Wii Buy

Supplies of Nintendo Wii remain relatively low in Europe! Certainly there's been no upsurge in inventory and eBay sellers continue to exploit the market. Purportedly more stocks will arrive in March. This coincides with the launch of Sony's PlayStation 3!

For those readers lucky enough to own a Wii. If you haven't already purchased a Secure Digital (SD) memory card, which is required for storing game saves (in addition to the built-in flash memory), photo editing and downloading Virtual Console games. Amazon.co.uk is selling SanDisk's SD 512MB Memory Card, officially licensed by Nintendo, for £8.87. That's a massive 56% reduction on the suggested retail price of £19.99! Mine arrived this morning and it's a bargain.

Stop The Cavalry

Where has the year gone? Wasn't it only yesterday that I posted this?

Read on for the first part of my Review of the Year. And the prizes go to:

*E-Commerce - aStore by Amazon. Amazon's new aStore format has impressed me (as has your willingness to purchase from the links) and I hope that this store concept is developed further. An urgent request to Amazon's Associates team - please add RSS as soon as practicable. Runners up: ReviewMe and PayPerPost.

*Web - MySpace. Now that the dust is settling around RSS, I'm hard-pressed to recommend any significant web-based product this year! That's my tenuous excuse out of the way. Social networking websites (and bookmarking) are all the rage, and it would be churlish to ignore their profound dominance. Runners up: RSS and Facebook.

*Buzz Word - Wi-Fi. Wires are so passé. No logo, no go. Runners up: RSS and VoiP.

*Application - Adobe Photoshop CS3 Beta. Why? Well, the all-new UI has to be seen to be believed and the significant speed gains can't be ignored (even on my ageing LCD iMac G4). Runners up: Firefox 2 and iTunes 7.

*Gadget (formerly Console) - Wii. It's garnered acreages of coverage both here and elsewhere. Nintendo has delivered a revolution with Wii and the only flies in the ointment are product availability and the replacement remote strap fiasco. Both will be addressed in the New Year. Runners up: Nintendo DS Lite and iPod Shuffle.

*Video Game - The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Wii). Hyrule rendered in lush panoramic 16:9. Runners up: Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii) and Killzone Liberation (PSP).

Stay tuned for Best Album, DVD, Movie, Television series and much more.

Wii Play

Wii arrived this afternoon. Looking forward to some retro-goodness (via Virtual Console) from this coming Friday.

UK Virtual Console releases, December 15:

Urban Champion (NES)
Solomon's Keys (NES)
Pinball (NES)
Columns (Mega Drive)
Gunstar Heroes (Mega Drive)
Ristar (Mega Drive)
Dr. Robotonik's Mean Bean Machine(Mega Drive)
Alien Crush (Turbografx)

UK Virtual Console releases, December 22:

Donkey Kong Jr. (NES)
Soccer (NES)
Tennis (NES)
Space Harrier II (Mega Drive)
Toe Jam & Earl (Mega Drive)
Military Madness (Turbografx)

UK Virtual Console releases, December 29:

Baseball (NES)
Ice Hockey (NES)
SimCity (SNES)
Super Probotector (SNES)
Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
R-TYPE (Turbografx)

Wii-Envy You

Following the launch of the Wii across Europe at midnight last night, Nintendo UK has reported that 50,000 units of the console were sold in just 12 hours!

That equates to one sale every second, according to Nintendo - much to the satisfaction of UK boss David Yarnton.

"We are delighted with the amazing response to Wii and that people of all ages and gaming experience are embracing the way that we are turning the industry on its head," he commented.

"With so many units sold it is great to see that people will be enjoying Wii with their families this Christmas."

The official launch took place at HMV's flagship Oxford Street store, where 17 year old Londoner Marwan Elgamal became the first British gamer to pick up a Wii. Other shops opening at midnight included the GAME store down the road, which saw even longer queues and also sold all of its stock.

PC World Ipswich witnessed a queue of onlookers who wanted to participate in Wii Play! The glorious Gears of War point-of-sale wasn't enough to diminish Wii-envy!

Wii A Minute

Amazon.co.uk's initial allocation of Nintendo Wii consoles sold-out within seven minutes yesterday!

The scheduled 9:00AM (GMT) start was delayed until 9:38AM (GMT) due to the sheer number of site visitors (all hitting browser refresh or using a clever Firefox extension). This unprecedented event has garnered considerable global press and television coverage.

"We expected a high number of people to visit the site but the response was phenomenal," said James Schall, videogame manager for Amazon UK. "It's the fastest-selling pre-order item we have ever encountered - even eclipsing Harry Potter and Coldplay."

