Though it may seem like I’ve done a major amount of video game discussion lately, I felt that it was all necessary as leading up to the inevitable…which is this blog entry.

PCWorld reports that Nintendo’s Wii is the number one selling “next generation” console in the world. This is a huge accomplishment! As the linked article explains, the last time that Nintendo was #1 with both their handheld and their home console was in 1994 - a full 13 years ago. I believe that this was an important story to cover for a couple of reasons, but mostly because Nintendo proved a startlingly simple point in their ascension back to the top of the video game mountain: focus on your business and you’ll find success.

Look at the gaming landscape. The big “traditional” video game companies are Nintendo, Sega, and Atari. Both Sega and Atari were forced out of the market due to the rise of superior gaming machines from Sony and eventually Microsoft. When Sega’s Dreamcast fell, many people thought that the end was near for Nintendo’s console. But Nintendo’s leadership did something that was unheard of in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s - they stayed their course. While other gaming systems were hurrying to include DVD playback, higher resolution features, and more in-game high-pixel video scenes, Nintendo stuck to its guns by producing machines that focused on a fun gaming experience.

And now, while Sony’s PlayStation 3 is looking at death’s door due to its unrealistic price tag and poor gaming library, the Nintendo Wii is thriving. Sony was so concerned about making sure their next-generation system was high-definition that they didn’t realize that many of the potential 3rd Party developers wouldn’t have the capacity (or desire) to create such detail-rich games. Of course they were also concerned with Sony’s larger plan to implement the Blu-Ray DVD format in PlayStation homes. What a terrible business plan for a video game system!

The problems that Microsoft are facing revolve mostly around inferior hardware quality (multiple overheating issues - now the controller is overheating) and, for many computer geeks like myself, the lack of desire that many video gamers/computer people have for a Windows experience on their home console. The most prevalent of this experience is the Red Ring of Death which signals that your XBox 360 is shot and needs to be replaced. Those of us who have had issues with Windows are quite familiar with the Blue Screen of Death - which signals that your operating system is more or less shot and needs to be reinstalled. Who the hell wants to deal with that type of bullshit on a video game system?

Nintendo did NOT focus on creating the basis for a home multimedia experience nor were they concerned about rolling out a new high-definition DVD format. They focused on having fun. And, as a Nintendo Wii & DS Lite owner who has played PlayStation 3, PSP, and XBox 360 - Nintendo hit the nail squarely on the head where the other systems missed the mark.

And now it’s paying off - Nintendo is once again back on top of the gaming world. The question, though, is whether or not it will last.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that sales of the PlayStation 3 are lagging far behind the competition, word came out today that Paramount and their Dreamworks studio will be dropping support for the Blu-Ray DVD format in favor of the HD-DVD format. This is somewhat big news given that the PlayStation 3 was supposed to act as the lead roll-out platform to get the Blu-Ray format into homes.

Completely abysmal sales of PlayStation 3 consoles combined with the outrageous prices of games and Blu-Ray movies are signaling a bad situation for the folks at Sony. In all truth, the HD-DVD prices are just as high as the Blu-Ray ones.

If I was an investor in Sony (and I’m not), I would be very concerned. Not only are their main video game rivals outselling them almost 3 to 1, but at least one of those rivals (Nintendo) actually makes a profit on sales of their consoles and games. Neither Microsoft nor Sony make a profit when someone buys their consoles…they actually lose money. Scary.

Of course, Sony has a million other products that are top of the line and of great resale quality so I don’t know if I’d be selling at this point. And they also remain the industry leader in terms of total number of high-definition DVDs sold. Target is also selling Blu-Ray DVD players exclusively in the next few months and Blockbuster just said it will only rent Blu-Ray DVDs…so the future looks good overall, but there has got to be some concern that the main roll-out platform for the Blu-Ray format is looking more and more like a distant third against its competition.

You can add my name to the growing list of both DS Lite and Wii owners. Over the course of the last few days I was able to get my hands on both of these little prizes and the results have been great so far.

The DS Lite is probably the best looking handheld device that I’ve ever played. And that’s no bullshit, folks, the screens on this thing are bright and crystal clear. Very impressive. I purchased Big Brain Academy, a Sonic game, and Children of Mana as well as a Gameboy Advance game (one of the old Mario games for SNES). I also got this nice little carrying case for it which came with a bunch of accessories like headphones, screen protectors, a shammy to clean the screens, extra styluses, etc. A pretty good deal.

I’m happy that I got this little handheld system. My Mom seemed to enjoy playing it when I was up in Roxbury yesterday, too. It’s a fun, addicting little machine…and that Big Brain Academy game is extremely addicting!

