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Wii Warm Up: Shortages
Nearly a year into the release of the Wii, the shortages continue. Some areas enjoyed a little short-lived respite, but with the holidays around the corner, it seems that once again -- for a variety of possible reasons -- getting your hands on a Wii is about as common as spying a leprechaun in the wild. As a Nintendo fan, does the continued demand for the console surprise you? Certainly, during the holidays, it makes sense; during November and December, it can be difficult to find a toothpick, much less a hot commodity, but it's not like this is new. Did you expect things might taper off a little? Nintendo seemed to expect it, even if you didn't, at least now that we've all gotten over the initial shock that came with everyone demanding a Wii.
DS leads UK gift-giving charge, no other systems in sight
What does the DS Lite have in common with a Spider-man Laptop, a Bladerunner Infrared Indoor Helicopter, and the High School Musical Dance Mat? They're all among the top ten most-desired gifts for kids this holiday season at UK electronics retailer Dixons. Don't look among the top ten for any other gaming system, either, not even the Wii -- the DS Lite is the only one that's made the cut. Clearly, kids across the pond have incredible taste.
"Feast of Winter Veil" collector's set available now
The holiday-themed collector's edition TCG set that we've been anticipating since our August meeting with some folks from Upper Deck is now available for purchase, and will be shipped as early as November 14th. Modeled after the in-game holiday of Winter's Veil, each set will include the following exclusive content: Ten cards, usable in any deck, all featuring new content. Two pet mini-cards for further customization. A holiday deck box featuring Feast of Winter Veil artwork. Three booster packs! One Heroes of Azeroth, one Dark Portal, and one Fires of Outland pack. Although there are no online loot cards to be had, this collector's set will still make an excellent Christmas gift, even if you're buying it for yourself! If you're still not convinced, head on over and check out a preview of some of the cards, as well as the original artwork.
Gift services go live worldwide for holidays
Sure, maybe a lot of you don't find the idea itself terribly exciting, but we are definitely pleased to hear that the Wii Shop Channel's new gift feature will be live worldwide in time for the holidays. Now you'll be able to gift friends with awesome old games without having to track them down in physical form -- and without unloading a lot of cash, either. That's a win all around.It might also be worth noting that Gamefront's headline on the announcement had the "Wii Gift Channel" in English, and since "das Gift" means "poison" in German, Google's autotranslator informed us that the Wii Poison Channel would be a go in December. We're not quite as excited about that one, frankly.
Brooms not going bye-bye (yet)
Everyone is having so much fun with their Headless Horseman brooms these days during the Hallow's End event in WoW, but with an incorrect tooltip and heaps of confusion (including our own) about just how long they'll last, most players aren't quite sure just how much fun they're going to have.Bornakk clears up some of the confusion (which he also had a hand in creating), saying that "the items with a duration on them won't all vanish on November first, you just won't be able to get any new ones." So now here is the factual summary of the official words on blizzard regarding your beloved broom mounts: They last for 14 days, not just for one ride. They last for 14 days of played game time on the character that possesses them, not 14 days of real time, and extending beyond the Hallow's End event for however long you keep them on an unplayed character. Just think about how those of you who were patient and saved up your brooms on an alt can try and sell them later on when Hallow's End is over, but people still wish they could ride in witchy (or Quidditchy) style. Do you think they'll be worth something?
Brooms going bye-bye
Just a friendly reminder-- better get all your broom riding from the Headless Horseman drops in as soon as possible, because when Hallow's End is over, Bornakk says they're all going poof, Epic or otherwise.November 1st is the last day of Hallow's End, so come next Thursday, not only will you be sick from all the candy, but the costumes, decorations, and yes, the brooms will all be gone. Get that magic broom flying in now while you can, because in just a week, they'll be takin' yo' broom.Update: A few players are saying that the brooms will disappear after 14 days of /played time, not after November 1st. My understanding was that when Hallow's End is over, so is the broom riding. We'll find out next Thursday. Happy Halloween!
