Hard to believe, but four years ago today we launched our videogame-leaning baby, Joystiq. It's so rewarding to see our dear little site all growed up (and now with lots of adorable children of its own), so head on over and help 'em blow out the candles on their cake (which is not a lie).

Just a word of warning to Xbox 360 nerds, the Joystiq crew is blowing up coverage at Microsoft's GDC keynote. Yeah, we're technically live there too, but GDC is all about the games so head on over for your live keynote coverage.

Just launched: the expertly written, perfectly named Massively (of Joystiq pedigree, naturally), just what the doctor ordered for those need of some meta-escapism from the painful, crushing doldrums of reality that inevitably sets in when not playing one's favorite MMO. For instance, we hear some dude named Dwight actually started Second-Second Life -- hear about that kind of crazy crap (and much more) up over at Massively.

The fanatical crew of card-and-video-game enthusiasts over at Joystiq have apparently had the unique pleasure of a hands-on with the newest and wackiest PS3 accessory, the PlayStation Eye and its bundled game Eye of Judgment. If you'll recall, the interactive, VGA camera is integrated with the Magic: The Gathering-like game, which uses real cards and a mat that the camera is aimed at. We understand the Joystiq team really put the game (and the Eye) through its paces in a 36-hour, pepperoni-pizza-filled, jolt-drinking marathon, which ended when one of the players' chaotic-neutral wizards cast "sleep" on everyone, but exhausted his remaining mana in the process. Browse on over to the Joystiq'ers pad and get all the nasty details.

If merely looking at the oh-so-elaborate Xbox 360 Halo 3 Legendary Edition just isn't enough to satisfy you, Joystiq's got your fix. Those kindhearted folks are giving away a massive, massive prize that includes a Halo 3 Xbox 360 console, Halo 3 Legendary Edition game, a Halo 3 Zune, and 15 other accessories / peripherals to go along with it. What are ya waitin' for? The contest ends on October 2nd, so head on over (read: commenting here won't land you in the winner's circle) and toss your name in the hat, capiche?

Blink and you might have missed it: at Tokyo Game Show Microsoft is showing off the Hori Ace Combat joysticks that were announced a couple of months ago for the Xbox 360. They still aren't available until November 1st overseas (and who knows when the US will get 'em), but there's nothing that manages to excite us like glass-encased $150 video game flight sticks that use old school parallel connections. Sign us up!

It's the first ever Joystiq Reader Meetup tonight, and Engadget's going to be there to show some love and support. So if you're not opposed to spending quality time with some E3-addled crazies, we'd love to have you. Get there early for the free t-shirts, stick around for high tales of liveblogging misadventure. If you do plan on attending, be sure to head over to Joystiq and let them know in the comments.

When: 6PM-9PM on Friday 13th
Where: Mahalo HQ, 902 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica 90401 (Google Maps link)

And yes, this event is all ages!

Besides bricking some Xbox 360 consoles, the recent Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard update did provide a few positive benefits too. One bonus came in the form of enabling gamers to stream WMV files via Windows Media Connect from an XP PC to their Xbox 360. Previously only Windows Media Center could stream to the 360, but if you had a DivX or XviD file you wanted to play, you had the option of using Transcode 360 to convert non-WMV files on-the-fly. However, until someone updates Transcode 360 so that it will run over Windows Media Connect, you'll have to transcode your DivX or XviD files manually. It's a pain in the neck, but it'll do the job. But, thanks to our buddies at Joystiq, we've got a series of step-by-step instructions on how to transcode your DivX or XviD videos and watch them easily on your Xbox 360. We won't go over every single point, but basically, it involves using the free and open-source program VLC followed by the helping hand of a batch script. The script turns your video files into WMV that'll play nice with your Xbox 360, allowing you to enjoy your vids (in the example, a recent episode of "Lost") in full, converted HD. But as you probably already know, if you're starting out with a not great DivX file, you're going to end up with an even worse WMV file that won't look too hot, 1080p or not. So if you want to try it out, follow the read link for all of the step-by-step instructions.

Our pals over at Joystiq just spent a relaxing weekend at Tokyo Game Show 2006 over in Chiba, Japan. The frivolities included a 0.8 mile line to enter the show (TGS is open to the public, unlike the now-deceased E3), a total "snoozer" of a Sony keynote, and of course that boring stuff like a PS3 price drop and Microsoft's HD DVD drive pricepoint stunner. So, if you think you can handle the lack of excitement, just hit that read link to experience TGS in all its blog-ed glory.

At Engadget, most of us are what you'd call casual gamers, given that on occasion, we love to kick back with a round or two of "Civilization IV" whenever we need some R&R. That said, we're lightyears away from Kevout -- the guy that just won Joystiq's contest of "Most impressive gamer rig" -- who just took home a new copy of "Dead Rising" for the Xbox 360. He's got a 32-system setup (only 21 of those consoles are actually connected), that ranges from a Commodore 64 to an Xbox 360, accompanied by a total of 568 games; amusingly, since he blows all his loot on videogame hardware and software, he had to scrounge that disgraceful CRT out of a dumpster. We assume that once Kevout gets his paws on a PS3 he'll have achieved gamer nirvana. Until the Wii comes out, that is.