I'd like to thank all my readers who purchased a Wii console, games and accessories via my Amazon.co.uk associate links. Your support is very much appreciated and, most importantly, at no additional cost to yourself!

Nine To Five (9 to 5)

With its innovative motion-sensing controller and family-fun orientated games, Nintendo's Wii console will revolutionise how we play. You can pre-order yours at Amazon.co.uk from tomorrow, November 21, during business hours (9am - 5pm GMT).

Amazon.co.uk will stop taking pre-orders once they've pre-sold all the consoles Nintendo have allocated to them for release day. Order early to avoid disappointment!

Wii Shop

With the imminent release of Nintendo's Wii, I'm launching a store dedicated to a console revolution:

Wii Shop UK

Wii Shop USA

Buy hardware, software and accessories under one roof and be assured of excellent order fulfilment (provided by Amazon).

Get your Wii-orders in early!

That's hot

Toy retailer Toys "R" Us has unveiled its coveted "hot toy" list for the upcoming holiday season, and this year it includes a video game console for the first time - Nintendo's Wii.

"The PlayStation 3 is really geared to a savvy gaming enthusiast," said Kathleen Waugh, a spokeswoman for Toys "R" Us, of the decision to add the Wii to the list. "The Wii system appeals to young kids as well as adults."

The following is Toys "R" Us' "Fabulous 15" list of hot new toys for the 2006 holiday season:

* Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes from ToyQuest,

* Designer's World from Tiger Games,

* Dora's Talking Cash Register from Fisher-Price,

* ESPN Fast Action Football from Fisher-Price,

* Kid-Tough Digital Camera from Fisher-Price,

* Laugh & Learn Baby Grand Piano from Fisher-Price,

* Mindstorms NXT from Lego,

* My Scene My Bling Bling Styling Head from Mattel,

* Pink Nitro Notebook from VTech,

* Power Rangers Deluxe Manticore Megazord from Bandai,

* Speed Stacks StackPack from Play Along,

* Sound City Railway from Imaginarium,

* Tap Dancing Mumble from Thinkway,

* T.M.X. Elmo from Fisher-Price, and

* Wii from Nintendo.

Do you need a Wii?

Looks like a lot of us do! Hit the stores to pre-order and secure some quality time with Zelda and Samus this holiday season!

Canadian readers
Amazon.ca

UK readers
Amazon.co.uk
Play.com

US readers
Amazon.com
Toys"R"US.com

Apologies to international readers not served by Canadian, UK and US retail markets! I'm endeavoring to explore new affiliate programs and will post updates as and when applicable.

Bootylicious

Mark your calendars for two important dates this week!

Starting with Tuesday September 12th and the launch of iTunes 7 (surely this update will warrant more than an incremental number change), store overhaul and iPods... I'd like to see CD-Text, AAC Plus and Vorbis support added to iTunes.

On Friday September 15th Nintendo Europe will officially announce the launch date and pricing of Wii. Approximately the size of three stacked DVD cases, Wii's elegant design makes it an inviting addition to your entertainment setup without monopolizing it. Thanks to the Wii Remote, you're given more freedom to place the console where it best suits your lifestyle.

Will Wii become Nintendo's iMac and reverse their desktop console fortunes? The pre-order queue starts here.

Playtime postponed? (not on your Nelly Furtado)

This morning's SCEE Press Office announcement regarding the delayed launch of PS3 came as no shock!

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces New March 2007 date for European Launch of PLAYSTATION 3

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces New March 2007 date for European Launch of PLAYSTATION 3 No change in launch date for Japan and North America

London, Wednesday 6 September 2006 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that it would revise the launch date of its PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in the PAL territories of Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Australasia from 17th November 2006, as previously announced to March 2007.

Launch dates for Japan and North America will remain the same, which are November 11th and November 17th respectively.

The revision of the launch date in the SCEE territories is caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PLAYSTATION 3.

The previously announced PLAYSTATION 3 shipment forecast of 6 million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 is not changed.

Given the above, both Microsoft and Nintendo will certainly capitalize on this weakness during the lucrative holiday season! The Wii is far more compelling and can viewed as the 'wild card' in the next generation console pack!

Mario Warez

Amazon UK has confirmed dispatch of my eagerly awaited Polar Ice DS Lite. In anticipation of its arrival tomorrow and some quality time playing Mario Kart DS, Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime: Hunters. Here's a Wii post!

Whilst I applaud Nintendo's decision to include the Virtual Console in its next generation games machine - the download service will feature classic titles from past Nintendo consoles (from the NES to the N64) as well as from formerly competing systems, such as the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16 - what impact (if any) will this have on the emulation market?

