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By Times Staff Writer
Published October 11, 2007

Nintendo hopes Wii's wand is magic on Web

Nintendo hopes to give its popular Wii game console another boost by offering support services to hook the machine to the Internet in Japan, company president Satoru Iwata said Wednesday. A network connection will allow people not only to download games but also play games with others online, as well as gain other content and information from the Net. Nintendo is hoping that will draw even more people to the Wii, leading not only to machine sales but game software sales. "People tend to get bored, and the skeptics are asking whether it's just a one-time deal," Iwata said. "We must think of the next step." He said only about 40 percent of Wii owners in Japan have the console connected to the Net. And more games will be available as downloads from the Internet, he said.

Global changes for BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek magazine is abandoning most lifestyle coverage and taking a more global approach to business news as part of a major overhaul to be revealed when its next issue hits the street. Gone are executive travel, fashion and other soft topics, save for a wine column by noted critic Robert Parker. A news summary in the front of the magazine will expand, and all of the opinion columns will move to the back. Steve Adler, editor-in-chief of the magazine, said the redo is so extensive he's referring to it as a "relaunch" of the longtime chronicler of the business world. In recognition of the increasingly global nature of many U.S. businesses, Adler said that a separate section on worldwide business will be eliminated as more and more stories in the magazine take on a global approach.

Airport shoe-scan device gets boot

You will still have to take your shoes off at the airport checkpoint. The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that it had rejected the use of a General Electric shoe-scanning machine that was supposed to provide a central benefit for members of a version of the Registered Traveler program called Clear: the ability to pass through security with their shoes on. The machine would instead have scanned the shoes electronically for weapons or explosives. But the agency said that the GE shoe scanner "does not meet minimum detection standards." In July, it rejected an earlier version of the machine. The agency said that it found "significant improvements" in the new version, but that it "still does not meet standards to ensure detection of explosives." A prototype of the machine, in use in at a lane at Orlando International Airport in Florida, was discontinued Wednesday, the government said.

A virtual detour for Toyota Yaris car ad

Behold the Toyota Yaris. It's moderately priced, gets good mileage, and has a gun turret capable of destroying toasters and bike-riding sumo wrestlers as it cruises down a track. Not every Yaris shopper gets the turret option; that's a feature reserved for Xbox 360 owners who download a free promotional video game Toyota released Wednesday to build awareness of the Yaris among 20-somethings. As the video game market grows, Toyota joins other advertisers who are increasingly looking to reach into the game world - to win the attention of people who spend more time playing games than watching TV.

[Last modified October 11, 2007, 00:34:58]