Electronics, Gadgets & Gaming (EGG)

Sony announced the availability of a new 80GB PlayStation 3 at online and brick-and-mortar retailers in the United States and Canada. The system, available immediately for a suggested retailer price of $599US/$659 CND, comes with the hit online-enabled off-road racing game MotorStorm packed in the box.

The 80GB model joins the existing 60GB PS3 that has been available at retail since launch last November.

Throughout the holidays and this fiscal year, more than 120 new first and third-party software titles will be available for North American PS3 users to enjoy, in addition to the more than 40 software titles currently available. Key upcoming first-party titles include Folklore, Heavenly Sword, LAIR, NBA ‘08, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, SingStar, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation, THE EYE OF JUDGMENT, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, PAIN, and Warhawk.

Both the 80GB and 60GB PS3 models come standard with Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.), built-in hard disk drive, 1080p high-definition output, Wi-Fi connectivity, SIXAXIS wireless controller and Blu-ray Disc player.

GoWare announced a plug-in for its DoMo HomePage personalized mobile portal that gives players of the popular World of Warcraft MMORPG the ability to access and share their WoW character data from a mobile phone. Using DoMo Homepage mobile portal, players can automatically load their WoW character into their DoMo HomePage. Now when friends ask about their character, players have the
answer right in the palm of their hands! And through the DoMo HomePage Snapshot feature, players can even send character content via text messaging. DoMo HomePage is available to the public as part of a free beta trial at http://www.domohomepage.com. The new plug-in will be available on Monday, August 6, 2007.

Plusmo announced the availability of its free and customizable mobile widgets service to users of Apple’s new iPhone. A custom interface gives iPhone users access to more than 20,000 Plusmo widgets - most of them created by users.

PopCap Games announced that it has launched a custom version of its flagship game Bejeweled for the Safari Web browser on Apple Inc.’s new iPhone and is making it available at no cost to iPhone owners. Beginning today, iPhone users can log on to PopCap Games via the iPhone’s Web browser and play the iPhone-specific version of the original match-3 puzzler Bejeweled for free. This customized version of Bejeweled leverages the Web 2.0 capabilities of Safari and the wireless capabilities of the iPhone, and has been optimized to take advantage of the iPhone’s unique display and input controls.

It’s gonna take more than a good pair of shin guards to protect Mario and his turbo-kicking teammates in Mario Strikers Charged, Nintendo’s blistering new soccer title for Wii. Earthquakes, firestorms and electric shockwaves are just a few of the otherworldly hazards in this ball-chasing battle royal. And with players from coast to coast competing online, this wildly unpredictable pitch is for neither the faint of heart nor the heavy of foot. It’s not just soccer, it’s soccer — Mario style.

Mario Strikers Charged introduces nine sensational new stadiums, plus a host of new characters with their own special abilities and power moves.

Players create their own teams by mixing and matching captains and sidekicks, then use the Wii Remote and Wii Nunchuk to face opponents in single-player or multiplayer modes. Mastering Striker Challenges or the tournament-styled Road to the Striker Cup will unlock new elements and cheats.

The excitement extends beyond your living room as Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo’s wireless gaming service, enables players nationwide to meet and compete online. Participants are ranked using a positive structured points-based system, and rankings are reset to zero each week to keep the competition fresh and fierce.