Shortages of Nintendo Wii consoles around Europe have left some gamers who pre-ordered the new machine frustrated. Nintendo, which has already launched the machine in the US and Japan, said it expected to sell out of Wiis on the first day of sales.

More than four million Wiis will be shipped globally this year, and 50,000 were sold in the UK in 12 hours. More than 1,200 Wiis have gone on sale on online auction site eBay in the UK within hours of the launch. The highest price for a console so far has been £500.

David Yarnton, general manager, Nintendo UK, said: "We are doing everything we can do to meet demand throughout Christmas and the New Year period."

A spokesman for Woolworths said there were problems getting stock from Nintendo. The UK chain has said it expects to fulfil all pre-orders for the machine by next Tuesday or Wednesday. He said: "Demand has far outstripped supply and we are delighted to have been able to secure a significant amount of consoles for our customers before Christmas."

Woolworths were not able to confirm if they would receive any more stock once pre-orders had been met.

Currys, PC World and Dixons have said they will deal with outstanding pre-orders in "strict chronological order".

Most of the community aspect of the Xbox 360 has been made famous by Xbox Live. But when Microsoft says they want gamers to be involved with the Xbox 360, most didn't realize they mean actually making games.

Today, Microsoft released XNA Game Studio Express, a suite of applications and tools designed to facilitate game design by eliminating the need to write repetitive code.

The download is free from Microsoft's XNA website, and requires a Windows XP-based PC. The kit itself is based on the Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and Microsoft's .NET Compact Framework.

Also debuting today is the XNA Creators Club through Xbox Live Marketplace. Those who join the group will have access to various resources, including assets, samples, and white papers from game vets. The XNA Creators Club costs $49 for four months or $99 for a full-year membership.

"The XNA Creators Club is really the first of its kind--an opportunity to join a community of other developers who are empowered to bring their game ideas to life on a next-generation console system," said Microsoft's general manager of the Game Developer Group Chris Satchell. "What users will see today is just the beginning of the plans we have to revolutionize game development one creative game idea at a time."

Since the US Wii launch, many different web pages have been claiming that the Wii DOES support External USB
drives. Here are the rules for you to use an external USB hard-Drive.

1. Be sure to have the latest Wii firmware: (To have your Wii actualized)
2. Format the USB hard Drive to FAT32
3. Max 120GB (Though some website claims that a 300GB hard drive works too)
4. Remove Any SD card form the SD slot

The Wii should detect your USB hard drive as an SD card and you'd be able to use your External hard drive as storage (Virtual console, Game Saves...) just as it was an SD card.

That's the theory anyways. I am not sure if this really works. But if it does work, then the Wii has one more point on its side to gain an entry in your shopping list. Stay with us as we will update you with more info on this.

Nintendo Wii is definitely the winner this festive season, no doubt about that, and the most stunning feature of the Wii got to be the Wireless Controller that comes with it. Kids and adults like it equally as its of course real fun to play with. A growing problem, however, is losing their grip on the controller and throwing them through their TVs or injuring others.

The Wiimote does come with a strap to keep it from flying away but people don't really seem to like using it. So kids in Japan have a take the innovative (really?) approach of super-gluing the Wiimote to their hands! This is a dangerous approach of course, but Japanese kids see being Wii-handed as a status symbol.

Kids in the US and other countries have come up with a less dangerous idea of using duct tape to hold the controller in place. This is far better than the super gluing solution, say teens in The West. There are even reports of doctors saying that Wii fanatics have approached them about surgically implanting the Wii controller on their hands. There's no wonder if this really happens!

But, Nintendo has a completely safe solution for this problem. They started offering gamers a shatterproof cage to stand in while they are playing games. The Wii Cage is available for $299 (Yes, thats costlier than the Wii itself!).

Top 10 Wii Complaints

"Nintendo isn't quite the giant it was a million years ago, but the company is still going strong. The Wii represents a wacky new philosophy of a console for everyone, young or old - a Volkswagen of gaming, even. But despite Nintendo's experience and great intentions, the Wii is hardly free of alienating annoyances. In a lot of ways the cute little thing is actually more frustrating and intimidating than any of its predecessors. And the thing is, most of this stuff could have been avoided. Is it just us, or should this kind of stuff not have to be tolerated in this day and age? Here's what gamers have been bitching about..."

DIRECT URL: http://www.1up.com

Top 10 PS3 Complaints

"Sony's been doing the whole games thing for over ten years now, and it's been working on the PS3 for well over three of those. It's had a full year on Microsoft to study what has and hasn't worked with the Xbox 360, yet it's surprising how few lessons have been learned. Sure, nobody's perfect, and Sony will no doubt get its act together over time, but what folks brought home after dropping $500 or $600 is prompting a surprising number of complaints. Some of it is simply not delivering on the (very ambitious) promise, but some of it is just plain annoying. Here's what gamers have been bitching about..."

DIRECT URL: http://www.1up.com

Find out how the graphics and gameplay is different from the three new consoles. You ’ll get to see back to back to back footage of the game, and notice which console actually separates itself from the rest.

"According to reports circulating on the web, Sony needs to sell 30 games for every PS3 sold inorder to break even on hardware costs. Its being rumored that one PS3 unit cost Sony around US$760 to produce. And retailing in at $600 for the high end version in the US and around $750 in Europe when its released in March 2007, its obvious that the losses are less in the European market.

The Yen weakness against the Euro and the Pound may rescue Sony, says an article published by Financial Times. Taking the success of the PS2s in Europe, FT says that, the losses won't be massive.

According to one Analyst, 30 games need to be sold per one PS3 to cover the loses. (Sony receives a royalty of $10 for each game sold.) The article also lists the prices of the major components used in PS3 which attribute to its hefty price tag.

In another report, Takeo Takasu, President of Namco Bandai, has said that the company must acheive sales of 5,00,000 units of every PS3 game to make a profit! The company released two games (Ridge Racer 7 and Gundam) so far and they seem to be doing good business.

Reading all this, its sure that Sony has a great battle to fight in 2007 and so do the game Developers. Lets wait and see whether Sony can really make profits on the PS3.

DIRECT URL: http://www.ft.com

"Mad Catz Interactive has announced a very cool joystick for you hard core arcade fans, it works with the Xbox 360 and PC!

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc., a leading third party video game accessory provider, announced today that its Arcade GameStick for Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox 360 and PC will ship to major US retailers for availability this holiday season. It has an MSRP of $59.99.

With its unique styling, full size joystick and spinner control, the Mad Catz Arcade GameStick provides the best gaming experience for Xbox Live Arcade. Officially licensed by Microsoft, the sleek design compliments your 360 and allows for new gaming experiences."