Mateo Slovinsky asks: "Is the XBox 360's controller the best controller of all time? CNet seems to think so in its line up of the top five gamepads of all time. If you expected the Wii's controller, you will be dissapointed. It's a brilliant piece of innovation, but there simply aren't enough games to judge it against the best controllers ever." Which controller would you pick? What controllers have not left your hands cramped after a marathon session of gaming?

Via Joystiq, a link to the official Smash Bros. Brawl website, the 'Smash Bros. Dojo'. Currently being used by game director Masahiro Sakurai as a blog, the content has been a bit tame so far. Just the same, things are looking up. He's just posted a detailed list of the game's composers, and a sample of some music from the game. The list reads like a who's who of Japanese game music, with everyone from Akihiro Honda (Metal Gear Series) and Toru Minegishi (Twilight Princess) to Koji Kondo (creator of the Mario and Zelda themes) himself.

Thwomp writes "I love using my Wii to catch up on my Google Reader feeds and now that activity is officially supported by Google. It's really great to see that the Google Reader team has created an improved user interface optimized for the Wii's Opera browser and Wiimote. You can also try out the Google Reader for Wii in your browser. Google account is mandatory, of course."

Newsweek's N'Gai tackles the allegation that the Wii is a glorified GameCube. He specifically looked at recent comments by Microsoft's Robbie Bach saying that 'the video graphics on it aren't very strong; the box itself is kind of underpowered; it doesn't play DVDs; there are a lot of down-line components [that] aren't actually that interesting. ... They don't have the graphics horsepower that even Xbox 1 had. So it makes sort of the comparison set a little bit difficult.' LevelUp spoke with a pair of technical experts at third party publishers and learned that, essentially, Bach's comments about horsepower are accurate. However, "the 'Gamecube 1.5' moniker, while accurate, doesn't mean that gamers won't see graphical improvements on the Wii. 'There are three main differences which will result in graphics improvements. One, the increased memory clock speed, from 162 megahertz to 243 megahertz, means that it is easier to do enough pixels for 480p mode versus 480i. Two, the enhanced memory size of the Wii gives much more room for image-related operations such as anti-aliasing, motion blur, etc. The performance to these memory systems from the graphics chip is also improved. So full-screen effects and increased texture usage seem likely as a result.'"

moderatorrater writes "Nintendo's dominance of the Japanese sales charts continues, as Gamasutra reports on the top games for Japan's 'Golden Week' celebration. The top 21 titles sold in the country were all on Nintendo formats; most actually developed by Nintendo itself. FFXII: Revenant Wings topped the list at number one, and along with five other DS or Wii titles was the only sign of third-party competition in the Japanese best-sellers market. 'With the holiday period functioning somewhat like the Christmas period in the West, there were no new entries in the top thirty - although a number of family friendly titles did reappear in the top ten, with Yoshi's Island DS at number four with 58,948 units sold. New Super Mario Bros. on DS re-emerged at number eight with 51,681 units sold, with the second Brain Training game at number ten.'"

Eurogamer has the news that The Simpsons will be coming to a new videogame title sometime in the near future, a new game with an interesting twist. Instead of playing as the Simpsons inside a more typical genre, such as the arcade smash-em-up from the early nineties or The Simpsons Road Rage, EA's newly-announced title will lampoon other videogames using typical Simpsons comedy. All of the cast members will be lending their voices to the title, and hints about the type of games we can expect were already available when the press release went out. A mock poster with the words Medal of Homer flying above a war-torn battlefield suggests what we might see in the game. "Described as a 16-level 'action comedy' with a storyline penned by the long-running TV show's long-running writers, the new Simpsons game is due out on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, DS and PSP this autumn. It's being put together by EA Redwood Shores, and is full of touches that EA reckons fans of the series - now 400 episodes old - will find exciting, like individual title animations and stories for each of the 16 levels, which are being treated like episodes." You can see the posters from the EA event over at Kotaku.

1up has comments from Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata, as he spoke to investors earlier this week. When asked about the possibility of hardcore games coming to the Wii before the end of 2007, Nintendo's president assured gamers and moneymen that Mario and Metroid are coming this year. "It will be from around the end of this summer to the end of this year. We will then launch a new title of Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption although the last one is primarily for the [American and European] markets. These will be the key titles for the period ranging from the summer until the holiday sales season of this year, and I think we will be able to cater to the specific needs you mentioned."

