What’s the deal with the rush on Black Friday and Holiday shopping?  Judging by the barrage of holiday advertising, and rumors of shortages on some electronics and video games, you might think that Christmas is just a few days away, rather than several weeks away.

According to Yahoo! Tech, several video games, and electronics may be in short supply this year.  Among them are the Nintendo Wii, Wii Fit, and Guitar Hero World Tour.  I did a quick search just to see how online supplies of these items are faring.  I had no problems finding a ready supply of each of these items, but will admit that’s subject to fast and furious change this time of year. [Read more →]

The next time you’re playing Nintendo Wii or XBox, think twice before offing anybody or anything.  According to an  article I read yesterday, a Japanese woman was jailed on charges of hacking to commit the virtual murder of her online husband’s persona after he unexpectedly divorced her.  Whew!  Time to step back into reality.  All of these acts supposedly took place within a game called “Maple Story”.

More in video game news… keep faithful old Fido away from your Nintendo Wii, and your iPod for that matter.  According to Britain’s Daily Telegraph, a recent study by PetPlan (a pet insurance company) named the top ten electronic gadgets for injuring pets.  iPod and Nintendo Wii topped the list, followed by Sony Playstation, and Nintendo DS.  Injuries named in the study included everything from falls to electrical incidents…eeewww.  One other thing that ranked high on the pet injury list- karaoke machines??  I don’t even want to know the details on that one.

This almost microscopic-sized USB keyboard has to be the smallest I’ve ever seen.  At just 6.7″ X 2.9″, it is about the size of an open hand.  I can see this portable keyboard becoming a favorite of PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii gamers to eliminate having to use the video game controllers for inputting data.

Although I get the whole idea of making cell phones, notebook computers, and other new gadgets as small as possible, I’m wondering if this is really practical for business purposes?  My point is, if you’re going to use a keyboard this small, then why don’t you just type on your Blackberry or cell phone?

The super tiny keyboard has a retractable USB cord and 56 keys.  I found it at Brando for $25.

Nintendo Wii fans know that those silicone Wiimote skins can be a pain when it comes to putting your controllers on a Wiimote charger, or switching back and forth between Wii accessories.  This new Wiimote charger uses induction to charge your Wiimotes, meaning that there are no metal contacts, and it will charge your Wii controllers through their silicone protectors.  Sounds convenient, but still a little weird, huh?

The Wii charger holds 2 Wiimotes, and a full charge lasts around 25 hours. Not sure when or where this new gadget is available, but I’m researching it. The InCharge battery pack was developed by TeknoCreations, a New Mexico based consumer electronics company.  Source:  Wiifanboy.

Ditch the cords and put your Wii sensor wherever you want it. This wireless Wii sensor bar requires 4 AA batteries, and accommodates players up to 25 feet away. You can get up to 30 hours of play time on one set of batteries and it has a low battery audible alarm. This would be great for all you Wii fans with giant plasma TVs. Stand way back with that Wiimote!  I found the wireless Wii sensor at eStarland.

And, since we’re talking about Nintendo Wii accessories, I also ran across this Wii Fit non-slip mat.  Place your Wii Fit on the mat, and break a sweat without breaking a bone.

Ever wish you could take your PlayStation 3 on the road? Add this to your PS3 accessories list. Now you can play PS3 games anywhere with the Clearvision PlayStation 3 LCD screen. The 7-inch LCD screen and speakers combo unit attaches to the top of your PlayStation 3 console allowing you to play it anywhere you can plug it in. While it’s not exactly the most compact combination I’ve seen, I guess this is just the thing for die hard PS3 folks. I found the Clearvision PlayStation 3 LCD screen at Shenzhen Madcow. Hey, what about one of these for a Nintendo Wii? I’d like to see Wii users waving those controllers around in public places.

The console gaming industry has proven this before — just because you have the fanciest gaming system for sale does not mean it will win. In the late 70s and early 80s, the Atari 2600 beat the graphically superior Mattel IntelliVision and Coleco’s ColecoVision because it had games based on familiar, popular arcade games (even if they looked blocky). Nintendo’s GameBoy completely dominated the portable gaming market in the early 90s, despite far superior units like the NEC TurboGrafx-16, the Atari Lynx, and the Sega GameGear.

In the latest round of console wars, the Nintendo Wii was up against some technological powerhouses, the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3. Yet, the Wii has outsold them. Why? In part because of its price, but the primary reason the Wii has garnered such love is its unique baton-like controller, the Wiimote. With it, gamers can interact in a physical way. Sword-fighting. Bowling. Drawing. Tennis. Nintendo tapped into demographics not typical of other gaming systems: the elderly, female, and other adult non-gamers.

Meanwhile, the Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 have struggled to keep up despite impressive graphics. The PS3 in particular has had the disadvantage of being the most expensive and being the most difficult to develop games for, leading to fewer games and fans for the system.

Still, the question remains — will the Wii maintain its top status? Will physical games continue to appeal or is this a passing fad?