Video game collectors have just been given a golden opportunity (and another thorn in their significant others' side). Nintendo of Canada is cleaning out their warehouse and is auctioning their collection of brand new, sealed retro games, with all proceeds going to United Way charity. The auctions, totaling 421 games in 24 different auctions, break down as follows:

• 70 NES games over 4 lots
• 169 SNES games over 13 lots
• 182 GameBoy games over 7 lots

As of this writing, the highest bid in any auctions is US $1,013 for a collection of NES games that includes Mario's Time Machine, Dragon Warrior IV, The Great Waldo Search and – this is the big draw, folks – George Foreman's KO Boxing. There's some great games in the other lots, too, with Addams Family and Lost Vikings activating the most synapses in our nostalgic minds.

Joystiq got in touch with Nintendo of Canada to confirm the auction is legit, so what are you waiting for? Bidding for all lots ends June 5.

A papercraft version of level 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. recreated inside an actual Game Boy brick (no worries it was already broken). We can't help but point out in Camera Wences' design, however, that the Game Boy was never in color and never has this version of Mario Bros. Oh well, we should've just called it a clever hack and made a Paper Mario joke. (Via Make) Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
The best of WoW Insider: February 27-March 4, 2008
Counting Rupees: Royalty Screwed
Massively Week in Review: Feb 26 - Mar 3, 2008
Nega-review: God of War: Chains of Olympus
10 reasons the PlayStation 3 is relevant again
Today's most perspective-bending trailer: echochrome in real life

News
Japanese PSP brandishes bronze bundle, cradle
Plato to school kids with new learning games for PSP
Okami Wii-treats to April 15
Umbrella Chronicles ships a million units worldwide
Ubisoft details Assassin's Creed PC enhancements
Wii gets TV guide channel, Wiimote becomes universal in Japan
SCEA's Hight: PlayStation Store overhaul, Warhawk expansion coming in April
GameTap tells the tale of Grimm's gameplay
Infogrames attracted Harrison with giant magnet
School shooting "hero" confesses to Xbox theft
D&D creator Gary Gygax dead at 69
Virtual Jihadi mod causing tension at New York school
Ready at Dawn ready to move away from PSP
Skype finally comes to Japanese PSPs this month
Paramount 'very, very, excited' about games space

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Crysis shown on Xbox 360 to 'prospective publishers' at GDC

Culture & Community
Majority of women, men swap gender in MMOs
Return of Bully means more controversy
Hacker makes mini-sized Rock Band drums
Dreamcast demo stand now sitting on eBay
Which publisher gets the best review scores?

No, friend, that's not a hip gadget from the new, unfortunately titled James Bond film -- it's a very real, very sexy handheld MP4 player capable of running old school Nintendo emulators using solar power. It also plays MP3's, stores e-books (which it can then read aloud to you, a consideration for our illiterate friends), records audio and displays images, all for a cool $123.32.

Here's the best part -- it also has a USB port to connect with other portable devices and share the solar energy it has collected, like a mama bird feeding a regurgitated bolus to her young. That's right, not only can it play your favorite games from the 8-era, it's also an Al Gore-approved renewable energy source.

You might remember that yesterday we linked to a rumor-rich story that Animal Crossing could be going the MMO route. While we still have no idea on the validity of that, buried within that story was the equally interesting (and equally rumored) nugget that Nintendo would be releasing a DS flash card designed so Nintendo could sell Game Boy and Game Boy Color games though some sort of download service.

As you know, GB and GBC carts do not work in the DS, because, scientifically speaking, they would look stupid, so we're happy to see some of the classics become available. That said, the big question (just after "Is this actually happening?") is how much we'll be paying. As we've learned, where Nintendo's concerned, nostalgia can often come at a premium.

[Via DSF]

If you think of it today, take a moment to remember Gunpei Yokoi, who passed away 10 years ago on this date after a car accident. The only man responsible for draining more AA batteries than Phillip J. Remotecontrol, Yokoi was the creator of the Game Boy, and the father of some of the portable console design tenets that still appear to govern Nintendo today.

Though he followed it up with the Virtual Boy (a misstep by anyone's approximation) Yokoi's legacy lives on. The only tragedy is that the tech wizard never saw the Game Boy's progeny not just play second fiddle to home consoles, but become a true force of gaming.

