VIDEO: VGF's Black Friday Holiday Gift Guide

Thanksgiving is just about here and many gamers are looking for the best deals of the season during Black Friday.

Take a look at the first-ever VGF video which is the VGF Black Friday Holiday Gift Guide to review some of the best games this season and where you can go to find the best prices.

Motion Controlled Madness: PlayStation Move and Microsoft Kinect impressions

Yesterday, I finally had the chance to play both the PlayStation Move and Microsoft Kinect one right after the other.

It was my second bout with Sony's entry into the motion controlled world with the PlayStation Move and it was first experience with public humiliation while trying my hand (feet, head, etc.) at Microsoft's Kinect.

Lets start with the Move.

Just as I thought, it looks, feels and plays just like the Nintendo Wii. Sure, it's a little more sensitive and responsive than the Wii, but it certainly does not track motion 1:1 in real time.

I've only gotten to test drive the Move in a demo version of Sports Champions, which comes bundled with the PlayStation Eye and Move controller bundle for $100.

In the demo, my options were limited to disc golf and table tennis. Both were fairly responsive and looked beautiful in the process, but the PlayStation Move controls felt a bit stale, almost like it's copying something that was released four years ago...

Nevertheless, the Move was responsive, although not exact and sometime sluggish. Force feedback with the Move wand is a nice addition especially in the table tennis demo.

Sony took another page for Nintendo's book and charges an extra $30 for a PlayStation Move Navigation Controller (a nearly identical concept to the Wii's Nunchuk) or $20 for the PlayStation Move Shooting attachment, a glorified piece of red plastic similar to the Wii Zapper.

If nothing else, the Microsoft Kinect does away with pricey accessories which justifies its $150 price tag.

The Kinect certainly receives some style points for innovation although the camera doesn't appear all that clear when you see your staticy face on the screen during calibration.

The Kinect seems less responsive than the Move although it's hard to judge either in a traffic-heavy electronics store, especially the Kinect which relies solely on its camera.

Kinect Sports seemed to have a wider variety of interesting games that display the capabilities of the Kinect. Some carefully timed mini games are a bit challenging though given the lag time I experienced with the Kinect. I had a hard time properly (and foolishly) positioning my hands, feet and body for a goalkeeper mini game for example. Not to brag, but it seems that the Kinect's reaction time wasn't as fast as mine which resulted in a disconnect in the experience.

The Kinect seems like the more innovative and versatile peripheral between the two although you look pretty silly when you have to hold your arms over your head to begin a game.

The problem facing both the PlayStation Move and Xbox 360's Kinect is the lack of enticing software. Both Sony and Microsoft have yet to release a game to really convince PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 owners to take the plunge, let alone Wii owners.

In the end, both motion controllers add a new level of gameplay to its respective console and is a surefire holiday gift for families.

NPD Report spells a bad omen for the Sony PSP

Word is spanning across the web that recent findings from market research agency, The NPD Group, show the Xbox 360 has overtaken the Nintendo Wii in the number of units sold last month for the first time since 2007.

The Microsoft console outsold the Wii 443,500 units to 398,400 units and many are claiming the new slimline Xbox 360 may be the cause.

However, what's more alarming is how terribly the PlayStation Portable is selling.

The PSP ranked fifth in the hardware list with only 84,000 units sold. Next on the list is the hand held's younger, albeit beefier, brother the PlayStation 3 with 214,500 consoles sold in July.

The 130,500 unit difference is bad enough, but what's worse is Sony's hand held competitor, Nintendo DS, outsold the PSP by 314,400 units and was the second most sold console with 398,400 finding their way to gamer hands last month.

A pitiful display by the five-year-old hand held is awful news for Sony and is likely the result of its overpriced move with the PSP Go and continued popularity and success of the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL.

