The UpStream

We here have all been excited about the release of the DSi XL, because who doesn't need a huge piece of technology in their pockets. Nintendo finally announced this week, at their day-long media summit in San Francisco, that the device will be released in the US on March 28th. Looks like we won't have to wait too much longer to get our hands on the latest in the DS family.

In case you don't remember, the DSi XL will sport a screen nearly double the size of the current DSi, offers a better viewing angle and longer stylus. But it also comes bundled with DSiWare pre-installed, so no work on your part.

You can look for the device to hit shelves with a price of $190 on March 28th. Are you guys going to get one for yourselves or did you buy the DSi when it came out? Let us know in the comments section below.

Last July I told you about Inspired Media Entertainment launching a Christian gaming portal. Well, the road to Damascus has been a little longer and harder than they thought, because since then their public name has changed to Left Behind Games and they have now merged with Digital Praise, creators of the rhythm games Guitar Praise and Dance Praise. I bet you can guess what type of company they are. Troy Lyndon, CEO of Left Behind Games, described it like this:

It all makes sense. At first we thought Jon couldn't get the PSP Go because of a long story involving the act of a disappearing console, illegitimate credits and spontaneously combusting receipts. But we have now learned that it could just be the fact that the launch of the PSP Go, along with the higher price, may have just caused Jon to join the ranks of the Metal Gear Solid Russian soldiers by having a question mark over his head. At least, that's what Sony Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations Rob Dyer told us. Go ahead, ask him!

You know we here at PLuGHiTz Live! just love numbers. So when our fellow techies at Distimo came out with an application store study, we just had to share the news! However, we have to point out that they may seem a little bit Android-biased. They reported that the Android Market is expanding by more than 3000 apps per month, which is about 15% of the total applications available for the platform. Kudos to Android for stepping up to fight the Apple app store, but most of us on our show have Palm Pres, and because of that, we found some other numbers to be as equally exciting.

On January 1st, 2010, the webOS App Catalog hit 1000 apps. Awesome, right? Well, it gets better. Since then, over 500 apps have joined in on the fun, keeping a pace of 10 apps per day, or 300 apps per month. That means a 20% growth, which after I have checked in with our resident accountant Jon, is more than 15%. So take that, Android!

Looks like Playstation Home just became about a million times more appealing to me versus Xbox Live. If you can't tell I am an enormous Star Wars fan and LucasArts has invaded PlayStation Home this week with a bunch of new virtual goods and a space to hang out in. Without all of the crime and sudden de-limbing that goes on in the Mos Eisley Cantina, the LucasArts storefront will offer patrons a safe environment to purchase virtual goods. Sorry, no power converters available, so it looks like you WILL have to go to Tosche station; just watch out for those Sand People. But it doesn't stop there! Looks like they are also adding some Indiana Jones add-ons for you striving archeologists out there.

Hit the break for the list of the new additions:

If you attended Blizzcon 2008 two years ago you recieved voucher codes for long-to-the-5th-power-awaited StarCraft 2 Beta (yes that's right we are still in beta), and it turns out that not everyone who received those vouchers got into the first wave of beta like some were lead to believe. A Blizzard representative explained on the Battle.net forums that "due to the sheer number of BlizzCon attendees, we could not get everyone in with the first wave." That being said, you might want to reconsider dropping $300 on one of those vouchers. I say this because more than 50 beta keys, most of which came in the form of coupons handed out at BlizzCon 2008, are now being auctioned off on eBay. The prices range from around $120 on the low end, averaging out at about $300, and reaching as high as $450! If you're as independently wealthy as you are impatient, this may be your only option to get what we've all been waiting so long for.

The poster confirmed that these neglected BlizzCon attendees "will be included in a future wave, possibly within the next two weeks." We're hoping the wave isn't restricted to just this group of globetrotters, and that us plebes can get our hands on the highly sought-after strategy title as well.