Sandwiched between four millimeters of foam padding in its zippered carrying case, the Razer Destructor Precision Gaming Surface (or, you know, mouse pad) would likely survive being thrown out of an airplane. That's not the way most of us travel to LAN parties, so I'm not sure why Razer went to such ridiculous lengths to protect its newest mousing surface. Sure, it's rather expensive at $39.99, and it's semi-rigid backing means you'd probably want something to keep it from bending or getting scratched if you just jammed it into a backpack. But the case Razer includes with the mouse pad is just all kinds of wrong. It's about the size and bulk of a large laptop sleeve. And it doesn't even have a handle. That wouldn't be such an issue, but the mouse pad is so large that the extra size added by the case makes the whole thing so big, it won't fit in many medium-sized bags.

Thankfully, the Destructor pad itself is definitely well thought out. Like just about everything else Razer sells, the Destructor was "co-designed, tested and validated" by professional gamers. And the company touts its "Fractal" textured surface, which they claim offers 25-37% better tracing with gaming-grade optical and laser mice. Sure, that's a whole lot of marketing babble, but the fact is the Razer Destructor is a fine piece of mouse pad.

About a year ago, I was boxing with a friend. I knocked him out in a few minutes and avoided getting a black eye or a knocked out tooth. This, however, was not in a real ring. It was instead a part of one of the many games for Nintendo Wii, called Wii Sports. Besides boxing, the game's other activities such as tennis, golf, baseball, and bowling proved to be an intense workout, something I thought was impossible in video games.

Games like these are what make the Nintendo Wii game console such an enormous hit. Both children and adults are desperately trying to get their hands on the system as well as businesses. Westin Hotels and Resorts just recently announced that ten of its hotels nationwide will incorporate Nintendo Wii into a fitness program.

You've spent the last several months of your life in the basement, honing your Guitar Hero skills day and night, executing more acrobatically complex riffage than Robin Williams halfway through a week-long speed bender. The time has finally come for you to emerge pale and bleary-eyed from your Xbox-equipped subterranean womb, to show off your god-like skills--well, if you live in the greater New York area, that is.

Samsung and GH3 manufacturer Red Octane are co-sponsoring a "Guitar Hero Championship" tomorrow in NYC at the Samsung Experience, located in Columbus Circle's Time Warner Center. The tournament is scheduled from noon to 8 PM and requires a registration fee--$20 online or $30 at the door.

The grand prize includes a custom GH3 guitar and a Samsung P2 MP3 player. Runners up will receive a Samsung K3. For more information or to register, check out the event's official site.

As the gaming world eagerly awaits the latest entry into the mega-popular and highly controversial Grand Theft Auto series, The New York Times has taken a step back in time with a trip to Melrose Park, Ill, where Stern Pinball continues to operate a 40,000-foot pinball warehouse--the last of its kind.

It's a bittersweet piece about the death rattle of an industry, featuring quotes that can't help but make you feel for those profiled, such as, "There are a lot of things I look at and scratch my head. Why are people playing games on their cellphones while they write e-mail? I don't get it." That one's from Tim Arnold, a former arcade owner, who adds, "The thing that's killing pinball is not that people don't like it. It's that there's nowhere to play it." But the factory's owner, Gary Stern, who inherited the family business from his father Samuel, posits that despite its tough times, pinball isn't going anywhere.

The nation's leading video rental chain, Blockbuster, announced today that it will begin selling video game titles, hardware, and accessories through its retail store locations. The chain will be adding sales of Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS hardware, while expanding its existing selection of game rentals, including titles like Mario Kart and the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto IV.

"We're committed to offering a full assortment of everything gamers want in our stores--hardware, accessories and retail and rental games across all platforms--including Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS," said the company's vice-president, games merchandising, Rod Murray.

