Webkinz molds next generation of gamers

While attending my niece's soccer game this past weekend, I noticed a few furry new additions to the family. "They're Webkinz", she said referring to the pink poodle and St. Bernard stuffed animals she and my nephew had brought with them. At first, there didn't seem to be anything special about these Webkinz, until a few of her schoolmates came over with plush little pals of their own. Then they all started talking about emailing each other at their Webkinz addresses, and playing games at the Webkinz web site. That's when I became interested in learning more about this emerging craze created by gift maker Ganz.

Webkinz combines elements of Nintendogs, The Sims, Brain Age, and Nick.com, packaging all of it together in a secure online environment for kids and their 'kinz. The result is an addictive blend of educational and simulation-style activities geared toward maintaining your pet's avatar and its virtual living space. Food and furniture are paid for with Kinzcash, the community currency which is accrued while playing games and taking quizzes. A word puzzle game had my nephew and I hooked for almost an hour, and the "one more round" syndrome manifested itself in both of us each time we achieved one goal and were given another.

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MTV interviews Phil Spencer about Halo

Xbox 360 Fanboy: "If you haven't had your fill of Halo 3 news this week, then check out MTV's video interview with Microsoft's GM of publishing of first party titles Phil Spencer. Phil talks about everything Halo related including Peter Jackson's upcoming project, Halo Wars, and the Halo 3 beta. He discusses where they are at with all their projects, how involved they are with Mr. Jackson, how the Halo Wars RTS came to be, and gave us no news on the beta that we didn't already know. It's good to hear about the status of the other Halo projects as it looks like we'll be hearing about Halo Wars in the near future. RTS FTW, SS! (For those of you who aren't l33t, that translates to 'real-time strategy for the win, super sweetness!')"

Halo 3 materials and control scheme, oh my!

Xbox 360 Fanboy: "We're finally getting to a point where we get actual juicy details on Halo 3 from Bungie's Weekly Updates. This week's deep fried nuggets of information include the revealing of the first promotional material for Halo 3 (see above). According to Bungie, this marketing goodness is the first in a series that will be coming out throughout the year, similar to Halo 2's campaign with the whole orange background thing. Also note that it does read 'Fall 2007' ... nice. Frankie also mentions that progress is being made on the campaign front, that the Halo 3 beta will not begin next week upon Crackdown's release, and that Bungie.net is getting an overhaul. He also posted the current default controller layout for Halo 3, dissecting each and every button and what each is used for. Though, Frankie makes it very clear that things could change and that the mysterious 'X' button could be moved too. We're interested in how talking in multiplayer will work and currently there is a scheme using the d-pad, but he also mentions that it is in the extremely early stages of how the function will work. Please Bungie, make it so we don't have to push a button to talk, we can deal with loud people with our A-hole button. Go ahead and make the jump to get your weekly dose of Halo 3 knowledge."

Limited Edition Black Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Revealed

TeamXbox: "Andy Pennell, a Microsoft engineer tworking on HDi (the interactivity layer for HD DVD), has posted pictures of a limited edition black Xbox 360 HD DVD Player he received as a 'Ship-It' award.

We just got some goodies on our team: Xbox 360 HD DVD drives in black! These limited-edition drives were made especially for those of us who helped work on the product, and come along with a black remote control.

Although this was distributed internally at Microsoft, if the company took the time to manufacture black drives and remote controls of its HD DVD player, it is possible that in the future they will be available for sale. Keep your fingers crossed. "

Top 10 Downloads on Video Marketplace for week of Feb 8 - Feb 15

Xbox Live's Major Nelson:

"Movies Top 10
1 Crank (HD)
2 Jackass Number Two
3 Beerfest (HD)
4 The Descent (HD)
5 Scanner Darkly, A
6 Superman Returns (HD)
7 Lady in the Water (HD)
8 See No Evil (HD)
9 Employee of the Month (HD)
10 Barnyard

TV Series Top 10
1 Comedy Central Stand Up
2 South Park
3 Enterprise (HD)
4 The Sarah Silverman Program
5 Chappelle's Show: Uncensored
6 UFC Fights (HD)
7 Avatar: The Last Airbender
8 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (HD)
9 Aqua Teen Hunger Force
10 Supernatural"

Ghosts, we have incoming, again!

Xboxic: "Listen up Ghosts, our intel suggests that following on from last months single player demo of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, a multiplayer demo will be making its way to Xbox Live Marketplace next week.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

Whilst at a Ubisoft event showcasing the multiplayer elements of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, the team at HEXUS.net were told exclusively that “the multiplayer demo of GRAW 2 will be available on the Xbox live marketplace next week”.

Despite finding the single player demo somewhat enjoyable, we at Xboxic and the majority of our readers found the demo to be a little too short for our liking. Just as our taste buds were lapping up all that the demo was throwing at us, it was abruptly halted and left us wanting more. No doubt that was the desired effect. We can only hope that the multiplayer demo will give us that little bit more to keep us occupied until the game is released this spring."