Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to another fine day here at News Pop!. This may actually be the last News Pop! of the week, and, quite possibly, the last News Pop! until the week of the 12^th. Our editor, Eli Green, is going in for surgery next week and won't be back until, at least, the end of the week. However, he has promised us that as long as he can find an Internet connection at the hospital, we will bring you the news next week. We all wish him a speedy recovery. And now, here's today's News Pop!.

Canadian Wii Point conversion

Two days after we received the news about how many games will be available for Wii in the first five weeks, and the absolute confirmation of the cost of Wii Points, we finally have the official cost of Wii Points in Canadian Dollars. The suggested retail price of Wii Points in Canadian Dollars is $24.95. That's not exactly expensive, but not entirely fair, considering the current conversion for $20 USD to Canadian Dollars works to about $22 CAD. Overall, we're not complaining.

Create your own mobile comic

While we don't think this next piece fully fits in the games category, we found it interesting enough to mention. Comic fans will soon have a new way of getting in on the creation process. Comic Creator, made by Longtail Studios, will be launching soon for mobile phones. The program can essentially be used as a replacement for text messages. The slogan goes, “When a text message won't do, send a comic!” Not too bad. We haven't had the opportunity to try out the creator yet, but have had a chance to take a look at the features, and it's quite unique. You can check out Comic Creator at here.

Oh, the sweetness continues! Quad-core!

Straight out of Calgary, where VoodooPC is still located, the company announced the introduction of its newest OMEN system, powered by the Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Processor. The new system, which is set to launch November 14^th, will deliver up to 70% more processing power than the current Core 2 Duo processors, contributing to ultra-realistic gaming experiences. The nice thing is that, unlike most PC manufacturers, buyers will have a choice between ATI Crossfire and Nvidia SLi chipsets, meaning that they can choose their preferred brand instead of being stuck without a choice. Additional features include an advanced chamber airflow layout that allows the system to operate at peak efficiency without draining excess power. Copper-cooled pre-overclocked graphics cards let OMEN users set their monitors to resolutions at WQXGA, allowing them to enjoy daily productivity and conquer the most advanced games. We're drooling already.

Guitar Hero II - real music companies as in-game partners

Guitar Hero II is releasing one we ek from now, but somehow RedOctane still has some fresh news to share. Unfortunately, the news is about product placement. “The product placement within Guitar Hero II is designed to add an extra element of realism for gamers,” said Dusty Welch, head of publishing, RedOctane. “Players are deeply immersed into the rock star culture, utilizing the authentic tools of musicians worldwide including an extensive array of amps, strings, pedals, cymbals, music stores and venues.” The entire list for Guitar Hero II in-game partners include BOSS Effectors, DW Drums, Eden Bass Amplication, EMG, Epiphone, Ernie Ball Strings, Gibson Guitar, Guitar Center, Hofner, Kramer, Krank, Line 6, Mesa Boogie, MusicMan Basses, Orange, Randall Amplifiers, Roland, Vans and the Vans Warped Tour, VHT, and Zildjian. Quite the list. As long as it doesn't affect the gameplay, we're cool with it. Guitar Hero II releases next week, November 7^th, and we can't wait to get our hands on it.

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