What intrinsic value (aside from legalities) is there for a paid-for download service, when ROMs and software emulators can be (relatively) easily obtained online? Yes, Nintendo (and third party companies) can issue suits (and have done so to protect their intellectual property).

In terms of mainstream consumers there's little doubt that the service will be a boon: finding and maintaining emulators and working ROMs is time intensive. And perhaps Nintendo will offer value-added features such as full screen anti-aliasing and extra levels for example?

Of course customization is part and parcel of emulators such as NESCafe and Genesis Plus. So, to the PokeROMs community there's perhaps zero benefit. I, for one, will support Virtual Console as long as the UI compares favorably with Apple's iTunes Music Store experience.

Is it too late to change the pervasive all you can eat (for free) culture?

Opera 9 has been announced and their DS browser debuts in Japan.

PS3 at Play

UK gamers can pre-order Sony's PlayStation 3 with 60GB HDD from Play.com. This configuration is purportedly the only option available to European consumers at launch and weighs in at a hefty £549.99. Will consumer resistance and Sony’s stratification afford Nintendo’s Wii an advantage?

Due to an expected European shortage of the PS3, retailers are unable to guarantee delivery of your PS3 before Christmas. All pre-orders will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis and game titles in the package may be changed, subject to availability.

My best advice would be to pre-order a PS3 today (even if you're still undecided) because there's no deposit and you'll only be charged once the item is dispatched. I'd better download the LocoRoco demo and complete my PSP product review!

Lite Launch

Big N has officially announced the European launch of the DS Lite. Mark June 23rd in your Google Calendar!

Whilst the DS Lite is available in a spectrum of colors in Nintendo's native Japan. On launch day Europeans will have a choice of black and white. Black is clearly proving popular, but I'll stick with white in order to compliment my existing desktop and portable lifestyle products.

Get your pre-orders in early as prices are already creeping up. Play.com is the cheapest at £97.99 (subject to change without notice).

At time of writing there is no word regarding what bundles (if any) will be available. Surely including a copy of New Super Mario Brothers is a must?

Wii Want

Nintendo has announced that its next generation console (code-name Revolution) is officially known as Wii. The company explains:

"While the code-name 'Revolution' expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else."

"Wii will put people more in touch with their games … and each other. But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean? Wii sounds like 'we,' which emphasizes this console is for everyone."

"Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii. Wii has a distinctive 'ii' spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play."

"And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd. So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because, it’s really not about you or me. It’s about Wii."

In addition, Nintendo hit on a number of Wii-related points. Nintendo stated that "A number of Wi-Fi-enabled launch titles are in development that will employ Nintendo's newly announced wireless gaming service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection."

Also mentioned was an SD memory card expansion bay that will allow users to complement the 512 megabytes of internal flash memory.

The company also touted Wii's two-format disc drive. "Instead of a tray, a single, innovative, self-loading media bay will play both 12-centimeter optical discs used for the new system as well as Nintendo GameCube discs. Owners will have the option of equipping a small, self-contained attachment to play movies and other DVD content."

At first I scoffed at Nintendo's nomenclature! However, who would have thought that TiVo and iPod would become part of our consumer lexicon? And controversy sales.

Wii, like the original iMac, will be available in an assortment of candy colors. To paraphrase Steve Jobs. Wii is gaming for the rest of us. Nintendo may have struck marketing gold by mining Apple Computer's rich lifestyle brand ethos.

Mario World

Periodically I'll be advertising my eBay sale items here.

If you missed the 2005 Wizard World Philadelphia Spike Palz listing fret not! I'm now selling a Nintendo DS Handheld Console & Mario Kart Bundle.

•Bundle includes:
•Silver Nintendo DS
•Mario Kart DS

This is in mint condition - only opened once and switched on to ensure that there are no dead pixels.

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

As gifts are unwrapped and Mac Users await the irony of Intel Inside (I'll be ordering a Mac mini during MWSF 2006). News reaches these shores that Nintendo Revolution gamers can expect Sega's 16-bit classics on the next generation console! What this means for software emulation remains unclear. Incidentally, MacMAME maybe updated next week. If it heralds the long awaited new front-end, I'll post a review. Who knows, Brad Oliver may release it as a Universal binary.



Contrary to my earlier post. There was no DS for me today. Play weren't able to send a replacement prior to the weekend festivities. However, Lego lightsabres basked in the neon glow of a fiber optic tree.