Microsoft anticipates 7 million-sellers this holiday, 'at least'
Firing off big-headed predictions is just part of the business, but when Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg told Next-Gen that Microsoft expects to have "at least seven titles that will each sell over a million units" this holiday, maybe he wasn't being so bold -- just optimistic. "I don't think any other platform will even come close to that," Greenberg concluded. He's right. But can Xbox 360? Let's add it up: Halo 3, yes, of course. Madden too. That's two. By year's end, BioShock also will have had plenty of time to reach the million-sold mark; and Microsoft is counting on its other big exclusive, Mass Effect, to get there too (though in considerably less time). That's four. Guitar Hero III, Call of Duty 4, and Assassin's Creed are the three other most likelies to bring the tally to seven, but even Rock Band, The Simpsons, Orange Box, skate, Tony Hawk, PGR4, Need for Speed ProStreet, or an NBA game could move enough units -- are we missing any?If Microsoft can win over consumers with its exclusives (and perhaps the newly proposed family plan), then Xbox 360 will also take the lion's share of multiplatform game sales, which could, remarkably, produce something like 7 different platinum-selling games during a loosely-defined holiday season. But Sony has challenged with competitively priced PlayStation 3 SKUs and will manage to produce its own lineup of exclusives in Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Ratchet, and Uncharted, plus Haze, and hopefully, if only temporarily, UT3. Of course, there's also Wii and Mario, a pair that could easily be the one-stop-shop solution for holiday gift buyers.So were these bold words from Microsoft? No, but the goal ain't no cakewalk neither.
Welcome to Nintendoville, population: all of your money
Nintendo released a partial list of their upcoming releases today, and if nothing else, it reinforces the notion that your money is only yours until you can find a convenient time to hand it to Nintendo. Buy food or whatever while you can, because starting ... now, a flood of awesome DS releases is going to tempt you. Between now and some time in the first quarter of next year (with a lovely break in December) the DS will be home to wall-to-wall awesome.We've cherry-picked only what we think is the most interesting from the list, and it's still too many games. Not only that, this doesn't include anything from Capcom, so go ahead and add Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations. There's stuff on this list that may be of interest only to niche audiences (i.e. us) like Diary Girl, but we can do that, because we made the list. Besides, a personal organizer on a DS card? That's just neat, no matter what it looks like. Check after the break for our list.
All I want for Christmas is my HDTV... and an Apple
A national survey of 1,200 consumers conducted by Solutions Research Group found that 3 out of 4 surveyed Americans wanted a new gadget this holiday season. The rankings went a little something like this: HDTV (35%) Windows-based notebook (20%) Digital camera (17%) Windows-based desktop computer GPS car navigation Cellphone Digital video camera Nintendo Wii Sony PS3 HD DVD or Blu-ray player So where's Apple, the big bad daddy of consumer electronics? Well, their best showing was the MacBook with an 11 ranking followed by the iPhone at number 15. Pretty good when you consider the level of brand awareness this represents in a field of otherwise unspecified laptops and cellphones. In fact, 1-in-6 consumers are hoping for some type of Apple gear under the Chanukazaa tree this season.
New Xbox 360 bundles arriving end October
If you've yet to get yourself an Xbox 360 in this post-Halo 3 world, Microsoft is of a mind to sway you with fast cars and terrifyingly tight pants this holiday season. New Xbox 360 bundles (yep, these ones) are set to arrive "retail-wide by the end of October," with both the $349.99 "Pro" and the $449.99 Elite models offering two games at no extra charge -- racing sim Forza Motorsport 2 and supervillain clobberfest, Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Though Project Gotham Racing 4's arcade styling would have held more general appeal than Forza's serious nitty-gritty, the latter's unquestionably a fine game for a freebie. The same holds true for Marvel Ultimate Alliance, a fun and accessible adventure both online and off. We rather like this bundling business.
