Get them while you can, Nintendo fans. It appears the big N has decided to discontinue the popular wireless wavebird controller for the Gamecube (and Wii compatible). Fellow poweteer, Zac Shipley points us to this article which points to this article telling us of the sad news.

From GoNintendo.com:

I haven’t heard of any plans to offer the WaveBird Wireless Controllers in stores again (I did some checking, and we are still shipping the original Nintendo GameCube Controllers to stores). If you’re unable to find the original Nintendo GameCube Controller locally, you can still order this item from us. – Nintendo customer service rep

And yes, my sole reason for posting this was to have an excuse to make that Duck Hunt graphic. You may still find Wavebirds on Amazon.com, but prices vary.

For those of you who traverse the video game music scene like I do, we’ve got a bit of good news. VGMix (short for “Video Game Remix”) is now back online after over a year-long hiatus.

VGMix, which has been noted to be the largest gaming recomposition site on the net next to OverClocked Remix, is also known as being the most accepting of the two sites. Whilst OCR has a reputation for being very particular with what kinda of quality they let into their repertoire of music, VGMix is more of a user-friendly site for newer remixers to submit their works to the community at large in stages of WIP’s, and learn from the feedback they recieve. When VGMix went down completely (except for a placeholder and a makeshift forum) for a complete overhaul of their system, many VGmixers were to either brave the harsher judgments of OCR, or wait patiently.

As of New Years Day, VGMix X (formerly propositioned as VGMix 3) secretly launched a completely navigable site to the community. Whilst many of the features previously promised to be a part of the new version of the site have yet to be fully implemented, site Administrator Virt (of Contra IV musical fame) says it’s only a matter of time until everything is up to full running capacity. That is, after he and his staff return from their shenanigans at MAGfest 6.

In move determined to make him unpopular with readers of this site, Wisconson State Senator Jon Erpenbach is proposing a tax on videogames.

His goal is sound: Keep 17 year old delinquents in the Juvenile system instead of the harsher adult system, but using taxes on videogames may be the wrong way to go about it.

His reasoning:

“The idea being that this is kind of a kids-kids thing, in other words, if we’re going to do this for kids maybe this would be a good way to go about it. And if it’s not the best way, I’m open to any other way,”

This would put the burden on Wisconsin gamers (the vast majority over the age of 18) to fund the court system, and may put a stigma on videogames when they’re taxed at a higher rate. Wisconsin gamers are already talking about ordering games online where they won’t pay the tax

From Channel 3000: Watch The Report

As promised, I’m back with part 2 of our special wrestling edition of the $20 Game of the week. In this edition, we’ll take a look at WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008, as well as three other wrestling games that you can find on the cheap. So say your prayers and take your vitamins, because it’s time to walk down the aisle and go one on one with the great one. Remember, to be the man, you gotta beat the man! WOOOOOOO!
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Any of you junkies out there that have been itching to see actual footage of the upcoming Street Fighter 4 game currently in production can get your wishes fulfilled. The boys over at 1Up.com produced a video that gives the first ever seen gameplay straight from the game, as well as info concerning the game’s setup.

There’s an interview with game producer Yoshinori Ono that you have to muddle through before getting to the actual footage, which doesn’t appear until the 3:20 mark (in case you don’t wanna wade through). I just got a kick outta the little Street Fighter chibis behind Ono’s back. Too cute.

Hope everyone’s had a merry Christmas. Hopefully you digested all that Christmas dinner, because it’s time to hit the squared circle. That’s right, Powet is gonna take you ringside for a look at wrestling gaming. In the first part of our special, we’ll take a look back at some of the best (and worst) that wrestling gaming had to offer up to and including the Playstation and Nintendo 64 years. Part 2, coming this weekend, will feature a look at some of the more recent wrestling games, including WWE Raw vs Smackdown 2008 and Fire Pro Wrestling Returns. So grab a folded-up chair (or whatever other weapon that strikes your fancy), a 6-pack of your favorite alcoholic beverage, a luchador mask, and a homemade cardboard sign, and (in the voice of Michael Buffer) LETS GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEEEE!

Oh, and watch out for thumbtacks, florescent lights, and exploding barbwire.
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It’s not uncommon knowledge that the presumed “last” of the trailers for Devil May Cry 4 was released a few days ago. You can see the trailer below, but do be warned as it does contain a shyte-load of spoilers for the game.

Seeing as DMC4 released on February 5th here in the US, the connotations that this could be the final trailer very well may be true. Even if that was officially announced as such, it wouldn’t be the first time a game’s marketing team has fibbed to the public to create hype. Regardless, if previous trailer for this game haven’t made you want to go out and grab it upon it’s release, then this one will test your resolve even further.

Hell, Dante’s got a rocket-platform of all things! How can that not entice you?

Weather you wish to admit it or not, the Playstation installments of the Final Fantasy series, particularly VII and VIII, marked a major turning point in console role playing games. Up until then, role playing games were only enjoyed by a niche but dedicated audience. What they lacked in graphics, their epic stories made up for a thousandfold. Final Fantasy VII introduced 3-d polygon models, fully rendered cinematics, and graphics that were as epic in scale as the game’s storyline itself. Squaresoft had clearly outdone itself, and in 1999, it was tasked with having to following it up. Released in America on the same day as the Sega Dreamcast, Final Fantasy VIII managed to not only surpass the scale of FFVII, but it managed to set a new standard for role playing games. Despite its critical acclaim amongst gaming media outlets and fans alike, many purists don’t think too highly of this entry in the series. For the life of me I don’t see why, because next to Final Fantasy Tactics, this is arguably the best PS1 Final Fantasy game. In fact, it stands alongside Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil 2 as one of the greatest PS1 games of all time, and it’s also one of the finest console role playing games ever.

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