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Hello Kitty Xbox 360 Dazzles While You Frag


You may remember deviantART member Ricepuppet from his days dressing up his Xbox 360 in Domo-kun stylings. He's back, combining our love for console paint jobs with all things Hello Kitty. No matching controller this time, but there's more than enough stars, shades of pink, and cuteness to make up for it. The Sanrio charmer isn't the only new mod he's got, we also spotted consoles adorned with 'Halo Wars,' Sonic the Hedgehog, and Chocobos (of 'Final Fantasy' fame). Now how about we see some of that HK love plastered on a 'Rock Band' drum set?

Read - Hello Kitty mod
Read - Go Go Sonic mod
Read - Halo Wars mod
Read - Chocobo racing mod

Video Games

Best Buy Rumored to Be Hoarding Wiis for Holiday Push


It's hard to say if this rumor is true, but it's not behavior that Best Buy has avoided in the past. In fact, we vividly remember this exact same scenario happening in late 2006 -- the difference? That was the Wii's launch year. This is two years later. Two. Years. Later. Oh, and it's totally a futile effort, considering that Wally World sold through "tens of thousands" in about four milliseconds. Seriously people, there's a new Elmo to wage holiday war on, you have no business scrapping for a Wii 25 months after it hit US shores.*

What's your favorite video game console?



[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]

*Image above is assumed to be Photoshopped, as we cannot find a single human to confirm ever seeing that many Wii consoles for sale in one location.

Video Games, Back to School

'The Dark Knight' Xbox 360 Spotted in the Wild



As you've surely heard (and hopefully confirmed for yourself) by now, The Dark Knight is a runaway hit. So much so, in fact, that a number of manufacturers have figured it prudent to crank our hardware with the iconic Batman logo front and center. Next in line for admission on the bandwagon seems to be Microsoft, which apparently showed off a "limited edition" (read: likely one of a kind) Dark Knight Xbox 360 over in Taiwan. We know, you want the details -- eventual release dates, a price, the works. Unfortunately for us all, we're stuck with just that image above and hope for the future. Hey, at least you can let your imagination run wild.

[From: Gamer via IGN]

Video Games

PlayStation 3 Out-sells Nintendo Wii in Japan

PS3 Outsells Wii in JapanFor the first time ever, Sony's PlayStation 3 outsold the Nintendo Wii over a four-week period in Japan. Fanboys, start your engines, because in November the PS3 sold 183,217 units, topping the Wii's 159,193.

The PS3 has struggled since its launch to make a significant dent in the home console market. After being a market leader with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, Sony has taken a somewhat distant third behind the Wii and Xbox 360 this generation.

A new influx of games, a hefty price drop, and the introduction of a new midrange model with a 40 Gigabyte hard drive have finally brought some life to the Sony system. Only time will tell if this is a fluke or if the trend is sustainable. The real test will be this holiday season. If Sony can post comparable numbers to the Wii and Xbox Sony, execs will likely declare a victory and we're pretty sure you'll be hearing about it.

From Reuters

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Video Games

Rumored PlayStation 3 Price Cut ... Worth It?

Rumored PlayStation 3 Price Cut -- Is it Worth it?If there's ever going to be a good time to buy a PlayStation 3, Ars Technica's Opposable Thumbs blog says it's the upcoming holiday season. Citing a dependable "mole" whose prophecies have a knack for coming true, Opposable Thumbs is churning the rumor mill with speculation that a the 80-gigabyte PlayStation 3 will be slashed $100 down to $499 and that a new 40-gigabyte version will debut for $399. The 60-gigabyte model will be phased out, making the two original PS3 configurations (20- and 60-gigabyte) extinct just a year after the system's debut.

Opposable Thumbs goes on to speculate that a 'Spider-Man 3' Blu-ray will be packaged with at least one of the PS3 models, and the still-selling PS2 will be knocked down to just $99.

But as much as Sony continues to whittle down the price of the PS3, the unit's price was so bloated to begin with at launch that it can't keep up with the price cuts of the competition. Right now, an Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii go for as little as $279 and $249 respectively, and we won't be at all surprised if both go in for a little price nip/tuck just before the holidays.

From Opposable Thumbs

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Audio/Video, Video Games

Original Atari TV Ad Unearthed

The big E3 video game conference kicks off tonight in Santa Monica, California, which had us hankering for Retro Thing's recent compilation of of excellent game console ads from the '80s. A George Plimpton Intellevision classic is included, along with a Colecovision ad and a 'Legend of Zelda' commercial that defies explanation. Then, of course, there's the Atari spot above in which an entire family seems to be high on goofballs. Enjoy!

From Retro Thing

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Video Games

10 Worst Consoles Ever



There are few things as satisfying as compiling other peoples failures into an easy to digest list. GameTrailers.com has collected and posted its own list of the video game industry's greatest mistakes. The list includes moves of desperation (Sega CD and 32X), poor design (Nokia N-Gage, pictured), mob ties (Gizmondo), and just plain bad ideas (Nintendo's Virtual Boy).

Of particular interest is the R-Zone.

In 1995 -- the same year the original PlayStation was released -- Tiger updated its formerly popular LCD Pocket Games line with the R-Zone. R-Zone was a cartridge based "virtual reality" system that projected its barely animated time wasters in red on tacky head gear. The R-Zone was about as exciting as watching a digital clock and was only slightly more comfortable than a ball gag.

From Joystiq

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CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.

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