Gennaro Castaldo Watch: Game is afoot

Staff from dwindling-computer-games giant Game have been spotted nipping into Tesco to buy Nintendo 3DS at silly prices, as they can still make a profit flogging them on in their own shops.

Sitting above the fray is HMV's Gennaro Castaldo:

"Some people may enjoy Game's discomfort on this or may feel they acted inappropriately, but others may consider the more valid question to be why another retailer made it possible in the first place," HMV PR boss Gennaro Castaldo told NowGamer.

"Perhaps we should all ask ourselves whose actions ultimately created the greater potential to devalue what is a wonderful piece of new technology that we should all be working hard to support?"

Boo-hoo-hoo, Tescos is undercutting us, a boo-hoo-hoo. Oddly, when HMV were flogging chart singles for 99p and throwing out catalogue albums for a pittance, I don't recall Castaldo worrying that they might have been devaluing records. But then it was only independent record shops that were being driven to the wall then, wasn't it?

HMV could pop into Tesco to top up its stock of 3DSes, but it's probable that they can't afford to do it.

Virgin pours out of Wii

In its admittedly impressive attempt to be largely ignored across an expanding range of platforms, Virgin is going to start streaming its radio channels over Wii and Playstation consoles:

The broadcaster said it was a way to appeal to younger audiences.

"People are treating the consoles as part of their home entertainment media centre, and now Virgin Radio will be part of that experience," said James Cridland, the company's director of digital media.

As if hiring Suggs off the Norwich Union adverts to lead a programme wasn't enough of a temptation to the 15-24 year age group already, eh?