Fred Willard

Actor/comedian Fred Willard is a funny, funny guy who (in my opinion) should get a lot more recognition than he does. Witness Best in Show, Spinal Tap, Anchorman and Waiting for Guffman. His latest gig is a commercial for Personal Trainer: Cooking. I admit, the commercial/trailer sounds a little forced and he makes some goofy jokes, but I like it anyway. Willard shows his buddy the cookbook on DS, then goes shopping and then goes hope to cook up some chili for friends. I won’t spoil the ending.

You can see the video at Brain GameTrailers.com. It’s several minutes long.

Best Buy Express

Best Buy partnered with a vending machine company called ZoomSystems to make the automated kiosks and set them up in September 2008, a press release stated. Besides DS stuff, the kiosks have mobile phones PSP consoles and games, PC accessories, digital cameras, flash drives, memory cards and more.
Several people who have posted online say that the prices are actually similar to what you’d find in Best Buy stores. Also, the items vend gently so you don’t bash your new DS before it’s even in your hands.
Airports with Best Buy Express include those in: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and San Francisco.

Update: A couple of DS Diva readers have written in to ask how to subscribe to the magazine. DSDiva.com is actually not affiliated with Game Candy Magazine. It’s put out by Ubisoft. But if you go to the Game Candy Web site (just click on that link) you can sign up with them, or pick up a copy at Game Crazy and look for a subscription card. Thanks!

Second Update, March 9: DS Diva readers have written in about issues they’re having communicating with Game Candy Magazine. We’re not connected to the magazine in any way, but here’s a link to the Ubisoft Web site with support contact: http://parentscorner.us.ubi.com/

Burger King toys

My kid is pretty stoked about this Nintendo promotion at Burger King. Not only does he get cool Mario (and friends) stuff; he gets to eat kids’ meals–a rare treat in our house. Anyway, after two failed return trips in which we kept getting Yoshi, we finally scored the Paper Mario and tumbing Donkey Kong toys. We really hope we don’t miss out on the Whirl-and-Twirl Princess Peach and the Light-Up Luma star. For more on the Burger King Nintendo promotion see the my earlier DS Diva post.

Oh, and you may have to ask several Burger King workers several times which additional toys they have available. On this last visit, we were told we could only get Donkey Kong, but then our meal came wtih Paper Mario. So, I asked to buy Donkey Kong and they said I couldn’t have that one.

Mario Game Rack

Club Nintendo is replacing My Nintendo, and last night the Club Nintendo site went live. It looks pretty cool. By registering products and completing surveys, you can earn “gold coins” that you can redeem for Nintendo-themed products. (Generally, one game earns 30 points and there are a lot of items to be “purchased” in the 500-800 coin range.) I have my eye on the Mario DS holder. If you have an existing My Nintendo account, it should transfer smoothly. Mine did at first, but now it’s being a little wonky (returning me to the login screen.) Update: It’s fine now.

Teen Angst on DS

If you’re as old I as I am, you’ll remember the 1986 John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. (Ah, Duckie.) If you’re a decade younger, you’ll identify more with 1995′s Clueless. If you were coming of age circa 2004, Mean Girls may define your generation. Whatever teen chick flick niche you fall into, the Nintendo DS will soon have a game for you. Paramount studios has partnered with Legacy Interactive to produce games based on the hit films. (Legacy Interactive is behind Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals.) The tagline is “This Time You Rule the School,” and the scheduled release date is January or February 2009 for the PC version, so the DS version should not be far behind.

Clueless seems to be targeted to preteen or teen girls, as it reportedly has a fashion and matchmaking focus. Mean Girls is more of a puzzle game with a simulation-style game based on social cliques, which of course need to be perpetuated. (Although Patrick Dempsey sure did well for himself after playing the geek in Can’t Buy me Love.) Pretty in Pink sounds like it could intrigue the (cringe) older set, with a hidden object puzzle game not unlike MillionHeir.

Now, I’ve got to go find my Pretty in Pink soundtrack. I have it on cassette and CD. Psychedelic Furs, anyone?