BestBuy.com has Wii games available for pre-order »

The kind folks at Best Buy have pulled off the shadester move of the week, and are offering Nintendo Wii games for “pre-order.” Right now they have Red Steel, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl available for pre-order, with a supposed release date of 12/01/2006. All three titles are priced at $49.99. The odd thing about it is that the two first party games, Mario and Smash Bros., aren’t even slated as launch titles, not to mention the fact that releasing a console 8 days after Thanksgiving is a bit silly. We’re sure these are just placeholders for now, to get your bucks early (like those crazy Xbox 360 bundle schemes), and actual details will be filled in with time.

Nintendo Wii Not to Exceed $250 »

We will see about that. However, if it is true, that is half of what a base PS3 will run you. Hmmmm. Very interesting. I don’t know if I like Mario Brothers that much, but still, half price is nice.  Read more about it with this post from totalvideogames:

Following the release of its financial results, Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii console won’t be priced higher than $250 (£134) in North America, and although a similar ceiling for Europe hasn’t announced the company has stated that will be similiarly affordable.

In the statement, the company also confirmed earlier reports that it expects up to 6 million Wii units to be sold between its fourth quarter 2006 launch date and the end of March 2007, with around 17 million copies of Wii games sold in the same period.

Continuing the teasing strategy of old, Nintendo concluded the statement by revealing that launch dates, finalised prices, and further details on the Virtual Console, will also be announced shortly.

The price ceiling is $49 less than the Xbox 360 Core System in the US, and a massive $249 cheaper than the basic PlayStation3 model, though these figures could increase by the time the final price is unveiled.

We’ll have more news on Wii shortly…

Half-Life 2: Episode One to be Part of Trilogy »

from totalvideogames

Half-Life 2 developer Valve has today confirmed that Episode One, the first expansion to last year’ Half-Life sequel, will be released on June 1st in North America digitally via Steam for $19.99 (£10), although whether this also applies to Europe is yet to be made clear.

Valve has also confirmed that the title will be the first in a trilogy, which is expected to be completed by Christmas 2007; a sneak preview of Episode Two is set to be packaged with Episode One along with two multiplayer games and free access to the HDR demonstration, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast. According to Valve, Episode One is approximately four to six hours in length, and follows on from the events of Half-Life 2 as a player controlled Gordon Freeman continues his fight against the Combine.

“Given the rapid changes in PC gaming, we expect episodic games will have the same impact on single-player gaming that Counter-Strike had on multiplayer,” said Gabe Newell, President and Co-founder of Valve. “The frequent releases of upgraded technology and new content works better for both consumers and developers, and is one of the key reasons Counter-Strike grew to be 80% of the online action market. We decided that a follow-up to Half-Life 2 delivered in 18 months with our first episode was more in tune with what our customers want than waiting 6 years for another monolithic product.”

Sony says base PS3 will be upgradeable »

from engadget

With the recent rumors of the low-end PS3 sporting wired controllers and a non-upgradeable HDD, things weren’t looking good for Sony fanboys without a whole $600 to blow on the next-gen console. Luckily, Sony has squashed those rumors, stating that both configurations will support Bluetooth controllers, and that the hard drive will be upgradeable just like a computer. A Sony representative went on to state that you’ll also be able to purchase a WiFi adapter and a memory card reader for the console, leaving the HDMI port as the only feature you won’t be able to match with ad hoc upgrades. Sure, it’d be nice to have it all in there in the first place, but we’ll take what we can get.

Sony Blu-Ray Delayed? »

Sony says they don’t think they will be able to meed the demand for the Blu-ray players in the US. They say this is because cell-phones are gobbling up all of the necessary electronic components. Right… They are probably just trying to increase demand and anticipation for their product.

Read a more detailed discussion here.