The Wall Street Journal is taking Wiimote hacking seriously. A front-page article from this past weekend discusses the many uses to which enterprising hackers have put the Wiimote, the motion sensing piece of the Wii console. Included is a video of a few of the projects in action. "Tim Groeneboom, who lives in the Netherlands, uses his Wii-mote to spice up his deejay act. He was inspired by a video on the Web of a California music student bobbing in front of the computer in his room and making jabbing motions with the Wii-mote to splice different tracks. During his second gig with the Wii-mote, Mr. Groeneboom, 22, says he was able to roam up to about 100 feet from his deejay booth and still be able to control how the music blended and do some sound effects ... Aaron Rasmussen has a sporting purpose for his Wii-mote. At his Garden Grove, Calif. software company, USMechatronics, he and his partner stuck a tennis racket in the 'hand' of a $40,000 industrial robot and then tweaked the Wii-mote to control the robot's arm so it can hit back tennis balls on the factory floor. 'This is what we do to relax,' he says."

If you were to just look at downloadable content this week, Wii and 360 owners would have a lot to cheer about. Virtual Console downloads include the (under-appreciated) Legend of the Mystical Ninja and the original Castlevania. Xbox 360 owners can finally sink their teeth into the board-game spectacular that is Settlers of Catan. Classic titles Millipede and Centipede will also be on offer via Xbox Live Arcade. Unfortunately, there are some less cheery things to discuss as well. Virtual Console sales are down, apparently, and some analysts are questioning whether Nintendo's success may be bad for the industry overall. As for the 360 ... the Elite may be bringing back some old problems. 'Red Rings of Death' have already been reported with the just-released consoles, and DRM issues with Live Arcade titles on the 'upgraded' system are making some new owners frustrated.

Splitt3r wrote with a link to the Kotaku site on Shigeru Miyamoto's Nomination as one of this year's 100 most influential people at the Time Magazine site. "PRO: Most successful game designer, creator of Super Mario, Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda, whose new platform, the Wii, is currently the top-selling game console. CON: His perfectionist tendencies often result in games being significantly delayed and, despite the Wii's gameplay innovation, its graphics are far behind the competition." Voting is currently ongoing at the site, if you're interested in swaying the vote.

GreenTea writes "Some of the latest mobile phones in Japan come with motion sensors that let users detect motion or play action games like those on the Nintendo Wii console. The D904i from NTT DoCoMo, Japan's top mobile carrier, contains a tiny motion sensor that detects shaking and tilting, company spokesman Nobuyuki Hatanaka said. 'The software supports three main types of motion: shake, rock and roll. Shake can be used for actions such as rolling dice and shuffling MP3 decks. Rock interprets right, left, up and down gestures to generate traditional cursor-style user input commands. Roll offers joystick control by responding to tilting motions used in navigating games, maps or Web pages.'"

CNN has a report on the Wii's success in the games marketplace right now, referring to their sales dominance as 'creaming the competition'. The article tries to break down exactly why Nintendo's console has sold so successfully, discussing the system's marketing, engineering, and philosophy. "Next, engineers settled on a new approach for the Wii's looks. Just as the DS shunned the Game Boy name to appeal to a broader audience, the Wii would adopt a sleek white exterior instead of the toylike loud colors used on the GameCube. Even CEO Iwata got involved in the design process; at one point he handed engineers a stack of DVD jewel cases and told them the console should not be much bigger. Why so small? To work with the motion-sensitive wireless controller Nintendo planned, Iwata reasoned, the console would have to sit directly beside the TV. Make it any larger and customers would hesitate to leave it there. " Their sales strategy is working in spades. CVG reports that at least one analyst thinks that Wii demand won't be met until 2009. This past weekend Chris Kohler had an interesting comment on the 'ambassador programs' Nintendo ran in advance of the Wii's launch, and how that might tie in to the system's financial success.

Today has seen a bit of commentary on each of the three next-gen consoles, all relatively positive. The PlayStation 3 has seen users for the PSN community crack the 1.3 million mark, according to Next Generation. If you enjoy the Wii's Virtual Console feature, Chris Kohler has you set up today with a rundown on every VC title rumored or released to date. Nintendo's consoles are selling pretty well, too. Microsoft has had something of a mixed day. On the one hand gamers can look forward to Beautiful Katamri coming to XBLA in the states. On the other, an investment adviser has called Microsoft's entire gaming business a 'disastrous endeavor'.

