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Desperately seeking a Wii

Ever wanted to know what it's like to get laughed at for a whole day? Try finding a Wii this week.

That was my task Tuesday: to comb the San Francisco Bay Area for one of Nintendo's elusive video game consoles. And let me tell you, the results were not pretty.

All told, during a long day of driving through Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties, I hit 10 different retailers in person and called 2 others, all in hopes that I might be one of the lucky few who stumbled onto the opportunity to fork over $… Read more

CNET's Top 10 games of 2007

There is no doubt whatsoever that 2007 was a impressive year for video games. Everyone has their own Top 10 list, but we hate the whole numbered list cliche. Instead, we've grouped the Top 10, in no particular order, giving each game its own due respect. These 10 games achieve a certain elite status that separate themselves from all the rest providing us with some of the most advanced digital entertainment available today. So without any further ado, please enjoy our picks for the Top 10 Games of 2007.

Analyst believes PS3 will win war and I laugh

According to an analyst over at Screen Digest discussing video game trends with Economist, not only will the Playstation 3 beat out the Xbox 360 in this generation's console war, he fully expects Sony's console to surpass the Wii by 2011.

The reason: as more games become available for the Playstation 3, more people will find a reason to buy the console, which will propel Sony to the top spot.

Although I can see where the analyst is coming from, I think he's dead wrong. Will the Playstation 3 overtake the Wii? Absolutely. But will it beat out the Xbox 360 when it's all said and done? Not a chance.… Read more

Xbox 360 fall dashboard update details revealed

Starting December 4, Xbox 360 owners will be able to download the latest dashboard update from Microsoft. While we announced earlier in the month that this update would allow users to download original Xbox titles, this update will also add various additional features to the console's interface. Since dashboard updates are only released bi-yearly, they are usually packed with a hefty amount of changes and this fall update is no different:

Xbox LIVE Arcade hits: Best-selling Xbox LIVE Arcade games like Marble Blast Ultra and Lumines LIVE will be available at permanently discounted prices. New video features: Support for full-screen video previews and, more importantly, support for the DivX video codec (version 5.0 and higher). Inside Xbox: A direct newsfeed from Microsoft outlining up-to-the-minute information regarding Xbox LIVE and the Marketplace. Enhanced parental controls: New features include a timer that can limit the amount of time a child can play per day or week.… Read more

The 2007 Jaded Fanboy Awards

It's been a very good year for gamers, with AAA titles hitting nearly every console, and only about half of them were sequels. Crusades-era assassins, art deco genetic misfits, physics-bending lab rats and futuristic soldiers have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the standard plumbers, elves, and bounty hunters we've seen every year, and these fresh faces have kept my consoles warm and spinning. I could just plop all of those games up on an ordered list and call it a day, but I'm taking a different tack in summarizing this year in gaming.

Welcome to the first Jaded Fanboy Awards. The JFAs are completely unofficial awards (read: I am completely making these up without any sort of procedure or votes or other such nonsense) that don't look at the best or worst games of the year, but instead unique or noteworthy in their own ways. These aren't "Best ofs," "Tops," or "Must-buys," but instead games that simply stick out.

And the winners are...… Read more

Report: PlayStation 3 price cut helping console recover

Over at the San Francisco Chronicle this morning, Ryan Kim has a story contending that Sony's oft-maligned PlayStation 3 may well find much-needed new life in the wake of its recent price cut and the release of some new titles.

Sony better hope so. The PS3, which a year ago this reporter predicted would win the console wars, has been the troubled electronics maker's worst nightmare. Sales lag far behind Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360, and the available games have been less than inspiring.

But now, Sony has lowered the price of the top-end, 80GB … Read more

Sony finally 'gets' gaming again

Has it finally happened? Has Sony finally found the solution to its year-long Playstation 3 problem? It certainly looks that way.

According to the company, Sony has cut its software development kit prices in half to $10,250 in North America, $8,600 in Japan and $11,250 in Europe. And while this may not mean much to some, to me it indicates a startling change of course by a company that had heretofore lost sight of what is important in this generation.

And although I've beaten on Sony quite a bit on Digital Home, this change in policy -- namely, price reduction -- could spell trouble for both Microsoft and Nintendo.… Read more