Patch 2.2.2 and you: Brewfest tomorrow
It looks like we'll be getting another patch tomorrow, according to Nethaera -- Brewfest is coming! That'll be two consecutive patch weeks, for the first time in my memory. We've seen Dan's Brewfest preview, as well as some info from Blizzard, and all of it looks like it's going to be pretty fun.The irony for me is that I don't drink any alcohol in real life. This may sound odd, but I usually try to avoid it in the game too, if for no other reason than I don't know exactly how my characters should act when they're drunk out of their minds. I've tried roleplaying it before, though, at the Darkmoon Faire, and I guess I was believable enough! It's not that hard to just be uninhibited. Still, something tells me that Brewfest isn't actually about getting drunk. What's the significance of this holiday for you?
Phat Loot Phriday: Blighted Leggings
Last week we got requests to do a lowbie item, and since everyone will be headed into SM Graveyard soon to get the Headless Horseman, I thought I might let you know about another piece of loot hidden in that not-often-traveled instance.Name: Blighted LeggingsType: Rare Cloth LegsArmor: 45Abilities: +17 Spirit Increases damage done by Shadow spells by up to 10. The Shadow spell might make you think Warlock, but the Spirit on these pants says they're for Shadow priests (Warlocks would rather have Stamina, as Life Tap can hook them up with mana as long as they have HP left). And for the level, they're very nice for young Shadow priests to grind with. How to Get It: They drop from Azshir the Sleepless, a rare mob in the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard wing. The GY is also where the Headless Horseman will be spawning during the upcoming Hallow's End holiday, so to get these, just camp your young Shadow Priest outside the instance, and then dive in with your level 70 group to get the Horseman. Once that's done, check and see if Azshir has spawned (he usually spawns in front of the Mausoleum), and if so, bring your Priest in, down him, and hope the pants drop-- they've got a 30% chance.And if they don't drop or he isn't there, worry not. The Horseman is a daily quest, and odds are everyone in your party will want something from him, so put your Priest back outside, come back the next day, and check again. By the time everyone in your party has a broom, you'll hopefully have grabbed these pants as well.Getting Rid of It: Disenchants into Small Glowing Shard, and sells to vendor for 35s 59c.
Brewfest information from Blizzard
While our own Dan O'Halloran has given us a sneak peak at this new holiday as it exists on the test realm, and now Blizzard jumped in and provide us with an overview of the holiday. Blizzard tells us that this event, celebrated by Alliance and Horde alike, is a time in which the World of Warcraft's three competing breweries show off their wares in front of the major cities. Everyone will be able enjoy plenty of booze as well as ram racing (remember, everyone, don't drink and ride!), mystery hunts, and even fighting off Dark Iron Dwarves. You get tickets for participating in events and turn them in for fabulous prizes. Brewfest officially scheduled to begin on October 2nd and run through October 16th, so we can expect the 2.2.2 holiday mini-patch to hit the live realms soon.
if(date == "09/13/2007") Engadget.Write("Happy Programmer's Day");
Quick: what's two to the eighth power? 256, of course, and if you knew the answer before you even had a chance to read it, we can say with some confidence that you're a nerd mathematician liar programmer. Programmer's Day is celebrated annually on the 256th day of the year, which happens to be today -- so reach over and give that special computer scientist in your life a big bear hug, flowers, chocolates, or a simple "thanks" for making Engadget (and pretty much everything else we care about) possible. If you're a programmer, grab another Red Bull and get back to work, playboy; we've got a list of bugs about a mile long and they're not fixing themselves.
Expect $699 42-inch LCDs this holiday season
LCD prices just keep on dropping and it looks like they might hit rock bottom before the '07 Christmas spending season. Reports suggest that they will finally cost less than their CRT counterparts and bargain shoppers should be able to pick up a 42-inch "second-tier" (aka cheap, no-name house brands) LCD for around $699. The 32-inchers should go for around $299-399 which would officially make 'em less expensive than those 'ol CRTs. Walmart/Costco shoppers might be happy with these prices on the cheaper models and honestly, if a person is satisfied with the picture these sets produce; great, buy the less expensive LCD and start enjoying high definition.[Via TGDaily]
Happy Midsummer Fire Festival!
