The Launch Game

So, when exactly is Nintendo launching the Wii? A drunk rep apparently let it slip that it was going to be out on the 30th of October, but other sources place it as early as September, obviously giving it a solid head start over the PS3's mid-November launch. I wouldn't at all be surprised if the Wii came out in September, but ultimately, it could launch on the day and date of the PS3 and I don't think that would affect sales of either system that much. The initial shipment of both systems will sell out within a few hours and they will both probably be nearly impossible to get during the holidays (though probably not as hard as the Xbox 360 was). What really counts is the next wave, when the systems are readily available to the non-hardcore, casual public. And while the glitzy PS3 graphics may draw in a few with money to burn, the Wii is practically an impulse buy, which will make it that much more attractive.

Moving on, is Sony racist? Their string of PSP ads may suggest so. First, check out one of their thinly disguised video ads:



In case you that was too subtle for you, VGcats has a comic that puts it more blatantly:







Now granted, the above is fairly debatable, but what isn't is Sony's newest billboard for their upcoming PSP white model:







This Amsterdam billboard is already drawing huge ire from critics, and I don't know how it couldn't, I mean seriously, what idiot looked at this ad and thought people (especially the more reactionary type) wouldn't view this as blatantly racist? I know the saying goes there's no such thing as bad publicity, but that seems to be all Sony is getting the last year or so, and in the olden days, I'm pretty sure something this embarrassing would force Sony's top execs to commit Hari Kari rather than live with the embarrassment caused by such a stupid idea. And really, all their latest debacles are fairly reminiscent of just about any empire (corporate or otherwise) that was about to fall flat on its face and never recover.


That's all for today, but I'll definitely be back sometime tomorrow with thoughts on this weekend's films. And here's your SCRUBS CLIP OF THE WEEK: