Nintendo Wii calls on the Cockroaches

I've heard some far fetched stories but this one takes it to another level!

The Reg reports that the Nintendo Wii supposedly gives off a high pitched frequency that attracts Cockroaches!

According to the report the little creatures respond to air movements and ground vibrations by "feeling" them on their body and the Wii gives off the right impulses!

As I said, I don't believe a word of it and having had a Wii here for a year I can safely say that I've not seen one cockroach!

You can read up here...

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12/14/wii_attracts_cockroaches/

Movies finally hit the UK Xbox 360

It's been a long time coming but finally Microsoft have released movie downloads for the Xbox 360 in the UK.

They are available for 250 marketplace points for the Standard Definition (480p Widescreen) version, which weighs in at approx 1.2Gb for the example I'm looking at (Ocean's Eleven) or 380 points for the High Definition (720p) version which is a whopping 5.1Gb. So if you are running the 20Gb hard drive you wouldn't want too many down at once!

You get 14 days after purchase to watch it but be careful, once you have hit the play button you only have 24 hours left to view it. Make sure that your broadband package isn't too restrictive about download limits - if you have a 2Gb cap then you should be thinking about changing your service to something that offers much larger downloads limits or even unlimited.

The list at the moment, whilst having a good selection of films, doesn't really set the world alight! Anyone with Sky HD in the UK would be better off choosing something from the Sky Box Office as they are much more up to date.

However if you have a nice HD screen and an Xbox 360 but no other HD content this will be a welcome addition to your viewing pleasures and for that reason alone, I give Mircosoft the thumbs up for finally giving the UK some content.

Lets just hope they keep them coming and they get some newer releases!

The following films are available right now:

300
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
ZODIAC
MATRIX, THE
MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, THE
MATRIX RELOADED, THE
OCEAN'S ELEVEN
PERFECT STORM, THE
SWORDFISH
THREE KINGS
TRAINING DAY
FUGITIVE, THE
RISKY BUSINESS
SPACE COWBOYS
EYES WIDE SHUT
ANALYZE THIS
DEMOLITION MAN
EXECUTIVE DECISION
LETHAL WEAPON 4
LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION
MARS ATTACKS!
CLASH OF THE TITANS
SUPERMAN III

And coming before January 7th 2008

TMNT
WE ARE MARSHALL
BATMAN & ROBIN
BATMAN FOREVER
BATMAN RETURNS
WILD WILD WEST
US MARSHALS
DEEP BLUE SEA
SPHERE
UNFORGIVEN
MAVERICK
CONTACT
CONSPIRACY THEORY
OUTBREAK
LAST BOY SCOUT
MISS CONGENIALITY
ANALYZE THAT

Sega Dreamcast Back? Are You Kidding?

You hear some crazy stuff on the grapevine but this has to be one of the craziest stories! Rumours go that Sega is going to make a come back with the Sega Dreamcast!

How did this all get started? Well it seems that Sega renewed some copyrights back in August and updated some of the features, to include such things as "floor pads" which might lead you to think that they are planning a comeback to rival the Wii, and maybe to deliver a "Wii Fit" type package!

I imagine its more that some of their back catalogue is going to be made available, maybe with updates to include new hardware than they are trying to protect. Who knows!

However its a nice story and I for one would welcome Sega back into to the melee. They say that they are "very happy being a platform agnostic company" and hey, I'd agree with that, but to survive in this market, they need to start producing some quality games and not relying on re-hashed hits.

A Sound Idea for the PS3

There is a good review of the Logic3 SoundStation3 PS3 speakers over at Reg Hardware (link below).

The bit that caught my eye and made me laugh was the opening paragraph.

"So, you’ve got your PS3 all set up, nicely wired into your widescreen LCD TV... and it’s sitting there gathering dust ‘cause there are very few decent games available for it yet. That’s the prognosis - the diagnosis is: treat yourself to an affordable set of speakers that will breathe life into your under-utilised games console."

