Somewhere in an unassuming side street in central London there is a house stacked full to the brim with Nintendo Wiis. The house has become known as The Wii House. SPOnG was offered a visit to the hidden location; this is our story…

Nintendo has fully kitted out this palace of pleasure in the style of a typical family home*, in order for members of Her Majesty’s Gaming Media to finally get their hands on review versions of Wii games in a relaxed, homely environment.

So SPOnG spent a good part of yesterday snooping around The Wii House with our trusty snapper, Stuart, in tow, who took the pictures you can see right here.

Full Article at Spong ...

Somewhere in an unassuming side street in central London there is a house stacked full to the brim with Nintendo Wiis. The house has become known as The Wii House. SPOnG was offered a visit to the hidden location; this is our story…

Nintendo has fully kitted out this palace of pleasure in the style of a typical family home*, in order for members of Her Majesty’s Gaming Media to finally get their hands on review versions of Wii games in a relaxed, homely environment.

So SPOnG spent a good part of yesterday snooping around The Wii House with our trusty snapper, Stuart, in tow, who took the pictures you can see right here.

Full Article at Spong ...

Positive review scores; Epic's Gears of War for the 360 is getting them in spades, and not just with the early birds. The game is being pitched as a tactical action/survival horror third-person shooter heavy on the co-operative side. Oh, and from what the reviews have implied, you've never seen better console graphics before. With a current average review of 95/100, here is some launch day praise for the game:

DailyGame (90/100): "It's not nearly as epic as we would have liked, but the gameplay provides some fantastic moments and introduces some new aspects to a mainstream shooter. The graphics and online co-op are simply phenomenal."
IGN (94/100): "There is a healthy learning curve to the cover system, but those who master it will find Epic's twisting and turning and rolling an exciting change-up in the shooter genre, a blend of fast-arcade action and basic, tactical maneuvering. The Insane difficulty level gives Gears legs months after you've finished the relatively-short campaign, and even with a friend it is an impossible, irresistible challenge."
Game Informer (95/100): "This is one of the best co-op games I have played, especially when you crank the difficulty past Casual and up into the Hardcore and Insane levels. Working with your buddy to flank and outwit the enemy is a blast."
1UP (100/100): "Each stage is memorable...They all combine for an unforgettable adventure through 36 hectic, desperate hours of a group of soldiers' lives...A visual and visceral masterpiece."
Good to see the game living up to the hype. Nice work Epic, and it should be interesting to see how well this golden title can keep eyes turned to the 360 in a post Wii and PS3 world later this month. ...

The ESRB has approved and rated another pile of Nintendo's Virtual Console throwbacks, including:

Duck Hunt (E)
Hogan's Alley (E)
Kid Icarus (E)
Kirby's Adventure (E)
PilotWings (E)
Pro Wrestling (E)
Punch-Out (E)
Wild Gunman (E)
With Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, and Wild Gunman making appearances, the Zapper can't be far behind. Think the E3 prototype fits the bill? ...

Via BBC


Details to the link above ...

The makers of a sound-activated vibrating sex aid, a two-man company in Osaka, Japan, have managed to get Apple all riled up. The reason? They've named their gadget the gPod, after "the G-Spot and jii, the Japanese word for masturbation." Stuck inside the cooter (the official medical term), the gPod connects to iPods, cellphones or music players, and apparently vibrates in sync to the audio.

Apple started fighting the Japanese company when the latter started applying for trademarks around the world, eventually sending a Japanese lawyer and repeated requests to stop using the gPod trademark. The company laughed off Apple's requests and said they would fight if Apple ever decides to sue.

Apple Computer Inc., meanwhile, is, unlike gPod users, keeping tight-lipped about the case.

More Info ...

An advert has been put up in a central London train station boldly proclaiming "PlayStation 3--Order now for Christmas" with a phone number in red underneath beginning with the prefix 0906, the equivalent of a 1-900 in the states. Above the number is a photo of the console and controller, against a background of seasonal snowflakes...and some fine print at the bottom reading, "Calls cost £1.50 per minute."

Brits desperate enough to get their hands on the next-gen console ahead of its official European release date in March will find themselves with an approximately £7.50 (around $14) phone charge for the four-and-a-half-minute call.

The recorded message starts by telling callers that the order line is owned and run by a sole proprietor company called Mastercash. Under British law, sole proprietor companies do not have to officially register their information with Companies House, whereas limited companies do. The address given for the company is in Merseyside, and GameSpot traced it to a self-catering apartment building, which describes itself as "luxury short break, holiday and corporate accommodation on the Liverpool waterfront."

The female voice on the recording goes on to inform potential customers that this phone line service will give British consumers possibly their only chance to get their hands on a PS3 for Christmas--and explains the situation to anyone who doesn't already know. "The official release date for the PS3 is November 17, 2006," the recording says. "But the official release date in the UK has for some reason been pushed back to March 2007. With the PS3 being so popular, the supplies the shops do get are expected to have been preordered and sold out on the same day."

