But this game, should be fun for totally different reasons. Monopoly has just about every license out there, from Batman to the NFL. Whatever you're into, there's probably a Monopoly game for you. Now, us video game fans can get in on the fun.

Nintendo Monopoly was announced quite a bit ago, but now it's actually shipping! Amazon has it for 29.99. I can't even say if that's a normal price, since I haven't owned Monopoly for very many years.

I think it's the playing pieces that seem the coolest. Donkey Kong’s Barrel, Link’s Iron Boots, Hylian Shield, NES Controller, Mario’s Cap, and Koopa Shell. The properties on the other hand, are all famous Nintendo characters. Is it just me or wouldn't it have been cooler if the properties were Nintendo worlds? Like the Mushroom Kingdom or Hyrule?

Oh well. I ordered one and will put up lots of pictures and a review once I get it.

Click here to get yourself one!

Everytime I read one of these types of stories it makes me happy for getting to go to the last 2 shows, and sad that I can't go next year. I don't care how many people write about how it outlived its usefulness and deserved to be put out to pasture, I miss it already. But I digress.

And while I'm not upset I just got paid to read an article about E3 for the past few minutes, I'm pretty sure my boss would disagree. Whatever, it's a damn interesting look back.

Check out the full article.

What's most exciting (except the fact that it takes place about 30 minutes from my house) is that we're all invited. Unlike E3, and similar to the Tokyo Game Show, anyone can attend. It's a place to show the real people that matter (fans and consumers) the latest and greatest.

You can bet we here at bbps will be attending and blogging. Here's to hoping this and other shows will rise up to take E3's place, and make it even better. The show will include exhibitors showcasing the latest games for current and next-generation gaming platforms, conference panels vendors selling games from all eras, Halloween costume contests and COSPlay, 24-Hour Gaming: non-stop gaming action Friday night through Sunday, BYOC LAN Center, gaming competitions and tournaments, VGXPO Robot Wars, icons and legends, battle of the VideoGame Bands contest, and more.

Gamedaily.biz has a very nice article up about this show and the others hoping to fill in for E3.

America's VideoGame Expo is a celebration of video and computer games for the avid and casual gamer. Attendees will have the opportunity to play the newest, coolest games, meet game industry celebrities and legends, compete in tournaments, and buy new and retro games.

VGXPO is a gaming festival that celebrates the positive impact that videogames have had on the US culture since the 1970s. The convention provides a forum for the game industry to celebrate its stars, icons and legends. When a gamer comes to VGXPO he will have the opportunity not just to play & buy the latest games (and the classics) but also have the opportunity to meet the people responsible for their creation.

Now in its second year, America's VideoGame Expo was created to provide US game players with conventions on par with similar international game events, such as the Tokyo Game Show, Korea's G-Star convention and the German G|C expo. In 2005, VGXPO attracted 17,000 attendees and over 40 exhibitors.

For more information, check out VGXPO.com, VGXPO's myspace page, or click here to buy tickets

It's the Tentacles from Day of the Tentacle!

Looking at this picture I see one thing, they didn't think enough ahead to know where they were putting the badges.

More pics here, here, and here.

It should've ended here, then I could've just said, "that's cool". See while I know in my heart this is beyond geeky, I have a soft spot for LucasArts games and UberGeeks in general. Don't ask me why, I'd never do this personally. But instead they decide to take it a stop further.

I'm a peeping tom techie with x-ray eyes

Things are going great, and they're only getting better

I'm doin' all right, getting good grades

The future's so bright I gotta wear shades

Wait... Nevermind, that's just this random chick's DS lite.

Holy crap that thing gives off light. No wonder my girlfriend can never stay asleep when I try to get my gaming in before bedtime.

I like these glasses though, nice touch.

[Thanks to Infendo]

Can a game, even one that purports to train a person how to shoot, really increase someones shooting skills? No matter how exact the digital replica of an actual gun, does moving an analog pad and pressing a button to fire in any way train one to fire an actual gun? To handle real world conditions?

