Mike Kingrey, a Best Buy store manager in Atlanta, opens the first box of Wii systems delivered by UPS driver Mike Bellamy the morning of Nov. 15.

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- Call of Duty 3 (Activision)
- Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (Activision)
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Activision)
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Atari)
- Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Atlus)
- Madden NFL '07 (Electronic Arts)
- Rampage: Total Destruction (Midway)
- Happy Feet (Midway)
- The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (Midway)
- Excite Truck (Nintendo)
- Wii Sports (Nintendo - bundled with Wii)
- Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (THQ)
- Cars (THQ)
- SpongeBob SquarePants: The Creature from the Krusty Krab (THQ)
- Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Sega)
- GT Pro Series (Ubisoft)
- Monster 4X4 World Circuit (Ubisoft)
- Rayman Raving Rabbids (Ubisoft)
- Red Steel (Ubisoft)

Additional titles to follow in the weeks after launch day were announced by Nintendo as well. From Nintendo: "Additional Wii games available during the five weeks after launch include Rapala Tournament Fishing and World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions from Activision; Chicken Little: Ace in Action from Buena Vista Games; Need for Speed: Carbon from Electronic Arts; Elebits from Konami; The Ant Bully from Midway; Metal Slug Anthology from SNK; Super Swing Golf from Tecmo; Barnyard from THQ; Far Cry: Vengeance, Open Season and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent from Ubisoft; and Ice Age 2: The Meltdown from Vivendi. "

Which ones are you picking up on launch day?

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The Wii console will debut this weekend, November 19, 2006, in the US. Visit Wii.com for the latest info.

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Subscribe to the gaming podcast via iTunes by searching for "gamingbits" or click on the Gaming Bits Podcast XML feed button on the left hand column of this page, under the "Contact Us" link.

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Features of Defender include:

Classic and enhanced modes: Play this arcade classic the way it was back in the day, or play it with sound and visual enhancements for next-gen.

Full Xbox Live support: Access leaderboards for single player, versus, co-op, and weekly stats, and earn 12 achievements for a total of 200 gamerpoints.

Multiplayer mania: Test your skills against rivals or team up with your friends. Play on or offline in co-op or versus mode, combining your scores or matching them against each other for the win.

Go back to the old school days or be schooled on what side scrolling shooters were like back in the day. Read more about Defender on Xbox.com

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From a posting at Uninnovate.com: "Sony is requiring CompUSA to package PlayStation 3 pre-order units with Sony televisions. Customers who wish to preorder a PlayStation 3 must also purchase a 40-inch or larger Sony television. If the customer returns the television, they must also return the PlayStation 3 and pay a 15% restocking fee."

It is not confirmed if Sony plays a direct hand in this or if it is CompUSA's retail buyers that are forcing it. Either way, it looks like the majority, if not all, November 17th launch day PS3s could be swallowed up by this offer.

Let us know if you've heard any other deals, tips, or bundle gouging from other retailers on getting a PS3!

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A Halo 3 commercial will be airing during Monday Night Football on December 4th. Digital Domain will be producing the CG rendered Halo 3 commercial, using assets provided by Bungie. Unlike the previous trailer we've all seen, keep in mind you won't be seeing the in-game engine in this recreation of the upcoming Halo 3 gameplay. If you miss it on Monday night, you will be able to catch it again via the Xbox Live Marketplace in full 720p. Expect a "making of" treatment as well.

Probably a first for Xbox 1 games on the Xbox 360, Halo 2 will be getting new downloadable content next Spring. New multiplayer maps for Halo 2 will be available for Microsoft Points to hold you over until Halo 3's release. An update to Halo 2's backwards compatibility on the Xbox 360 may be coming soon as well, to kill some bugs.

A public beta for Halo 3 will be coming next Spring. From the posting on Bungie.net:

"Fans will have an opportunity to play Halo 3 multiplayer over Xbox Live BEFORE the final game is available. You’ll be playing a little multiplayer and simultaneously providing us with some valuable data to help our development team. We’re still working out the details on timing and scope and there will be a lot more info coming in the weeks ahead."

Last, but not least, is a new Halo 3 in-game screenshot. The screenshot is taken from the Halo 3 single player campaign, which ran in an article on Newsweek magazine. Check it out below and click it to jump to a high-res screenshot of it.

Read all the details on the announcements here on Bungie.net.

