London, signing embargoes preventing them from running copy until 08:01 tomorrow morning. Retailers worldwide were given an official release time of midnight tonight – with thousands of stores committing to special late-night openings. But with record pre-orders, astronomical sales forecasts and considerable press coverage thanks to the airport carnage controversy, the floodgates haven’t just opened, they’ve been torn from their hinges and ripped asunder.

Get the full story over at the guardian.

One annoying ‘feature’ of the PS3 is the way in which video settings are not universal when you take the console to another home. This is because TV’s often have different resolutions which means your PS3 will show all sorts of weird shapes and sizes. Because of this, it’s often difficult to find the menus to change the settings.

To combat this, shut down your PS3 and restart by pressing and holding the power button quite firmly. This will reboot the PS3 to its factory settings – in a basic resolution which will make it alot easier to select your correct screen resolution. Simple as that!

System Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.4+
• Intel CPU
• 256MB RAM
• 100MB available hard disk space

You will be able to get the same features available on Window in the Mac version, be sure to check it out.

Check out the features in this Youtube vid:

The revolutionary controller design offers unique motion-sensitive gameplay options and comes with built-in Wi-Fi that delivers free online services and gameplay. You can also play with up to 4 players at home if you have enough controllers on popular games like Mario Kart, Tennis and Bowling ( both found in the Wii Sports package) popular games to play.

The controllers are quite battery hungry, so i would recommend purchase the battery packs and chargers to keep the controllers charging when not in use. This also prevents the signal becoming weak during play. The Wii itself is a very sleek and narrow white console, and the stylish controllers are easy to get used to. Don’t forget to use the hand straps supplied to save your precious television screens! Although these may be seen as suitable only for a boys christmas present, these really are a family gift! Adults and kids alike can enjoy thse games so don’t hesitate to buy one – make sure you are quick as there only a few days left!

For all you World of Warcraft fans out there you will probably have bought the new add-on the Lich King, if you havent – whats the matter with you?! Blizzard, the developers of the hugely popular MMORPG still have a tasty deal to keep you playing. The WOW official web site has posted up a promotion that entitles you to a 10 day free trial to Wrath of the Lich King. Obviously if you unsure about upgrading this trial is designed to tempt you in and make the full purchase.

Lich King Expansion Pack

There are however a few prerequisites to this deal. You must already have both the original World of Warcraft and the game’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, installed on your PC. In addition, your character in the game itself must be either level 55 to make a death knight or level 68 to explore the new Northend area of the expansion. This offer is, therefore, aimed at more experienced WOW players who may have not yet took the plunge.

The real issues for me are :

1. There are less Mac users than Windows users.

2. Mac software therefore is less profitable than Windows softwaree, and as a result less likeley to be made.

3. Macs arent really designed for ‘gaming’ as such.

This is just something i have to live with, unless of course Apples gains enough marketshare and it is unavoidable to write software solely for Windows.

I like to play online poker, and i will admit that this is best done on a PC right now (most sites dont offer Mac software). Although some sites offer a instant play, web based version of the software – this is often slow and limiting. Luckily for me however, two of the more established Online poker sites Full Tilt and Pokerstars have took the plunge.

To run alongside these sites, I recently found a decent Hand history tracking tool, similar to the mighty Pokertracker that has been made especially for Mac (Although there are rumours that Pokertracker will eventually introduce a Mac version, so keep your eyes peeled). So props to Poker Copilot for keeping my hands logged and up to date, you never know when some play analysis can come in handy!

The popular Nintendo DS Lite in White

The DS Lite is alot sleeker than its predecessor, and can be found for around £99.00 without any games. Their was a short-lived deal for a DS lite and brain training for £99.00 but was probably closed after such high demands! The DS is a suitable christmas present for both boys and girls, with an array of games aimed a different sexes. Nintendogs or High School Musical may appeal to girls, whereas Super Mario Bros could be a great xmas game for a boy.

The console itself runs on a rechargable battery that is expected to last around 500 charges, after that the performance is expected to drop somewhat. However that performance has been improved greatly on the older DS, so is still a great unit to use. You also control the DS with a Stylus, or classic D-pad for a varied, interesting playing style. The stylus allows for writing and other advanced game features.

Some of the technical specs:

* Dual Screens open up new possibilities – use the touch screen as an inventory reference for role-playing games, to view maps for your favourite strategy game, or see racing action from two perspectives at once
* Navigate menus or access inventory items simply by touching the screen with stylus or fingertip
* Tough film over touchscreen protects it
* Advanced 3D graphics engine and 16-channel audio, for graphics and Sound that are superior to other portable game systems
* All-new PictoChat feature allows DS users to write messages with an on-screen Keyboard or the stylus and send them wirelessly
* Built-in Microphone port for voice control of games, or for voice chat with other DS players
* Less than two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS
* More than 20 percent lighter than original DS
* 4 adjustable brightness levels to extend battery life
* Repositioned microphone and LED lights
* Stylus has been redesigned–now 1cm longer and 1mm thicker
* Repositioned start and select buttons
* Available in 3 cool colours

The shiny new 13 inch Macbook

The new MacBook Pro range also comes in the standard 15″ and 17″ editions, but at a price. The UK Apple store lists these versions at £1399 and a hefty £1949 respectively. There are some awesome new features however, which include a button-less touchpad, with “39% more room” that allows you to click, rotate images and files and manipulate with your desktop without using a stand alone button!

Although the only thing that concerns me is the move away from the sleek metal look, which has made way for the shiny, glass effect of the iMac range! I wont be updating just yet from my Macbook Pro, but when the time comes im sure it will be a great transition.