Best Buy and it’s Geek Squad are milking the tech illiterate shoppers out of $130 just to hook up a Playstation 3.

Geeks Squad’s awesome PS3 service includes:

* Setup and configure gaming console
* Installations of the latest firmware updates
* Setup and configure local user accounts with parental controls
* Setup and configuration of one online account (only 1?)

Are you serious Best Buy? You are charging $130 to setup a PS3? If you don’t know how to hookup and press a couple of buttons to setup and upgrade a PS3, then you shouldn’t own a PS3.

It seems Sony’s recent incarnation of the PS3 is a big hit in America. Combined with the $100 price drop and 120GB hard drive upgrade, the PS3 slim is a bargain compared to previous PS3 versions.

I have always thought that the only way Sony would make any money on the PS3 is by reducing its price. In return there will be more sales in video games for the console.

Source: Weekly Analysis – PS3 Sales Double in America

“I expected we’ll see a PlayStation 3.5 before we see a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox 560 before we see an Xbox 720,” he said.

Hilleman also predicts that online games will play a bigger role as opposed to package video games, making light to the 28,000 internet game rooms in South Korea alone.

Source: CVG; EA expects PS3.5 and Xbox 560 before next gen

As part of a promotional attempt for Godfather II, Electronic Arts shipped brass knuckles to a number of game writers.  A spokesperson for EA told Kotaku that EA wanted to make sure all the brass knuckles are returned because possession, and even shipping, can lead to a class 1 misdemeanor in some states.

EA did not respond to questions concerning their liability in shipping the brass knuckles, and whether the company will be charged by authorities.  Imprisonment can be up to 1 year in a county jail.  Although, I don’t think anyone at EA will be spending anytime in the slammer.  There is no one person in particular to blame for the mistake.

Source:  Kotaku; EA Ships Illegal Weapons To Press, Wants Them Back

The price drop is on the 80GB version, bringing the price down to $299.  This rumor of a price drop comes about after third party publishers urge Sony to drop the price on the console to be more inline with the Wii and Xbox 360.

It is about time Sony decides to drop the price of the PS3, especially in today’s economy.  The PS3 is a game console and Bluray player in one, but I think it is time Sony stops riding the Bluray wave.  The prices of Bluray players is starting to drop considerably, so the addition of Bluray to the PS3 isn’t going to be as big of a selling point as it has been.

Source: 2old2play.com; PlayStation 3 Price Drop Rumor: March 22nd is The Day

UPDATE

Well, apparently this was just another rumor according to vgchartz: SCEA – We have NO immediate plans to drop the price of the PS3 system

The label would read, “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior,” and would appear on games rated T (13 or older) by the ESRB.

Of course this statement is still very up to debate. The statement is a complete generalization. The only people who are effected by violent games and violent media are those who are already pre-disposed to aggressive behavior. Simply playing violent games or watching violent media will not make you an aggressive person.

Joe Baca has attempted to get other video game oriented bills passed in recent years, all of which have failed.

Source: gamepolitics.com; New Bill in Congress Would Add Cigarette-like Warning Labels to Video Games

Sam’s Club let him swap out his broken xbox 360 for a brand new one, and the retailer let him keep his old hard drive so that he wouldn’t lose any of his games. And all of this came at no charge. Not only did he not have to pay anything, he was actually given money back when the bundle was priced cheaper than when he bought it.

That is what I call top quality service from Sam’s Club. I don’t shop there, but I might just change my mind knowing they have this kind of customer service.

Source: Consumerist; Sam’s Club Lets You Swap Out RedRinged Xbox Hassle-Free

It doesn’t seem like EA ever wants to listen to its customers.  EA continues to bundle their PC games with the intrusive DRM known as SecuROM.  The latest game including SecuROM is Spore.

As a result, two class-action lawsuits have been filed against EA claiming the DRM is installed intrusively and is virtually impossible to uninstall.  One of the lawsuits is filed by Richard Eldridge, who claims, “Consumers are given no notices whatsoever that the FREE trial version of the game [Spore] includes Digital Rights Management technology.”

The second lawsuit was filed claiming months of computer problems, and eventually required a reformat of the computer to get rid of SecuROM. The key points to the lawsuits are the fact that the consumer is unaware that SecuROM is installed on his computer, and there is no directions or options to install SecuROM once it is installed.

I have gone through my run-ins with SecuROM, including Bioshock and Spore. In both instances I decided to never play the games again. And after installing both games, I eventually just reformatted my hard drive to get rid of SecuROM.

I have SecuROM removal directions posted in the forums, but they don’t seem to always get rid of SecuROM completely.

The question that I always have is why game companies think they are protecting their product by installing intrusive DRM? Not only is it simply a pain in the ass to deal with, in most instances it comes with limited installs of the game. WTF is that about? Since when is purchasing a game equivalent to renting? Spore was the last game I bought on the PC platform, and is likely one of the last. I’m sticking to consoles for a while until the PC world decides to lower prices and gets rid of the DRM bullshit.

Source:  ars technica; EA hit with two more lawsuits over use of SecuROM

According to NPD Group, more than 514,000 portable Nintendo DS systems sold in the United States, bringing the lifetime U.S. total to nearly 22 million, and more than 448,000 Wii consoles sold in the United States, bringing the lifetime U.S. total to nearly 12 million and extending its lead as the best-selling video game console of this generation.

Five games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10 best-selling games of the month, including Wii Fit at No. 4 with nearly 395,000 sold, Mario Kart at No. 5 with nearly 329,000 sold, Wii Play at No. 6 with more than 200,000 sold, Madden NFL 09 All-Play for Wii at No. 9 with nearly 116,000 sold and Guitar Hero: On Tour for Nintendo DS at No. 10 with more than 111,000 sold.

“The positive public response to Nintendo DS and Wii has stayed strong throughout 2008,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “New titles like Madden NFL 09 All-Play for Wii have joined top 10 veterans like Wii Fit, demonstrating the wide and long-lasting appeal of Nintendo games.”

In an effort to provide an Xbox 360 below the price of a Wii console, Microsoft Japan is dropping the prices of the Xbox 360 as much as 30 percent.

Microsoft will lower the price of the Xbox 360′s Arcade model by 8,000 yen ($73.50) to 19,800 yen, making the device the first among competing consoles to carry a price tag less than 20,000 yen.

Microsoft will also reduce the prices of the two other models by 5,000 yen to 8,000 yen.

Source: Forbes; Microsoft Japan to cut price of Xbox 360 console by 30 pct – report