Games

News Pop! 03/19/07

By Eli Green
March 19, 2007 - 23:40

We're back, here for another week here of News Pop!. We're looking forward to the week, as some nice additions to the market are coming tomorrow and we're hoping to see some interesting announcements later in the week (no guarantees though). The sights at local stores this week as far as consoles and handhelds go are: A moderate number of Xbox 360s, plenty of PS3s (not because they are constantly being restocked, but because they aren't being bought), a moderate number of PSPs, including entertainment packs, plenty of PS2s (we're even seeing Silver PS2s in some stores), zero Wiis (more on that in a bit) and little to no DS Lites.

Many people have been wondering why they can't get their hands on Wiis, and why there aren't enough to go around. After a bit of investigation we found some interesting reasons why this has been happening and, believe it or not, most of them are not Nintendo's fault. As Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime, pointed out in an interview with Hub Magazine earlier this month, Nintendo is working its best to make as many Wiis as possible while still keeping the defect rate at a minimum. That's the only reason Nintendo is involved in making the number of Wiis people see in stores lower. The rest have to do with retailers. One of the problems with retailers is that some chains that shouldn't even be carrying consoles do, HMV and Source/Radio Shack we're looking at you. We're estimating that over a month, a large number of systems that would normally go to filling the stock of chains that regularly carry consoles is being taken by these, and other unlisted stores. The other problem, which Fils-Aime also pointed out in the interview, is that big chains – and Toys'R'Us is a repeat offender for this one – hold systems for their flyers. That means that even if they have them in stock, they won't sell them until the first day of a flyer. Simply put, if anyone is to be blamed for people being unable to get their hands on Wiis, it's the retailers.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled announcements. Here's today's News Pop!.

At World's End to be on handhelds too

Just in case, for some odd reason, you were worried that Disney Interactive wasn't going to release the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End video game on handheld systems, as well as the console versions, it is. This means that the game will be available for almost every single system out there, Windows PC included (not Mac, we don't count it). The only ones that are missing are Game Boy Advance and GameCube. The story will continue in a similar fashion to the upcoming film, so expect some form of a running, and possibly intertwining storyline. Disney Interactive will be making full use of the Wii Remote for the Wii version, which will give players a bit of an edge during sword fights. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is scheduled to release May 22^nd and is rated T for Teen, except for the Nintendo DS version which is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and up.

THQ releases Tetris for 360

Who doesn't love Tetris? It's classic. It's also now available for Xbox 360, in a new version called Tetris Evolution. Outside of its traditional gameplay modes, the new game offers up the new “Go Low”, “Eraser” and “Hotseat” co-op mode, where multiple players can control Tetriminos within the same matrix (control the pieces in the same box). Up to four players can play together in house, or via Xbox Live, and now thanks to Xbox Live and Gamerscore, players will be able to track their overall ranking. Tetris Evolution is now available for Xbox 360 for $29.99 USD/$34.99 CAD and is rated E for Everyone.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12