[Thanks, Samuel]

Nintendo marketing exec. George Harrison says the Game Boy name may be put to rest. The DS has been been successful enough that the company no longer needs to depend on the Game Boy brand name for future products. We always did wonder what happened to the next Game Boy.

Harrison tells GameDaily.biz, "It's hard to say in the future if we will ever bring back the Game Boy trademark." And so a name synonymous with many gamer's childhoods is buried. Oh well, it's not like the DS name has hurt Nintendo's bottom line.

Curiously, Harrison also said Nintendo's WiiWare could be out in 2007. Actually the quote is kinda in reverse order. Harrison says, "It may not take until 2008. I've seen a couple of ideas that have already been generated even before we went public [with WiiWare]. Whether those are going to be ready or not, I don't really know." So, it pretty much hinges if the developers get their stuff in order. Only the next six months will tell who gets their WiiWare out first -- the quality of those games is a whole other issue.

Planned for release in 2001, Affinix Software was ready to put the final touches on Infinity, a role playing title for the Game Boy Color. Unfortunately publishers were already looking ahead to the Game Boy Advance and all the pretty pictures it could display. Infinity was never released, Affinix was eventually dissolved, and the game was left to sit on its creators' hard drives for years. But a Lost Levels forum member unearthed a video of the game in action (watch it after the jump) and suddenly Infinity finds itself the recipient of some well-deserved attention.

In early February a news post on the Affinix website mentioned the possible release of an Infinity ROM. We contacted project leader Justin Karneges to get an updated status on the game. According to him, Infinity is very close to being complete and just needs a few story points linked together, spells filled in, and a final boss programmed. In addition to himself, one more team member is needed to tie up the loose ends, everything else is ready to roll. You can even download the full soundtrack from composer Eric Hache's website. As for the ROM: "There's no need to talk us into releasing a ROM. If we had a finished game, it would be released.".

Infinity could be a breathtaking game, or it could turn out to be a dud. We won't know until we get to play it, and we're itching to take her for a spin. If you need us, we'll be consulting our astrologers to make sure the stars are in perfect alignment to get this game into the wild.

[Via Insert Credit]

Gameplay footage from Crash of the Titans held our interest for today's video pick. The upcoming Bandacoot adventure for all current platforms besides PS3 will be out this fall, and Crash fans may find a new title to love. (We're not talking about you, Action Pack.) Or is Crash looking a little too like The King for his own good?

See the new video after the break, and watch a longer GameTrailers developer interview, too.

The drive to catch all 493 beasts in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl is causing a surge in demand for old Pokémon games. JJGames' used video games price tracker shows the average price for used, classic Pokémon games rising over 20 percent since early Feburary. Used game prices in general went down nearly 20 percent during the same period.

As the above graph shows, the Pokémon prices largely track with the market through the end of February, when they surged ahead of the DS games' April 22 release. The prices take a downward turn for the month after Diamond and Pearl's release, then shoot up again after Memorial Day, the traditional start of summer.

While this meteoric rise might encourage you to invest all your savings into used Pokémon games, we encourage caution. A well-diversified portfolio of used games is the only way to avoid fiascos like this one.

Fresh off the PSP homebrew press: an emulator that plays classic Game Boy games -- in full color! Created by a programmer called Brunni, the emulator is still in beta and isn't likely to be released for some time (Brunni likes things to be perfect). From the looks of it, this is more than a Super Game Boy-esque palette swap. A shaky-cam video (after the jump) shows Super Mario Land in crisp, colorful detail.

A crafty Japanese DIYer has crammed an entire PC into the shell of an old Game Boy system. The computer is fully-functional (assuming Windows XP is "functional") but lacks a built-in screen and a few other niceties of modern computing. Not practical by any means, but since when does geek hackery have to be practical?

Other features of the Game Boy XP PC include:

• Runs Windows XP off of a 4GB compact lash card that slides into the game slot
• A and B buttons power the system and show status
  
• Two USB ports
• VGA out for, you know, a monitor
• Built-in network adapter

If sterling silver and fabric got into a fight, who would win? On one hand, metal is strong and wimpy cloth could do little more than polish its surface with impotent attacks. On the other, fabric is bendy and nigh impervious to the heavy slammings of metal. Drop either of them in the microwave, however, and the playing field is suddenly level.

