HOW TO GET INTO THE SINS OF A SOLAR EMPIRE BETA TEST

The folks over at Stardock & Ironclad Games have announced that anyone who pre-orders their upcoming space RTS game, Sins of a Solar Empire, through the TotalGaming.net store will be given access to the initial beta test of the game starting on March 27th;

"Sins of a Solar Empire represents the birth of the RT4X genre, seamlessly blending spectacular tactical combat with grand-scale space strategy. Players must conquer worlds, engage in diplomacy and trade with other civilizations, and use the resources at their disposal to enhance their economy, develop new technology and increase military power. They must then test their mettle on a 3D tactical battlefield, where their ships will fight it out in stunning visual glory."

“We’re thrilled to finally give loyal Stardock and Ironclad fans the opportunity to experience Sins of a Solar Empire themselves” said Brian Clair, Director of Games Publishing for Stardock Entertainment. “Their input and gameplay feedback will ultimately help us deliver an incredibly fun, balanced and stable game later this year.” – Sins of a Solar Empire press release

The initial test will only contain one playable civilization and will not support multiplayer modes, but for those out there who have been breathlessly awaiting this one, I’m quite sure that any taste of Sins will be more than welcome.

I originally planned on pre-ordering this one this weekend to take full advantage of the offer, but those PC issues I mentioned yesterday have basically eaten up my entertainment money for the next week or two, so I guess I’ll just have to wait a bit longer to fool around with this one. If you do happen to pre-order the game, feel free to let me know what you think of the beta – inquiring minds want to know!

• Sins of a Solar Empire Beta Plans Unveiled – Sins of a Solar Empire forums
• Sins of a Solar Empire – Official site

WIISHLIST.COM TRACKS WII PREORDER AVAILABILITY

Much like the sites that tracked Xbox 360 availability during the early months of the launch, Wiishlist.com is now tracking places where preorders for the Wii are available online. A handy e-mail alert sign up is included on the page so you can get notified the minute someone starts taking orders online. Check it out at this link.

BESTBUY TAKING PREORDERS ON 3 WII GAMES

Normally I wouldn’t call a store starting to take preorders on a few games must read news, but there are two reasons why I felt this one should be posted. First off, if we’re to believe BestBuy, the price point for Wii games will be the current $49.99 standard, not the $59.99 “Next Gen” pricing we’ve seen on the 360. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I saw this bit of news over at Kotaku and nearly burst out laughing at the way it was presented.

The games currently available for preorder are Red Steel, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Brothers Brawl. BestBuy has a release date of 12/01/06 on them as well, but I would probably chalk that up to a placeholder date at this point rather than an indication of the Wii’s launch date.

Check out the BestBuy Wii game pre-order page here and the aforementioned Kotaku posting here. Here’s to hoping Gauger can somehow escape the offices with her dignity and sanity intact. My advice? Put that training you’ve gotten through years of Resident Evil to good use. Come to think of it, it would make a great game – Resident Evil: Kotaku – you could play as Eliza Gauger trying to escape the Kotaku offices or as Brian Crescente coming back from vacation and trying to discern exactly what happened while you were gone. Hell, I’d buy it.

GAMESTOP AND EB GAMES NOT TAKING PS3 PREORDERS UNTIL OCTOBER?

Evil Avatar is reporting that Gamestop and EB Games have decided to not take Playstation 3 preorders until October of 2006 in an attempt to head off some of the problems they had with the Xbox 360 launch. While waiting until you know how many units you’ll be getting definitely seems like a step in the right direction, especially given the expected demand for the Playstation 3, I can’t but somehow feel that this will actually lead to even less inventory going to the retail outlets in favor of high priced online bundles. Click here for the Evil Avatar news forums and begin wondering if the same will hold true for the Wii.

DS-LITE TO HIT U.S. SHELVES ON JUNE 11TH

Nintendo made the official announcement we’ve all been waiting for today – The Nintendo DS-Lite will be coming to the U.S. on June 11th at a cost of $129.99. Online retailers such as EBGames.com and Gamestop.com are already taking pre-orders, so act fast to make sure you get one at launch. You may now perform the dance of joy.