Walking In The Air

This is the first part of the mandatory Review of the Year. And the prizes go to:

*Web - RSS. Of all the emergent web-based technologies reaching critical mass (despite low consumer awareness). This year RSS has captivated my imagination with many a late night brain storming, and exchanging of e-mails with those Chicago-based coders at FeedBurner, to facilitate an all signing and all dancing, but ultimately transparent, RSS experience. Runners up: Google Reader and Blogger.

*Buzz Word - Podcast. This term is a misnomer, but joins the pantheon of brands TiVo and Google. My iTunes Music Store listing was the crowning achievement. Runners up: VoIP and Blogging.

*Application - Flickr Uploadr. I've honored Flickr with the distinction of best cross-platform social networking tool. Google's photo proposition looks positively anemic and clunky by comparison and gets a zero for the lack of a Mac OS X client. Maybe next year, eh? Runners up: Firefox 1.5 and iTunes 6.

*Console - Nintendo DS. Sony's PSP wins the hardware and multimedia battle. But Miyamoto's masterpiece is 'all about the games': delivered with an inventive quirkiness and wrapped in Game & Watch geek chic. Runners up: Xbox 360 and PSP.

*Video Game - Mario Kart DS. Combines the SNES, N64, GameBoy SP and GameCube iterations with Wi-Fi. Do you need to know anymore? Runners up: Resident Evil 4 and Lego Star Wars.

Stay tuned for Best Album, DVD, Movie, Television series and more.

The Ultimate answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is...

42 and Happy Birthday Doctor Who. Over four decades ago An Unearthly Child was broadcast in the aftermath of US President John F. Kennedy's assassination. I still have vivid memories of the Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks and The Pyramids Of Mars (circa 1974/75)!

It pays to search eBay listings. Early this morning I purchased a brand new 5" R/C Dalek (£29.99 inc P&P)! The 5" model from Character Options is a limited edition and its market value is higher than the 12" R/C. However, whether it is worth £75 is relative.

Character Options will be extending their 5" Doctor Who range to include the following:

*Pack 1 - The Tenth Doctor (in his 'signature' outfit with long overcoat and Sonic Screwdriver accessory.

*Pack 2 - Rose Tyler and K-9

*Pack 3 - Intergalactic Warlord, the Sycorax Warrior complete with two weapons.

*Pack 4 - A double pack of Lady Cassandra and Moxx of Balhoon

*Pack 5 - A Slitheen action figure - with extendable claws that can be slid out from its finger ends.

*Pack 6 - Radio controlled K-9 and Tenth Doctor double pack.

*Pack 7 - TARDIS console room playset. Six buttons control around ten sound effects plus chair, hat stand and lift-out access panels in the floor to reveal the TARDIS mechanisms and circuitry.

The granddaddy of them all, The Emperor Dalek, will be available exclusively from Toys R Us online.

Still wondering whether or not you should purchase the Character Walkie-Talkies? Don't hesitate any longer! The likeness of both the Doctor and Slitheen are superb and eclipse Hasbro's hyped methodology! Go on, you know you want to play with these.



Pop Princess Rachel Stevens (isn't anyone buying her excellent album?) is rumored to be in the Doctor Who franchise spin-off Torchwood with John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness). Torchwood is described as 'adult', not necessarily a positive connotation. Perhaps BBC PR should seek more articulate adjectives?

Can I Have It Like That

After reading a 4 star review of Rachel Stevens' new album, Come And Get It, in Friday's Guardian. I procured a copy and it's the most audacious, chic and eclectic collection of pop songs since Gwen Stefani's Love, Angel, Music, Baby! The Sunday Times concurs! An amusing anecdote. A photo of Ms Stevens adorned my Windows NT desktop at Dow Jones Reuters (before brand hegemony infiltrated every pixel) and a member of staff wondered if Rachel was my wife? If only...

Watching the Girls Aloud videography in iTMS, I noticed how much Cheryl Tweedy looks like Neve Campbell!

Added additional Doctor Who titles to the DVD collection. Claws Of Axos and Revelation Of The Daleks. The former is a by the numbers Pertwee yarn and the latter is a macabre masterpiece. Aside from the digital restoration and edible extras, the new disc art is welcome.

Version 2.0 of the Atari 2600 emulator has been released for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. This new version of Stella contains a wealth of improvements. Some highlights are listed below:

*Fully-integrated UI
*New ROM Launcher
*Integrated Debugger
*New Sound Subsystem
*Added ZIP Support
*Added Cartridge "Frying"

With the advent of Halloween comes Castlevania! This year Akumajo Dracula - Chi No Rondo (for PC Engine/TG-16 Super CD-ROM² System) should provide the requisite console chills. Considered by many as the definitive entry in the long-lasting franchise.