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We're a few days out from E3, that magical place where dreams are made and fanboys and girls from all walks of life are simultaneously appeased and slightly disappointed. Surprises are expected from all of the big three this year -- particularly Nintendo. How will the gaming giant top last year's 3DS debut? All signs point to the announcement of a Wii followup, which we've heard alternately referred to as the "Wii HD" and "Project Cafe." Rumors, leaks, and the occasional bit of confirmed information have been rampant in the months and weeks leading up to the event. We've weaved it all together into one handy guidebook, to make sure that we're all on the same page, come Tuesday morning. Let's start with a genuine bit of information: back in April, the company's CEO, Satoru Iwata, confirmed that Nintendo is, in fact, working on an HD followup to the Wii that is most likely due out in 2012. A few days prior to that revelation, the requisi...

Want an adorable little Android cellbot to call your own, but aren't quite ready to tackle Arduino code? Darrell Taylor's got you covered with an audio-controlled, jousting cellbot: no muss, no fuss, no microcontroller. The Make project, called TRRSTAN, accepts commands via Google chat, web browser, or Wii remote piped through the headphone jack of your Android phone -- the robot's brain, of course. Tack on a few makeshift weapons procured at the local dollar store, and you've got a homemade warrior you can be proud of. Want one? Taylor has a ready-made kit available for just shy of $50, and offers a 'fully assembled' option for the extra-lazy robot enthusiast. Of course, you could always go back to playing Android-bots with your Legos if you aren't quite ready to big-boy world of DIY. Just sayin'. Make Make: Projects

The Nintendo DS line has had many redesigns up to the present 3DS, but one thing that hasn't changed are the tiny, easily lost cartridges. Enter Memorex's $20 Universal Game Selector Case, announced as part of its gaming accessory lineup for E3. The UGSC stores up to three games and hooks up to the cartridge port on any DS, letting you swap between them using a signal routing switch. We've seen cases similar to this in the past, but Memorex's take is the first to support 3DS titles as well. Based on the renders, the unit looks to make for a weird fit and some noticeable extra thickness (10.5mm to be exact), especially on the DSi XL, but hopefully we'll get a better idea of how it feels in hand at E3. From a functionality perspective, the case does seem rather useful for those with forgetful tendencies, if a bit underwhelming for anybody else. Memorex will also be displaying its new third-party PS3 and Wii motion controllers at the E3, which are viewable in the ...

Hot on the heels of a Wii price drop from about two weeks ago, Nintendo has announced that it'll be lowering the DS Lite's price to $100 (from about $130) starting on June 5th. The big N claims that its pushed over 48.9 million DS handhelds to consumers in the U.S., adding that many of the Mario DS titleshave also sold well into the millions. To highlight the achievements, six of the best selling Mario themed games for DS will be getting a red makeover to their packaging -- see above right -- for easy pickin's at your favorite retail shop (no discount apparently). It may not have 3D, but the drop in price, added with less eye strain, and a long lasting battery should be enough to make the 3DS a little jealous.

Turns out our snooping was spot on -- Nintendo has just made official its intention to drop the suggested retail price of the Wii down to $149.99, and will additionally include a copy of  Mario Kart  and the Wii Wheel peripheral with all purchases of the console. They'll replace the current bundle of  Wii Sports  and Wii Sports Resort  games. The steering wheel, along with the Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers, will match the color of the console you buy, whether it be black or white, and will also be available to buy separately for a scant $9.99. See Nintendo's full press release after the break. 

Nintendo's miniature white monolith has sold like gangbusters for long enough that we're wary it'll ever get cheap, but a trusted source tells us a price cut is indeed headed our way -- and that the Nintendo Wiiwill cost just $150 starting May 15th. The timing would make some sense, given how Nintendo's profits have tanked for a while due to flagging hardware sales, and just last month Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime hinted that the Wii's price might be a potential variable to change that in an interview with  Gamasutra . Still, we're not fully convinced that Nintendo would announce a price cut then, rather than, say, at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in June, and it's not like the company to let this sort of announcement leak out. Still, if you find a shiny new copy of  Mario Kart Wii  in a $150 console bundle this time next month, don't say we didn't warn you.

There are console mods and there are console mods... and then there's this -- a completely custom Nintendo Wii built from steel and cooled by two liquid-filled containers that would look more at home in a mad scientist's laboratory. Not surprisingly, this mod took a long time to complete. Bit-tech forum member Angel OD began the so-called "UNLimited Edition" project way back in December, 2009 and, after a few diversions, finally finished it this past weekend. Be sure to hit up the links below for a look at the complete build process, and a few more shots of the finished product. Bit-tech (1) , (2)

Now that your Wii Balance Board is safely tucked underneath the couch and you've long ago discovered that every standard Nintendo title can be played with the flick of a wrist, you might be wondering how you'll ever convince yourself to exercise again. Well, there are certainly a few dangling-carrot solutions to your problem, and here's one that actually makes sense -- the Blaze U-Move, a Nunchuk replacement (with built-in pedometer) that effectively locks your joystick in place. The idea is that unless you're moving, your avatar can't move, and when you do, it can -- each time you jog in place, you're building up virtual momentum. That certainly sounds like a much more graceful and practical solution than others we've seen, which turn off the entire controller or (Miyamoto forbid) cut power to your entire game machine. This way, you can stop running when you need to do some precision aiming, and set your mind at ease regarding your save ga...