Recently in Video Games & Gaming Category

Logitech today introduced what they deem a "Game-Changing Gameboard" called the Logitech G13 Advanced Gameboard. Hyperbole aside, the Logitech G13 Advanced Gameboard is an interesting concept. It sports a naturally contoured design, on-board memory, customizable backlighting, and programmable keys. A keyboard with memory? What's next? A keyboard which is a full-fledged PC? Oh wait, that's been done.

Anyway, the Logitech G13 advanced gameboard is a hybrid gaming keyboard designed to complement your Logitech keyboard and mouse. It gives you 25 programmable keys and an analog stick, as well and three game modes to help the PWN factor against your gaming buddies.

The Logitech G13 is basically a mini-version of the Logitech G15, which is a full-sized traditional keyboard that costs just about the same as the G13. Personally, I prefer full-sized keyboards for gaming, with programmed buttons & macros, but to each their own.

Logitech stated, "Whether you're rescuing hostages, on a quest with your guild or saving humanity, you don't want to worry about hand fatigue or hitting the wrong key."

The iconic contoured design complements the natural shape of your hand and fingers, while the smooth, concave home-row keys make it easy to locate buttons by touch. With three game modes, 25 programmable keys and a programmable analog stick, the G13 gameboard offers up to 87 ways for you to control your game (software installation required). And you can set up custom button-profiles for each one of your favorite titles. You can even create macros on the fly without having to pause your game.

And for another tactical advantage, the 160-by-43-pixel GamePanel LCD shows live game stats, system info and even messages from other players. Though look away from the computer screen at your own peril!

With the G13 gameboard, you'll also get backlit keys that help you easily locate the right key in low-light conditions or lights-out play. And you can select from hundreds of available backlight colors.

A handy solution for the laptop gamer, the G13 gameboard includes onboard memory, letting you program up to five ready-to-play profiles and take them with you to your next LAN party. The G13 gameboard also offers pre-configured settings for many popular games, including World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade, Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™, Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare™ and many others.

Pricing and Availability
The Logitech G13 advanced gameboard is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in December for a suggested retail price of $79.99 (U.S.). Question is will it be available before Christmas?

More than half of U.S. adults play video games, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and 20% do so daily.

The survey of 2,054 U.S. adults was conducted late last year, with a margin of error of 25.

People from all walks of life play, although younger adults are far more likely to play than seniors, proof that video games are mainstream entertainment for the generations that grew up with them. In all, 81% of respondents between 18 and 29 said they play games, compared with 23% of people 65 and older.

Another Pew survey this fall found that nearly every teenager -- 97% -- is a gamer.

The gender gap between gamers was not what would be predicted by old stereotypes painting video game fans as young men who need to get outside more -- 50% of women and 55% of men play video games.

The Boston Globe/The Associated Press

Ho ho ho!

'Tis the season for steep discounts on gadgets goods on the Internet. According to this article in Electonista, online shopping sites such as Buy.com, HP.com, SonyStyle.com, Newegg.com, OnSale.com and RefurbDepot.com all are offering big savings.  

Buy.com has cut prices on everything from MP3 players and digital photo frames to GPS units and notebook computers. Prices are slashed on everything from wireless routers and printers to wireless mice and Bluetooth stereo headphones at HP.com.

SonyStyle.com is offering deals on notebooks, iPod docks, game consoles, digital cameras, HDTVs and more as well as gift cards this holiday season.

Until December 31st Newegg.com is offering specials on their HDTV collection and until December 11th enter to win a $5,000 Newegg gift certificate in the Holiday Wishlist Sweepstakes.

Deals on notebooks, monitors, iPod docking stations, and Bluetooth headsets can be found at OnSale.com. The Holiday Superstore at RefurbDepot.com has great gift ideas from digital cameras to desktop computers at a range of prices.

We know Activision Blizzard loves sequels.

A little while ago, it revealed a slate of follow-ups coming this year at an Massive Inc. upfront. An upfront is where publishers showcase their upcoming lineup to advertisers and are a new practice for games. Upfronts occur every year for TV and movies.

The idea is quite simple really -- to get advertisers pumped to buy more ads in games. Massive is a Microsoft-owned firm that did the Barack Obama ad in Burnout Paradise.

