Did you think Amazon was going to leave you (and your wallet) to slog through the press of holiday shoppers at your local retail stores? Hardly. The full article contains the list of goodies available for Amazon's Black Friday Sale.

You know the political scene's really heating up if a presidential candidate starts wooing video gamers for votes. Reports have come in that Presidential nominee Barack Obama started an advertising campaign in 18 games, so don't be surprised if you suddenly drive by an Obama ad when you're racing in Burnout: Paradise.

Perhaps you guys got excited about the announcement made by Electronic Arts on the upcoming Nascar 09. The company has just unleashed details on the Paint Booth Customization feature in the racing game, accompanied by 13 screenshots. Find details and photos at the full article.

Due to unfavorable business circumstances, Stormfront Studios was forced to shut down, leaving its 33 employees wandering about looking for new work. It's always sad to hear news like this, especially when the studio already worked on notable franchises such as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Eragon (Xbox 360, PSP, PC) and other games. More in the full article.

Nothing beats that thirst while driving the mean streets of Burnout Paradise (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) than downing a can of ice cold Coca-Cola. Expect to see similar advertisements such as this in the near future as Massive, Inc. and Electronic Arts have recently announced that they will be extending their agreement to offer dynamic in-game ads for several EA titles on the PC and the Xbox 360. More details about this in our full article.

The next installment in Electronic Arts' NASCAR series is right around the corner, as the publisher just announced that NASCAR 09 is scheduled for release on June 10. To top it all, veteran race car driver Jeff Gordon was given the honor to appear on its cover. What else is there? Three new screenshots are parked at the full article, so hit that jump!

Microsoft's early Chrismas present for racing game fans would have to be the price drop of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. For US$ 99, you can now avail of the peripheral that promises an authentic racing experience. Drive to the full article for more details!

The BC team has just announced the latest list of backwards compatible titles for the Xbox 360 which has been added to the already three hundred existing games available on Xbox Live. The list will be made available over at XBL.

Check out the new list at the full article.

Earlier, a USA Today report details accounts of several students and workers who are eager to get their hands on Microsoft and Bungie Studios' much-awaited game Halo 3. They all either plan to call in sick or take a leave to play for the year's biggest gaming event.

USA Today describes Halo 3 mania as "a cultural phenomenon rivaling the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." With NASCAR, Mountain Dew, Burger King, and a slew of others getting into the act, it's not hard to see why.

College student Dane Mitchell says he's already informed his professor that he'll be out on Tuesday and he already has all of his assignments to be taken care of later. "I'm going to pick up the game at midnight from GameStop, go to a friend's house, and play it for 36 hours," he declares.

Dave Durham, a University of Cincinnati marketing major says "about 25% of the students won't be in class on Tuesday" because of Halo 3's release. Workplaces seem to be experiencing something similar.

Dave Godwin, a Kroger computer help desk analyst says he has filed a vacation way ahead of time and pre-ordered the game a year ago. All that's left is for the clock to strike midnight and gaming bliss a year in the making will be all his.

Gears have risen that Halo 3 ecstasy could last for days on and they could be right about it: Advance reviews by reliable sources say that the Halo 3 bite is as big as its bark, and that it will live up to the hype. What are your plans for tonight?

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says that Microsoft and Bungie's Halo 3 launch will be the single biggest first day game release in history. Sales could easily hit US$ 200 million on launch date and sell 130,000 more Xbox 360s.

This could place the Xbox 360 at top spot again by going toe to toe with Nintendo's red-hot commercial success Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 and the Wii are precariously close in overall sales figures, though it must be noted that the Microsoft console had a year of headway before the Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 launched.

Microsoft is hauling in the proverbial nine yards of marketing and product extensions, sporting a deluxe edition of Halo 3 worth US$ 120, a comic book mini-series from Marvel, a new Mountain Dew variant called Game Fuel, ads on Burger King and 7-Eleven, and most recently a Halo 3 themed NASCAR paint job for David Stremme's No. 40 Dodge Charger.

"It will be the biggest first-day seller ever ... it will grow the installed base," says Pachter as he predicts some 2.5 million copies to fly off stores from the get-go. In effect, Pachter says that the September sales of the Xbox 360 game console will add up to 40,000. Hardcore fans are expected to treat the launch like a national holiday.

"It's a test for the industry on how much hype can you successfully get around a game," says X-Play host Morgan Webb as she concludes that this is a big event not only for Microsoft and Halo fans but for the business as a whole.