World of Warcraft expansion unveiled

So many people turned up to the Sydney launch of Wrath of the Lich King that police arrived to ask organisers to turn the music down, reports Australia's ITNews.com.

Nearly 1 000 people lined up outside EB Games' George Street store in Sydney to be the first to buy the latest instalment in the World of Warcraft series.

The fantasy computer game - for which players buy a software package as well as pay a monthly subscription fee - has over 10 million players worldwide.

Space tourist and Tabula Rasa creator Richard Garriot has wiped the slate clean by resigning his position at MMOG studio to pursue new interests, reports Gamespot.

Garriott's move is the latest chapter in a decades-long career, which began with his creation of the single-player role-playing series Ultima in the 1980s, and continued into the 1990s with his first massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Ultima Online.

While sudden, his exit from NCsoft was not totally unexpected. Despite six years of costly development, Tabula Rasa failed to achieve critical mass, selling just over 61 000 copies at US retailers as of 30 September 2008, according to the NPD Group.

Many families are keeping the Grinch at bay with a variety of strategies for gift giving on a budget, says Napsnet.

According to a study released in October by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), consumer electronics remain at the top of holiday wish lists despite the economy.

The CEA also found that videogame products make up the leading gift choice based on perceived value and "wow factor".