GameDaily has coverage of the NPD numbers for March, which show a general continuation of trends we've seen since the Wii and PS3 were released last year. Overall, sales are up 54% across the industry, with the DS leading the pack by a healthy amount. "The [DS] sold through 508K units for the month. The PS2, likely fueled by God of War II, came in second with 280K units. The Wii followed with 259K — quite respectable but far lower than certain analyst forecasts, which had pegged it at around 400K. The Wii now stands at 2.1 million in the US. Microsoft's Xbox 360 sold another 199K, bringing its life-to-date total to 5.3 million in the U.S."

Via Kotaku, a Wall Street Journal report on Nintendo's continued dominance of the game charts. The piece rehashes the February NPD numbers and discusses the role the Wii and DS have had in revitalizing a company the WSJ refers to as an 'also-ran'. "To take better advantage of the Wii's growth, EA moved quickly to ramp up game production for the system, acquiring Headgate Studios, a developer in Utah focused entirely on making titles for Nintendo hardware, and shifting resources in other EA development groups to Nintendo projects. The company released four titles for the Wii in March, including a version of its Tiger Woods golf game in which players swing the Wii controller like a club. EA is also working on a line of consumer guides for the Nintendo DS that will be aimed at older players in Japan."

Despite hopeful comments by analysts, Sony has gone on the record (again) saying that it has no plans to cut the PS3's pricetag any time soon. Next Generation reports: "'PS3 prices and shipment plans for the future should be determined by market trends and competition. Sony currently doesn't have any specific plan to cut the PlayStation 3's price.' Analysts believe a price cut is inevitable, as the company struggles to catch Microsoft's early lead with Xbox 360, and the $250 Wii continues to sell as many as can be produced. However, Sony's plan has generally been to hold tight and hope that demand for Blu-ray drives will increase, by the end of this year." Relatedly, the company has outlined releases for the second quarter of this year on the PS2, PS3, and PSP systems.

Both the Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade have some interesting offerings this week, and Microsoft has released word of a lot of new things to come via their community service. The day before yesterday saw the release of Punch-Out!!, Virtua Fighter 2, and Bonk's Revenge for the Wii's download service. No Mike Tyson in this version of Punch-Out!!, but it's still (as Kohler puts it) one of the 'best videogames of all time.' On the Xbox side, today sees the release of a 'double header' of games: Gyruss and 3D Ultra MiniGolf Adventures . Gyruss is a Konami arcade port, while Minigolf includes a course editor to distract you from the simple gameplay. As far as new XBLA content goes: The Daily show is already available on the service, along with The Colbert Report, Carcossonne will join Settlers of Catan and (apparently) Talisman in boardgame-to-Xbox ports, and Microsoft is looking for pitches for a television show to be shown exclusively on Xbox live. If you win the TV contest, you get to make it for them.

weirdguy writes with a link to a BBC article that poses the same question asked by journalists every couple of years: is the games industry headed for another crash? "Yes, gamers are snapping up the new generation of games consoles — Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's Playstation 3 [PS3], but at huge cost to the industry. Hardware makers are losing hundreds of dollars on every console sold, and games publishers face an "increasingly difficult environment, as rising development costs and small user bases [mean] that return on investment in next generation games development is unlikely to be achieved before 2008," according to media analysts Screen Digest. More importantly, though, the video games publishers are facing a revolution of their business model."

CVG points out that, as of today, the final version of the Wii Opera browser is available for download. Make sure and do the update sometime in the next month or so; as you might recall from the original announcement, it will only be free until the end of June. "You can finally ditch the trial version of the Opera browser and download the full and final package, which comes with added features, such as 'www.' and '.com' buttons as well as improved functionality like a faster boot-up and better zoom capability. You can download it right now for free, first by updating your system, then grabbing the update from the Wii Software page on the Shop Channel."

Next Generation is reporting that, apparently, the Wii shortages could continue for some time yet. This is news from Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo's VP of marketing and corporate affairs, speaking to the Game Theory Podcast. Says Kaplan, "There is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of working on what we are producing and the numbers continue to rise but the product is so very popular that we may see a supply / demand situation last for some time. We are at absolute maximum production and doing everything we can. The number of units that we have been able to produce has far exceeded our hardware production in the past and the production levels of a lot of our competitors but demand continues to be really high."