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PS3 All Brokey You can’t blame Sony’s Phil Harrison - after talking up the PS3 so much and promising console numbers and release dates that never materialized, he’s got to start being a little more cautious. But I think his current statements shed some light on just how dire Sony’s production problems are:

Appearing in this month’s official Playstation magazine, Harrison states:

On asking if the PS3 will definitely be out in March in Europe…

“Given that all of our previous statements about launching in Europe simultaneously with the US and Japan turned out not to be the case, I would not like to make any definitive statements on that. It’s not my job to comment on hardware supply issues other than to say some very smart people are working very hard to catch up. In fact, the ramp up is already starting to happen in supply and output, just obviously too late for us to have launched in Europe at the same times as the US.”

So Sony, what you’re telling us is that Sony might not even meet its thrice-delayed launch date in Europe?? Can you tell us anything definitive about the European console? Is it ever going to make it to Europe? From our ends, it sounds like you’re just barely making your production quotas and hedging your bets. Please, tell us we’re wrong.

Read More | ThreeSpeech.com

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Elebits Box ArtWe’ve heard an awful lot about titles slipping out of the PS3 launch window, but now it’s looking like the Wii isn’t immune to the same fate. With two weeks before launch, one of the exclusive third-party titles, Konami’s quirky Elebits, has been delayed. Current estimates state that the title will still launch before Christmas, but just barely - IGN is reporting that it may launch now sometime between December 12th and 18th.

Hopefully we won’t be hearing too many more reports of delays from the Nintendo camp. Losing another major title like Red Steel or Zelda could have disastrous consequences.

Read More | IGN Wii

Wii BoxNintendo fanboy site Wiiloaded has offered up some advice for those seeking out next-gen consoles that didn’t have the chance to pre-order. While their article deals with getting your hands on Nintendo’s latest console, the same tips would seem to apply to Sony’s PS3 as well (although you might have to be closer to the front of the line to guarantee yourself a PS3, given the paltry 400,000 PS3’s available to the U.S.).

Among their tips? BestBuy will probably be the “most fun” waiting line, with lots of hardcore gamers and their lawnchairs, sleeping bags, and portable gaming systems of choice. However, given that BestBuy will only open an hour early for the Wii launch, Wiiloaded gives Wal-mart their “Stay Warm” rating - you should be able to pick up the console at midnight at most of their locations. Similarly, another great tip is the idea of looking up Sam’s Clubs and/or Costcos in your area - these venues tend to be overlooked and often have good deals on console bundles, so they may be a great last resort if you’re number 37 in line at a BestBuy that’s been allocated 36 Wiis.

Enjoy the list! And start stocking up on supplies to stay warm - you’ve only got 2 weeks left to plan.

Read More | WiiLoaded

E3 Logo IDG, Publisher of Gamepro magazine has announced that they will launch a consumer game show in Los Angeles, to be held at or near the Los Angeles Convention Center late next year. Sound familiar? It should… in taking over E3’s venue and timeslot, IDG hopes to capitalize on the huge number of fans looking for the next big game convention. While we’re not going to get hyped up just yet, there’s a significant change that IDG could pull this off - just recently the ESA (Electronics Software Association) threw their weight behind the idea, so it’s looking like this may actual be a viable contender to fill the gaping, E3-sized hole in our heart.

Read More | Gamespot.com

Wii Logo Oh Nintendo… why is it that you’re so well-loved over in Japan, but constantly the runner-up here. Could it be because gamers here are into more “mature” content? Could it be that you’re a native company in Japan? Or is just because you save all of your best, most awesomest stuff for Japan only. First there were the Japan-only Game and Watch collection, the Japan-only DS game cases, then the Japan-only “Bit Generations” games and the (now formerly) Japan-only Pink and Black DS Lites. And now? You guessed it, an incredibly awesome list of Virtual Console games for the Wii that is (for the time being at least) Japan-only.

