Games and gear

The tycoons, Anshe Chung of Second Life fame and Neverdie of Project Entropia riches said Tuesday that they are planning to launch what amounts to the Oscars of virtual worlds.

The so-called Virtual World Awards will celebrate the best achievements in visual artistry, technology, commerce and culture, the two said in a press release.

The idea is to produce the awards ceremonies in the respective virtual worlds. Submissions are being taken from now until November 15. Nominees for the awards will be announced next February, and the awards will be announced sometime after that.

Just when we thought the Tamagotchi was on the way out--it's in its teens, after all--they pull it back in. It's kind of the Michael Corleone of Japan's kawaii culture. And what better way to infuse the aging 'Chi with new life than with the Wii? (We suspect a "Chiimote" can't be far off.)

Atari is bringing its Tamagotchi Party On game to the Wii this summer, according to GeekSugar, a move that threatens to expose an entirely new generation to the once-addictive digital icon. We're surprised that someone didn't throw in … Read more

ATI's new Radeon 2000-series 3D graphics cards (code-named R600) were at one point supposed to ship this January. After a few more months of fine-tuning (and plenty of Internet rumors), today brought the official launch of the 512MB Radeon HD 2900 XT. This $399 card is designed to compete directly with Nvidia's 640MB GeForce 8800 GTS, which at press time you can find for as low as $330 with rebates.

Both CNET and GameSpot will have full reviews of this card up shortly, but for now, you can check out the hard-core coverage over at HardOCP, HotHardware, and … Read more

The unrelenting ravages of time may have taken their toll on many of us aging Boomers, but one aspect of our misspent youth remains intact: the love for ancient video games.

The nostalgia is so strong at Spark Fun Electronics that a crack team of nine professionals came up with a "Picture Frame Tetris," a wall-sized version of the retro game using 720 colored LEDs and 16 microcontrollers. We're not Tetris experts (being of the Asteroids camp instead), but Technabob breaks down the technicalities in plain english: "The game features a unique interface that controls the … Read more

Throw away those beanie babies; they are old news. There is a new sheriff in munchkin town.

Webkinz.com is a Web site children can join and interact in an online society while adopting a physical representation of the pet. The catch is that a Webkinz stuffed animal must be purchased first, followed by entering the "secret code" found on an attached tag. The cute plush toys have been quite popular, grossing over $45 million last year for Canadian gift company Ganz, the creators of Webkinz. Like its TY Beanie-Baby predecessor, Webkinz also has a high collection value, … Read more

For fans of the hit Halo video game franchise, San Francisco is the place to be Friday. That's because Microsoft is hosting a hands-on press event where invitees will be able to play the game (click here for screenshots) for the first time.

Microsoft said it wouldn't be making any announcements at the event, but those in attendance will have a chance to get an advance look at the game before the company opens up its beta on May 16.

Just ignore those Jedi wannabes and their toy Lightsabers, not to mention the irritating cubicle-mate who wants to show off his Darth Vader umbrella every chance he gets. The true Star Wars aficionado will reveal himself with this, to the awe of all: Atari's original arcade cockpit.

Voyager Arcade, a U.K. company that specializes in retro arcade machines (obviously), is offering this vintage 1983 cockpit refurbished to its former glory. (We didn't know there was such a thing as an arcade refurb.) And the price on this machine has even been slashed to 3,995 pounds, or … Read more

As anyone who has managed to get their hands on a Nintendo Wii will shamefully admit, one of its most fun features is the Mii Channel, its easy-to-use avatar creation tool.

While that's not news, the phenomenon of celebrity avatars making their way across cyberspace is. People are sharing formulas for making celebrities and Wii console numbers to become friends so they can share avatars. There are several sites dedicated to the celebrity-inspired Miis and even contests to see who's making the best one.

Celebrities include everyone from Ali G to Zach Braf. Many of them can be … Read more

News of the Electronic Arts "Simpsons" video game has barely rolled off the presses, but the product merchandizing juggernaut has long been in high gear.

Microsoft is coming out with a Homer-yellow Simpsons Xbox 360 to coincide with this summer's movie, though CrunchGear says there will be only 100 of them made for promotional events. We'll be starting an office pool to see how quickly they end up on eBay, not to mention how high the bids will go.

The only thing missing is a doughtnut accessory like the one dangling from the strap for Samsung'… Read more