[Chart and statistics via: Kotaku]

Despite having more than a year’s worth of headstart, Microsoft’s XBox 360 has been eclipsed by the Nintendo Wii in international sales.

I don’t think I need to elaborate on the story for you to get the impact of what’s happening in the Next-Gen console wars. But just for a comparison, take a look at these stats:

Launch Date in U.S.

• XBox 360 - November 22, 2005
• Wii - November 19, 2006

Time in Months to Reach 10M Units Sold (approx.)

• Xbox 360 - 22 Months
• Wii - 10.5 Months

The biggest factor in these numbers, however, is clearly the Japanese market. Microsoft has virtually no consumer base in Japan for the XBox 360. The Wii is still behind the 360 in North American sales, but look at the numbers in relation to the amount of time the consoles have been available. It’s only a matter of time before the Wii catches up.

So, well. There you go.

By pminton

The biggest detriment to workplace productivity since the internet itself has been found.

It’s called Wee War and it will eat your working efficiency faster than a deadite will swallow your soul.

Basically it’s very similar to Advance Wars for the GBA (remember the Game Boy?) except that it provides online multiplayer. And, oh, by the way - it’s totally free. Each player takes command of an army of varying size depending on the map. Bases are scattered around the maps to provide your army with resources and a place to create new units.

There are Tanks, Infantry, Artillery and dune-buggy-type vehicles called Raiders for creating wonton destruction. Each unit type has different attributes and price tags. A game goes something like this:

1. Move your units.
2. Capture bases and build more units.
3. Attack your opponent(s) units.
4. Capture bases.
5. Repeat.

Of course there is a more to the game than that, but in essence, there you go. Each map has a unique combination of resources and terrains to deal with - forcing strategy changes in every game. Also, if you want to play the “pro” version of the game (which unlocks new units like a hovercraft, other terrain tiles and new maps) you don’t have to shell out money; all you have to do is get 10 friends to sign up and play. So, ahem, sign up and play!

One of the best things about Wee War is that you can take your turn whenever you’re good and ready. When a player creates a new game, he also gets to create a time limit for turns which can be from five minutes to three days. If you get too busy doing your actual work (heaven forbid) you have plenty of time to take your turn. It’s the perfect distraction (aside from blogging) on the job.

WeeWar is still essentially a beta program, but even in this form it’s incredibly fun (all the ecto-staff are currently engaged in multiple battles as we speak).

If you’ve ever thought, “Hey, strategy games might be cool, I guess,” then you need to go give this a try. Hell, even if you’ve never thought that you should give this a try. It’s the best workday diversion since Digg and even more of a time waster!

Put down that database query, that TPS report, that fry scooper, and/or that crying baby and get over to weewar.com. All those things’ll still be there in the 10 minutes (or less) that it’ll take to get your carnage on.

So after finally digging up the ladybug video from so long ago, I got to searching a bit. And I found what I was looking for.

The ladybug is just one of many wonderful characters from the French television series Minuscule. Produced by Futurikon, these amazing shorts are the result of a collaboration between France 2 and The Disney Channel. Although I am having some trouble getting the whole story due to my lack of French comprehension, the animations were created by Thomas Szabo and Helene Giraud - whose work you can see by clicking right here.

Watching these shorts is pure joy for me. The CG work is gorgeous, and expertly integrated with live action footage. The stories are wholly without words, so they’re universally understandable. These tiny characters tell the best kinds of stories, and they are simply amazing to watch. Funny, touching, sometimes a little mean-spirited - but always a delight.

You know they’re good if I just used the term “delight.”

Luckily, the whole series is available on DVD. Unluckily, it’s only available in PAL Region 2 format, and you have to buy it from France. But still…you can purchase them here or here. If anyone knows of any Region 1 NTSC versions, please let me know.

When you go to the Minuscule page, you can watch pieces and parts of all the videos there. It’s absolutely, positively brilliant stuff. I’m linking to the individual YouTube videos. Until they’re available here in the US, you can enjoy all the shorts I could find right here!

(ps- I have no idea what order these go in. Email me if I’m missing some)

I posted this video a long time ago on my old blog, but then it was taken down for some reason. I thought this brilliant and hilarious video had been lost forever…

But thanks to some kindhearted German, we have it again.

Click the picture to watch the video - trust me it’s worth it. I would have uploaded it here, but the site isn’t handling videos so well.