Late last night, we filled you in on the game announcements Nintendo made during its Japanese press conference. While many of the game announcements came as no surprise, we were a bit confused about why Nintendo didn’t reveal its new attachment that adds a second analog stick and additional buttons. Nintendo chose to discreetly confirm the slide pad on its Japanese 3DS website instead.

In the beginning there was the original PlayStation Move Shooting Attachment. It took on the shape of a pistol that turned into some sort of space age gun when Move was placed inside. Overall it felt good to hold and performed quite well. The Shooting Attachment works fine for games that shoot one bullet at a time, but what about games with machine guns? That’s where the PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter comes in.

During the Microsoft press conference, Nintnedo snuck out a press release for a new WiiMote attachment called the MotionPlus.

This tiny attachment clicks onto the end of the WiiMote and is supposed to add more precise control. Here’s the little bit Nintendo has released so far (Nintendo has already prmoised to reveal a bit more on stage at its own press conference)…

Title: Guitar hero On TourPrice: $49.99System(s): DSRelease Date: June 22, 2008Publisher (Developer): Activision (Activision)ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for lyrics.Pros: Portable version of the familiar franchise gameplay, plenty of songs and good use of the touchscreen.Cons: An uncomfortable, ergonomic mess. It’s hard to hold and often too difficult to divide attention between two screens. Play with caution.Overall Score: One wrist up, one painful wrist down; 75/100; C; * * 1/2 out of five.

With the popularity and vast appeal of the Guitar Hero franchise, it’s no surprise the game is making way to handheld systems. There are, of course, some physical obstacles to overcome when going from a nearly full-size guitar-shaped controller to a teeny weenie palm sized system. Unfortunately, not all of them were overcome with Guitar Hero On Tour for the DS.

Click through for the painful review…

Title: Mario Kart WiiPrice: $49.99 (includes Wheel attachment also sold separately)System(s): WiiRelease Date: April 27, 2008Publisher (Developer): Nintendo (Nintendo)ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for comic mischief.Pros: Simple controls, cute WiiMote Wheel accessory and plenty of mutiplayer action. Additions (courses, bikes, tricks and powerups) are all very worthwhile.Cons: Internet play requires long waits and kart/driver inequalities are more obvious than ever.Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 90/100; A-; * * * * out of 5.

Mario Kart Wii has wisely neither reinvented the franchise nor strayed from its core fun and frivolous insanity. Instead, a layer of new features help update this just enough to make it enjoyable without feeling like an old rehash for a new console.

Click through for the full review…