Things are getting really really bad in these economically tough times. The modders seem to be hit the hardest. Need evidence? How about the Tupperware arcade stick? Need more? Check out these Shoebox Fightsticks.

They were created using Xbox 360 controllers, Happ joysticks and 14 buttons…in a pair of shoeboxes for cases. On the up side, Al Bundy has moved from women’s to men’s shoes. Sadly business is slow and this is the result. It beats spending time with the wife.

The FC Mobile II Console will let you play all of your old NES games. It improves on its predecessor by pulling double duty as a handheld and a home gaming system in one unit. NES cartridges can be docked directly in to the portable handheld system which features a 2.5″ LCD screen. While the home gaming system can be connected to a TV screen, and now comes with 2 wireless handheld controllers, and a wireless gun for playing hours of Duck Hunt.

The FC Mobile II is available in black or white. No word on pricing yet but the previous system sells for about $40. So you may want to consider digging out all those NES cartridges.

PC gaming is where I like to get my frag on; I can’t bring myself to play shooters on the PS3 or Xbox because of the controls. One of my favorite PC shooters ever was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The game was great and had fantastic multiple player action.

I was honestly disappointed when the latest Call of Duty game went back to the World War II era, I had hoped for another modern setting for the next installment in the franchise. Infinity Ward and Activision announced recently that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be coming to store shelves this year.

That’s a lot of rockin’. I hope some of you are taking it easy now. As things stand right now, Rock Band has 614 songs available from 269 artists, 11 full albums, and a buttload of revenue. More revenue than all other games in 2008.

For those of you keeping score, we are talking $1 billion in total North American retail sales, with 40 million tracks sold. Plus Rock Band and Rock Band 2 have won 50 industry awards. Frankly I’m surprised you can’t all hear each other rocking all over the continent.

Gaming is a big business in the US and abroad in not only hardware sales, but also the games themselves can be huge moneymakers. Top-flight titles like Halo have outsold blockbuster movies and games continue to make big money even in the current economy.

The cloud-based OnLive gaming service was mentioned here this week and yesterday the guys from Gizmodo went hands on with the PC OnLive system playing Bioshock. Anyone who has seen Bioshock on the PC knows that the game is very graphically demanding.

I am a big fan of video games and play both console and PC games. One of the coolest games for consoles so far has been Guitar Hero. Music games are huge right now and are helping bands and record labels sell tunes at a time when record sales are dropping.

Sony’s PlayStation Home was announced a long time ago and was ultimately delayed repeatedly before it finally launched last year. Part of PS Home is different realms that are branded with different games where fans can meet up. Activision has announced that the Guitar Hero Backstage area has now opened.

To promote their various laptops and showcase their digital sign technology that uses real-time data over the Internet, Toshiba tested an interactive digital billboard in Tokyo last weekend. YouTube users and passers-by with mobile phones were able to play video games against each other and take a short break from the rigors of city life.

The games were played on a digital billboard above the entrance to the Yodobashi Camera superstore in Akihabara. The games are basically mini-games and involve up to six players in a 90-second race to paint squares on a grid and hunt for Toshiba’s cute and cuddly Pala-Chan mascot. Mobile phone players used their number keys to control the game, while YouTube players on computers used the arrow keys on their keyboards. Videos below.

Whether there’s room for a new next gen console or not, Zeebo is squeezing it’s way into the lineup. And since there’s no way it would stand out in the US or Japan, they’ve decided on Brazil. The idea is to get into developing countries that maybe Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have ignored.

Getting your console positioned in the right country is one thing, but you need to have support from the game publishers. Good thing Zeebo has managed to get some big names now. EA Mobile, Namco Networks, THQ, and PopCap have all signed on to support the Zeebo.

Rock Band is one of the most popular games available on the Xbox, PS3, and Wii. The game lets average game geeks and music fans live the life of a virtual rock star and even if you don’t like playing the game, it’s great fun to watch your friends make fools of themselves trying to sing, play guitar, and drum.

I am an avid PC gamer and one of my all time favorite PC games was the original Max Payne. The shooter had an original story, great graphics, and some very innovative game play with its Bullet Time feature. The game was so popular it spawned a feature film recently that honestly sucked, not Marky Mark’s finest work.

Rockstar has announced that Max Payne 3 is coming this winter, we can probably expect the game in time for holiday shopping. Payne is still out for revenge for the death of his family in the third installment from the franchise.

This is either pure genius, or pure “I’m broke as &%#&, but that ain’t gonna stop me from making an arcade stick.” I can’t decide which. Though I can sympathize. Sometimes you just don’t have a cool case for your mod.

In that situation I usually just wait to do my mod, until I’ve found a good case rather then assault my mom’s fake tupperware. But hey, that’s just me. The controller is compatible with the PS2 as well as picnics everywhere.

Music games are huge today with Guitar Hero and Rock Band among the best selling games for the major game consoles. Music games have also been a big hit for the music industry with digital playable tracks often outselling the normal tracks.

The next big version of Guitar Hero is coming soon from Activision and the demo for Guitar Hero Metallica is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The downloadable demo offers gamers a sneak peek at what the full game will offer when it debuts.

Thrustmaster announced the launch of a limited edition pack for the PC in the US, where you get Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X by Ubisoft along with the Thrustmaster T.16000M joystick. The T.16000M features a default configuration for Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X game that allows you to plug and play instantly without any setup. Open the box and you are ready to go.

The T.16000M features new HALLEFFECT ACCURATE TECHNOLOGY (H.E.A.R.T) which provides surgical precision during gaming. This technology uses the 3D Hall Effect magnetic sensors located on the T.16000M stick. The precision is 256 times greater than most other systems, with over 16,000 different values per axis.

The Xtensor is a weird workout glove designed to get your hands in shape for the big game on whatever console you choose. So, if you suck at playing video games, consider this your new personal trainer. It will condition your hands for maximum controller efficiency. Might even improve your action with rosy palm too, but I wouldn’t count on either.

What’s that? You also don’t believe this glove-like device can do anything for you, aside from making you look like an idiot? Check out the blurb below and see if that convinces you.

Rockstar makes some of the most popular video games available with titles like Grand Theft Auto and more. One of the long running franchises for the studio has been the Midnight Club series. The latest title in the franchise is Midnight Club: LA and I have been talking about new DLC content coming for the game for a while. Back in February I mentioned the content would be coming in March and it is finally here.

Rockstar has announced that the anticipated South Central Map Expansion and South Central Premium Upgrade are both now available on the PS3 and Xbox. The map expansion is a free update that adds four new neighborhoods to the game.