Combat possibilities aside, these two Game Boy likenesses are a little bit of geekery made real. The fabric Game Boy coin purse is available from Etsy for $30, perfect if you're one of the few people that carries physical currency in your pocket. The sterling silver Game Boy, while not functional, is the only Game Boy system that might protect you from the Blades of Chaos.

[Via DS Fanboy]

If you can't read the caption under the Game Boy Advance, it says, "The second best thing to do in the dark." Obviously they don't play flashlight tag. (Unless that is the first best thing to do, then, well ... there's some different priorities there.) Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Impressions: HP's Panoply and Pluribus
Impressions: HP's Misto
Major Nelson talks Guitar Hero downloads, Halo 3
Playing Dirty: Searching for sex in Club Penguin
Today's most educational video: learn Kanji and sweet dancing

News
Shivering Isles patched for PC, no info on Xbox 360 version
God of War's IslandofRhodes.org is developer commentary site
Sadness game for Wii is real, no it isn't, yes it is
GTAIV drops Staten Island; Wu-Tang response unknown
Chart Track tracking down leak (and also charts)
Firaxis to revisit X-COM in Civ IV: Beyond the Sword
Atari reveals Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
US Army sponsoring Global Gaming League for an estimated $2 million
G3 video game charity event involves ... shooting
id Software poised for a comeback, says id Software
God of War creator would have left Blu-ray out of PS3
Letterman scores a free DS with Brain Age
FTC report: mixed reviews on industry's ability to self-regulate
Over 100,000 gamers sign up for Age of Conan beta test
The 20GB PS3 is still alive ... in Japan
NCSoft looking for apprentices in game testing
First screens of Sam & Max season finale, 'Bright Side of the Moon'
NCSoft looking for apprentices in game testing
Great Geiger! Bethesda buys Fallout IP

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Perfect Dark prequel to get a new sequel
No More Heroes may go online

Culture & Community
Halophiles Only: GameVideos analyzes recent Halo 3 documentary
Gamasutra completes CRPG history series
Video game nerd cred now in convenient badge form
You'll say WoW: Blizzcon back on for 2007
NES USB controller: don't make it, buy it

This damaged Game Boy has been caught on Flickr a few dozen times already (credit goes to Plaid Ninja for the one above). The inscription explains that its modded casing was the result of a bombed barracks in the Gulf War. And yes, it still works (it can be seen playing Tetris). With reliability like that, it brings tears to our eyes every time we see a red ring or blue screen of death. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
HP wants to bridge PCs and consoles behind the scenes
Today's hand-drawn video: Super Smash Bros.
Today's realistic video: GTA IV trailer in real life

News
Mr. Bean game coming to PlayStation 2
Nintendo sponsors new online Flash game
Sega wants us to Touch Darts
Xbox 360 Guitar Hero II guitar problem and possible common thread
Study: Educational software doesn't work
Awards to recognize best in game media
Original Transformer voices returning for game
Hey Wii Blaster, meet Joytech's Sharp Shooter
360's Guitar Hero II guitar works in Windows, Frets on Fire
For Madden speed, it don't get bester than Hester
Mo mini, mo problems?
GayGamer visited by the Red Ring of Death
Microsoft wants to control all that you see and hear
Lord of the Rings Online free until April 24
Halo novel now in even cheaper paperback

Rumors & Speculation
USB storage coming to Wii? Not so fast ...
Could 'beats.' change the way you play PSP?
Rumor: Every Extend Extra Extreme Extricated in August for $10

Culture & Community
Wii developers talk shop
Beta test Tournament.com, gain the need for gaming greed
Kansas schools ban Pokemon. NOT!
Grindhouse's Rose McGowan loves zombie games
Kit Kat: Your break from recursive MMOs

More geeky than most of us can handle, musician Herbert Weixelbaum has an in-depth analysis of the sound output for every Game Boy system, including both Nintendo DS models. He even included minor upgrades to the line and tested systems with backlighting both on and off. The guide is aimed squarely at chiptune musicians who want to get the most out of their performances. Everyone else, just smile and nod.

The results? The original Game Boy has a "warm, bassy sound", the Game Boy Color produces a lot of background noise, while the Game Boy Advance SP has the best display. According to Herbert, however, the original Game Boy is the best of the lot with the all-important "retro feel".

[Via GameSetWatch]