At the meeting, Activision Blizzard showcased new games that would make sense for in-game ads, including the vaguely titled "Guitar Hero 5," which included a screen shot of gameplay with a Burger King ad to the right of the note highway.

The publisher confirmed rumors that Tony Hawk will be different this year. "You're not going to be playing this game with a controller in your hands," said the company. 

More at MTV Multiplayer.

Blockbuster has chosen Reno, Nev., as the test market for a new store concept that combines video rentals with sales of video game accessories, high-definition TVs and other home entertainment products.

Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said the company is "selling convenience" with the new design.

And you know we gadgeteers love convenience, even if we have to wait for it.

We hope the still have snacks!

More a the The Cincinnati Enquirer/Gannett News Service. 

Despite one of the worst economic climates in decades, consumer spending on Black Friday hit $10.6 billion, 3% higher than the day after Thanksgiving in 2007, according to researcher ShopperTrak.

Gadgets accounted for nine of the top 10 most popular Black Friday products, PriceGrabber said.

Data from PriceGrabber.com shows that online consumers are taking advantage of promotions on popular electronics, including LCD and plasma TVs, Blu-ray disc players, digital SLR cameras, laptops and video game consoles.

The most popular products on Black Friday:

1. Nintendo Wii Console
2. Ugg Australia 'Classic Short' Boot (how about that!)
3. Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player
4. Samsung LN52A650 52" LCD TV
5. Nintendo Wii Fit
6. Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42" Plasma TV
7. Sennheiser HD 555 Headphones
8. Canon EOS Rebel XSi Black SLR Digital Camera Kit
9. Acer Aspire One AOA110-1295 Notebook
10. Canon PowerShot A590 IS Black Digital Camera

And while we are at it, here are the Top 10 categories and percent growth over Black Friday 2007:

1. Women's Boots - 203%
2. Watches - 202%
3. Blu-ray/HD-DVD Players - 147%
4. Women's Sleep & Lounge Wear - 415%
5. Games & Puzzles - 151%
6. Women's Jackets - 110%
7. Music - 96%
8. Headphones - 103%
9. Women's Dresses - 107%
10. Women's Casual Shoes - 143%

More at PriceGrabber.com and The Washington Post.

It appears it just might be a Merry Christmas even with the doom & gloom surrounding the economy. I guess President-elect Barack Obama must be the Messiah, since he's already creating miracles and he hasn't even been sworn in yet. Or it could just be that credit card loving Americans just don't know when to quit spending & charging.

Check this out:

NRF Survey Finds Black Friday Gets Holiday Season Off to Energetic Start
-- Great Bargains, Pent-Up Demand Drove Shoppers to Stores, Web

Though the holiday season is far from over, retailers across the country are breathing a collective sigh of relief after shoppers headed to stores and websites in droves over the weekend. According to the National Retail Federation's 2008 Black Friday Weekend survey, conducted by BIGresearch, more than 172 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 147 million shoppers last year.*

Shoppers spent an average of $372.57 this weekend*, up 7.2 percent over last year's $347.55. Total spending reached an estimated $41.0 billion.

"Pent-up demand on electronics and clothing, plus unparalleled bargains on this season's hottest items helped drive shopping all weekend," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. "Holiday sales are not expected to continue at this brisk pace, but it is encouraging that Americans seem excited to go shopping again."

Friday was clearly the busiest day of the weekend with 73.6 million people hitting stores and websites for doorbuster sales. Though traffic did subside after Friday, retailers were also buoyed by two-day sales as 56.9 million people shopped on Saturday, up from 48.3 million last year, while another 26.2 million people planned to shop on Sunday. Thanksgiving Day also continues to increase in importance as the number of people who shopped on Thursday was up 48 percent over last year (16.2 million people vs. 10.9 million people).

Those who shopped on Friday lived by the adage that the early bird catches the worm. The survey found that 23.3 percent of shoppers were at stores by 5 a.m. while more than half (57.6%) were at stores by 9 a.m. Bargains appeared to be so good that people have more of a jumpstart on shopping.

