Over the past several weeks, there’s been heavy speculation from gaming sites that Nintendo would unveil Wii 2 (not the official name) at this year’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) for a 2012 release.  While Nintendo states that their policy is not to comment on speculation and rumor, they have now commented on speculation and rumor by announcing that the company will be unveiling the successor to the Wii at this year’s E3 and the system is set to be released in 2012.  No further details are available, but the model at E3 will be playable.  Nintendo president Satoru Iwata tells Reuters, “We would like to propose a new approach to home video game consoles,” which really doesn’t mean anything, but Iwata said it definitely doesn’t mean 3D since most folks don’t own 3DTVs.

Hit the jump for the press release as well as my thoughts on Wii 2.

The New York Times reports that the Nintendo Wii, the gaming console that amuses small children and your parents for about half an hour, is finally catching up to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, at least as far as streaming Netflix is concerned.  The service is due to arrive this spring and will be available to all Wii owners with a broadband connection and at least a $9/month subscription to Netflix’s DVD-by-mail service.  The Wii will have to first use a free software disc whenever they want to watch Netflix “Watch Instantly” movies on their home paperweight/failed experiment.  PlayStation 3 owners have to do the same thing, but that system has a Blu-ray player and games people actually want to play.

Of course, while the Wii is finally catching up with the 360 and PS3 with Netflix, the other consoles are trying to bring motion-controlled gaming into the living room like the Wii does(n’t).  It’s a bold movie from Microsoft and Sony to emulate an unpopular gaming innovation for their own consoles, which game developers don’t like and gamers don’t want to use.  But no matter your feelings on any of these consoles, I think we can all agree on one thing: Netflix wins.

TeeFury’s Daily Tee is sure to please Avatar and Nintendo Wii fans alike, although I’m sure there are many more of the former than the latter.  While James Cameron depicted a world of high-tech wonder (except for wheelchairs and tracking devices), it turns out that creating the Avatar bodies wasn’t as difficult as previously believed.  It’s als0 a bit of a bummer because they could have given Jake a cool mohawk or changed his skin pigment.  Even better, with a little creative use of the other facial features, Jake’s avatar could look like a cartoon version of a celebrity or famous movie character.  Such grand possibilities with such simple technology.  Incredible.

TeeFury tees are only available for one day and you only have a little over ten hours to get yours.  It’s only $9 so Avatar/Nintendo Wii fans should click on over and buy one.  You can check out a full image of the shirt after the jump.

NBC’s Chuck, the show about a reluctant spy with a supercomputer in his brain, struggled in the ratings throughout its second season. But it was renewed last May, thanks in part to a campaign by fans to support one of the show’s major sponsors, Subway. The sure-to-be-awesome third season of Chuck is nearly upon us, with the season premiere to air on January 10th. To give back to the fans, benefit the American Heart Association, and promote the new season, weheartchuck.com has organized Chuckfest.  The event will be held on Saturday, January 9th at The Meeting Room and Sunday the 10th at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. To find out how your Wii Golf skills can help you meet cast members Zachary Levi, Joshua Gomez, Yvonne Strahovski, Sarah Lancaster, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Vik Sahay, and Scott Krinsky, hit the jump.

UPDATE after jump

There’s a little record shop on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, California that advertises DJ lessons in their store front.  Every time I pass it, I pause and think about how cool it would be to learn the art of the wikka-wikka.  Just as Guitar Hero gives players the opportunity to get in touch with their inner rock star, DJ Hero connects you to your record spinning alter ego.  More after the jump.

Every time a console’s price drops, it makes me wish I’d waited to buy one, but the Wii was already a steal (by comparison) at $249, and I bought mine at the Universal City Walk launch party, so lord knows I didn’t have the patience to wait. Yes, the Wii is to drop by $50 to $199 starting Sept. 27–valuable intel pulled from Toys ‘R Us and Best Buy circulars. More about the change and why after the jump.

During Nintendo’s press conference at this year’s E3, the Nintendo brass revealed an interesting statistic: 60% of all American households still do not have any home console whatsoever. After making pledges to wage their own personal war against this statistic (in much nicer terms since it is Nintendo) by promising more games to appeal to the casual gamer, they also said that they were afraid of isolating their hardcore audience (guess the Wii’s gimmick is finally wearing off).

To appeal to the hardcore gamer, Nintendo showcased games from third-party developers like Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Measures (both published by Ubisoft) and a decent selection from SEGA. The presentation by SEGA was surprising since many associate them with the now-tired and mediocre-at-best Sonic the Hedgehog series. Following the release of the solid hit Madworld (a Running Man meets Sin City gore-fest exclusive for the Wii), many felt that SEGA was ready to re-stake a claim as a strong third-party developer. With that in mind, I give you SEGA’s newest exclusive title for the Wii: The Conduit. Review after the jump: