Classic Nintendo Themed TV Remote

Need some help rounding out your classic Nintendo collection?

Old NES somewhere in the basement... CHECK. Purchased every Classic Console game on the Nintendo Wii... CHECK. But do you have a cool universal TV remote that looks just like a NES controller? No? ThinkGeek.com does and it's ready for immediate delivery via winged turtle shell.

This NES style remote controls most TVs allowing critical gaming functions like power on/off, changing the channel and even volume adjustment. Now you can amaze your friends by pretending to play classic NES games while watching old Thundercats re-runs.

These controllers are limited editions from Japan. Once they are gone, they are gone.

The Nintendo Controller Universal Remote works with the following brands of TVs:

• Sony
• Panasonic
• Sharp
• Sylvania
• Sanyo
• Aiwa
• Hitachi
• Philips
• NEC
• JVC
• Toshiba
• Mitsubishi
• Fujitsu

By the way, this remote does not control cable boxes, DVD players or anything else. Strictly TV sets. Also the Nintendo Controller Universal Remote may not work if your TV is super ancient.

You can pick up the Nintendo Controller Universal Remote for $12.99 from ThinkGeek.com.


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A Very Yeti Christmas

Like to smack penguins with baseball bats? Yes? Then here's a nice Christmas morning treat for the whole family. MethodShop has a series of Yeti winter games for your entertainment.

If you aren't yet familiar with Yeti Sports, then prepare yourself for one of the most humorous and addictive games on the Internet. Below you will find several variations of the Yeti game Pingu-Throw as well as some newer Yeti offerings. One of the more violent variants of Pingu-Throw, named "Bloody", features decapitation, spikes, a big spiky club and mines.

Should your Yeti catch the penguin at the right moment and angle, you might just hit one out of the park, or arctic continent. Good luck and Merry Christmas.

Yeti Games

• Yeti Pingu-Throw
• Yeti Pingu-Throw (Bloody)
• Yeti Pingu-Throw (Long Shot)
• Yeti Orca Slap
• Yeti Seal Bounce

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Halo 3 Sales Smash Records

Microsoft is reporting that sales for its much hyped game, Halo 3, generated $170 million during the first 20 hours of its release. Not only does this top the $125 million sales record set by Halo 2, but it also surpasses the opening-day US box office record of $59.8 million set by Sony's "Spider-Man 3" in May. In fact, Halo 3 made more money in 24 hours than Spider-Man 3 made during its three-day opening-weekend ($151 million).

So far, more than 1 million players have logged on the play the networked Xbox Live version of Halo 3.

The game is expected to give a huge boost to the Xbox 360. Lately, the runaway success of the Nintendo Wii has been a thorn in the side of both Microsoft and Sony.

You can read our review of Halo 3 here.

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Halo 3 Sickness Feared

The 3rd and final edition in the Halo video game trilogy got released Monday night at midnight. Microsoft expects to sell an estimated 4 million copies of Halo 3 (read MethodShop.com review) in the U.S. during the next 30 days according to Gamesindustry.biz. Think 4 million seems a lot for a video game? Keep in mind that "Halo" (2001) and "Halo 2" (2004) sold 14.5 million copies worldwide.

But because there is so much anticipation and hype around Halo 3, corporate employers and school systems are fearing that their staff and students will spontaneously be calling in sick this week.

Here are a couple quotes I found on USA Today.com:

"I've already talked to my teachers and got my assignments for Tuesday. I don't plan on going to class," says Dane Mitchell, 20, a Cincinnati State and Community College sophomore. "I'm going to pick up the game at midnight from GameStop, go to a friend's house, and play it for 36 hours," he says.

Like Mitchell, Neil Godwin, 21, of Milford, Ohio, reserved his copy more than a year ago. He's taking a vacation day Tuesday from his job as a Kroger computer help desk analyst to play Halo 3 all day with his brother.

Corporate sponsors are also helping fuel the hype around Halo 3. Even if the last video game you played was Pong in the 1980's, Microsoft still wants you to know about Halo 3. Everyone from Burger King, NASCAR, Pontiac and even Mountain Dew have promotional deals with Microsoft for Halo 3 that rival such theatrical franchises as Harry Potter. Last night I even saw a 'limited edition' Halo 3 Mountain Dew 12-pack labeled as "Game Fuel." I guess there's probably enough sugar and caffeine in a 12-pack of Mountain Dew to even keep a Polar Bear up all night.



Beyond the corporate sponsors, promotional advertising blitz and the Internet buzz, Halo 3 is special to gamers because it's the final chapter in the Halo series. It's the last time fans will get to see their beloved Master Chief in action. Halo 3 is equivalent of how important "Return of the Jedi" or "The Return of the King" was Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fans. It's the end of a saga.




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Mario Brothers USB Mouse

Are you stuck in the past? Still listening to Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth on cassette and trying to beat your high score on Donkey Kong? These stylish Mario Brothers and Golden Star mice I found on GetUSB.info might get you that retro mojo you need to actually do it!

Both offer a retro 8-bit appeal and feature the original mechanical mouse ball mechanism that you probably forgot existed. Push one of these beauties across your desk and imagine that you are playing Super Mario Brothers… rather than filling out those boring TPS reports.

[Via GetUSB.info]

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Nintendo Wii Owners Making CelebriMiis

One of the new features of the Nintendo Wii, is the ability to create avatars (a virtual representation of a person) using the platform's "Mii Channel." The avatars can be used in various Nintendo games and even shared with other players. But creative Nintendo Wii users aren't just creating Miis of themselves. They've started making avatars that resemble famous people. Wii users have dubbed the celebrity avatars "CelebriMiis."

Many Mii creators share their CelebriMii techniques online so others can duplicate the effect and use their avatars in games and Mii parades.

The image below is Hiro Nakamura from the NBC TV series Heroes.

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Stalk Matt Lauer in Cyberspace

In 1998, the "Today" show started sending co-host Matt Lauer to far off locations like Mt. Everest and Machu Picchu, for a feature on the show called Where in the World Is Matt Lauer? But this week, American broadcasting network NBC decided to send Matt Lauer somewhere he'd never been before... a microsite. In a clever mashup of entertainment and promotion, Matt Lauer now has his own interactive Flash gaming site (followmatt.com). I blog for a site called Brand Appeal and thought this Matt Lauer microsite deserved a closer look.

Using a fun object-based interface, the site encourages users to explore Matt's possessions on his desk. You can watch clips on his video iPod, check out his car keys (sponsored by by Hyundai), download themed ringtones from his mobile phone, and see all of the places Matt has traveled to by opening up his passport. Visitors can even use his digital camera to upload a brief video clip explaining why they deserve a vacation. Apparently the best sob story wins a free vacation.


By far, the best part of the microsite is the "Where's Matt?" game. It's like an interactive version of the children's book "Where's Waldo?" Matt randomly gets inserted into different exotic locations and you have to find him. Do it fast enough and you'll get your name listed in the top 10. When I last played the game someone named "Imus Sucks" was in 10th place. Obviously a reference to the radio host who recently made racist comments about the Reuters University women's basketball team. Imus does suck by the way.


Overall, the online experience is great. However, the execution of this site's design feels a little disjointed. Several components of the site launch in separate windows making the experience feel less contained. Even though I feel a more controlled experience for visitors is needed (like on my blog called Brand Appeal), the site really does a nice job of pushing Matt Lauer's celebrity brand and attracting more interest in the Today show. Don't give a crap about a free vacation or ring tones? Me either. But at the very least check out the "Where's Matt?" game and try to get your name in the top 10. I did. Just once.

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by CAM

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