While this blogger enjoyed math class when he was in grade school, a lot of his other classmates didn't. Well, it's a pretty safe bet that it would have been a different story if the teacher used a video game such as LocoRoco to help teach the lesson. That's precisely what a Japanese school did. To check out some pictures for yourself, head on over to the full article.

When Satoru Iwata announced that Nintendo wanted "to create a platform that no one could hate", he did just that with the release of the Nintendo DS in 2004. A couple of years later, this was followed up with the the launch of the Wii to households everywhere. The Nintendo CEO talks about the successful gaming platforms and their future development.

Read more about the interview with the big man of Nintendo in the full article!

It looks like Nintendo's ready to shell out plenty when it comes to looking out for their fans. In light of the big N's plans to release a new Wiimote jacket, Japan's Asahi newspaper (its online release) reports that the move will cost the company around US$ 18 million.

The paper further reports that Nintendo plans to release a total of 20 million of these silicon covers, which are currently being readied for release in North America, Japan, and Europe.

In line with the costs, a Nintendo spokesman states that this move shouldn't affect the company's bottom line. As you guys may recall, the company's been enjoying prosperous times lately, with the DS, the Wii, and their accompanying titles topping recent sales charts over in Japan. As the saying goes, share the wealth.

As a reminder, Nintendo's Wiimote jacket is expected to ship this October 15, and will be included in the next batch of Wii units and retailed Wiimotes. Those who already own a Wii console can still opt to pre-order the cover via the official Nintendo support site or by calling 1-866-431-8367.

Looks like the Nintendo Wii craze in Japan is so wild, you won't even find a unit easily in Akihabara (a.k.a. geek nirvana). According to a report from Asahi, word has been passed around by gaming enthusiasts that there's a better chance of bagging a Nintendo Wii if you look in smaller towns like Tohoku region's Sendai instead of the big cities.

Tourists from other parts of Asia seem to have heard that countryside places offered healthier stocks of Nintendo Wii units. Even Taiwan's travel guide, Travel News, informs those who want to visit Japan that "few people are buying Wii consoles in electronics stores in Japan's remote districts."

Quite a good number of tourists then explored Tohoku to the northeast to grab a Wii unit before heading home. One out of ten customers who buy a Nintendo Wii is an overseas tourist, observed a shop employee.

Some locales aren't very fond of strangers coming in packs to do their shopping in what they believe to be remote places. "I am not too happy to hear the word inaka (back-country) associated with us," said one shop owner.

Aside from such sentiments, most people from Tohoku are enjoying growth for their area. Some say the region is turning up to be a shopping mecca, while others believe the travel industry is making the place more attractive by making Ninty's console available in such place.

The Asahi Shimbun reports that according to its sources, Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. knew from as far back as May that a defect could cause its cellphone batteries to overheat.

Defective Matsushita batteries used in Nokia phones have already overheated and caused two accidents in Japan alone. On Tuesday, Nokia announced a worldwide recall of around 46 million defective batteries.

According to the Asahi Shimbun's sources, Nokia informed Matsushita Battery back in December 2006 of a possibility that its BL-5C lithium-ion battery could overheat. In May, Matsushita discovered that a glitch during the manufacturing process led to a short circuit in the battery which could then cause overheating.

Matsushita did not reveal the problem publicly but did inform Nokia. The latter was, according to the report, "apparently reluctant to disclose the fact".

Try dropping by the Northwest Worldclubs lounge when you're coming through Tokyo Narita Airport. See if you can find this widget in action: Asahi Beer's automated beer dispensing machine. Watch it in action here through this YouTube video uploaded by dominion42. It'll hold the glass in "that perfect angle", pour the beer, and then top it off with that "perfect" head (Frankly, I'm not a fan of that foam top in beer myself, but other beerguts swear by it).

And if you can, please swipe it off the counter and mail it to us. We've been dying to have something like this for the office. And expect even more drunken and crazy articles from us when you do so! (Hic!)