Vegas isn't just a mecca for gambling, strip clubs and CES -- it's also the home of the Pinball Hall of Fame, situated a couple of miles off the strip. Although once you walk through these hallowed halls of gaming past, it's hard to figure out why a place like this isn't showcased in the middle of Mandalay Bay or in a sparkletronic gaming rotunda inside the Bellagio.

That's because Tim Arnold and the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club have made this a non-profit labor of love. They aren't interested in razzle-dazzle showmanship or a high-priced entry fee -- which is why you can enter for free anytime they're open and play one of their 141 pinball machines for a couple of quarters.

Joystiq took some time off during this year's CES to visit to the place, and we only left because they wouldn't let us stay overnight. The sheer amount of pinball games they have on display is staggering, including some extremely rare games like The Pinball Circus and Gottleib's two-player, head-to-head Challenger pinball machine.

Check out the highlights of our visit after the break, and make it a point to stop by the place if you're ever in Sin City. It's the most fun you can have without blowing your entire bankroll.

Sorry collectors, it looks like Killzone 2 will not receive a special limited edition when it launches in America on February 27th. Just a bog-standard vanilla pack. Jeff Rubenstein confirms this in a comment on the Killzone 2 CES interview post; "There is no collector's edition slated for Killzone 2. Guerrilla Games has put all of their effort into creating this masterpiece of a game, so we didn't actively pursue a CE." A shame, really. The game would've lent itself well to a collector's edition. Maybe we'll see one for Killzone 3.

We were impressed by the "WeeP 5" Zapper mod, but did have one reservation: Link would never use an MP5 to mow down a herd of Stalfoses (Stalfi?). Enter CTA Digital, who were displaying this Zapper crossbow shell at the recently finished CES 2009 (which is strange, because apparently this has been around for a while, but it's the first we've seen of it).

This bad boy comes equipped with a laser sight (we seriously question the historical accuracy of this) and, as you can see, a fetching "woodgrain" finish. It looks way, way nicer than the fugly crossbow peripheral we previously covered, and is roughly the same price: a rather eye-watering $29.99.

You may recall a similar headline from the past, where the Guitar Hero franchise earned over $1 billion. Well, another milestone for Activision comes thanks to the previous title to release in the franchise, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. That game alone has generated over $1 billion in sales, making it the first game in history to do so. The news was presented by Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith during a keynote speech at CES.

We're not sure how much an impact the Wii version itself has had, but consider it to be significant. The Wii version of the game has been very popular for quite some time now. Well, up until World Tour released, anyway.

Whilst on stage at CES, Sony CEO Howard Stringer announced a partnership with the new Yankee Stadium that will see Sony product placement appear all over the place. 550 HDTVs will be scattered liberally about the stadium, in "luxury suites, lounges, concourses, restaurants and administrative offices." PS3 games will be available to play, such as MLB: The Show and its ilk, along with more surprising titles such as SingStar.

Games will be rotated periodically and it's possible that PSP and PS2 games could make an appearance, too. Sony Vaio laptops will also be dotted around for people to try out while theyre visiting. Stringer states that the "new home of the world's most renowned sports franchise -- with its storied history of leadership and excellence -- is the perfect place to showcase all that is Sony. It is thrilling for Sony to be playing a part in this new chapter in Yankee history."

[Via Joystiq]

We'd like to say one way or another, but when Joystiq stopped by Nyko's booth at CES yesterday to try out the Wiimote alternative, the rep couldn't commit. Nyko hopes the Wand will be compatible, but they're not ready to say one way or the other.

On top of that, Joystiq offered up some general observations while testing out the Wand at Nyko's booth. You can check out the hands-on piece right here.

Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos has revealed that the developer won't be releasing a third Rock Band game in 2009, Lego or otherwise. Speaking at a CES conference, Rigopulos said Harmonix has deliberately opted to "break out of the annual release cycle," as sticking rigidly to such a schedule "places limits on the choices you can make as a developer."

Though he didn't mention it, we also suspect the mysterious Beatles game is a factor in Harmonix's decision to put Rock Band 3 on ice. If Activision can follow this example and resist releasing a new Guitar Hero game this calendar year, 2009 could be those rarest of things: a year where we don't end up having to buy another bunch of plastic instruments. Our closets are already sighing with relief at the thought.


[Via Game|Life]

Even though it has been thoroughly thrashed with the ugly stick, ezGear's "You Rock Guitar" is actually a nifty bit of kit. Labeled "the world's most advanced video game and music controller" by its maker, the guitar is compatible with all current music games on the Wii, and swaps out the traditional strum bar and colored fretboard buttons for real strings and a multi-touch pad respectively (despite how it looks, there are no strings on the fretboard).

There's a bunch of non-Wii functionality in the You Rock. It can hook up to your PC or Mac (where it works with programs such as Garage Band, Sonar, and Finale), and can additonally link to your iPod, iPhone, or MP3 player, allowing you to "jam along" with your favorite Showaddywaddy tracks (yes, we know). You can even connect it to a guitar amp or mixer!

Alas, the peripheral's many functions mean it will launch in Q2 or Q3 with a price tag of $149.99. If you think you could get some use out of this besides playing on the Wii, that might make this worth it. While you wait, make the jump for the cheesiest trailer we've seen in forever.

