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 22nd 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.