It seems Nintendo game consoles have been running third in a field of three for years now. Given the GameCube’s failure to establish itself in a market that’s more concerned with gaming realism than it is with cutesy titles, our expectations for the company’s latest console were very low indeed.

That’s why no one was more surprised than us by how addictive the Wii is. Yes, the graphics are still inferior to its competitors, but when it comes to old-fashioned fun, the Wii outflanks them both. (more…)

Got $70,000 to spare and a really big room? For that, plus another $10,000 for peripherals, you can own the world’s largest high-definition plasma TV: Panasonic’s 103-inch TH-103PF9UK.

It is, in a word, breathtaking: the kind of display that commands all eyeballs in the room, leaving everyone mesmerized. We got a look at this behemoth at Panasonic’s premiere event in Los Angeles today. It’s pretty darn nice – with a bunch of caveats. (more…)

With HD DVD and Blu-ray players costing upwards of $1000 a pop – assuming you can even find one – what’s a home theater aficionado in search of the highest quality video to do?

In a move so un-Microsoft-like that it may trigger identity verification tests throughout the company’s executive ranks, the Redmond, Wash.-based company has delivered a quick, easy and cost-effective way to add HD DVD playback to any home entertainment setup. (more…)

In this final installment of The Geek Beat’s series on Everything HD, we learn that while size matters when picking the best HD display, more often than not, he who lives with the most pixels wins.

So, you’ve got your HD disc player, your high definition cable or satellite service or your ATSC antenna ready to go. Now comes the fun part: picking a screen to see it all on. (more…)

Robbery, violence, profiteering, crashing infrastructure, rioting crowds in every city in the U.S. No, it’s not the prelude to Armageddon. It’s the launch of Sony’s latest gaming console, the PlayStation 3. And with the scarcity of units common knowledge for many weeks now, it raises an important question: When should a company’s desire to generate buzz be outweighed by a little social responsibility? (more…)