Global Wii U Launch By End of 2012

Faced with intense scrutiny, investor pressure and the first fiscal year losses for his company in over 25 years, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata once again reiterated plans for the future. Notably that includes making sure Wii U is available globally by the 2012 holiday season.

Though we've heard many times Nintendo plans to release the new home console sometime this year, this is the first we've heard Nintendo outright state it plans to bring the system to all major territories (North America, Japan, Europe and Australia) by the holidays.

In remarks to reporters, Iwata also emphasized he plans to restore Nintendo to profitability next fiscal year.
[source ign.com]

NBC Developing The Office Spin-Off About Dwight Schrute

NBC is planting the seeds for a spin-off of The Office centered on Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and the Schrute family beet farm, Deadline reports.

The series, which would tentatively launch in early 2013, would follow Dwight's life outside of Dunder Mifflin at his family's beet farm and bed and breakfast. The beet farm has been featured in several episodes stemming back to Season 2, with The Office and Parks and Recreation executive producer Mike Schur playing the role of Dwight's business partner and oddball cousin Mose.

The potential spin-off will be introduced later this season in an Office episode set at Schrute Farms.

Wilson and his co-star/series executive producer Paul Lieberstein would executive-produce the new show with fellow Office executive producer (and former NBC Entertainment Chief) Ben Silverman, who has been helping develop the spin-off. Greg Daniels, who first adapted The Office for the U.S., is not involved.

News of the potential spin-off comes at a time when the flagship series is still in a transitional period. After longtime star Steve Carell left last April, some viewers (and the character Dwight himself) have not

Online Passes, DLC, and Your Money

More than ever before games are taking great strides towards adding post-release content to their repertoires, not just perfunctory extras like new songs, added skins, or avatar awards, but also in content passes and new release models.

To alleviate sales lost to the second-hand market and rentals, publishers use Online Passes. The Pass is free in a factory-sealed copy of the game, but once used, any additional owners need to then purchase the Online Pass to play online.

This means that people who rent the game or buy a used version, must pay to extract full value. Publishers have always hated rentals and used sales, because they bring back little or no money. Have they found a way to make everyone pay the full ticket price?

While not a brand-new innovation, Online Passes are spreading. Next month's

Why You Shouldn't Buy a 3G PS Vita

In just a matter of weeks, Sony's long awaited handheld, the PS Vita will make its debut in the United States. When it launches, customers will have two flavors to choose from -- a standard Wi-Fi-only model and a 3G-enabled version. But the luxury of having constant integrated connectivity comes at significant cost, including an extra $50 for the hardware itself and up to $30 a month in service fees. If the additional expense wasn't enough to dissuade you, here are three more reasons to pass on the 3G-enabled PS Vita. 

The Vita's 3G Functions are Limited

It'd be one thing if the 3G-enabled PS Vita provided constant, unhindered connectivity to the system's entire suite of online features, such as realtime online multiplayer and full game downloads via PSN, but that simply isn't the case. In order to regulate network strain, AT&T and Sony will only allow for basic functions to be accessed over 3G, such as web browsing, PSN messaging, asynchronous multiplayer (i.e. turn-based games) and leaderboard access. If users want to play with other players online in realtime or download a

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - "Deception" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

There were a lot of fun elements to this episode, though I kind of feel like we saw a glimpse at a missed opportunity.

A prison where Cad Bane, Bossk and Boba Fett are among the inmates? That's awesome! I would have loved to have seen a villain-focused episode or storyline about these guys and what their prison life is like. Instead, it was used as background for another storyline, where only Cad Bane really played an important role. Very cool background, but still, I can't help but think how that could have been its own separate story - seeing more of how these prisoners interact and co-exist together. Though hey, at least we did see that Bossk actually does have Boba's back and is watching out for the kid.

Meanwhile, the whole idea of Obi-Wan going undercover among the scum and villainy of the Star Wars universe is compelling. And the fact that he faked his death to do so, with even Anakin and Ahsoka not

Everything We Know About Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil 6 is the second main Resident Evil series game coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC

It has not been announced for Wii U. Capcom has confirmed that the North American release date for

Resident Evil 6 is November 20, 2012 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. No release date has been announced for the PC version, but it will be after November 20.[1]

More Resident Evil 6 Videos

The Resident Evil 6 Debut Trailer

What characters will return in Resident Evil 6?

For the first time in Resident Evil history, Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil 4) and