It's the Xbox Summer LIVEapalooza!

Which basically translates to 'deals and add-ons'. Some good stuff to be had though-

PSN Update -- 'Playstatiion Plus' Edition

So the fabled 'pay service' portion of the PSN has arrived with the latest system update. As a result, this week's PSN offerings are filled with little treats for the new subscribers.

There's a free Wipeout HD, a free inFAMOUS trial game, some sale items, and more-

It's actually kind of cool, I don't think there's enough of a reason for me to sign up for the plan, but there just might be for you- like, say, if you download lots of stuff. It might pay for itself... or it might not. I just don't know- you'll have to figure that one out.

Nintendo Download -- 'Happy Half Year' edition

I'm not exactly sure why we're celebrating .50 of a year, but we are. Weird.

Anyway, the Nintendo download service has a few nice little originals to offer this week- Jett Rocket, Robin Hood, and Ancient Tribe sound kinda cool- and a Virtual Console release in the form of Mario Tennis from the N64 is pretty cool too.

So when is the 3DS going to be out anyway?

Not even Reggie Fils-Aime knows for sure. On the Jimmy Fallon program last Friday, Reggie announced the the console wouldn't be available until next year here in the US. This after the company itself set a fiscal 2011 launch window, which basically means 'before the end of March 2011' Now it looks like that might not be se certain.

Nintendo of Japan, who apparently has a better handle on things, has discounted that statement and says that we might not have quite that long to wait, calling Fils-Aime "mistaken" -according to Kotaku.com sources.

In my mind, the whole thing makes a lot more sense as a global launch rather than a regional one. It's true that Nintendo has always been big on releasing first in it's home country of Japan, but I think that the landscape has changed so much that that kind of thinking just doesn't fit any more. North America is every bit the power in the video game industry that Japan is at this point- and you can make the case that Europe is right up there as well. If this was a simple game launch, I could see Japan first- but a new console is such a big deal... there's an impact that could be made with a global drop that would be a shame to miss out on. 

Maybe it's just wishful thinking but if they have the hardware to cover it, (granted that might be a big 'if') then global is clearly the way to go. Nintendo's money printers would be in overdrive.

More to come-

iPhone 4 Line Update

So I think it's probably safe to assume that everybody knows that the iPhone 4 released today at Apple, Best Buy, Radio Shack and AT&T.

I thought you might enjoy, in case you're planning a trip after work, a little update on the whole lineup/availability issue. To that end, how about some bullets?

• Best Buy- this actually would have been my first choice because of the Reward Zone points potential from the purchase of the iPhone. With that said- bestbuy.com has no availability listed for either online or in store. Yeah...
• Radio Shack- Wouldn't really bother. At this point, the likelihood of 'The Shack' having any iPhones for you're non-preordering butt would be just that much better than me typing this from a starship that runs on clouds orbiting Jupiter.
• AT&T- If you pre-ordered, you might still get one. They are on first come basis though, and I was told (on the sly) by an employee that Apple wasn't sending nearly enough phones to cover all of the orders that they had for at least a week. If you didn't pre-order? No. That's it- just no.
• Apple- From what I hear, if you reserved one for the 24th, you're golden. You have until the end of business today to go get it, I should add to that that the line for reserves is moving along at a pretty good clip. If you're going in cold- you still have a chance. This is Apple after all- there might be enough stock on hand, there might not. You're best bet is to call your fave Apple shop and ask, you'll have to hang on a bit because hold times are loooooooong right now, but it's worth it to potentially save a trip.

Zangief in SF4 for iDevice update

Yep, he's in there now.

It's pretty cool how Capcom keeps updating this game for free- they could easily charge microtransaction money for this stuff but they don't. Kudos for that.

Street Fighter 4 (full game) is available on the app store for $9.99

PSN Update -- 'Time Extend' edition

There's lots of add-on stuff in this weeks PSN update, and not a whole lot else. Now that Nintendo and Sony have both pretty much stumbled out of the e3 gates on the DLC front, all we need is for Microsoft to lay an egg and we can complete the circuit! Yay?

Just remembered that the Crackdown 2 demo came out on Monday. Thanks for ruining it guys.