"Mis-leading headlines ahoy as Nintendo Japan gives something back to the fans with its Revolution TV remote

It's the must-have gaming accessory of 2006 and you can get one right now. If you live in Japan. Sort of. Of course we're talking about the fabled Nintendo Revolution controller, a artifact of near-mystical proportions, specifically designed to build and tone those flabby bingo wings while enhancing your gameplay experience via the power of tossing yourself around the living room like a spasmodic buffoon.

Now, those wiley folks at Nintendo have announced a special promotion enabling dedicated Japanese gamers to get their mucky fingers on the controller early - or at least that's what they'll be telling their friends when the slinky white fella slips through the letter box. What they're actually getting is a specially designed television remote, fashioned to look exactly like Nintendo's next-gen fun stick.

The cheeky facsimile will be awarded to members of the points-based Club Nintendo programme. If you've managed to amass a total of 400 points by purchasing a veritable cascade of Nintendo games - thus rocketting you up to Premium Member status - then your remote's in the bag. You'll also get a fetching Nintendo calander thrown in too, but that's marginally less exciting. Of course all this is utterly irrelevant if you don't live in Japan.

We did the rounds this morning to check whether we can expect to see the sexy freebie being made available to members of Nintendo's European VIP scheme but it's not looking good at the moment. Which isn't to say they'll never put in an appearance over here. After all, we're sure you'll be able to pick one up on eBay shortly for roughly the retail value of a small tropical island." [link]