It's genius, really -- Nintendo sued Nyko for making the Kama Wireless Nunchuck too similar in design to Nintendo's own. But there is no way Nintendo would ever even suggest that Nyko's "Wand" looks at all like the Wiimote, out of respect for the Wiimote. Nyko has replaced the clean lines and muted color scheme of the Wiimote with an odd-shaped body, weird, jagged D-pad, and brightly-colored, square buttons.

In addition to the garishness feature, the Wand has one rather cool ability: when connected to compatible extensions, Wiimote functions can be transferred to the extension. For example, their pistol grip for the Wand rumbles and has a real B button on the trigger, rather than a mechanical lever that pushes the Wiimote's B button -- not to mention that there's an A button on the back.

They also introduced the Charge Station EX, a revision of the popular Charge Station that adds battery level indicators, and a Kama Charge Kit that includes a rechargeable Kama Wireless Nunchuck and a rechargeable battery pack for the Wiimote. Pictures of all of these new accessories are in our gallery! All are expected to be in US stores this April.


[Via press release]

The PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service will be getting a big boost from a new partner: MTV Networks. While MTV Networks includes the well-known "music" channel, it also includes VH1, Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike, Logo, CMT, The N, TV Land and Atom. Some shows to be added to the PlayStation Store include MTV's The City, COMEDY CENTRAL's South Park, Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants and VH1's Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels.

"We're thrilled to add content from MTV Networks to our line up, it's a perfect fit for the PlayStation demographic, one of the most coveted audiences in entertainment today," said Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. "Combined with the superior technology of the PS3 and PSP, the PlayStation Network's video delivery service truly provides consumers the best and most comprehensive content on demand from an incredible line up of entertainment brands to enjoy at home or on-the-go."

"From Nickelodeon to TV Land and everywhere in between, MTV Networks' brands feature some of the most popular shows and some of the hottest stars for almost every conceivable demo," said Greg Clayman, Executive Vice President, Digital Distribution and Business Development, MTV Networks. "By making our diverse content lineup available through the PlayStation Network, we're giving PlayStation users instant access to hundreds of hours of our very best programming in the comfort of their own living rooms."

Sony and Electronic Arts have just announced a partnership to provide the EA SPORTS Complex within PS3's PlayStation Home community. In this exclusive game space, gamers will be able to play new EA SPORTS multiplayer games, view leaderboards and interact with other fans while watching trailers and content from EA SPORTS games.

"We're proud to support the PlayStation Home Beta with a very robust offering from EA SPORTS," said Peter Moore, president of EA SPORTS. "As part of our continued commitment to the connected experience and the digitization of our business, the EA SPORTS Complex is a rich new online environment that presents a compelling and immersive social gaming experience for the global sports audience."

EA also announced plans to introduce other EA brands to PlayStation Home in the future. This announcement, in conjunction with today's Red Bull space, shows that Home is rapidly becoming a much more engaging experience than what it was at launch.

Update: Video trailer, after the break.

Life With PlayStation is a surprisingly solid app, which meshes today's news and weather with background music and Folding@Home capabilities. The free application has garnered 2 million users since its launch last September. Sony has just announced Life With PlayStation will be getting an update in Spring, although no details have been revealed yet. We're hoping to see more channels added to the service. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements from CES.

Ever since it was revealed that the upcoming Ghostbusters game wasn't dead and is in the hands of Atari, we've been incredibly excited to check out the collaborative effort. Now, thanks to the ongoing CES show, we've got a date for the game's release.

Sony Pictures fired off a press release for the Blu-ray release of the original Ghostbusters movie, but tucked away in that release is a listed release of June 15th for the Ghostbusters game. Sadly, that's all we've got to go on right now, so it's uncertain if all of the versions of the game will release simultaneously. Hopefully, that'll be the case, and us Wii owners won't be forced to wait longer than the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC folk.


[Via Joystiq]

Update: Major Nelson will be in attendance and is doing a live chat of the keynote here.

Just a friendly reminder that tonight, at 9:30PM eastern (6:30PM pacific), the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show will be kicking off with an official keynote by Microsoft's Steve Ballmer. True, rumor on the street is that Microsoft's Xbox 360 news will be pretty much non-existent, but there's still a chance for some OMG MEGATON news.

You can watch the keynote live, online via Microsoft's official webcast. Our fingers are crossed, hopefully we get some juicy 360 bits. Now, bring on the keynote!

SanDisk's new 2GB Rock Band 2 SD card is sure to nab some confused gamers and parents when it comes out this spring. It's got the Rock Band 2 logo on it, you see, and that means it works with Rock Band 2. Also, it's white, so you can tell it's a Wii accessory! And it's only about twice as much as you could pay for a 2GB SD card from reputable brands like ... SanDisk!

Compared to some other Wii accessories, this one's not so bad. It actually is a working SD card that is just as usable as any other for Rock Band 2, copying VC and WiiWare games, and saving photos and stuff. It's just that you lose a lot of money when you buy an SD card from the video game aisle -- like, for example, SanDisk's Gaming SD card --instead of the camera accessories aisle.