Still no official Wii component cables? MadCatz has your back. If you're still waiting on Nintendo, Play-Asia, or some other retailer to ship yours, you might want to go third party.

The kids at MadCatz just let us know that they have Wii component hookups in stock now for $19.99. The official Nintendo store seems to be shipping new orders as of yesterday, so consider your options open. I just ordered my Wii cables from Nintendo, so we'll see how rich their supply is.

What a fun time for gaming, eh? Component cables in stock becomes actual news! Michael McWhertor

MadCatz Wii Component Cable

On November 22nd in Japan, Sony will release the D-terminal cable for 3,000 yen (US $26). December 7th will see the AV cable (1,500 yen or $13), the S-terminal cable ($26) and the AV composite cable ($26).

A first for me. I'm actually really excited about these cables. Yes, I know it's simple Sony branding, and yes, I agree that these should've been included in the box with the PS3 or even should've been available at launch. BUT, I wanted a set of these Sony cables. Like to keep all the hardware stuff first party, if you know what I mean... Brian Ashcraft

Cables Upcoming [Dengeki Online]

Remember when we said that Wii component cables would be an online only affair? And that I got a little cranky and stomped around like an infant on Kotaku about it? Well, either we were fed bum info, or Nintendo has decided to throw caution to the wind and sell component cables at brick and mortar stores.

That's what Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan, half-woman, half-press release, said to Game Informer recently:

GI: Will component cables be available on day one?
Kaplan: Yes, at retail and online. Best Buy, GameStop, Circuit City, etc... and Nintendo.com.

Hmm. But she also said that Wii would be region free and she was wrong. Plus she answers interview questions like this:

GI: As far as Virtual Console pricing how it breaks down in Europe, Japan, and here, it seems most expensive in the U.S. when you check exchange rates...
Kaplan: Do you drink lattes?

GI: Yeah.
Kaplan: How much do you spend on lattes?

GI: I spend a lot.
Kaplan: There you go.

Oh, Perrin! What will you come up with next? Let's hope Mrs. Kaplan is right on this whole retail component cable thing. I need me some 480p on day one! Michael McWhertor

Countdown to Wii: The Perrin Kaplan Interview [Game Informer]
Wii Component Cables Online Only [Kotaku]

The cables, Monster says, both enhance the audio and video throughput and look snazzy. They better for $30 to $100 a pop.

"The PlayStation 3 is a state-of-the-art entertainment platform," said Noel Lee, The Head Monster at Monster Cable. "But experiencing its exceptional audio and video capabilities means it's crucial to properly connect it with high-performance cables - something that's not found inside the box. The PS3's HD games and 1080p-capable Blu-ray Disc movies can be amazing, but not when you hook it up with inferior or general-use cables. That's why we crafted GameLink specifically for the PS3 — so it could be enjoyed the way it was truly meant to be experienced."

Are you planning on buying any after-market cables for your Playstation 3? I didn't for my Xbox 360, but I suspect I will have to buy an HDMI splitter this time around. Brian Crecente

Monster Hook-Ups for PS3 [Game Daily]

First the good news—yes, you'll be able to buy component cables for your Wii then proceed to bask in the non-interlaced glory of 480p resolution. The bad news? Hell, it's not so bad. You'll only be able to buy them online. Let's call it the "inconvenient news". From IGN:

A spokesperson for the company told IGN Wii this morning that the Wii component cables would be available for purchase with the launch of the console in November. The cables will cost $29.99 and will only be available through online retail outlets, including Nintendo's store, Best Buy, Circuit City and EB Games.

Come on, Nintendo. Why only online? Is it really going to sow that much consumer confusion to sell a single other set of cables for the Wii? Can we maybe just nudge the useless "Dog Tag"-calibre bullshit accessories out of the way just one peg so that HDTV owners (like my December self) can avoid having to wait for the UPS man to miss us while at work three separate days in a row? Wow, I'm angry about this. Michael McWhertor

480p a Go For Wii Launch [IGN]

HDMI cables, like the PS3 aren't cheap. They can run from around $20 to $300, depending on what you're going for (but you certainly needn't pay that much!). I wouldn't be surprised to see Sony selling their own PlayStation 3 branded cable, just to squeeze a little more revenue out of the thing.

Maybe that $500 option is looking more like the one I'll be going for. Michael McWhertor

Update: Thanks for pointing out that you can get cables for less than $90, angry internet mob. The price info has been corrected.

Confirmed: PS3 shipping without HDMI cable

By: Brian Crecente

Back in December I wrote up a guide for picking out an HDTV for your gaming needs. I decided to write the story at the time because I was in the process of choosing one for my basement, which was getting a major overhaul and being turned into an entertainment room.

After much procrastination, and harassing the executive of a multinational corporation, I decided to completely ignore my own advice and buy a 50-inch plasma from LG.

The TV was delivered a few weeks back to a half completed basement. Over the following weeks I worked on getting cables, choosing my surround sound system and hooking everything up while the contractors finished up their work.

Yesterday, the crew came in and installed the last set of cabinet doors in the entertainment center and The Lounge is now officially completed.

The unfinished basement was converted into an office/bedroom, bathroom, two storage rooms, library and wet bar, but the biggest chunk of the 1,000-square-feet of space is devoted to the television room

Here's how we designed it.

We opted to have one wall of the room turned into an in-built entertainment center. The entertainment center is mostly taken up by the 50-inch television. On either sides of the TV is a cabinet with shelves for holding electronics. The right side holds an Xbox, Gamecube, PS2, PS2 debug unit, Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 debug unit and there's still an empty shelf. The left side has my audio system and cable box.

These two glassed in cabinets do get a little warm, but most of that seems to dissipate through the cut-outs in the back of the cabinet.

Along the bottom of the entertainment center are four more cabinets, two of which are for storage. The center two cabinets each have three pull out drawers which hold my games and our videos.

Along the top of the entertainment center are three built in speakers, a left, right and center channel.

There are two other speakers mounted in the ceiling above the couch and a plug behind the couch for a subwoofer.

The contractor, a really clever guy, knew I was putting a crap load of electronics in the entertainment center, so he did a couple of cool little things for me.

First, when the electrician installed the new sub-panel, he made sure to give the entertainment center outlet its own breaker.

The coolest thing, however, is in the closet in the bedroom, which shares a wall with the entertainment center. The contractor built a 2-foot crawl space behind the entertainment center and you can access it by a little trap door built into this closet.

The space gives me access to cut-outs for the cabinets and the back of the TV as well as the plugs for all of the speakers in the room.

I was able to install a huge APC back there, and I can't actually slither into the space and tinker with wires when I need to. It's fantastic.

Two weeks into using the television on a daily basis and I'm still quite happy with it. There are only two things I don't like about the LG. First, you have to cycle through all of the inputs, no matter how many are in use, to get to the one you want. Second, while there are a ton of inputs, I wish there were more.

I'm fairly happy with the rest of the entertainment room's set-up, though I've been having some strange surround sound issues.

I purchased a Yamaha HTR-5860 for my sound and a Yamaha'sYST-FSW100 subwoofer. The surround sound seems a little muddled to me, it's not nearly as surround as I would like it to be, but worse still, I can't get the subwoofer to make any sound whatsoever.

The 5860 comes with a microphone and a mode that automatically goes through the speakers to set up the levels and such. When that runs the subwoofer makes noise, but I've never heard it in a game or when watching a movie.

I've tried cranking up the balance both on the unit and in the settings and still nothing.

Any suggestions?