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Several lines in South Florida Best Buy stores were closed off with caution tape as the allocated PS3 inventory was accounted for by Playstation gamers. "We we offered $1000 in cash for our spot last night," said Cesar, one of the die-hard Playstation fans at the front of the line. I asked them if anyone took the offer and I got a collective "hell no" from the group at the front. They're sticking with their spots for nearly a week, until the PS3 is officially up for sale on Friday, November 17, 2006.

Other gamers hoping to have a spot at one of the few midnight launch Best Buy stores were sent home on Tuesday morning after the manager said it was too early to be forming up (and requested the police's assistance to send 'em packing). By Tuesday evening, about thirty had returned and were allowed to stay until the midnight launch on the 17th at the Hialeah, Florida midnight launch store (where about 36-40 would be available).

Availability of the console, at least on launch day, is looking to be pretty slim, with under 400,000 (some speculating more like 200,000) units being distributed to the US. GameStop announced only 60% of their reservations made (which is about 8 customers per store) will be getting their PS3s. Many stores will not be offering any pre-orders online, at least for the first wave of PS3s. If you are still looking for a PS3, the chances of finding one for this week's Friday launch are pretty grim.

Had any experiences in your local area? Let us know how it's been!

See more pictures below of the South Florida Best Buy, with a PS3 kiosk indoors as well!

Cesar, Jose, Serge, Usman, Saad and Leo are among the first to line up since Sunday at a Best Buy store for a PS3.

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From a report on Gamespot: "We are beginning to notify our customers that our initial shipment of PS3 systems will not be what we expected," the representative said. "As this is not an ideal situation, we are asking employees to wait to purchase systems until the second shipment. We are anticipating having systems to cover reservations before Christmas."

The PS3 page on Gamestop.com says: "If you pre-ordered a PlayStation 3 in-store, you will be contacted by Wednesday evening, regarding launch availability."

Customers who will make the cut to get their hands on their pre-ordered PS3 are advised by GameStop/EB Games to pick up their PS3 no later than Saturday evening.

UPDATE: GameSpot will be able to fulfill about 60% of the pre-ordered PS3s this Friday, according to this report on Gamespy.com.

Did you get the call?

Read more from Gamespot.com.

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Setting up is easy enough, starting with the HD DVD player installation disc. You will have to start with that step, which you can't miss with the USB 2.0 cable covered with the warning. You'll be prompted by your Xbox 360 when to plug in the HD DVD player via the included USB 2.0 cable. There are two additional USB ports in the back of the HD DVD player (see picture below), so you can easily keep accessories like your Xbox Live Vision Camera and/or Wireless Adapter plugged into the back slots.

After a reboot, you will see that your Xbox 360's disc tray controls on the dashboard have been updated. All you have to do is press down on the Xbox 360 controller or Univeral Media Remote to access the HD DVD player while over the disc tray controls. Bootup time is a few seconds, only slightly longer than regular DVDs.

So surely by now you are wondering how the meat of the drive, the visual quality, is looking. To put it simply, it looks killer. The intro to King King will have you checking out all the fine details from burlap sheets to monkey hairs to crisp city skylines. The picture quality is without a doubt an upgrade. Now, I am not one to get hung up on all the fine technical hardware specs, as I'm sure there are a tons of technophiles decompiling all the differences between resolutions (i's and p's) and how it looks on plasma or LCD HD screens. I have a 30" widescreen HD CRT screen (140 pounder) hooked up to my Xbox 360 console. It's definitely not the latest in HD tech, but friends that came over to watch Terminator 3 on it definitely saw a considerable difference (seeing that T101 on the battlefield is quite a sight!). If you want all the hard technical specs on the HD DVD player, look to the Xbox HD DVD Player page (or the HD DVD page here) for all the details.

With standalone Toshiba HD DVD players currently run for $500, Xbox 360 owners will benefit from the $199 add-on price. The included King Kong HD DVD movie (about $25) (which runs for a limited time) and the Universal Media remote ($30) are a good added value to the package. If you are looking to upgrade your movie experience at home, the Xbox 360 HD DVD player is definitely worth the price.

Read more on the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player here on xbox.com.

See more pics below.

UPDATE: If you are wondering where you can rent HD DVDs, Blockbuster Online and Netflix offer them as part of their rental program. HD DVDs range from about $20-$30 to purchase.

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