According to the findings, Americans have completed slightly more shopping than they had one year ago (39.3% vs. 36.4%), indicating that traffic and sales over the next several weeks will moderate.

"Though retailers should be encouraged by strong traffic and sales over the weekend, consumers are still being cautious," said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. "Weekend shoppers indicated that they are still sticking to a budget and thinking carefully before making any holiday purchases."

Though retailers in all categories were featuring big bargains, a majority of shoppers visited discount stores for holiday deals. According to the survey, more than half (54.7%) of this weekend's shoppers visited discount stores. Nearly half (43.0%) shopped at a traditional department store, up 11.1 percent from 38.7 percent last year. About one-third of shoppers visited specialty stores like clothing or electronics stores (36.0%) and shopped online (34.0%).

As expected, many shoppers (50.9%) purchased clothing and accessories over the weekend while 39.0 percent bought books, DVDs, CDs and video games and 35.9 percent purchased consumer electronics. Toys were also big sellers, as 28.5 percent of shoppers bought a toy. Gift card purchasing dropped ten percent with 18.7 percent of shoppers purchasing a gift card over the weekend, down from 21.0 percent last year.

NRF continues to project that holiday sales will rise 2.2 percent this year to $470.4 billion.

About the Survey

The NRF 2008 Black Friday Weekend survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the winter holidays. NRF defines the weekend as sales from Thursday, November 27 to Sunday, November 30. The survey, which polled 3,370 consumers, was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch from November 27-29, 2008. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch's syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 8,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2007 sales of $4.5 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com

Via NRF

Amazon has a special landing page listing all their Cyber Monday deals. Amazon doesn't call it "Cyber Monday" but rather the "Black-Friday-After-Thanksgiving-Sale", so this landing page should be good until Christmas. Maybe they were afraid Cyber Monday was patented, kinda like their one-click ordering patent.

Anyway, here's the current category breakdown on the Amazon holiday specials landing page:

• Black Friday deals in Toys & Games
• Black Friday Deals in Electronics Just Keep Going
• Hot Kitchen and Home Black Friday Deals
• Black Friday Deals in Sports & Outdoors
• Limited Time: Save up to 50% on Home Improvement Essentials
• Exclusive Cyber Monday Deals in Beauty
• Limited-Time Black Friday Deals in Apparel, Plus $10 off $50, $20 off $100 Orders
  

There are some Blu-ray DVD players for sale, including a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Player for $199. (under $200). Still doesn't beat the $128 Blu-ray player Wal-Mart was offering on Black Friday (now $199), but it's the best deal on Amazon today.

For the full listing on Amazon holiday specials, head over here.

 For Sony, Home is where the future of gaming is -- or where they would like it to be.

In its battle for the hearts and minds of gamers, Sony is developing a robust social-networking component to its PlayStation 3 console.

The new element, to be called Home, has been in beta testing for weeks and allows users to explore an online world with avatars that can travel from one virtual place to another.

While it's not exactly a world like World of Warcraft or Linden Labs'Second Life, Home is the most ambitious push by any console maker into creating a virtual world for gamers.

It will live or die on whether it's simple, fun, and deep enough for gamers who have plenty of other things they want to do -- like play games. And the price is right: free for those who have a PS3.

The New York Times/VentureBeat.

Gamers: Power down consoles when not in use to save cash!

National Resources Defense Council and consulting firm Ecos have found that gamers could save $100 a year if they turn off their consoles when they are not in use.

That means you guys in the photo!

The pair also recommends that game console manufacturers look to include power management features in their next generation of consoles.

The authors said the industry should adopt automatic power-down features and make it easier for consumers to locate these features. Idle machines consume nearly as much energy as when machines are turned on.

The XBox 360, for example, has a power-down feature, but it's turned off by default and is hard to activate because its buried deep in the menus. (For instructions on how to find existing power-down features, click here.)

In terms of energy consumption, the XBox 360 is in the middle of the pack, consuming 119 watts in active mode, more than many desktop PCs.

The Nintendo Wii, meanwhile, consumes just 16 watts -- less than most laptops -- and the Sony PlayStation 3 burns through 150 watts in play mode. PlayStation 3 can update its software to add a power-management feature, but it's disabled by default, too.

More at CNET.