I also like the fact that it has Wi-Fi support as well as a system where you can play against other DS owners who are nearby - very cool.

And then I got the Wii. I had to wait outside of Circuit City yesterday morning to get it. I only waited 5 minutes until the store opened and I happened to be 5th in a line of 5 people, so it wasn’t like anything that you’d see on TV. However, we were all talking about how if there was a line of 5 people at the end of August, then the lines come November and December will be outrageous. Also, I found it interesting that a few of us knew about the chip shortage that will ultimately lead to a Wii shortage this Christmas season. I guess it makes sense, though, since we were all there buying the system.

In terms of gameplay, the Wiimote takes some getting used to, but it’s fun. I read about the problems with battery life in this thing so I bought a rechargeable battery and stand for the Wiimote, which worked well. I played the Wii Sports game that comes with the console and it was a lot of fun! I need to work on both my bowling and golfing skills, but I was surprisingly good at tennis. Weird…

I have 2000 Wii points, which will let me purchase old games and store them on my system. That’s pretty cool. They have a decent selection on there now, but it will only get better as time goes on. I also have Resident Evil 4 and Rampage for the Wii, but have not had a chance to play either yet. Resident Evil 4 looks crazy and who doesn’t love Rampage?

There will be more reports about my Wii-ing and DS Lite playing in the future, so stay tuned.

The Asbury Park Press ran an article this morning talking about how Governor Money Bags signed a provision into law that can lead to the elimination of non-functioning school districts. What is a non-functioning school district? These are districts where a school board exists, but there are no schools.

For you non-New Jerseyans out there: Yes, we have school districts and school boards with no schools for them to “district” or “board” over. Welcome to another example of New Jersey’s fiefdom mindset.

The newspaper presented a case where there is a school district with 5 or 6 kids, all who are placed in local schools outside of their district. The most interesting quotes that I found in this article are as follows:

“They want to shut down the nonoperating school districts because they don’t realize how efficient we are,” a borough resident said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

and

“Keep your hands off,” said the president of the Lake Como school board. “It sounds good in the newspaper (to cut nonoperating districts). In reality, it’s ridiculous.”

I would never take anything away from the arguments that these fine citizens are making, but in reference to the first quote - did it ever occur to this resident that the school boards are running efficiently because there is NO SCHOOL for them to preside over? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” How can something be broken when it doesn’t even fulfill its primary goal to begin with!?

And with respect to the Lake Como school board President, I’m sorry but it is not ridiculous to eliminate egregious expansion of government bodies in New Jersey. It’s just not, period.

So as this battle seems ready to rage in New Jersey, I wonder what the rest of the nation is like with their school boards. Anyone with any information is more than welcome to add their thoughts.

Everyone else should check out New Jersey Carpet Cleaning for the best carpet cleaning in the Garden State!

Now I may be the only one, but I am completely bored with the crop of Democratic and Republican candidates. If I have to look at John Edwards’ smarmy, sneaky mug one more time, I’m going to flip out. And I can’t stand to watch John McCain struggle through a campaign that has nothing of the luster of his 2000 attempt.

Giuliani is alright with me, but I just know that something big will pop up and be a disaster for him (not sure what yet). And - as many far-left liberal bloggers correctly point out - Clinton is just out for more power for herself and her legacy. Now THAT is scary…

I’m still not quite sure what the big deal is about Obama. The only policy stances that he’s taken are that he’ll raise taxes and he’d consider invading Pakistan if the situation called for it. Both of these are wildly unpopular stances and yet he still gets cheers from audiences around the nation. Makes no sense. And you might as well lump Fred Thompson in this category, too. What does he stand for that makes him so popular?

I like Romney only because he seems to represent the most down-to-earth ideals that I’ve heard yet. But even Romney is missing something - maybe a good Vice Presidential candidate.

As for the rest of the crew - I’ve got no particular feelings on any of them other than that I can’t stand Dodd, Kucinich, or Biden. Hunter, Paul, and Tancredo mean nothing to me (or any other voters out there). Brownback and Huckabee seem like they’ll be good Secretaries in the Cabinet at some point, but they’re not US President material in my view. If I missed any other candidates, oh well - they’re not worth remembering!

As if the excitement around Nintendo’s Wii hasn’t already been burning at a fever pitch, news came out today that the Wii is poised to take over Microsoft’s XBox 360 console in total units sold. There are even reports that the Wii is on pace to beat Sony’s Playstation 2 in overall lifetime sales. That, my friends, is an accomplishment.

