Beware of Xbox Live Phishing Scam [1UP]

While you may already be on the receiving end of some fresh spam, I'd definitely recommend a quick password change to whatever e-mail address you used if you submitted your info.

Sega Calls Attention to Dreamcast Imposter Site [Yahoo Japan]

I was walking around a well known mexican mall (wich makes sense since im mexican), when i saw, in a "serious" store, this pieces of... well, the pic says it all. Its a Xbox-like 8BITS videogame system. Yup, 8 bits, wich means NES quality games, in a shiny white box. Makes me kind of sad, many kids are gonna get this because their tech impaired parents wont be able to see the differences. In case you ask, the price is around US$28.

Yes, I mean that literally.

Hit here to buy one of the $1,000 20GB bundles.

The forced bundle includes some good stuff and some real crap:

This Sony PlayStation 3 20GB Most Wanted bundle includes the following items:

* Sony PlayStation 3 20GB Game System
* PS3 Wireless SIXAXIS Controller
* Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
* Madden NFL 07
* Ridge Racer 7
* NBA 07
* Marvel Ultimate Alliance
* Resistance: Fall of Man
* Resistance: Fall of Man Official Strategy Guide
* 1 Year Product Replacement Plan
* 12 Month Game Informer Subscription

I thought someone once told me that forcing people to buy a warranty was illegal? Maybe not. I know forcing someone to buy Untold Legends should be. And what the hell's the deal with the one-year magazine subscription? Why don't they just throw in some N-Gage games as well? Brian Crecente

An email I received this morning says, in part:

Our records indicates you can retrieve an additional $ 9,99 USD refund in your PayPal account. In order to successfully retrieve the refund please confirm your existing PayPal account on this page. Please notice that the confirmation of your PayPal account is needed to have this refund send into your PayPal account.

When clicking on the "this page" link (that I haven't reproduced), you are taken to fake Paypal interface on the domain "ljk-sang.com" (note the "j" instead of "i").

As per usual with Paypal scams, never click a link to go to Paypal, but instead type the URL in your browser manually. That is, of course, if you need to be on Paypal at all—in this case it's a scam; don't fall prey.

I'm surprised scammers were able to produce something so timely. Good thing Joel didn't fall for it, but I bet if they had thrown in some pills to increase the girth of little Joel, he totally would have. Brian Crecente

Scam Warning [GameLife]

During the interview Steve Manning became convinced that Nintendo had deliberately picked a bad name for the console and that it was, in fact, fake. Manning thinks that Nintendo is creating an enormous viral campaign by releasing a fake name and then coming back during E3 and announcing the real one.

It looks like he's not the only one who thinks this. Site Snark Hunting is also convinced, here's why:

Crazy? Here is the first clue, "By letting the gaming community vent now about the name, they will be less distracted as launch titles for the system are announced and initial reports about what it's like to play the games begin to come in." Allowing your audience time to vent is not SOP in a name announcement, and also telegraphs that Nintendo knows what a stinker this name would be.

Second, it's not possible to engineer a worse name for this product.

Third, and this is a big one, there are no trademarks registered by Nintendo nor by any dummy corp in the U.S or over there for Wii. This is unprecedented for Nintendo and it is not possible that his is an oversight. If Wii were the name, they would have registered it. In fact, no new trademarks have been registered by Nintendo at all. This leads us to conclude that Nintendo has in fact registered the real name under a dummy corp, which is SOP when trying to keep a name a secret prior to launch.

I've asked Nintendo reps straight out if this was the case, several times, and they deny it through and through. They also say they don't know why the name isn't yet trademarked.

Manning is now calling this the "most savvy name announcement we have seen in many years."

We think Nintendo is setting you all up to be Punk'd at E3, generating a massive amount of positive buzz when the scam and the real new name are announced.

Given that their video game audience is the same demographic as Punk'd, the whole campaign is perversely elegant. Except of course for failing to make the illusion complete by registering a TM for Wii.

Personally, I think this would run too many risks and could far too easily backfire for Nintendo to attempt it. I'm thinking Nintendo just thinks the shock is going to create an instant and lasting impression.

