If you don’t remember what an N-Gage is, I’ll refresh your memory. It’s a handheld gaming device that doubled as a phone that was originally released in 2003 and was promptly considered to be a joke in the eyes of the video game community. Heck, I’m personally sorry if you ever received one. If you ever actually purchased one, I feel pity and shame for you. It gets worse though; over the weekend, Nokia executives implied that they would slowly stop producing and marketing (Not that they market it now, but…) the system, at least in the states. "The company intends to continue producing N-Gage devices primarily for the Chinese and Indian markets," though. So, if you live in one of those territories, take comfort in the fact that your system of choice will be around for a bit longer. A small PSA though – if you live in the Chinese or Indian territories, you should know that you’re reading a website in Fresno, California. We’re on the other side of the planet! There’s no way our game news is the same as yours!

With Microsoft’s Xbox 360 about to be launched in Europe (December 2) and Japan (12/10), it would appear that all hope is lost for those of us in the states that want the new system (Sorry India and China, you’re out of luck too. Have fun with those N-Gages though!). But have no fear! Microsoft has announced (read: is lying to our faces) that their new "weekly replenishment strategy" is now in effect. I originally assumed that the strategy was for them to sit idly by while we all hear about how our buddy Mike, who’s friend’s cousin just got one, gets to play with it all the time. But I stand corrected! This weekly replenishment strategy, which Microsoft apparently invented, means that there should be new systems on store shelves by the end of the week or the weekend. No one knows exactly how many systems will be available but if you intend to shop locally, it would probably be in your best interest to call around to major retailers in your area to see if you can find out exactly when stores are getting their systems. Best of luck, holiday shoppers!

There are many reports circulating (On the internet.  Where else?)  of Xbox 360’s having several problems ranging from games that freeze and systems that overheat to games being scratched by the system itself.  While we’re all sure that some of the reports are true, we at BRE won’t be cautioning every Tom Dick and Harry not to buy a 360.  What’s more, Microsoft has laid out a pretty impressive return system.  Just call them at 1-800-4MY-XBOX and the house that Gates built will overnight you a shipping box that you can put your 360 in and ship back to Microsoft for them to either fix or replace it.  Microsoft estimates the time for replacement at about 5 days.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=23998032