In fact, both of these stories are HUGE accomplishments. Why? Well, let’s look at the first accomplishment - beating the XBox 360 in total sales. XBox 360 is a high definition console with a ton of sweet accessories ranging from 120 GB hard drives to headsets to use in an online gaming community. Plus, you can get an XBox 360 ANYWHERE in the world right now. Just go to your local Circuit City, Best Buy, or Wal-Mart and I guarantee that there will be a mountain of XBox 360 consoles in all of their different makes and models.

The big kicker here is that XBox 360 came out a full year before Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s Playstation 3. You would think with a full 12 month head start that XBox 360 would be head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. It’s not.

Now there may be many reasons why they are not beating Wii. My belief is that the system is too complicated at the point of sale. For example - when Mr. Casual Gamer (ahem…me) walks into a store to buy a console, I don’t want to have three or four of the SAME console to choose from! Why not? Because I know that if I splurge on the ridiculously priced console, I’m getting the best, but I also know that I can’t afford that. So (in my mind at least) why would I buy anything other than the best? And the prices for these games are just out of control.

In fact, without getting too far into it - the Playstation 3 has the same problems in addition to poor third-party support. Before any of you dorks go nuts about that last statement, yes I know that they do have a good collection of third-party developers, but there just aren’t that many GOOD games out for the system yet. And you know what? The games are too damn expensive for PS3.

Wii? You can’t find these things in the stores and that will certainly hurt Nintendo in the long run (no consoles in the stores = no sales). But, there is only one version of the Wii. Yes, there are rumors that a DVD-enabled Wii will be released soon, but I have a DVD player and entertainment system already. Also, it is worth mentioning that the Wii is Wi-Fi enabled and gives you the ability to play against other Wii owners for free. No Wi-Fi on XBox 360 and you have to buy a subscription to play against other XBox 360 owners. Blech.

Wii is beating the competition because Nintendo went back to basics. What is a home video game console about? It’s about having fun. The Wii is a system that brings families together, it brings friends together, it brings gamers together - how many times have you seen a group of family members gathered around an XBox 360 going crazy over a game of Halo? Here and there?

Now how many times have you seen family and friends going bonkers over a cartoon-graphic Wii game?

Nintendo will almost certainly overtake the XBox 360 in the next day or two in terms of overall units sold. That’s a huge accomplishment for Nintendo, but one that may be short-lived. If the rumor of a worldwide Wii shortage heading into the holiday season is true…it may be back to XBox 360 at the top of the heap in no time!

For those of you that haven’t heard, there was a terribly tragic accident last spring at Rider University here in New Jersey. One of the fraternities on that campus had a “big brother/little brother” night and as one of their local traditions, each family tree had a family drink. Sticking to this local, and stupid, traditional one of the new brothers literally drank himself to death from vodka. It’s a sad, sorry case where fault can be placed on everyone involved from the fraternity brothers to the young man who died after he drank all of these drinks.

However, one location where you absolutely cannot lay any blame is on the administration at the university. And, in case you haven’t seen this in the news, both the university Greek Advisor and the Dean of Students were charged with hazing in this case. Now folks, unless these two individuals either were present for this drink-fest or had prior knowledge of the booze night taking place, they are absolutely not liable at all by any stretch of the imagination.

This is akin to your boss getting a reckless driving ticket because you were swerving in and out of lanes the night before. It’s like comparing apples to t-shirts. It’s crazy.

As a fraternity man, I know that many undergraduates hide their less glamorous, local traditions. Incidentally, this is also why I’m glad to be a brother of Sigma Pi Fraternity - we’re systematically eliminating our bad traditions regionally and throughout the nation and replacing them with good ones. It’s a great thing to be a part of, really. That said, there is absolutely no way that these young men would have put this disgusting tradition out there for the school to see AND there is no way that, once knowing about this, the university would have let the students carry on like nothing bad was happening.

It just doesn’t work like that. That would be like Lee Harvey Oswald telling the FBI, “Hey, I’m going to pop Kennedy in the head,” and the FBI letting it happen. The system just doesn’t work that way.

Should the students who facilitated the young man’s death be charged? Of course. Should the administrators? Good Lord no! The people who are to blame here are the young man himself and the students who facilitated the act. That’s it. I fully believe that the administration’s charges will be dropped. And, if the university had any cajones, they’d go after the Mercer County prosecutor just like those young men down at Duke went after Mike Nifong.

Talk about prosecutorial aggrandizement…

Former WWE & WCW wrestler Brian “Crush” Adams was found unconscious in his home yesterday. He was 44. This is, of course, another tragedy for a profession that has gone through so much turmoil in so short a time. But the only thing that is more depressing about another wrestling star passing away is the manner in which the media is trying to link Crush’s death to Chris Benoit, the WWE, and steroids. It’s scandalous that these media outlets get away with such garbage reporting…

It’s tough to say what Crush was best known for in the wrestling world. If you’re an older fan like I am, then you remember when he debuted in the WWE as the third member of Demolition. This lasted for a little while before he was repackaged as Kona Crush, given his Hawaiian roots. If I’m not mistaken, the highest profile feud he was involved in as Kona Crush was with the Macho Man Randy Savage - Savage was the face in this one!

