Nintendo Say No New DS

Get a free Nintendo DS here.

There have been certain rumors floating around, indicating that console manufacturer and video game publisher Nintendo is working on a spanking new edition of their handheld gaming system, the Nintendo DS. The news spread across numerous web sites, hinting the possibility of a new Nintendo DS - presumably, the new product would be announced in early 2009. Incidentally, the company didn't revise its Nintendo DS since the DS Lite model, which was released back in 2006.

Anyway, it wasn't long before Nintendo denied the whole thing, regarding the story as nothing more than "rumor and speculation." Disheartening news for handheld-console-nerdos, I'm sure.

Found here.

Get a free Nintendo DS here.

No Price Cut For PS3 In 2008

This is sad new for consumers. Especially with the economy so bad. Hopefully my free PS3 will be arriving soon. I'll update you guys when I get it.


Sir Howard Stringer says that his company isn't planning a further console price drop; says Wii "may be a superior business model" in terms of hardware profitability.

In the wake of last week's announcement of a new $499 160GB PlayStation 3, executives at retailer GameStop predicted a $50 price cut for the 80GB model by year's end. However, in an interview published today, Sony Corp CEO Sir Howard Stringer ruled such a move out. Speaking with the German Newspaper Die Welt, the Welsh-born executive--and first non-Japanese chief of Sony--was asked if his company planned to reduce the PS3's price by the holidays. "I think not," the executive stated flatly.

Stringer also had some choice words to say about one of the PS3's rivals, the Wii. He admitted to playing Nintendo's console, which he diplomatically described as offering "a different experience." He also said that he doesn't consider the console as a threat. "The Wii is not succeeding at our expense--it is not hurting us," he explained. According to last month's NPD figures, the Wii was outselling the PS3 in the US by two-to-one, with the Xbox 360 running a close third place.

Stringer continued, "The Wii is a well-made device that has found a new target group. For a while, we held the same target group with the SingStar karaoke game. But perhaps we neglected to pursue that avenue. PlayStation games are rather designed for those who play a lot. Although it's a different strategy, it pays off... The major difference lies in the fact that Nintendo makes money with the hardware alone, which may be a superior business model."

Unfortunately, by his own account, the CEO said that it will be a while until the PlayStation 3 hardware becomes profitable. Although Sony's PS3 manufacturing arm has hit a "production bottleneck" due to demand, Stringer joked that Sony won't make back its hardware-production cost "for as long as I live."

"The traditional business model for the PlayStation envisaged us making a loss with the hardware in the early years until the production costs had decreased to a point that enabled us to break even," explained Stringer to Die Welt. "In the meantime, we earn money with the games. We are currently at the stage in which we need to get a grip on the production costs. That takes time. We are already making more money with the games than we are losing with the hardware."

Found here.

Free Playstation 3 console is found here.

Star Wars: Force Unleashed

Some news on this game. I'm really looking forward to it.

The saga continues in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a video game developed by LucasArts which casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy.

The expansive story, created under direction from George Lucas, is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In it, players will assist the iconic villain in his quest to rid the universe of Jedi -- and face decisions that could change the course of their destiny.

As its name implies, The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force by taking full advantage of newly developed technologies that will be seen and experienced for the first time: Digital Molecular Matter (DMM), by Pixelux Entertainment, and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd.

Paired with the powerful Havok Physics™ system, these new technologies create gameplay only possible on the new generation of consoles. DMM incorporates the physical properties of anything in the environment so that everything reacts exactly like it should -- wood breaks like wood, glass shatters like glass, plants on the planet Felucia bend like plants on the planet Felucia would, and more. Meanwhile, as a revolutionary behavioral-simulation engine, euphoria enables interactive characters to move, act and even think like actual human beings, adapting their behavior on the fly and resulting in a different payoff every single time.

Working with its sister company Lucas Licensing, LucasArts is preparing an unprecedented promotional effort around the launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, encompassing a full line of toys and game-based action figures from Hasbro, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey and Palace Press.

More information about the game can be found at the official website, here, which will continue to release details throughout the year, including updates from the development team.

This game looks great. I found this at the official Star Wars website. I've found the free offer for this game here. I will periodically update this blog with cool news stories and games I find.

If anyone else finds anything like this or has any questions, let me know.

Playstation 3 Offer Review

This is the first of many “free” offers I will review related to Games & Toys.

A little about myself – I am a 26 year old gamer. I love video games, though the only console I currently own is an Xbox 360 and my PC. I was born in Russia and moved to the United States when I was 13. While in college in the United States, I frequently used similar “free” offers to help me get items for very little cost and sometimes no cost. I mostly used these pages to get gift cards to various shops.

Since I already own an Xbox, I figured the next step would be the PS3. I really want to upgrade to a Blu-Ray player anyway, so why not? Today I will examine the Playstation 3 offer using the following criteria and answering frequent questions about these types of offers.

1. How and where can I find this?
Well, you could just click here or find this through organic search listings on Google by searching for “playstation 3”. You can also find this under Google paid listings. Paid listings are the sponsored listings located at the top of the search page and on the right side-bar. Searching for “free ps3” should bring this offer up.

2. Who is offering this?
This is part of the current corporation I am examining called “World Avenue”. This firm specializes in these free offers and they have many different categories for different products (see links to the right for blogs pertaining to those different categories).

3. What is required to receive this- in terms of effort and cost (if any)?
You’ll need to have basic mailing information (name, address, email etc.), anywhere from 35 minutes to 2 hours to spend reviewing and signing up for low cost offers, a secure internet connection (I’m assuming you have one if you’re reading this), $0 if you use the Refer-A-Friend option (we’ll get to that later).

4. My personal experience with this offer:
I went through the offer path slowly to document my experience for you. After a few short survey questions I got to the sponsored offers page. Here is where you can choose to sign up for trial offers and subscriptions such as 30-day Netflix or Blockbuster memberships (which some of you probably want to get anyway). You also have the option to use Refer-A-Friend to receive any of World Avenue’s offers without paying any cost. I found this intriguing and will definitely test this route next time.

It took about an hour and a half (it would probably be quicker if I didn’t stop to examine every page) to completely sign up for each offer and reach my confirmation page. Along the way I spotted offers from Netflix, Seattle Coffee, Teeth Whitening, EMusic, Blockbuster, Video Professor etc. There was a wide variety of different sponsor offers to choose from.

So, I completed the path and am anxiously awaiting my PS3. I’m very excited and will update when it is received. Metal Gear Solid anyone? :)