See how many of the following classic moments you can spot in this clip:

"All I can think of is the guy in the library."

Ron Leingang, "Game-Play Counselor"

Howard Phillips, "Fun Club President"

"I had trouble with Lincoln Logs! (Sigh). Kids and fantasy."

[via Mental Floss]

And yet it is done, and profitably so. Sony's PlayStation 3 is expensive precisely because it uses new chips and optical drives whose manufacturing processes have yet to be refined. Moore's law has made the old silicon parts in a PS2 dirt-cheap; meanwhile, videogame studios continue to churn out games for it, making it an entertainment bargain.

Windows XP, meanwhile, has been relentlessly tested by consumers, businesses, and hackers; it is now reasonably bug-proof, reasonably easy to use, and ubiquitous. Windows Vista, by contrast, is slow, unpredictable, and uncertainly secure. (Microsoft claims Vista is safer, but any security expert will tell you that security holes only reveal themselves over time.) Microsoft perhaps recognizes this, since it's continuing to sell Windows XP in some poorer countries.

So far, Sony and Microsoft are focusing their selling of the old in developing markets. But why not sell the old stuff everywhere, instead of forcing the likes of Dell to jump through hoops to offer it to willing customers? That's exactly what Nintendo has done with the Wii. Essentially a repackaged GameCube with a motion-sensitive controller, the Wii has eviscerated Sony's overexpensive PlayStation 3. It's a classic triumph of the old.

The chief lesson Silicon Valley has taken from Moore's law is that new technology will always be better. Hence the relentless pursuit of the new. But Moore equally tells us that old technology will always be cheaper. Someone's going to figure out how to sell the old stuff at a profit. Why not have it be you?

Despite generally negative review scores, it would seem that Wii owners were consumed by the prospect of more mini-games (and a second Wii remote) nearly on par with the thirst that Xbox 360 owners had for more Halo. An impressive feat for Nintendo, but more impressive for Microsoft, considering Wii Play had a seven month head start on the first-person shooter.

The top ten best selling games in the USA for last year are after the jump.

01. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) - 4,820,000
02. Wii Play with Remote (Wii) - 4,120,000
03. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 3,040,000
04. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 2,720,000
05. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 2,520,000
06. Pokemon Diamond (DS) - 2,480,000
07. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 1,900,000
08. Guitar Hero II (PS2) - 1,890,000
09. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) - 1,870,000
10. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 1,820,000

Nintendo of America seems to be getting their new Bay Area office up to staff. Today the company announced that they appointed two sales and marketing execs to their Redwood City offices.

Denise Kaigler will be Nintendo of America's new vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, a position formerly held by Perrin Kaplan, while Bill Van Zyll will be the new director and general manager of Latin America.

"Denise and Bill bring a wealth of branding and marketing experience to our team," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "Their expertise will help us keep Nintendo's momentum going strong throughout 2008 and beyond."

Hit the jump for the run down of Kaigler and Van Zyll's background.

Kaigler comes to Nintendo following a 16-year tenure at Reebok International, where she serves as head of Global Corporate Communications and Corporate Citizenship. She also serves as head of Corporate Communications in the United States for the adidas Group, the parent company of Reebok.

Van Zyll heads Nintendo of America's Latin America department, which is responsible for the creation, direction and implementation of short- and long-term sales, marketing, and operational strategies for Latin America. He comes to Nintendo of America after more than 15 years at the Whirlpool Corporation, where for the past four years he has served as Director of Finance for Sales for the company's North American region.

So washing machines and sports apparel, got it.

GameStop will sell the Wii rain checks for $249.99 on Thursday and Friday. A GameStop shift supervisor tells Consumerist that this kind of preorder counts in the store's net sales. GameStop's annual reports are mum on how the company actually accounts for preorders. The program will certainly lift the company's cash flow well in advance of when GameStop actually has to make good on its holiday promises. Ho ho ho!

Over the weekend there appeared to be another sell out of Wii consoles. On Friday, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime announced that seven retailers-Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart, Toys R Us and Circuit City- would be throwing a lot of Wii consoles out on their shelves over the weekend to try and sate the appetite of games and their families.

But judging by the obvious spike in eBay listings of Wii consoles, I think it's fair to say the only thing sated was greed. From 9 a.m. Eastern Sunday to 9 p.m. Eastern Sunday alone more than 13,500 Wii consoles were listed for sale in the U.S. on eBay. Coincidence? I can't imagine.

Note: These numbers might deviate a little from 100% complete authentic scientific goodness, but the trend is still relevant.

sparkly-crap mobile circuit-board garbage gizmo mass-produced by machines that stole jobs from nonunionized workers who stole jobs from the natives. I want a Nintendo Wii.
biosphere-destroying violent imagery consumer electronics death monster truly represents the future of technology Wii DJ Bluetooth just another thing with built-in obsolescence consigning it to an unknowable half-life as indigestible silicon shards. It sucks when great future innovations are doomed to become garbage. Donating to cool charities and supporting local artists is something you should be doing all year. capitalist juggernaut. Annalee Newitz is a surly media nerd.

It's a sensible game plan. Apple has proven too tough a target. So now, Greenpeace has started tracking a few more companies. Highly notable companies with staunch defenders who will give the nonprofit some attention by ranting and raving about its charges, but who will be, hopefully, less defensive than Apple's Web warriors. Hence, Microsoft and Nintendo are now the worst polluters in the eyes of Greenpeace. Fanboys vs. environmental fanatics: We look forward to this deeply cynical battle. May the most outlandish argument win.

It looks like Microsoft may be buying up Nintendo...'s land, their empty unused land. Sorry, I had to do that.

Nintendo of American is taking bids for a 27-acre block of land in Redmond that they had initially purchased to expand their North American headquarters, the Seattle PI reports. Among the bidders is neighbor Microsoft.

"Microsoft, of course, would bid for it, because it's so convenient for them," Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo of America vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, said in an interview at a Seattle event where Nintendo showed its latest video games.

News of the impending sale comes on the heels of confirmation that Nintendo is moving some of their people to offices in New York and Silicon Valley. About 20 to 30 people from Nintendo.com will be moving to New York, while an additional 60 to 80 people from sales and marketing will be moving to Silicon Valley.

Kaplan says the decisions to sell the land and move the people are not related. Yeah, I don't believe that for a second. Brian Crecente

Microsoft eyeing empty Nintendo site [SPI]