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The Joystiq New Year: January 1, 2007

Associate Editor

Updated Mon, Jan 1, 2007, 11:59 PM·1 min read

In case you haven't flamed us for it already, the Joystiq staff picked the short-but-sweet Gears of War as the top pick for 2006. Don't forget to check our own personal picks for the more unique titles and check out the highlights for this holiday weekend:

Games of the Year and the best of the rest ...
James, Alex, Justin,
Kevin, Ross, Zack,
and Ludwig

Joystiquery
Bankshot Billiards 2 - free for one reader
Happy New Year!
Nominate game systems in the 2006 Engadget Awards
Pets get confused by video games
Quarter gobblers are broken on XBLA
Today's hottest game video: World of Wiimote
Today's hottest game video: WarioWare
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: Fill-in-your-own Edition

News
$150 PlayStation 3 discount
$99 for Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on
Top 20 XBLA titles purchased in 2006
XFPS reviewed: Not ready for prime time
Lieberman takes video game industry money
Best Buy selling hoarded PS3s tomorrow morning
Game Tunnel: Independent games of the year
XXX-Madden gag spoils kid's Xmas
Merc reporter on 2007: PCs bounce back
Hoping for better in-game stories next year
Improve PS2 game graphics on PS3
Sega still publishing for PS2
Guitar Hero-esque Frets on Fire working on Mac OS X
New games this week (lousy new year edition)
Weapon of mass distraction (Halo 3) spotted in Iraq
1UP likes Gran Turismo HD's teaser skills

Rumors & Speculation
Crysis crisis averted: heading to Xbox 360?

Culture
Miiplaza.net connects Mii lovers
vNES has 575 games: Demo and consider future VC titles
Girlfriend's gift to boyfriend: Mario Bros hoodie
XBL microtransaction tracker '06 edition
Game Boy Advance at the lowest point on earth

Engadget
Most App Store developers aren’t taking Apple up on its new outside payments option
In a hearing on Friday as part of the ongoing legal battle with Epic, Apple said only 38 developers have applied to add links to external payment options — out of roughly 65,000 that could, according to Bloomberg.
Engadget
The geomagnetic storm is a nightmare for farmers relying on precision agriculture tech
According to a report by 404 Media, the intense solar activity over the last few days has disrupted critical GPS systems that guide modern tractors. Modern John Deere tractors as well as those from other brands rely on this technology for precision.
Engadget
Pre-orders for Ghost of Tsushima on PC are being canceled in countries without PSN access
People who pre-ordered the PC port of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut in countries that don’t have access to PlayStation Network (PSN) were reportedly notified that their purchases have been canceled and auto-refunded.
Engadget
'Extreme' geomagnetic storm may bless us with more aurora displays tonight and tomorrow
Tonight may offer another chance to catch the aurora if you have clear skies, according to the NOAA, and Sunday could bring yet more displays reaching as far as Alabama. The agency says the 'extreme' geomagnetic storm will continue through tomorrow.
Engadget
28 Years Later is coming to theaters next summer
Fans have been waiting a long, long time for another installment in the 28 Days Later franchise, and we now know when the next followup is coming out: June 20, 2025. 28 Years Later will be directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.
Engadget
What we’re listening to: Trail of Flowers, Hyperdrama, Science Fiction and more
In this installment of What We're Listening To, the Engadget team discusses some of the recent releases we've had on repeat, including new music from Sierra Ferrell, Justice, Utada Hikaru and Caroline Polachek.
Engadget
Waymo says its robotaxis are now making 50,000 paid trips every week
Waymo has revealed, as well, that it's had over one million rider-only trips across four cities.
Engadget
Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord review: Is this madness?
'The Devil's Chord' is a mess, but it's probably an intentional mess.
Engadget
Doctor Who Space Babies review: Bet you didn’t expect that
'Space Babies' is crazy, chaotic and political. Just as Doctor Who should be.
Engadget
Apple’s big AI rollout at WWDC will reportedly focus on making Siri suck less
Apple will reportedly focus its first round of generative AI enhancements on beefing up Siri’s conversational chops. The company will reportedly roll out a new version of Siri powered by generative AI at its WWDC keynote on June 10.
Engadget
Samsung HW-Q990D soundbar review: A small but significant update
Samsung's home theater powerhouse got the one thing it was missing, but not much else for this year's model.
Engadget
Climate protestors clash with police outside Tesla’s German gigafactory
Climate protestors in Germany reportedly broke through police barricades on Friday, amid clashes between activists and law enforcement. The protestors either made it onto (according to protestors) or near (according to local police) the grounds of a Tesla gigafactory in Grünheide, Germany, near Berlin.
Engadget
The world’s largest direct carbon capture plant just went online
Climeworks has just opened the world’s largest direct carbon capture plant. It can suck around 36,000 tons of CO2 from the air each year, burying it underground.
Engadget
Apple's entire AirPods lineup is discounted, plus the rest of the week's best tech deals
This week's best tech deals include the AirPods Pro for $180, the Amazon Kindle for $80 and a year of Paramount+ with Showtime for $60, among others.
Engadget
Amazon's Echo Dot drops to just $28
Amazon's Echo Dot has dropped to $28, which is a great price for our favorite sub-$50 smart speaker.
Engadget
Hulu's Black Twitter documentary is a vital cultural chronicle
Hulu's new documentary, "Black Lives Matter: A People's History," explores the rise and global influence of the community.
Engadget
Google just patched the fifth zero-day exploit for Chrome this year
Google just patched the fifth zero-day exploit for Chrome this year. The company has released a security update for users to download.
Engadget
The Rogue Prince of Persia is delayed because Hades II is a juggernaut
The Rogue Prince of Persia was supposed to debut in early access on May 14, but Evil Empire and Ubisoft have delayed it to get out of the way of Hades II.
Engadget
Engadget Podcast: Is the iPad Pro M4 overkill?
Is the iPad Pro M4 overkill?
Engadget
The Morning After: Apple apologizes for its iPad Pro ad that crushed human creativity
The biggest news stories this morning: How to watch Google's I/O 2024 keynote, Apple apologizes for its iPad Pro ad, Nintendo is done paying Elon Musk for X integration on its consoles.