Nether a truer word spoken in jest! My PS3 hasn't been getting a look in lately, I tend to turn it on and check to see if there are any good demo's online, then I shut it down and power up the Xbox 360.

In fairness to Sony I do remember similar times with the Xbox 360 during the first year, however these were largely confined to the summer period and there was a host of games out for the holiday period last year and this one. It is slightly concerning that there isn't a better crop of games for the PS3 this year, hopefully 2008 will see some quality.

If you are trying to make a decision on which console to go for, I'd seriously consider the Xbox 360 as it has an amazing back catalogue and defer your investment in a PS3 until next year.

However, if you already have a PS3 and need some good speakers that will look the part, whilst not breaking the bank, then the Logic3 SoundStation3 PS3 Speaker should keep you entertained whilst you wait for some decent games.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/12/07/review_logic3_soundstation3_speakers/

First Impressions of Xbox 360 Fall Update

Just a quick update to tell you about my first impressions of the Xbox 360 Fall Update released today, December 4 2007. So far I am impressed!

The update took only seconds to download and install, much faster than PS3 updates take on the same connection, and the Xbox 360 screen loaded up. It seemed to pause on here for longer than usual before saying I had signed in, then it took me to the Xbox Live tab and showed me signing into Xbox Live as normal.

Sticking with this tab you can now go into Inside Xbox which at present has one update from AceyBongos (awful name) explaining that updates will be due every Thursday. I guess they are going for a Blog appeal with weekly updates (unlike us who post at least once a day!). Apart from this no real changes to notice to this tab.

Going into Marketplace is where the real improvements have been made. "Spotlight" gives you the latest downloads, which you can navigate left and right throwing different sub lists, e.g. What's Hot, Top Demos, Top Arcade, etc. It much clearer to navigate.

Back to Marketplace you have "New Arrivals" which again you go left and right to see Games, Arcarde, Xbox Originals, etc.

Then you have "Games Store" which gives you an up and down list that features Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Originals, Game Demos, etc. Xbox Originals is a cool feature on this update, you click on it and makes the display black with green text and graphics in a like the original Xbox. Ah it makes you feel all retro and you almost miss it! There are 7 demo's showing in my region (UK) that include Halo, Crimson Skies, Fuzion Frenzy and Fable. All priced at 1200 credits and approx 2Gb downloads... download a few of these and you will wish you had the Elite or at least the 120Gb hard drive.

The last point I'll touch on for now cause I don't want to spoil all your surprises, is the Games tab. Now when you into "Games Library" you can click on My Games which allows you to flick left and right between All Games, Arcade, Demos, Recently Downloaded, etc. It is just a much better way of navigating and I'm really pleased they have done it like this.

I'm off to play but left me know your thoughts on the subject.

Wii Fit Parody

Ah the Nintendo Wii, you can't deny that those guys at Nintendo know how to shift hardware and games aimed at the whole family.

As I've previously blogged, the Wii Fit game will be coming to the US and Europe early next year. It could be a lot of fun or it could be another novelty that you buy, try once, enjoy it and then never use it again. We will see soon enough I guess.

Whilst flicking around YouTube I stumbled upon this Parody written and produced by those guys at Sarcasticgamer.com (which appears to be down at the moment?) and its a lot of fun. I'd seen this before my blog got going but felt it was right to post it now as its damn funny and topical.

Enjoy!

Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard

The guys from Gamerscoreblog walk you through the Xbox 360 Fall Update showing you all the new changes we can expect tomorrow, December 4.

The new update helps to keep you in touch with all that’s new on Xbox LIVE Marketplace – the Spotlight function points you to great new content and promos, while a New Arrivals area gives you easy access to all the freshest downloadable goodies on LIVE. Inside Xbox is another new feature that will keep you up to date with all the latest developments in the world of Xbox Live, and then there’s Xbox Originals. This exciting feature allows you to download a range of classic Xbox titles like Halo, Psychonauts and Burnout 3: Takedown and play them on your Xbox 360. Bring them on!