Our pals over at Joystiq managed to get their hand on the Xbox Live Vision camera over the weekend, and what with the official launch of the Vision being two weeks away, they weren't expected to see any other gamers video-chatting during their testing. As it turns out, Joystiq's innocent reviewer met another camera user within minutes of booting up Uno, an encounter made doubly-memorable by the bare-assed greeting that the other Vision owner decided to send down the pipe. As well as functioning as a broadcasting platform for rookie streakers, the Vision is capable of mapping player's faces onto in-game characters and EyeToy-like gestural control: titles taking advantage of these features will hit the XBL Marketplace on September 19. Other tidbits that Joystiq noted include: an anthropomorphic design enhanced by the fowards-backwards / left-right custom tilt of the camera, and the complete listing of what's included in the two different camera bundles. Budget buyers will be looking to pick up the $40 package which includes the Vision, a one month XBL Gold membership, the Xbox 360 headset, and free downloads of Uno and a 3D platform game called TotemBall. The $80 bundle gets you a twelve month XBL Gold membership, 200 Microsoft Points, and a free download of Robotron: 2084 on top of everything included in the $40 package. Something tells us that September 19 is going to be a disturbing day for Uno players on Xbox Live.

The show's over and we've headed back to our respective homes across the globe, but before we fled LA, Ryan headed around the show floor to get final thoughts from members of the Joystiq crew, including former Editor-in-Chief, Ben Zackheim. Hear their thoughts on how the show went, whose booth was superior, why Sony kind of blew their chance, and even what the fairer sex thinks about this year's lack of booth babes. We'll be back with normal podcasts soon, but enjoy this final E3 edition, straight from the noisy floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center, recorded in earshot of Sony and Nintendo.

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Host
Ryan Block

Featuring
Joystiq's Chris Grant, Ross Miller, Jennie Lees, and AOL Games' Ben Zackheim

Producer
Randall Bennett

Music
J J J - 'Suits' in Japan

Format
1:02:43, 28.7 MB, MP3

Program
00:00 - Ross Miller
23:40 - Ben Zackheim
45:14 - Jennie Lees
50:00 - Chris Grant

LISTEN (MP3)
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Contact the podcast: 1-888-ENGADGET, Engadget (Gizmo Project) or podcast at engadget dawt com

This morning, Vlad Cole and I had an opportunity to chat with Microsoft's Peter Moore, the man responsible for marketing the Xbox 360. When we last pinned him down at CES, there were still so many unanswered questions about the competition. After Sony and Nintendo's keynotes at E3, not to mention their own, the time was ripe to ask him about a portable Xbox, the Nintendo Wii complementing the Xbox 360, the Sony Dual Shake controller, and where he got that ink on his arm.

Forgive me if I interrupt you, if I hear something that I already heard at the press briefing, I might cut your answer short a little bit. Congratulations on Gears of War. Everyone is saying it looks and plays awesome. It actually appears to be head and shoulders above everything we're seeing on the show floor. Is that a conscious choice to keep it off the floor itself, so that the comparison gap doesn't pop?

No, not really. I think the idea is that the game deserves hands-on. We're trying to show it to as many people as we can up here. The team at Epic is really so conscious of the quality of what they're doing and presenting that bringing them up here, we'll get thousands of people through in the end, they churn people through pretty quickly, there was no conscious effort, no.

So where are the rest of the games that look this good?

Here? That depends on your ... you tell me. What is it that you think is missing?

There does appear to be a gap in quality between that and everything else. It's just head and shoulders above. We're wondering if there are other titles that will match that by the time they come out.

Quality of gameplay, graphics, depth, immersion? It's all subjective. I'm biased on all of them. Games like Crackdown: different visual style, different genre. But, it's coming together really well.  Mass Effect. I was on some blogs last night where people are spending some time on it and are really impressed with it. Dave Perry and a few other people wrote some really strong stories about Mass Effect. That's a weird question ... I mean, which of my children do I love more?

Question: How can you tell that a Dell XPS desktop is still in the prototype phase? Answer: You'd be willing to put it in plain-sight on top of your desk. Excessive paint jobs aside, there isn't a gamer alive who doesn't get a little excited when reading an XPS spec sheet featuring such terms as "Quad-SLI," "4.xxGHz," and "free 30-inch display," so we're sure there will be some interest in this backroom shot that Joystiq captured of an XPS work-in-progress. As you can tell by the photo, the protoype that Dell was seeking feedback on is nowhere near ready to be adorned with a $10,000 price tag, and the journalists on hand got absolutely nothing from the suits in terms of specs or features. Still, we are able to speculate that the open grating in the front will lead to better airflow -- and thus cooler components -- which a good sign for whatever insanely overclocked processor gets stuffed inside.

[Thanks, Einhanderkiller]