Xbox Live Black Friday Sale

Microsoft has revealed some of its Xbox Live Black Friday specials. Check ’em out…

Microsoft has revealed some of its Xbox Live Black Friday specials. Check ’em out:

Xbox 360 Games
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games) – 400 Microsoft Points
Halo: Combat Evolved (Microsoft Game Studios) – 400 Microsoft Points

Xbox Live Arcade
Trials HD (Microsoft Game Studios) – 400 Microsoft Points
‘Splosion Man (Microsoft Game Studios) – 160 Microsoft Points
Monkey Island: Special Edition (Microsoft Game Studios) – 400 Microsoft Points
Madden NFL Arcade (Electronic Arts) – 400 Microsoft Points
Portal: Still Alive (Microsoft Game Studios) – 400 Microsoft Points

Zune Movies
Clash of the Titans – 720 Microsoft Points
Sex and the City 2 – 720 Microsoft Points
Cats and Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore – 720 Microsoft Points
300 – 380 Microsoft Points

I never got around to Monkey Island. Perhaps I’ll pick that up. If you haven’t played Portal then I suggest you buy it this week. It’s excellent. If you even think about buying Clash of the Titans, I’ll fly to your house and smack you. Any of this stuff interest you?

Source

Nintendo Unveils Green and Orange DSi Systems: Do You Care?

Nintendo has announced new green and orange DSi bundles for Black Friday (that or the company really loves Aquaman’s colors). Here’s a clip from the press release:

These new colors join Nintendo’s other great value bundles for the holidays that are being released in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. game on the NES. These include the limited-edition red Nintendo DSi XL bundle, which features a red Nintendo DSi XL system with three iconic Super Mario Bros.-themed graphics, the Mario Kart DS game, and preloaded software titles including Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock at a suggested retail price of $179.99. In addition to those preloaded titles, each Nintendo DSi system comes preloaded with Flipnote Studio, which lets users create, upload and share their own fun animations.

Do you care? The Nintendo 3DS is months away. Are new colors reason enough to buy a new DSi? Or do you think these are strictly for mainstream gamers that don’t know that a new Nintendo handheld is on the way?

Today’s Poll: The TSA’s Search Techniques

Thanksgiving is coming up and some of you will be traveling. Are you ready to be fondled by the TSA? Don’t get me wrong, a lot of TSA agents provide great service that help keep airports and flights safe. Others are…not-so-bright people that strip-search kids (see the video above) and spill urine on passengers.

The TSA has been getting a lot of negative press lately, but some polls show that people don’t mind the new search procedures and body scans. How do you feel about them? Kindly take today’s poll and share your feelings (like a Care Bear).

[poll id=”86″]

Don’t Forget to Watch Young Justice on Friday!

I’m totally psyched for the premiere of Young Justice on Cartoon Network. The new DC animated series kicks off with a one-hour special on Friday before regular episodes in January. Even though the show is called Young Justice, it has more in common with the Teen Titans comics than the excellent Peter David books. The lineup includes Robin (Dick Grayson, not Tim Drake), Kid Flash (Wally West, as opposed to Bart Allen’s Impulse), Aqualad (who is brown skinned for some reason), Superboy, Artemis (instead of Arrowette), and Miss Martian.

In addition to the teen sensations, there will be plenty of cameos by the grown ups. Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, Captain Marvel (don’t call him Shazam!), and others will be in the show’s initial run.

I hope a bunch of you watch or record Young Justice so we can talk it up over the weekend. Any of you interested in the show?

Coffee Talk #252: What’s Your Favorite “Name” Game?

A lot of videogames have a famous name attached to them. Some have athletes (Frank Thomas: Big Hurt Baseball). Others have game designers (American McGee’s Alice). And some have…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Verve’s Panama Elida Estate Natural, Derek Jeter’s contract negotiations, or Sergio Martinez vicious knockout of Paul Williams, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A lot of videogames have a famous name attached to them. Some have athletes (Frank Thomas: Big Hurt Baseball). Others have game designers (American McGee’s Alice). And some have musical groups (The Beatles: Rock Band). Today I want to hear about your favorite “name” games.

As for me…well, it’s a little embarrassing. I should say that it’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, but I’ll admit that it’s Britney’s Dance Beat. It has the same gameplay as the excellent Bust-a-Groove and was released before Britney lost her mind.

Now it’s your turn! Lay your favorite “name” game on me and enjoy these Britney Spears photos.

 

 

This Week’s Videogame Releases

After 72 years of delays (not really), Sony is finally releasing Gran Turismo 5 for PlayStation 3. Whether or not the game is worth the wait, it’s sure to sell millions. The games I’m looking forward to this week are from Namco Bandai: Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom and Splatterhouse. Need some pop in your life? Then check out Michael Jackson: The Experience. Last, but not least, is Raving Rabbids Travel in Time.

Random note: as of this writing, GT5 is #2 and Michael Jackson: The Experience is #11 on Amazon’s videogame best seller list.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Cox Launches (Game Changing?) Mobile Phone Service

Cox Communications has launched a potentially game changing mobile phone service. By combining mobile, land line telephone, Internet, and cable television services, the company offers discounted rates through a “quadruple play”. One unique feature of its service is that users can get their unused minutes refunded for up to a $20 rebate per month. Cox is adding other goodies too. Here’s a clip from the press release:

To further sweeten the reward for existing customers, Cox’s bundled customers can choose one free upgrade when they add Cox Wireless. With Bundle Benefits, Advanced TV customers can choose a free premium entertainment channel such as HBO, Showtime, Starz or Cinemax or Cox Movie Pak, which includes Encore, Epix, Sundance and Vutopia; high-speed Internet customers can upgrade from Preferred to Premier; or home telephone customers can add unlimited domestic long distance calling on their Cox Digital Telephone service.

The service is currently available in the Hampton Roads, Omaha, and Orange County markets. It currently works on Sprint’s 3G network, but Cox has plans to roll out its own network in the future. The launch phones include the HTC Desire, HTC Hero, HTC Wildfire, Motorola Milestone, and LG Axis. The phones will feature special software that interacts with various Cox service.

By getting to people pay for multiple services, Cox can offer attractive bundles that can offer better value than paying multiple companies. Other cable companies have similar plans in the works. It will be interesting to see if AT&T and Verizon offer more aggressive packages that combine their mobile, land line, Internet, and television services.

What do you think of Cox gambit? Will it work? Is this the future of telecommunications? Any of you happen to be Cox customers?