Microsoft released the new XBox 360 “Elite” the other day. People stood in line all night just to get this new special edition version of the popular gaming console. It features a larger 120 gigabyte hard drive and true hdmi cable. Also, the case of the console and controller are black, rather than the regular white/silver color.
Standing in line for something like this seems like a big waste of time and money to me, but I guess some people love it.
Apparently, some are trying to make some serious money off poor, defenseless gamers. No, this time we are not dealing with eBay auctions, but with a full-pledged retailer. TheKuwaiti reports that after charging 530KD (US$ 1833) for grey-market PS3s
and selling Nintendo Wiisw for 299KD (US$ 1034), four time the official price, they are now selling Wii controllers for some over the top prices.The regular Wii controller goes for 45KD (US$ 155) and another 45KD (US$ 155) is charged for the Nunchuck. The official price recommended by Nintendo is of US$ 39.99 for the controller and US$ 19.99 for the Nunchuck. If you missed your math class, I must inform you that the price charged by Virgin Megastore (in Kuwait) is nine times higher. You might say that it cam prove to be a hassle bringing in gaming consoles into countries like Kuwait, but to go as far as increasing the price nine times is absolutely outrageous.You could say that a four player Wii Tennis match in Kuwait is a pretty rare thing, but I wouldn’t shed many tears for them if I were you, because Kuwait is not exactly what you would call a poor country. If you didn’t know, Kuwait holds about 10% of the world’s oil reserves, and oil exports account for nearly half of the countries GDP (Gross Domestic Product). So it’s safe to say that Kuwait is an oil-based country and a rich one, but that doesn’t give retailers the right to overcharge gamers.
Very interesting article from Softpedia. Some retailers are just scandelous. Shame on them.
 I know that many of you game consoles owners are bending the rules a little bit, and have installed a modchip. If you didn’t know, these hacks were illegal, at least until this December.In some parts of the globe, people are more understanding of games, andwill make game consoles modchips legal. This happened in the land Down Under, where amendments to the Australian copyright laws are expected to pass this week. These amendments will make legal to mod your console and play games without any region restriction.Back in October of 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment lost a High Court case against mod-chip supplier Eddy Stevens, which lasted for almost three years, according to australianit.news.com. Sony wanted to outlaw the modchips by interpreting parts of the Copyright Act with technological prevention measures to include access control measures in its consoles.The Australian federal government was expected to amend provisions of the Copyright Act dealing with TPMs to make modchips illegal as part of its Free Trade Agreement with the United States.Whatever they decide, game console modders will still have a job. There will always be kids who prefer modding their console so that they can play games outside their region. I guess European and Australian gamers are more likely to mod their consoles than Japanese or US gamers, because game titles always come later in their regions.There also is a special category of gamers who mod their consoles, the ones that play pirated games. Yeah, it’s much cheaper to download a PS game via torrent websites than to buy one. I don’t advise you to do this, as I must inform you that doing so is considered stealing, therefore illegal.Another great article from Softpedia. Those lucky Australians! |
Posted at 1:09 am. Filed under: Video Games
| The Nintendo Wii game console had a great week, selling through to more than 600,000 video gamers in the Americas in the first week of availability. Nintendo says that including first-party software and accessory sales, Wii instantly has become a $190 million business in the Americas. We all knew the Wii would be a hot seller this holiday, and thanks to the decent price ($250) shoppers scooped the Wii up at retail and online. The Nintendo Wii launch had hard-core gamers waiting to be the first to try the new Wii with its unique wireless remote controller. Every Wii gaming system includes the five-game Wii Sports software, and popular video games like Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, have already sold more than 454,000 units in the Americas. Nintendo also recently announced the availability of 62 Wii game titles.Wow, I cant believe the Wii is doing so well right off the bat. I heard it wasn’t going to live up to the hype, but apperantly i heard wrong! Great article from DigitalTechNews.com. |
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