Retail Radar: Wii gears up

The excitement and hype surrounding a console launch is like chum for peripheral makers. In addition to store-built bundles, the first few months of a console are prime-time feeding grounds to earn a few extra bucks on early hype.

The Wii is heading into stores sometime later this year (details of the system's launch date and price are expected this month), and some new accessories for the console have been listed on the Web sites of EB Games and GameStop.

Unfortunately, most are of the vanilla variety, with travel bags and memory cards making up the bulk of the lot. However, it does give gamers a possible look at what various items will cost.

The most interesting item in the bunch is the Wii Controller Glove, which retails for $9.99. There's no product description, but given the focus on the Wii's controller, it's likely a protective sheath for the Wii-mote. Also listed without a description is a Wii Storage & Protection 1.0GB Kit for $69.99. Filed under the category "Storage & Travel" and carrying the "1.0GB" in its title, one would presume the product is some form of hybrid carrying case and memory card--or simply just a bundle featuring both.

Speaking of memory cards, SanDisk has some Wii-branded SD cards for the console, in both 512MB and 1GB sizes. They'll retail at $39.99 and $59.99, respectively. By comparison, memory units for the Xbox 360 are available in 64MB and 256MB capacities and retail for $39.99 and $59.99, respectively.

Also listed is a Wii Game Wallet for $9.99, a Wii Sling Bag for $29.99, and a Wii G-Pak Travel Case for $29.99. For what it's worth, all items have ship dates of November 1. However, online retailers typically must give items with tentative releases solid dates for data-entry purposes.