I went online this morning to buy some DVDs from the Wamart.com website and I was pleasantly suprised to see a promo box on their homepage that was advertising the Nintendo DSi for $169. I checked my prefered site for buying crap, Amazon.com, and they didn't have anything listed yet.

Being the insane portable gamer that I am, I took this opportunity and pre-ordered one!

From the all the I hoops and pages that I jumped through, I gathered that they'll start shipping around the first or second week of April.

This Nintendo DS Holder made in the image of Mario the Plumber asks if you have the testicular fortitude to play with your Wii.

About two weeks ago, I ordered something really goofy that caught my eye on DealExtreme.com and I've been quietly waiting in anticipation for it to arrive.

What did I order? Having currently being fixated on video games, I was drawn to a porable gaming device aptly named "Brand Name Style Portable Video Game Console with AV-out and 117 Games" which insanely resembles the original Sony PSP. As soon as I saw the picture, I knew that I had to see it for myself.

So after failing to locate one at our local flea markets and various China-ware importers, I decided to order it directly from the site.

I don't expect much in quality or functionality with this thing, but I really just want to own something that blatantly mocks trademarks, copyrights, and patents that wasn't made my Microsoft.

Guess what the UPS man delivered last night?

If you’re fortunate enough to have the problem of not knowing what to do with money that you received as gifts for Christmas, then I have a suggestion for you. I say forgo the idea of stashing away your cash and help jump start the economy by buying something. But, don’t buy just anything, Buy something awesome. Buy a retro-gaming system.

Although, it may not be apparent to any of you, I am an avid video gamer. I’ve been hooked ever since my hands first gripped my first joystick twenty years ago. The games had simple game play mechanics but had enough of challenge to them. Those were good times. No. Those were great times.

So during my routine web scouring, I found something that brought about a strong sense of nostalgia. I was surprised to find out that there were still people (in China) that are still making video game system for what is now referred to as classic “grand pa” games.

Like an old music buff rediscovering his love for listening to music on a turntable, I have rediscovered it’s equivalent for gamers. I still have all my old game cartridges for the NES and SEGA but my consoles have died so long ago. This find has made me optimistic and long to play my original copies of Altered Beast, Battle Toads, Zelda, Double Dragon, Duck Hunt and Metroid.

Some of you will say that you could play/buy those games on the Wii or find ROMS online for them and I agree with you. I have even done that myself but there was something missing or something wasn’t quite right. I wasn’t getting the same excitement or experience as I did when I played those games on a console. There was something about having to set the game cartridge just right into the system or having to blow on the game cartridge to get the dust out on them so that they work. The whole experience is muted when you through the more efficient Wii or illegal ROMS.

So here I am excited and I have figured out what do with some of the money that I will get this Christmas. I hope that I’ll have enough money after I pay my bills to pick one of these systems up.


If you’re interested in finding out more about these retro-systems, go to http://www.videogameaction.com/…tendo.html

I was rummaging around the Internet and I found this old clip of the intro to the video game “Sticky Balls” that was released on the ill-fated Gizmondo portable gaming device. This will teach me never to rummage around the web again.

It’s been one week since I broke down and bought a Sony PlayStation Portable. So far, I really like it. I know the PSP is old news and that it has been out for years, but I’m just finally getting around to having enough extra money to buy one.

Now that I have it, I must say that I really like it. The larger screen on the PSP is very different for the small dual screens of the Nintendo DS Lite, and it is a welcome change for me since my eyes are not as young as they used to be.

My acquisition of the PSP marks the completion of my video game system collection. I own all of the current game systems except for the PSP. Every time I would get close to getting one, some financial emergency would happen or there would be some false rumors about a newer model coming out soon. So, I just held back and waited.

At the moment, I don’t own any other games except for the ones that were bundled with the system. If you have any suggestions on what games to get, please let me know.(I enjoy fighting, puzzle, and RPG games.)

Right now, I’m fascinated with the PSP’s web connectivity and it’s built-in Skype program. I managed to turn a few heads and probably confuse a couple of people at a restaurant during lunch today when I made a phone call on the PSP using Skype.

I’m a gadget freak so I love the whole multifunctional device thing. The PSP is like an electronics version of a Swiss-army knife. I uploaded some videos and mp3’s on it ,so now it’s also acting as an mp3/mp4 player in addition to being a video game system.

So, this monkey gives his thumbs up and a wagging tail to the Sony PSP. If you haven’t used one, borrow from someone and see what it’s all about. If you own one, let me know what you think about it.