Update: This just in from Nintendo on the subject of the missing Wii trademark: "Nintendo has filed many trademark applications for Wii. Trademark Web sites often take time to update, and you can expect the Wii trademarks to appear shortly."

Nintendo Wii Brilliant [Snark Hunting]

It's good to see just how effective the ESA is at cracking down on letting people getting into E3. This is why the show is getting so out of hand, it's so cluttered with fanboys, boothbabes and "celebreties" no one can get any work done.

Man, I wish they would make all of the major announcements at the Game Developers Conference, it was so much easier to deal with.

2 Tickets to E3 2006 [eBay]

You bid to a link to buy the microsoft xbox 360. It not a xbox 360 is a link to buy this, be caution. But it good link to buy them, its very rare to have it.

Who'd thought Yoda was such a cheatin' bastard?

Ended Auction Here [Ebay] Thanks Kyle!

By box, I mean "box." You get the actual box. That's it.

You are bidding on the box to a premium Microsoft Xbox 360, this would be the perfect item to set in your store window to attract customers and let them know you are selling the 360. This is not a Xbox 360 gaming system, it is merely the box. Only serious bids only please, and don't be stupid and bid on this to an insane price so I get in trouble by eBay. Happy Bidding!

The auction ends real soon (like in twenty minutes). Current high bid for the box is $172.50 and the turd playing this scam is williebeamin2000.

Scam Here [Ebay] Thanks Ba!

Woah. This auction ends in three hours. Read the following from the site. Read it carefully.

Do you want a great Christmas gift for anyone in your family? This is the hot item this Christmas, and they are sold out in stores all over America. An XBOX 360 Premium Bundle would be a great gift, no questions asked. This item is so hard to find, you can only get it on eBay. It's even better that you are getting FREE SHIPPING, which in most other auctions is around $45. It's just too hard to pass up this great opportunity to own this stunning item. You are bidding on a brand new XBOX 360 Premium Bundle picture. There is no risk at all, because you are getting exactly what is described. The winner of this auction is absolutely lucky to be receiving one of these this Christmas.

The going price for this Xbox 360 photo is $430. Seller's name is manhattanks 2004. Shut this sleazoid down!

Auction Site [Ebay] Thanks Shaun!

I was pretty psyched when I read that Dragon s Lair and Space Ace were coming to the Xbox 360. And then I read the fine print. It turns out the games aren t going to be showing up on Xbox Live Arcade or even as an Xbox 360 disc, no. Digital Leisure is just trying to convince 360 owners to buy their collection of DVD compatible games. Kinda crappy if you ask me.

The full release is on the jump, less you think I'm exaggerating about how misleading they are being.

Digital Leisure announces 15 Classic Arcade Games for the All New Xbox 360*

GORMLEY, Ontario, Canada - November 22, 2005 - Digital Leisure today has released fifteen classic games that redefined a generation for the all new Xbox 360*. Hold on to your consoles, included in the release is the award winning Dragon's Lair series of games and American Laser Games classics, like Mad Dog McCree. Also, for the first time on a home console comes the Digital Leisure release of the classic Thayer's Quest! All of these great titles are compatible with the all new Xbox 360*.

"It's so exciting to see the classics continuing to make a comeback. Playing your old favorites on the latest and most powerful entertainment platform will be a great thrill for all." said Elizabeth Foster, President of Digital Leisure, "and we are delighted to be able to continue to deliver more classic games to console gamers!"

Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair 2: Time Warp, featuring the classic animation of Don Bluth, are available individually or together as the 20th Anniversary Edition Box Set. Thayer's Quest, an animated adventure originally released in the arcades in 1984, gives players more choice and allows each player to have a unique gaming experience which made it an instant hit. The American Laser Games shooting titles Mad Dog McCree, Mad Dog 2: The Lost Gold, The Last Bounty Hunter, Crime Patrol, Drug Wars, Who Shot Johnny Rock and Space Pirates feature live action video with authentic sound and scenery to put you in the midst of the action.

All of these games are available now from www.digitalleisure.com for about half the retail price of most Xbox 360* releases.