Games and gear

It would be perfectly understandable for Nintendo purists to be appalled by some of the abominations of recent years, but a current auction offers some hope for true loyalists. An old (and rare) Nintendo Entertainment System is up for sale on eBay, a 1980s-vintage in-store kiosk that its owner claims was never available for consumer purchase.

The console comes with 12 cartridge slots and five controller ports, but Technabob notes that the retro monitor is not included in the auction (bummer). And interested aficionados should be prepared for sticker shock: Even without the tube, it was still going for more than $500 … Read more

Are you ready? If not, maybe you'd better get ready to be ready.

That is, of course, if you're one of the millions of fans of the Halo franchise. Because on May 16, Microsoft's Bungie Studios will finally open up the Halo 3 multiplayer beta.

To participate in the beta--which will only cover the multiplayer aspects of the game--players need to have purchased a specially marked copy of the action game, Crackdown, or have won a spot through any one of a series of regional contests.

Those who do have a spot will be able to log … Read more

If you're one of the pioneering few who picked up Ageia's PhysX game physics card, you'll soon have a game designed from the start to show it off. Best of all, you don't lose anything for trying, as CellFactor: Revolution will be available for free download on May 8.

We tried out an early tech demo of CellFactor when the Physx cards first came out, and we were impressed with how the effects offered a new way to interact with a game world (although we should add, that "DirectPhysics" component of DirectX 10 we … Read more

We don't know if Paris Hilton had anything to do with this, but we wouldn't be surprised. Nintendo was apparently so enthralled with her Swarovski puppy design that it's decided to extend the frightful concept to other DS Lite models, tarring the image of the venerable brothers Mario among other characters. Luxurylaunches reports that each of the custom items, on display at the Nintendo World store in Manhattan, is covered with $600 of the infernal stones. The good news: They're not for sale.

Over the weekend, GameSpot reported that a couple of important new updates were on their way for the Xbox 360. First, Microsoft announced that a system update would be available starting the week of May 7; the spring update includes revisions to the Xbox 360 Dashboard and Xbox Live Marketplace.

"The biggest change in the cards. . .is the addition of Windows Live Messenger functionality," the GameSpot story says. "In addition to letting Messenger users on the PC chat with their 360-having friends, the update will also let Xbox 360 owners see if any of their Messenger contacts … Read more

So, that Grindhouse flick has made the phenomenon of the 'double feature' totally cool again, and lucky for me, I was able to hit up a double feature of casual gaming competitions last weekend. In this edition of the Craving NYC video blog is a look at a Cooking Mama: Cook Off tournament at the Nintendo World store, to commemorate its launch for the Wii; and a Guitar Hero II showdown at NYCLAN, a video gaming center in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood. (I wrote about their Halo players a few months ago.) It was really cool to see the … Read more

It was President Herbert Hoover who campaigned on the promise of prosperity under his administration when he vowed "a chicken in every pot, a car in every garage."

Michigan state Democrats want to do him one better: an iPod for every child. An unsigned editorial in The Detroit News is, to put it mildly, not a fan. "An iPod for every kid? Are they !#$!ing idiots?" the headline screams.

The state is apparently facing a budget crisis--to the tune of $1 billion. On Thursday, House Democrats delivered a spending bill that includes the idea of putting $… Read more

Star Wars merchandising has always been hot, of course, and everyone's favorite--the "Lightsaber"--is always at the top of the list. Witness the Lightsaber remote, phone and MP3 player, just to name a few. But we had no idea that there would be competition in a subcategory like Lightsaber umbrellas.

Uber-Review notes that the latest entry to this coveted market is no ordinary bumbershoot, belonging to none other than Lord Vader himself, in all his dark glory. Amazon describes it as "an incredibly limited edition item" from Japan that's "40 inches across and … Read more

As the Wii travels the world and gets increasingly challenging, we cringe at the thought of how the next fool will inflict injury (on self or others). Some accessory makers are coming out with safe-gaming products that take the form of pint-sized sports equipment such as tennis rackets, golf clubs and baseball bats, but a simpler solution is now available.

The "Retractable Wii Sports Cuff" is a plain old adjustable band that attaches to the Wiimote and wraps around your wrist to keep the controller from flying off the handle, so to speak, for just $6. Kotaku says … Read more