Click the jump for the complete list of VC games that you WON’T be playing on launch day. (Although methinks Nintendo will be bringing a lot of these state-side shortly).

Click to continue reading Japan Gets Crazy Wii Virtual Console Launch Lineup

Read More | Wired.com

PS3 Ebay Screenshot

We all knew it was coming eventually… with a limited supply of only 400,000 units in the States, it was only a question of when Mr. Supply would meet Mr. Demand and chaos would ensue.

Today, EB / Gamestop began taking pre-orders for the hulking, wallet-emptying console via a $100 deposit system. But with only an average of 6 consoles allocated per store, only the first few lucky customers in line will have the privelege of giving Gamestop $100 for a piece of paper that *might* get you a console at launch. Unless, of course, the store employees got there first. Thanks to EB / Gamestop’s store policies, each store employee was able to reserve themselves one PS3 console before the public even had a chance at them.

So what do we get out of all this? Well, a day of exciting blogging, some preposterous eBay listings, and a sinking feeling in our bank accounts.


Description Gamestop / EBGames website were updated today, but not only with PS3 pre-order information. Today, the website also launched a new PC Game download service that may be the first real competitor with IGN’s Direct2Drive service. The website features over 1,000 downloadable games (although many of that 1,000 can be accounted for by duplicate titles in various languages) and range from $4.95 to $49.99 in price. As you might expect, there are a lot of cheap casual games available through the service for under $10, with most of the traditional “core” games (think Tomb Raider, WoW, etc.)running from $19 to $39.

Perhaps Gamestop has been reading all the recent news about this new-fangled “digital distribution” and started to get worried about their business model. And with Sony execs talking about how the PS4 probably won’t have an optical drive because digital downloads will make them obsolete, I can see why Gamestop would be concerned.

Read More | Gamestop.com

Wii Logo It seems the internets just can’t get enough Wii information - and with the launch a little over a month away, tasty pics and rumomrs are springing up all over the place. Just so you don’t have to go anywhere else, we’ve compiled all of this week’s major Wii stories into one meaty, juicy post.

See more after the jump, including pics of the first Wii accessories, launch date rumors, and other tidbits.

Click to continue reading Wild Wii Weekend Rumors in Review


Lumines II Box

Thanks to a tipster that clued us in before the site goes live, we had a chance to peek around the soon-to-be-released Lumines II website. There isn’t a ton of new information to be found there yet, but we did find some nice-looking screenshots (some of which have been featured on IGN before. However, we did find a really nice high-res pic of the boxart and were pleased to see that Lumines II looks at least as good as the original.

When the site launches in a few days, you’ll be able to download Lumines-themed wallpapers for your PC, Mac, and even your PSP desktop. Hopefully this’ll help tide y’all over until the November 8th launch date!

See all the screenshots after the jump!

Click to continue reading Advance Lumines II (PSP) Box Art, Screenshots


Wii Thumbnail In a release dated September 14th, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has posted a story written by Seth Schiesel of the New York Times saying that the final Wii information is as follows - The Wii will release on November 19th for North America, at a price point of $250. According to the article, we can also look forward to the re-emergence of the pack-in game, in the form of Wii Sports.

Nintendo plans to have 25 titles available for the Wii at launch; each will retail for $50 ($10 less than most Xbox and presumably PS3 games will cost). The article also states that Virtual Console titles will retail for around $5-$10 a piece (guess it’s not subscription-based then!), and about 30 titles will be available via VC at launch.

Some of the secrets that Nintendo has been keeping until the last minute are also purportedly revealed:

More broadly, Nintendo hopes to make the Wii a living-room centerpiece by including various media channels meant to appeal to and draw in people who do not consider themselves gamers.

There will be a photo channel that will allow users to use the Wii to display digital photographs on television.

There also will be an easy-to-use interactive news channel and weather channel.

Hopefully all of this info will be confirmed tomorrow by Nintendo!


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