With the Wii backhanding the PS3 into early submission, there is no doubt that it has transcended above its rivals like the iPod reigns supreme over the DAP market.  And like Apple’s flagship cash cow, Nintendo’s populist strategy has attracted young and old, guy and girl, parent and child to the little machine that many thought couldn’t.

The Wii may be the Web 2.0 of the living room, where social interaction and a sense of community is the key to success.  Even Nintendo, notorious for its stoic relationships with other players the industry, has brought the "Wii" concept into wooing more third-party developers into the fold.  Nintendo seems poised to take over the industry in ways not seen since the NES days.

To illustrate my point, I got my Wii after waiting in line at a local Best Buy two hours before it opened.  There were throngs of teenagers, parents, and grandparents waiting in a chilly Sunday morning for that one chance to snag the system.

This was back in late April, months after the hype should’ve died down.

Thanks Nintendo, for making me a fan again.

Now that Sony is officially getting spanked by Nintendo not only in the US, but in Japan as well, they have decided to lower the price… wait… nope… they are firing people.  Sony announced today that they plan to cut jobs from the US game division, though they were mum on how many.  Sony also announced today that they plan to amp up production of CCD and CMOS chips (those being the thingys that turn light into digital pictures and video), likely because they know they can make money with those.  Unfortunately, the price of the PS3 is still $600.

As if the 7.1 surround sound smartphone and king-of-all-knockoffs weren’t enough, today we’re graced with the portable PS3, er, the 3 Cool A816. This laugher sports a design ripped fairly hard from Sony’s PlayStation Portable, but dons a hysterical "PS3 Game Player" logo right across the back, which would absolutely thrill those wanting to play PS3 games without coughing up the dough for a $499 $599 console if, you know, those pesky discs would just fit. Carrying on, the GSM conglomerate also sports a 320 x 240 resolution 3.5-inch screen which is casually referred to as "high-definition capable," built-in MP3 player and image viewer, video game emulator, 1.3-megapixel camera, TV out, an MP3-based alarm clock, handwriting support, an integrated dictionary, and dual stereo speakers to boot. As expected, there’s no word on price just yet, and even though it’s supposedly available to ship as of this month, we can’t possibly urge you more to resist the temptation on this one.

[Via JustAMP]

Some of us have trouble pulling ourselves away from the computer and sometimes that can be OK. But if you need your fix of video gaming and Internet surfing and happen to live in Austin, Texas, you may want to call Ricky Gray for a cab. Gray has outfitted his minivan-turned-taxi with two LCD TVs on which customers can play Play station 2 games on, watch TV, and surf the Internet.

Gray’s exceptional service, combined with a geeked out cab make for a great time while cruising around the Austin area. He says his future plans include upgrading the PS2 to a PS3, getting bigger LCD TVs, and adding a satellite dish so better programming is available. If he added a snack machine, I’m pretty sure it’d be worth taking the scenic route on every trip.