Blockbuster is also set to offer special gaming bundles to consumers, like their exclusive PS3 game and movie buncle, which includes a 40GB Sony PS3 console, PS3/Blu-ray DVD remote, HDMI cable, Spiderman 3 Blu-ray disc, Transformers PS3 game, and a BLOCKBUSTER 12-week PS3/Blu-ray rental card, all for $499.

The popularity of Guitar Hero is no surprise. Who doesn't want to be a rock star, even if only in the living room? Now rumors are circulating that the next version of the smash game will feature the addition of vocals--and other instruments. A GameDaily story suggests that the Activision game could let you join the band with more than just your fake guitar skills.

But doesn't Guitar Hero with other instruments--which I have to assume would be drums, bass and vocals--sound an awful lot like Electronic Arts' Rock Band? Yes, it does... but there is likely a back-story worthy of "Behind the Music." Although Harmonix Music Systems did develop the original Guitar Hero series, that company has since been bought by MTV Networks. To confuse matters further, trying RedOctane manufactured the guitar controllers for Guitar Hero. Now RedOctane is owed by Activision, with Neversoft stepping in as a replacement (somewhat like Sammy Hagar did with Van Halen after David Lee Roth split) to develop the series going forward.

Thus EA will have no doubt carry on with Rock Band, but we can expect a battle of the bands with the release of the next Guitar Hero series. Is this the day the music died?

Post by Peter Suciu

I had the slightly stressful pleasure of attending the 3rd annual New York Comic-Con at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, in midtown Manhattan. For three days, I attended panels, interviewed creators, and dodged streams of Storm Troopers in what was hands-down the show's biggest year yet.

With an estimated 64,000 attendees in three days, the numbers were about half that of the annual turnout for the legendary San Diego Comic-Con from which NYCC was spun. But this still was a rather staggering showing, given the show's humble and fairly recent beginnings.

I collected some of my favorite photos from NYCC at PCMag.com, including some of the tech offerings at the event. For more pictures and coverage, check out my companion post at The Daily Cross Hatch.

After spending my weekend roaming the halls of the Jacob Javits Convention Center for the 3rd annual New York Comic-Con, the idea of people wearing their geekdom on their sleeves--or, rather, capes--no longer seems all that odd. So perhaps I'm not the ideal person to point out why the concept of a superhero named WiiMan is somehow out of the ordinary.

WiiMan doesn't actually fight crime or fly. In fact, he doesn't actually seem to have any special powers, save for the slightly interesting ability to control Nintendo's ultra-popular console by flailing his limbs around a lot--surely an odd enough sight to make anyone rethink committing a crime while you're around.

The costume was created by a member of the Israel-based tech collective GarageGeeks. Evildoers beware: Don't make WiiMan open up a can of Super Smashbrothers Brawl on you.

Sick of scratching your precious handheld electronics? GelaSkins are thin, protective covers made of 3M vinyl and adhesive technology and are designed to protect your iPhone, iPod, laptop, RAZR--and now, Sony PSP and Nintendo DS Lite. You simply place the sticker over your gadget and peel it off when you want to try a new one. They're designed to leave no residue and to last, though some users report peeling around the edges after awhile with heavy use.

GelaSkins feature "removable art" by over 50 artists, including video game illustrator Yoko D'Holbachie. GelaSkins probably won't save your gadget if you throw it out a third-story window, but it will at least keep the scratches away. The stick-on skin also leaves the device free to dock and charge without removing anything, which is handy.

Gaming GelaSkins for PSP and DS Lite can be purchased directly from the GelaSkins Web site for $19.95.

Post by Brittany Petersen.

Yesterday we told you about Activision's upcoming Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, and showed off a few of our mad licks in the process (OK, the YouTube Guitar Hero community has since branded us noobs--no one's perfect). Not to be outdone by its primary competitor, Harmonix's Rock Band announced yesterday that it too would be jumping on the licensing bandwagon.

