking son’s new Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for Nintendo Wii, which his father scoured every store to find, was sold on eBay for a great profit by his dad.

The father was relieved to have found the prefect gift for his son after a long worthwhile search. Sadly, when the loving father arrived home early on a Saturday afternoon, he found his son smoking pot with his two buddies.

The father claimed that he sold the game to punish his son and to enforce him to stop from smoking. The game was sold on eBay for $10,420, over one-hundred times the original selling price of the game.

The boy, however, will not go without a present, as the man considered purchasing a Nintendo Wii game such as Barbie as the Island Princess or Dancing with the Stars.

According to the The Daily Telegraph, the purchaser was an Australian man.

Stores in Australia are heading into a possible Wii shortage this week, due to to worldwide demands for the hot game console leading up to Christmas.

A recent poll done by various stores around Sydney shows that most has Wii consoles in stock, but doesn’t expect them to last towards the weekend.

A spokeswoman for Myer said their stores were currently receiving their last delivery before Christmas, but expected them to sell quickly.

“They’re selling like hotcakes,” she said.

“Once the current deliveries sell, we’re not receiving any more until the early New Year.”

Nintendo Australia public relations coordinator Heather Murphy admits the Wii and its smaller cousin the Nintendo DS have become victims of their own success.

“Throughout 2007, both Nintendo DS and Wii’s popularity have grown exponentially,” Ms Murphy said.

“The range of games for both Nintendo DS and Wii is really broad - we have games that appeal to core gamers, casual gamers, young females, even seniors are embracing both the Nintendo DS and Wii.”

Ms Murphy said the company was producing more units than ever before, but admits many people may miss out on having a Wii this summer.

“We’re continually putting more and more Wii systems into the pipeline, but they all sell through almost instantly,” Ms Murphy said.

“Due to the high demand for both products, come Christmas time we may not be able to satisfy all consumer demand.”

Many stockists are profiting from the Wii shortage, with anecdotal reports of customers buying as many as 10 units at a time and then selling them at an inflated price online.

Several listings on the online auction website eBay have attracted bids between $400 and $500, with one listing as high as $729 - almost double the recommended retail price of $399.