Today in Joystiq: March 13, 2006

Japan practices a scorched earth policy of modernization, leaving most pre-2001 technology in the dust (sorry, Dreamcast), Sony gets denied an appeal to keep its DualShock intact, and modders get even more creative with the Nintendo Entertainment System (the box is just as entertaining as the games, apparently). You may not have been knighted in France*, but you can still check out the highlights for today:

News
Hitting shelves this week
Sony PS3 press conference this week
Miyamoto knighted in France
BioWare opens Austin studio for new MMO
Sony's appeal denied; fate of dualshock uncertain
ESA launches Video Game Voters Network
Retail sales now in their sixth month of decline
Japan outlaws resale of retro game machines
GBA Player's Choice titles hit April 2nd

Rumors & Speculation
Xbox 360 premium bundle could ship with 100 GB HDD this spring
PlayStation 3 could feature downloadable PSone, PS2 games
Ubisoft denies leaked release schedule

Culture
Shane Battier won't travel without his games
Emerging tech conference looks at controller design
Excess (ekses) n. : a Quad SLI gaming rig
NES gamepad as card reader; innovation in controller design
NES plus Playstation 2 equals NEStation
Games vs. popular media: the debate
Games go on spring break; Joystiq soldiers on


* - Even if you have been knighted in France, you can still enjoy our daily recap. Joystiq does not discriminate.