Hair-metal gods Motley Crue have become the first band to release a new single via the game. Users can download the group's new track, "Saints of Los Angeles," for 99 cents via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Beginning tomorrow, the track will also be available at PlayStation's store.

Rock Band will also be joining the Crue on its upcoming Crue Fest, alongside such bands as Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx: A.M., and Trapt. The Fest will be holding Rock Band competitions on stage between sets, which will almost certainly go swimmingly with a restless crowd that's waiting for roadies to set up Papa Roach's gear.

We had the chance to try out Nintendo's upcoming Wii Fit during a demo in New York City last month. At the time, the company had yet to announce a price for their long-awaited fitness interface, saying only that it would be priced below $100.

Nintendo delivered on its promise today, announcing that the game and Wii Balance Board bundle will be priced at $89.99 upon its May 19th release. And as Engadget points out, if you happened to be in the greater New York City area, you can get a free t-shirt by putting down a $5 deposit on the game, between April 18 and 20.

We met with Activision representatives earlier today for a quick walk-through of the company's newest entry to its tremendously popular Guitar Hero series, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The Guitar Hero 3 spinoff centers around the music of the Bostonion hard-rock band, following the band's development from its first gig at Nipmuc Regional High School in Upton Massachusetts to its mega international success.

The game's soundtrack features 40 songs, a 60/40 split between Aerosmith songs and influential songs hand-picked by the band's members. The game also features original interviews with Aerosmith that can be unlocked by players, and animations designed by Titmouse, the production house behind Adult Swim's Metalocalypse. The game is due out on June 29th, for the Playstations 2 and 3, Wii, and Xbox 360,. A PC version will follow sometime thereafter.

Make it a Circuit City night? Blockbuster on Monday announced that it offered to acquire Circuit City Stores for $6 per share in a February 17 letter, but Circuit City is giving Blockbuster the cold shoulder.

"Unfortunately, to date, Circuit City has failed to provide due diligence necessary to allow Blockbuster to make a definitive proposal," Blockbuster said in a statement. "Blockbuster is making its proposal public because it believes the shareholders of Circuit City should have the opportunity to participate in determining the destiny of the company."

Blockbuster also warned that it could yank its offer given that the video retailer "has other strategic opportunities." The letter asked for a response by February 21.

Circuit City confirmed Monday that it received the Blockbuster offer, and said that it "continue to carefully consider and evaluate Blockbuster's unsolicited proposal" but advised shareholders not to take any action.

When the Wiimote debuted, it had little effect in Redmond. After all, the Xbox 360 had a year lead, and besides who needed another novelty gamepad? Now, with Nintendo's surprise success, Microsoft is rethinking the concept. MTV reports that a Wii-style remote controller has been in development for the Xbox 360 since last summer.

According to the rumor, this new motion-controller could be available before the end of this year. The controller was supposedly in development at Rare, the Microsoft-owned studio that created Perfect Dark Zero, and is working on the next Banjo-Kazooie game. Would the latter title be one that incorporates the controller? Could be.

And let's not forget that Microsoft had developed a motion-sensing controller-the Microsoft FreeStyle Pro-for the PC. about a decade ago. The controller used a gyroscope and let players lean and pull back on the device, which it did very well with Motorcross Madness game. With any other game, the FreeStyle Pro deserved to go back to the amateur league. Let's hope the new motion-controller works better--and with more games.

Post by Peter Suciu

Spend some time using 3-D design software or exploring your neighborhood with Google Earth while using a traditional mouse, and you'll come to a quick realization: While it does a fine job navigating the x and y axes, it doesn't play so well with z. That's not surprising, considering that the traditional mouse was designed to track movement across a 2-D surface. Thankfully, for those who spend more than a marginal amount of time computing across the third dimension, devices such as 3Dconnexion's SpaceNavigator for Notebooks ($129.99 list) 3-D mouse can make the experience a lot more enjoyable.

Continue reading my full review of the SpaceNavigator for Notebooks on PCMag.com.

By Matt Safford