TALKING POINT: Last week Nintendo announced Wii Fit, a balance board and game combo designed to get you in shape. Is this the next Power Pad, or the next flip side of the Power Pad that you never use?

Jeff: I knew calling Nintendo every week and demanding a new Power Pad would pay off.

Brian: I don't know if anyone at Nintendo is reading this, but I like to sit down when I play video games. How about a new R.C. Pro-Am?

Jeff: Wii Fit is a great idea. I'm almost done with Math Blasters From Planet Remainder, and I'm really looking for a new game to trick me into bettering myself.

Brian: I'm still not sure I see the difference between a Wii Balance Board and the floor.

Jeff: It measures your center of gravity. So, for example, one ski-jump game has you squatting down as low as you can and standing up quickly. There's a bunch of those mini-games

Brian: Do they have a game where you stand still with your arms at your side for as long as possible? I feel like I would be really good at that.

Jeff: I don't think it was in the preview. Gullible, lonely people will spend several hundred dollars on an electric belt that works out your abs for you. You can't even ski jump with that.

Brian: Playing drums in Rock Band is a work out, right?

Jeff: Only time will tell. That actually brings us to our next point...

TALKING POINT: Harmonix, the original producers of Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II, are now working on full band simulator Rock Band. Guitar Hero III is being developed by Neversoft, most famous for the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series. Has Rock Band made Guitar Hero III irrelevant?

Jeff: I currently own one Guitar Hero guitar. I wouldn't mind buying a second, but I think a third would upgrade me to a class-four dork. I'm not sure I'm ready to start buying action figures.

Brian: The Rock Band guitar has five extra guitar buttons for finger-tapping solos, for a total of ten. My understanding is you can play the game with the regular five-button guitar, but that's like playing Wii Fit with a Power Pad.

Jeff: Five more buttons? I just got the hang of the orange one.

Brian: Bottom line though - it isn't about the buttons. Guitar Hero, or any music game, is going to sink or swim on the track list.

Jeff: Rock Band is promising new downloadable content weekly. It'll cost you, but you've already bought the game, the console, and four toy instruments. What's another few Microsoft points? There are no such promises from the Guitar Hero III camp.

Brian: It's nice to know that the $750+ you sink into this thing is only an initial investment. There are still plenty more opportunities to give them my money.

Jeff: Besides specific songs, what does Guitar Hero III offer that Rock Band doesn't? It looks like it'll have a competitive mode with power-ups, not unlike Harmonix' pre-Guitar Hero masterpiece Amplitude.

Brian: Guitar Hero III also features an appearance by my favorite "did you know he's Jewish?" guitar virtuoso, Slash.

Jeff: Slash is just a stage name. He's really Benjamin Slashawitz. That all sounds nice, but it's clear Rock Band is the premiere product now. It's a shame too, because I just got "Guitar Hero 4 Life" tattooed in big letters across my chest.

Brian: I hope they sell a mic stand so I can drum and sing at the same time, like Phil Collins.

Jeff: Or Micky Dolenz.

TALKING POINT: E3, the video game industry's largest event, just ended. What are you going to be spending money on this year?

Jeff: Nyko's Wii Party station. For a mere $25 you get a Wii remote caddy, four freezable cup holders, LCD scoreboard, a chip bowl, and a fan so you can cool off your sweaty hands like you're at a bowling alley. This thing doesn't only hold chips - it supports dip too. We're living in the future, people!

Brian: For the cost of half-a-game, that's almost a better deal than the Wii itself. I'm really looking forward to KillZone 2, which sounds like a game Bart Simpson might play at the arcade. Since it's for the Playstation 3 I won't be buying it, but I might try to buy a friend with a Playstation 3.

Jeff: I get excited about games that don't look like anything I've ever seen before, and Echochrome (movie here) qualifies.

Brian: Gee, do I want to play the game that looks like a sophomore computer animation product, or the one called KillZone?

Jeff: Contra, which is another game that could have been called KillZone, is finally getting a new sequel. It's for the DS, it's not 3D, and I'm buying it even if it gets bad reviews. I'm a sucker for a good NES update.

Brian: I'll certainly be buying A Boy and His Blob '07 sight unseen. I saw there's a game called Hail to the Chimp. I don't know anything about it, but I want in.