I've got a new mix compiled for the T-Board January trade.� The theme was alternating male/female vocalists, and I was in a bit of a mood for what we called "college rock" in my day.

If you'd like a copy, let me know.� These are on MiniDisc, so naturally, you'll need a player that accepts them.

I've made no secret of my fondness for this game. The hype (and delays) for this game reached something of a fever-pitch over the last year, and usually, the end product can't hope to live up to the anticipation.

But Gears of War does just that, and then some. I'll spare the lenghty review, as there are plenty elsewhere. I'd like to focus on what this game does to audience expectations for the future. (In some circles, it's called "raising the bar." Meh.)

First off, if you haven't read the Gamer's Manifesto, go ahead and do so. I'll wait.

I'd really planned to sit out the whole 7th generation rush for at least a year. The PS3 doesn't offer anything that I need, and the Wii…well, let's see how developers adapt to the new hardware scheme. I wasn't ruling out either, but I wasn't in a rush to blow a few hundred bucks anytime soon.

Then fate intervened, and I got an Xbox 360 for Christmas. This was a huge surprise, as these things aren't cheap, and it certainly wasn't something I had planned on buying. Still, there are a number of games (Dead Rising, Gears of War, Halo) that are only available for the unit, so I was pretty enthusiastic about it.

Desu Nōto has been hugely popular in Japan in the last few months, and it's even spawned two live-action movies in Japan. Justly so, since it's a taut and riveting series, and I've been following it on a weekly basis.

Until this week, that is. Last week, Viz announced that they've received the stateside licensing for the series, which stops legitemate fansubs cold. Viz doesn't have the best track record of localization, so this was hardly considered positive news.

The launch of the Nintendo Wii stands in stark contrast to Sony's campaign for the PS3. Sony is banking on their status as an industry giant to sell a piece of hod-rodded hardware at Sharper Image prices to the elite, while Nintendo's goals are far more modest at first.

The Wii won't draw anyone in on its merits as a graphics powerhouse; in fact, it can barely keep up with the aging PS2 in that department. Nor does it do HDMI or play DVDs. It doesn't have a hard-drive. In fact, from a technical standpoint, it's nothing impressive at all.

"We want for consumers to think to themselves, 'I will work more hours to buy one'. We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else (…) The PS3 will instill discipline in our children and adults alike. Everyone will know discipline."

–Ken Kutaragi