Yup, the festival of flame is appearing in Azeroth starting today through July 5th. There will be bonfires in the cities, new quests to be run, and new rewards to be had (Toasted Smorc is some tasty stuff, and that +44 healing is nice, too). And of course, coming next week around July 4th, the fireworks will fly over Azeroth's cities yet again.I'm kind of excited to see what new stuff there will be to find in Outland-- I especially enjoyed the new Children's Week stuff this year (even though it took long enough to show up), and so I wonder how they celebrate Midsummer Fire in Nagrand or Shattrath. Can you imagine what fireworks would be like in Netherstorm, if they indeed have exhibits up there? Should be cool-- or in this case, hot.Enjoy the Midsummer Fire Festival-- I'll see you out by the bonfires.
Children's Week + Outland = new pets!
The word on the Test Realm forums is that Children's Week has finally hit... in Outland! Apparently, much like the refugee children we've been escorting around from Stormwind and Orgrimarr, there are refugee children in Shattrath who also want to tag along with the heroes of their war. Thus far, there's been no report on any potential reputation gains as yet (which is what I'm screaming for) but screen shots of the cute new pets available from the quests have been posted. Apparently, you have your choice of "Sleepy" Willy, a baby Elekk, or Ethburt, as seen from left to right at the top of this post. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm going to have a really hard time picking one. They're all so cute! [via the WoW LJ community]
We want Children's Week!
Blizzard has quietly disabled the upcoming Children's Week holiday. There was a brief announcement in the EU forums saying the event would be disabled until after the 2.1 patch and on the US site the holiday's date has simply been changed to "TBD." In the past the week-long event's start has varied from the 1st of May to the 9th of May, so if 2.1 is released soon perhaps it won't be pushed back very far. Now my question is... what the heck does Children's week have to do with the patch? Should we expect something new and different this year or is there just some technical issue with deploying a patch during the middle of a special event the Blizzard team is trying to avoid?[Thanks to all who sent in tips on this one!]
Blizzard, improve Noblegarden!
Some of the best times i've had in World of Warcraft have been participating in Blizzard's entertaining holiday events. Large portions of the world are revamped with decorations, new quests, and of course, prizes! And, while the prizes may not be that important (food, Halloween costumes, etc), participating in the holiday events is always a fun change of pace from the norm. However, I have to say Noblegarden -- Blizzard's Easter event -- pales in comparison to their other holidays. Why? No decorations or changes in any of the cities... not even a lone NPC to inform players that they can hunt for eggs. A one-day holiday as opposed to the week(s) of festivities for Halloween, Winter's Veil, etc. Noblegarden eggs are quite rare... and the prizes are sub-par at best. No holiday quests. Not a single one! If you didn't participate in Noblegarden this year, I'll give you the rundown. In the secondary newbie zones (not the starting zones, but the zones after that), eggs were hidden. You could loot the eggs to get a few copper coins, assorted candy (61 health over 18 seconds), and a chance at an Easter dress or pieces of a tuxedo. Yesterday I spent four hours (can you tell that I really wanted an Easter dress?) scouring Elwynn Forest for eggs. During this time, I managed to locate 26 eggs (which comes out to about one egg every 9 minutes). While I got plenty of candy and perhaps a whole silver worth of coin, I didn't get any of the holiday clothes that were the only appeal of the event -- but after spending 4 hours at the hunt, I couldn't bring myself to keep going. (And I imagine most sane people would have stopped sooner than that.)So what could Blizzard do to make this event fun and worthwhile for its players? Read on for speculation!
Wii Fanboy wishes everyone a happy Easter
Whether you believe in the lore associated with Easter or not is irrelevant; most of the country comes to a stop today, with shops closed and everyone home preparing for a nice ham dinner. We here at Wii Fanboy just wanted to take the time to wish those of you celebrating the holiday a happy one. For the rest of you, enjoy the time off and get some game time in. Maybe go see a movie? We heard that Grindhouse picture is supposed to be swell ...So, what will you be doing today? Will you, like the fine folks over at The Tanooki, be crafting some Yoshi egg cookies of your own? Have your own holiday culinary concoction planned?From all of us here at Wii Fanboy, have a safe and happy holiday. Thanks for reading!