The voice then explains that because of this, the PS3 Mastercash will be delivering will therefore be either a Japanese or an American console, but will come with a UK power supply and all other relevant cables. This aspect of the deal seems particularly dodgy, as Sony has previously made its intentions to sue any companies "grey importing" the new PS3 console very clear indeed.

The caller is then asked to leave his or her details, including a contact phone number and a mailing address so that the company can them call back, "to make you aware of the package content and options of additional games and accessories, along with all pricing info." The voice then adds that a caller's order is in no way binding, and that Mastercash reserves the right to cancel any or all orders "at any time it sees fit to do so." Naturally, all orders are also subject to availability.

0906 numbers are premium numbers in the UK and can be bought for prices beginning at £49. Companies can then choose from a variety of different tariffs, ranging from 10p (the owner gets .25p) a minute, through to the most expensive charge offered, £1.50 a minute, of which the owner will pocket £1.03 directly.

GameSpot contacted Sony for comment and a spokesperson said that the company would be looking into the ads. ...

Source: A picture snapped at a Microsoft Gears of War launch party last night by Flickr poster Plaid Ninja.

The official story: "We have not made any announcements at this time. Regarding a larger hard drive, it is always a possibility. The device is modular and there's the possibility that different hard drives will be available in the future. To reiterate, we have no plans to announce such an accessory in the near future."

What we heard: The specter of a 100GB hard drive has been brought up a number of times before, most recently last month in the form of a presentation at the Korean X06 event. And just like every other time it's come up, Microsoft is pointing out that it hasn't made any announcements. So since those previous rumors weren't followed by announcements of a larger hard drive, why is this one any different?

Well, for starters, yesterday Microsoft announced its impending introduction of on-demand video content for the Xbox 360 in the form of downloadable TV shows and film rentals, some in high-definition. With full-length HD movies taking up 5GB on the hard drive, there will soon be more demands than ever placed on 360 players' 20GB hard drives, many of which are already packed with ripped music, downloaded content, and Xbox Live Arcade games.

However, the appearance of a larger-than-normal hard drive at Microsoft's press event last night is a far cry from confirmation that the company will release such hardware options into the consumer market anytime soon. The gaming press is well accustomed to trying games out on non-standard hardware, from development kits to debug units; it doesn't mean those things are going to show up at Wal-Mart next week.

That said, Microsoft designed the system with a detachable hard drive in the first place, so larger drives are a very likely part of the company's master plan. And given yesterday's announcement, the crunch of hard drive space is likely to become a problem for gamers sooner rather than later. Still, for the moment, there's nothing concrete.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus for now. ...

How badly do US gamers want a Wii? GameStop is thinking "very." Last night, the retailer and its subsidiary EB Games sent out a mass e-mail saying that, starting late on Thursday, gamers will be able to order the Wii from the two companies' online stores, GameStop.com and EBgames.com, in the form of an expensive bundle.

"This Thursday evening (CST), November 9, your opportunity to get in on the excitement arrives when the Wii Bundle becomes available for purchase online at GameStop.com," read the e-mail. "You'll get the best games, accessories, and more in one convenient package delivered right to your door--all for under $699 plus tax and handling." (Emphasis added.)

By itself, the Wii costs only $250 and comes with the Wiimote and Nunchuk controller, power and AV cords, sensor bar, stands, and Wii Sports. Given the GameStop Wii bundle's steep price, one would wonder what assortment of add-ons and games are worth around an extra $449. Apparently, the customer-service reps at GameStop are also wondering. "We don't know what the bundle contains," a rep told GameSpot. "We also don't know when they go on sale. We won't know until Thursday."

Catch number two is that there will only be a single Wii bundle to (not) choose from, unlike the Xbox 360 bundle assortment GameStop offered last year. "I can confirm there is only one bundle with the same games and accessories," said the same rep. "And no, we don't know what they are either."

Last but not least are a series of caveats all too familiar to console-launch veterans. "Quantities are extremely limited and there will be a limit of 1 Wii bundle per household, limited to US delivery only," read GameStop's e-mail. "Ordering a bundle does not guarantee shipment at launch and orders will be shipped on a first-come, first-serve basis. The bundle will be removed from the site as soon as we have reached our expected quota." The Wii launches in the US on November 19.

Gamers put off by the bundle's high price will only have one next-gen alternative on GameStop.com--the Xbox 360. "There are currently no [set] plans for a new PlayStation 3 pre-order program," the GameStop rep said. [UPDATE] A recording on the GameStop help line said that there was simply "no new information" available, implying the PS3 preorder plans were not currently available to the public. The company had offered a very limited number of unbundled PS3 and Wii preorders on a first-come-first-served basis at its retail outlets on the morning of October 10, all of which sold out within minutes. Confirmed preorders of Sony's console, which launches in the US on November 17, are currently fetching upwards of $1,500 on eBay. ...