It's a sticky area, but if you asked me if playing Gran Turismo made you a better driver, I might have to say yes. You see I believe a game like that, with exact replicas of courses, can make you more prepared for a particular course. You can know that you need to be going into turn 2 at 80 mph and where to get back on the gas. The game is so real in that sense that playing it could make you better at driving the real course.

I would disagree with those however that think that translates into knowing how to drive the CAR itself. Pressing a button to hit the gas and brake will NEVER teach one how to drive. If that were the case, I would've been a race car driver long before I got my license. As well as a fighter pilot, tank driver, submarine navigator, and a number of others.

I would not argue that a game like Splinter Cell or Ghost Recon can help me understand how to stay under cover or properly clear out a room in a tactical scenario, but that doesn't mean I have any idea how to fire a weapon. Holding down the Left Shoulder button to aim in no way helps me in the real world.

I'm adept enough to handle unmodified.

On second thought... maybe not.

Of course this guy, who OBVIOUSLY has a good deal of experience with this stuff, managed to rig up his Sega Saturn controller for use with his 360. It's by no means a small task, as is obvious from the picture to the left.

The dude went all out. And in the end, he has a working Unmodified Sega Saturn controller working on his 360, and the whole rig is wireless. He does, however, explain how to do it all here.

Wonder how serious this guy was about getting this done? Check out this little excerpt:

From there it goes into a Microchip PIC16F690 Where the Saturn's Joypad protocol is decoded into a parallel output.... Adapting it to a Wireless Xbox 360 controller was a particular challenge however. MS utilizes an interesting button matrix to help reduce the pin count of their controller's encoder chip. This means that the buttons don't work with a simple logic high/logic low interface. Without the equipment to properly analyze the controller to work with this unique system I simply used an array of Analog Switches that emulated a button press on the 360 controller. This proved to work well.

Maybe this explains why I've been getting my ass handed to me on Street Fighter II over live, all my opponents must've been using this controller!

Check out a video of it in action after the jump.

Arcades not only exist, they thrive. Gearing themselves more towards multiplayer games, and games that reward repeat plays, the Japanese arcade is alive and well. Brad Stone from Newsweek has written a good article taking a look inside the Japanese arcade, and gives a glimpse into how and why they're still successful.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one of my all time favorites, and a game that really pushed every bit of power from the PS1. I personally believe the reception this game got helped to save the 2D game genre as everything was getting pushed into the 3D realm. If you're unfamiliar, read this review

To hear that this will get a re-release is a welcome piece of news, if only so that more people will have the chance to play it. It's rumored to be hitting in Q1 of 2007, and it hasn't been announced to be Xbox Live Arcade exclusive, so we may see this on the Wii and PS3.

The NetJak review has this great closing line:

If one walks into a debate concerning the best game of all time and puts Castlevania: Symphony of the Night down as a candidate, he’s guaranteed to have a strong opening argument.

Anyone that hasn't played it, please buy this game (any version), you'll be glad you did.

-This guy must have a good amount of expendable income, since this is a pretty huge and expensive collection. RareXbox360faceplates.com has a TON of pictures of all kinds of weird and limited faceplates. Huge and plentiful pictures contained within. www.RareXbox360Faceplates.com

-The guys over at lowdown411.com have compiled a complete-looking list of xbox 360 faceplates, complete with pictures an details about how/why/when it was available, along with a street "value". Take a look here

I've wanted to get my hands on a few of these for quite some time, and it's a pretty good resource when you're shopping on eBay. I use to feel pretty cool with my E305 faceplate (which looks great on my 360 btw), but there's some really kickass faceplates out there. I'm especially digging the World Cup specific ones (anyone have one their looking to sell? Contact me)

But the coolest one by far is the US launch team faceplate, simply because it says "I Made This" on the USB cover.