"...despite the fact that Nintendo has effectively screwed their launch over"

C'mon, Alex. Hardly.

"Right now, people will wait for the DVD Wii (rhymes!) instead of purchasing it right away. Parents, however, will get it now, they don't care about technology."

I'm not sure I follow your logic. Are parents not people? Seriously, I doubt people will wait just to have ANOTHER DVD player. They practically give those damn things away. Sure, I understand that it would be nice if the Wii played DVDs, but I seriously doubt that many will postpone until late next year. My feeling is that if someone is the type to even want to buy a console, then they probably already have a DVD player (a better one at that) in their home already.

And, BTW, I'm a parent and I care a lot about technology. That's why I will be buying a Wii on launch. The fact that I care about technology is what makes me not care about owning another DVD player. I've had several DVD players since I bought my first during the original national rollout in 1997. It's just not enough for me to care anymore.

"It definitely looks like an old iPod with some black borders..."

I'm definitely with you on that, Z. I keep looking at these pics, and I keep thinking, "That cannot be the final design." It really does look like a prototype of a 3G iPod.

Full disclosure: Yes, I am an iPod user. I have been since the second generation. Yes, I am a Mac user. I have been since the beginning of time. But even if I wasn't, there is no way in hell I'd be able to look at what is leaking as THE Zune and not see a resemblance. Anyone who can't see and admit to a resemblance is blind. And yes, I know they are going to be available in a shit brown color as well.

Wow. They really do grant patents for anything these days. Is it too late for me to patent sex positions? At least it would be fun for whoever I hire to draw the patent application illustrations.

Oh, that's nothing. I'm currently working on a USB-powered MRI machine. Just you wait...

"I can't help but think to the various abortions like the powerpad, that robot that sat on top of your TV, and the powerglove. None of them worked well."

I understand your concern, AUA, but you are talking about things Nintendo released almost 20 years ago. Not really a fair comparison, I don't think. Plus, those were all add-ons to the original NES. Nintendo seems confident enough about this controller, or they wouldn't design their entire console around it. Sure, Nintendo has made it's share of mistakes in the past, but we're talking about a company that's been around since 1889. I seriously doubt they would make such a fatal mistake as launching with a controller that simply doesn't work. It's not like they are claiming that the Wii uses mind control.