The PSPGo's $250 price tag and wifi dependence has likely turned off gamers who are less accustomed to consoles without physical media - although the Apple iPad may be changing that philosophy. Older versions of the PSP retail cheaper, at $169.99, but that price point is near the Nintendo DSiXL for an older model of the console.

Nevertheless, it all comes down to games. Despite the success of "Metal Gear Sold: Peace Walker," the PSP game library is dwindling almost as quickly as the Nintendo Wii's. Like Nintendo, Sony has been forced to rely on first party titles to keep it afloat such as games from the "God of War" and "Little Big Planet" franchises.

It's time for the Sony PSP to reinvent itself in a different way than the overpriced PSP Go otherwise it will soon be PSP Gone.

Renaming the "working title" in video games

Every project needs a title even though creators often don't commit to an official title.

However, in the video game industry, often times the "working title" of a console or game often becomes the only title that sticks in the minds of gamers...or the largest retail chain in the world.

A Walmart advertisement in my local Sunday newspaper listed the new Microsoft "Project Natal" as an "revolutionary new way to play" this fall. I'm not sure when the advertisement was pieced together, but the world has known the new motion-controlled camera peripheral for the Xbox 360 as the Kinect for nearly a month now.

Luckily the retailer's website is aware of Microsoft's Kinect and it's $149.54 price tag.

Who could forget that the Nintendo Wii was first called the "Revolution" for several years before it receive its laughable name. Previously there was the Nintendo Ultra 64 (Nintendo 64) and the Nintendo 64DD ("DD" standing for disk drive) which never came to fruition.

Of course every "The Legend of Zelda" game always has a working title of "The Legend of Zelda."

At least Sony conveniently unnamed it's "motion controller" before dubbing it the "PlayStation Move" earlier this year.

Every game has some sort of working title during development since game producers are so eager to show off their software that they don't bother to take the time to name it. A simple google search for working titles in video games gives us "Heroes on the Move," "Silent Hill 8," "Vectorman," "The Shoot," and of course Sony's blockbuster holiday hit "Motion Fighter."

I'm waiting for game to have the "working title" of "working title," that's something that's easy to remember.

A lot of times we are caught using the "working title" of a game or console for so long we have it ingrained in our minds. Project Natal is a clear example of this which is why I still have a hard time calling it the Konact...Conict...Connect...Kinect.

UK Woman Claims the Nintendo Wii Made Her a Sex Addict

You read the headline correctly, Amanda Flowers (perhaps a fake name) says that a fall while playing Wii Fit has turned her into a sex addict.

She was allegedly diagnosed with persistent genital arousal disorder after damaging a nerve while falling on the Wii Balance Board in the process of playing Wii Fit.

She now claims she needs to satisfy her delicate disorder 10 times a day and the slightest vibration can trigger a reaction.

Yes, the 24-year-old is single.

No word on if she plans to file any sort of law suit against Nintendo (imagine how that disclaimer would read).

Depending on how you look at it, one more reason why more women should or shouldn't get into gaming.

PlayStation Move coming to PS3 consoles holiday 2010 priced under $100

Yesterday, Sony finally announced the name and gave a little more insight into its newest motion controller, the PlayStation Move.

Sony made the announcement yesterday at a press conference at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. You can watch the entire presentation below:

The PlayStation Move is a combination of a the Playstation 3 iteration of the Playstation Eye camera; a wand controller which features a multicolor, light-emitting diode sphere and a secondary controller for character movement similar to the nunchuk on the Nintendo Wii. This combination is Sony's answer to the Nintendo Wii and its motion controller - just four years late - and Microsoft's up-coming Natal for the Xbox 360.

Sony has released the most information on the Playstation Move on it's European blog filled with photos and a trailer:

The new Move is slated for release Holiday 2010 and is reported to cost less than $100. Sony is also suggesting that Move features can be added to existing games since integration of the new controller poses low technical demands on PS3.

Be on the look out for more information relating to the Playstation Move and Xbox 360 Natal on VGF.