This is pretty neat.

Ars Technica is reporting that Best Buy has started putting vending machines in airports selling Nintendo DS’s and games. Even better, they seem to be selling at normal retail prices. Everyone who’s had to buy something from the airport knows how inflated prices usually are.

Since the whole process of flying is nothing but waiting in different locations, the DS and its games make a lot of sense for the impatient traveler… or the traveler’s impatient children.

Taken from Xbox360fanboy.com

Valve will reveal downloadable content for its popular zombie-fueled shooter Left 4 Dead, “shortly.” According to a video podcast with Kotaku, Chet Faliszek, one of the game’s writers, confirmed that the team was looking to add Versus functionality to the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns and to release brand new scenarios.

Faliszek also stated that, unlike Team Fortress 2, Valve plans to release DLC for the Xbox 360 and PC at the same time. During the recording, which took place on December 15, Faliszek speculated that DLC news would be releases before Christmas Day but said the announcement could be delayed due to the press team going on vacation. “We’ll have an announcement shortly, I don’t know exactly when.”

No pricing details for either platforms were discussed.

Okay, no matter the price I am pretty sure that I will be buying it!

Here’s your public service announcement for the week.

Valve’s Steam service is currently running a sale on nearly every game they carry. The discounts are running until this Friday, January 2nd.

BioShock is currently running for $5. The expansions to the original Half-Life, Opposing Force and Blue Shift, are priced at 99 cents. The Valve Complete Pack is currently at $75, as opposed to $99 normally. The classic Beyond Good & Evil is $7.50 right now. Grand Theft Auto IV is selling for $45.

There are a ton of savings going on right now, so use this opportunity to stock up on the games you missed out on, and get some newer games at a good price.

I stole this header from him. I like it!

Dave Zatz had to change his gamertag after a heated game over Xbox Live left him a little cautious about his online identifier being potentially traceable to a “maladjusted individual with poor anger management and interpersonal skills” who threatened him during a game.

And he still had to cough up the 800ms points to change it. (Caution: Commentors Language)

Yeah, the title of this news post is horrible.  But ask yourself- is it more horrible than this?

For the low, low, not nearly low enough price of 400 ms points, you can download XNA developer SniperED007’s Virtual Fireplace, and (as he himself puts it):  “Enjoy the awesome ambiance of a crackling fireplace in your living room. With realistic smoldering embers and flickering flames it sets the perfect backdrop for a relaxing evening.”

So that’s it?  $5 for something you’re local digital cable provider probably already has for free?  Is it worth it?  For this?  Maybe it reeks of holiday cheer?

Apparently, there’s nothing else to do with your Playstation 3 than play high def films on some new-fangled disc things called Blu-Ray.

To assist your movie viewing in superior picture and sound (the television commercials told me so), Circuit City has joined in the aggressive price cuts retailers are offering to support the format with some titles at $12.99

Here’s the details. Make popcorn in anticipation.

When it comes to PC gaming, Steam is quickly becoming the venue of choice for purchasing the latest and greatest, along with plenty of older classics.

One of the biggest gaps in the catalog though has been the lack of games from Electronic Arts. EA has its own digital download service, but it’s hard to use and charges extra for the ability to redownload your game whenever you want.

Fret no more, though, because EA has finally seen the light and made several games available on the service. Current big hitters like Mass Effect, Need for Speed Undercover, and Spore are currently available, and Mirror’s Edge and Dead Space will soon be available.

Hopefully EA will bring its older games to the service soon.

Our friends at SarcasticGamer.com are at it again this year, counting down the top 100 moments in gaming.  Some of the moments are related to their community as a whole while most moments are about general gaming.  Make sure you check out the thread here.

Microsoft has given us at HCG an awesome opportunity to get our name and mission out there to the rest of the Xbox Live community.  We are hosting a Community Playdate sponsored by Xbox Live.  Other Live members who are looking for community involvement can go into the dashboard or can visit the community calendar on Xbox.com to see which events are coming up which we are now a part of.

The Playdate starts December 28th from 8pm to 11pm EST.  If you would like to be part of our Community Playdate visit the website here to find out more information.

Looks like Slant Six will finally be getting that patch that will bring SOCOM players back. The patch will include trophies, the prone stance and a few features to help you get in rooms with your friends. There is no word on when this patch will come out but you can be sure I (and a few other HCGers) will be on playing. For more information on the patch go the the SOCOM website.