Wii

Has it finally happened? Has Sony finally found the solution to its year-long Playstation 3 problem? It certainly looks that way.

According to the company, Sony has cut its software development kit prices in half to $10,250 in North America, $8,600 in Japan and $11,250 in Europe. And while this may not mean much to some, to me it indicates a startling change of course by a company that had heretofore lost sight of what is important in this generation.

And although I've beaten on Sony quite a bit on Digital Home, this change in policy -- namely, price reduction -- could spell trouble for both Microsoft and Nintendo.… Read more

If you've been following the world of video games, you've probably come across an interesting piece from Team Xbox that claims a new update to the Xbox 360 will allow us to download old Xbox games.

And while I think this is a smart move on Microsoft's part -- everyone seems to want to play old games -- I just can't see how it would benefit the company that much.

According to reports, the first wave of available games will include Halo, Fable, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Burnout 3. Interestingly enough, these games were also some of the more popular titles released for Microsoft's former console, which leads me to believe Microsoft is looking to turn this into a PR victory after the first month of downloads. After all, would anyone really download Kabuki Warriors for just one more thrill?

Regardless, Microsoft may be showing its hand too early. Simply put, I just don't think anyone wants to download games that were released five years ago and hold little value. More than anything, I think people want to download games that came out a decade ago to go back to the good ol' days and finally come to the realization that some of the best games ever released really did come out then.… Read more

After a huge Virtual Console release last week, Nintendo has released three games you may not remember. Besides, you'll be playing Super Mario Galaxy all this week anyway.

I don't use the word "shindig" often, but Nintendo definitely threw a shindig last night at the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Center to commemorate the launch of Super Mario Galaxy. Dozens of Nintendo fans lined up Sunday evening to attend the store's prerelease event, an outdoor party on the Rockefeller Center plaza with a DJ, a laser light show, and a Velcro wall ride. It was like my dream Bar Mitzvah.

Mario was in attendance, of course. The giant red and blue plumber worked the crowd and let everyone know exactly whose party it was. … Read more

Hanukkah came early at my house Sunday.

After an unspectacular debut in the office Friday, I added Guitar Hero 3 to my holiday wish list. Luckily, my partner, AJ, obliged and got me the Wii game Sunday. After putting the virtual guitar together, I was off and strumming.

The embarrassment of getting repeatedly booed off the stage was fresh in my mind as I unpacked the guitar and set to practicing. Luckily, things came more easily in the privacy of my home and, with only a couple of tries, I managed to complete both "Slow Ride" and "… Read more

How can you look inside your iPhone without voiding your warranty? Want to peer into the innards of your iPod? And how exactly did they make computer memory in 1974?

Over at Crave sister site News.com they've been posting photos of electronics vivisection. I know, the operating room isn't our usual arena. But this time the patient's one of the popular electronic devices listed below. Occasionally they even put them back together in working order!

Follow along and learn industry secrets as intrepid surgeons wander inside the iPhone, an iPod Nano, a vintage computer, a flip phone, … Read more

We were saddened to hear that fellow Craver Will Greenwald has fallen into a Wii funk of late. But perhaps he just needs a break from his buddy Mario, and we think we've found the relaxing pastime he needs--a little fishing.

Dragon's new fishing rod controller would seem to be the perfect accompaniment to the "Bass Fishing Wii" that came out in Japan over the summer. Best of all, it even includes a faux fish at the end of its faux line--because the last thing we'd want is to sour him even more on the … Read more

Earlier this week, Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's CEO, pointed out the perils of maintaining the status quo in console cycles. According to Iwata, the current state of the industry where hardware is replaced by its successor in just four years is a blunder that Nintendo will not commit.

Instead, Iwata argued that new consoles should be replaced when a major shift in entertainment arrives or all avenues for innovation have been exhausted.

While I can see where Iwata is coming from, I think he misses an important point. Sure, new technologies should govern the arrival of new consoles, but what about the business implications of a 10-year console cycle? It may work for Nintendo, which has two successful hardware options on the market and does well with its first-party software, but what about Sony and Microsoft?

Sad as it is, Iwata is dreaming. From the perspective of hardware manufacturers, new console releases mean a jump in revenue and unique opportunities for growth.… Read more