Adams was then arrested in real life for attempting to purchase steroids and subsequently jailed. When he got out of prison WWE paired him with Clarence Mason and he was given the ex-con gimmick. Eventually, he wound up as a member of Ron Simmons’ Nation of Domination before he was kicked out for the gang battles of the later 1990’s. In these battles he led the Disciples of Apocalypse against Los Boriquas and the Nation. Crush asked for and received his WWE release after he disagreed with Vince McMahon’s double-cross of Bret Hart at the 1997 Survivor Series.

Logically, this led Adams to jump to WCW where he had an uneventful career until he was paired with the former Adam Bomb (Bryan Clark) to form Kronik. The duo won the WCW tag team championship by defeating Shane Douglas and Buff Bagwell.

When WWE bought WCW, the two men were brought over and briefly had a feud with The Undertaker and Kane. The feud culminated in a pay per view match where Kronik had a terrible performance - which led to Bryan Clark getting fired and Adams being sent to WWE’s developmental territory for a short while before he was eventually let go, too.

Adams had the look to be a major player in the wrestling world, but his career never fell in that direction. Our prayers and condolences are with his family.

This is the second Dale Carnegie book that I’ve read and - just as with the first - what I like about the book is that it actually sticks to the title. Unlike many of today’s “self-help” and “self-improvement” books that simply tell you a philosophy or explain a way of life that is unattainable for 95% of the American public, the Carnegie series actually delivers on their titles.

Carnegie gives many lists and examples of effective public speaking. Now granted, I think I’m a pretty good public speaker as it is, but this book sort of takes everything that I use when I prepare my speeches and puts it down on paper. I suspect that this is the case with many of the speakers who have read this book or taken the associated courses. And that’s the beauty of the series, folks.

This is a series that takes the ideas and thoughts of those people who are already good at a specific skill and puts them into print for everyone to read! Carnegie does this even better by making sure that the ideas and thoughts are shared across a broad spectrum of users and not just one or two success stories. Again, this is where the contrast with today’s self-help/improvement books comes in. Just because one person living one specific type of lifestyle is able to, for example, lose weight/get a job/get rich quick that doesn’t mean that anyone who purchases the associated “How to” book will achieve the same results.

In fact, given the rash of such books in today’s marketplace it’s almost a given that the end-user will fail. Not so with the Carnegie series. By vetting his practices across a broad spectrum of users, Dale Carnegie actually works towards his readers’ final success.

Again, another great book in this classic series. I highly recommend it.

Ugh. This movie had a bunch of really, really funny scenes, a bunch of awkward scenes, and a really shallow storyline. I’m sure that you can guess it already, but Chuck (Adam Sandler) and Larry (Kevin James) are two straight firefighters who attempt to fool the system so that Chuck’s kids get his benefits if anything should happen to him.

I don’t know what’s worse: the fact that this movie made a ton of money on its opening weekend (you slap Sandler’s name on a comedy and it’s an automatic gold mine) or the fact that the movie was actually made. All of the cliché stuff is in here, folks. Sandler falls in love with a woman while he’s faking being gay. All of their straight friends turn weird and start treating them differently when they find out that they are “gay.” There is some pro-gay stuff with the use of the word faggot and Sandler knocking out a preacher outside of a gay party.

You get it, right?

Throughout the movie both men are put in situations surrounded by the extremes, which climaxes with the two men walking into City Hall to defend their gay nuptials. On one side is a bunch of gay men wearing flamey clothing and on the other side are a bunch of straight religious folks. Blech. And as I’m sure you can imagine, all of the situations where their “friends” turn on them wind up reconciled at the end of the movie.

In addition, Sandler’s character says and does some absolutely horrendous things regarding James’ deceased wife. Granted, James’ character is way too tied up over his wife’s death, but some of Sandler’s comments and actions were just gross. Another part of the shallow plot.

I only watched this movie because I managed to see it for free. But otherwise, folks, I would stay away from this one or save it for some type of movie night or something. Yeah, the funny scenes are a really funny. And there are a bunch of cameos from guys like Steve Buscemi, Dan Akroyd, Nicholas Turturro, Rachel Dratch, David Spade, and Lance Bass. But the shallowness of the story and the obvious storyline progression is really hard to watch.

My recommendation? Funny movie. Not worth going to see in the theaters or buying on DVD.