Nintendo

The Wii U launched in November with over 30 games, but Nintendo's not about to rest on those titles. The company says the number of console games will double over the next several months, starting with the introduction of the Wii Fit U.

Available in early 2013, Wii Fit U will come with a Fit Meter, a pedometer-esque gadget that tracks physical activity throughout the day, away from the living room. When home again from an evening run, users can wirelessly upload their activity log, which will include information like calories burned, wirelessly to the Wii Fit U program. Look for 77 fitness activities on Wii Fit U with new dance segments or old Wii Fit classics like yoga.

Once you burned some energy with the Wii U, take a trip anywhere in the world on Google Maps Street View, downloadable from the Nintendo e-shop in 2013. Maps will work with both the Game Pad and TV display, so you can load the satellite map on the big screen and walk through a far-off city by moving the Game Pad in a 360° motion.

As Nintendo said in its demo, Google Maps on Wii U is like "scuba diving in your living room."

She made her name singing on Glee, but now Dianna Agron's branching out beyond her TV beginnings with a popular art website, a feature film by a sci-fi legend, and a turn with video games as a spokesperson for Nintendo 3DS. An online media maven in the making with the site You, Me & Charlie, Dianna finds the organic crowd-sourcing of the Internet the perfect place to explore and share art of all mediums.

"The beauty of You, Me & Charlie is a lot of the suggestions come from our readers," she says. "We wanted to create a site that was collaborative and introduce people to art they never knew about. It’s so nice to have all these artistic mediums to really encourage and promote artists, because whether it’s full time work or something you do just recreationally, art influences all of our lives."

In fact, it's her well-known love of art that brought her to the Nintendo 3DS "Play As You Are" campaign, a promotion to show people that never thought of themselves as "gamers" a line of casual games that'll instantly redefine the term. "With games like Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! you can learn techniques actually covered in school art classes that I didn’t even remember," Dianna explains. "I’m a charcoal-drawing girl, in real life and on the game. It’s great that there’s the 'gamer' games . . . and now the educational games, the whole gamut."

In between sourcing emerging artists and creating mini-3DS masterpieces, Dianna is moving forward with her big-screen career, having just wrapped filming of Luc Besson's — director of The Fifth Element, one of her favorite movies — new film, Malavita, in Paris. Dianna says of her time working alongside Luc and Hollywood heavyweights Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, "You couldn’t be In Paris for those three months and not walk away with the most rewarding experience ever."

Being our typical gadget fiend selves, we had to know what sort of gadgets the actress/gamer/artist/photographer would never travel to Paris without. Get ready for some major camera envy!

• iPhone — "I love all the photo apps on the iPhone; can’t imagine not having those."
• Canon DSLR — "Not that the iPhone camera isn't great, but I also like to have my heavy duty Canon on hand."
• Leica M8 — "I picked up a really good deal on a M8. I traded in a couple old cameras and a lens, then found a used Leica. I think it was a GREAT trade."
• Nintendo 3DS — "I take it around with me everywhere in my purse."

Read on for Dianna's secret online obsession and a behind-the-scenes look at the Nintendo commercial.

It's me, Mario! No, wait, it's Penélope Cruz and her sister, Mónica, caught playing Super Mario Brothers 2 on the 3DS in a new Nintendo ad. The Oscar-winning actress tries her hand at the role of Mario when she's forced to dress up like the mustached Italian plumber after losing to Mónica in a case of sibling rivalry based on the classic game.

When dealing with a gaming console system, most furniture and decorating solutions focus on one theme: hiding. Sure, tangles of cords are no pretty site, but why does our love of video games need to be tucked away within built-in cabinetry and wicker baskets?

Hide your feelings no more by welcoming the functional (!) Nintendo controller coffee table ($3,500) into your living room. Remove the glass, plug in the retractable cord, and use the joypad and buttons to play favorite NES games of yesterday.

From Etsy shop The Bohemian Workbench, the table is made up of maple, mahogany, and walnut woods. Hand-crafted touches include dovetail joints and legs made in midcentury modern style. The shop is working on a demo video of the controller coffee table in action; in the meantime, peep one more picture of gaming carpentry after the break.

Geeky stars flooded the stage during Saturday's 2011 Spike TV Video Game Awards. Zach Levi played host for the night, Felicia Day looked fantastic in an orange mini dress, Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto accepted the Video Game Hall of Fame Award, and deadmau 5 was on hand to make a musical appearance.

Looking to get a head start on holiday purchases for the gamer in your life? Nintendo just unveiled two new Wii bundles to get you thinking about a console for your shopping list. Available in stores Oct. 23, the black Wii holiday bundle ($150) includes a black Wii, a black Wii Remote Plus, a black Nunchuk controller, a copy of New Super Mario Bros. Wii game, and a special Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack CD. The updated Wii has been reconfigured to sit horizontally rather than vertically and — bummer! — no longer supports GameCube games.

The standard Wii bundle currently in stores ($150) will still be available for the holiday rush and includes a Wii console (white or black), matching Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers, Mario Kart game, and Wii Wheel accessory.

European Wii gamers get their own blue Wii bundle option to be excited for, which is in the theme of the Mario and Sonic 2012 London Olympics game. Included in this bundle available Nov. 18 are also the newly configured blue Wii console, blue Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk controllers, and a copy of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. No word yet if the blue Wii will come to the US.