Nintendo phones mooted, PSP and PS3 bundlers routed, and some quirky news from Japan

Where there are customers to rip off, money hungry console vendors are never far from hand. The week began with news of the first set of European PlayStation bundles, and how pre-orders were only obtainable at the expense of a PSP purchase. Some of the guilty parties have since done some embarrassing back tracking but something tells us that this is just the beginning of a much bigger drama.

Nokia is starting to firm up its plans for the much talked about N-Gage 2 platform, which is now confirmed as emerging in September. In other mobile news, Ed taunted us with a round up of the best that Japanese mobile gaming has to offer, including the unlikely title I'm An Air Traffic Controller! and what will no doubt be a very welcome port of Phoenix Wright.

Speaking of phones, Nintendo raised a few eyebrows this week when a long overdue patent for a Nintendo gaming phone was unearthed. The device that by today's standards looks about as technologically advanced as a whisk is unlikely to appear, but it is telling of the areas Nintendo has been (and possibly still are) looking at.

When Nintendo is not beavering away with strange new contraptions behind closed doors, it's making a show of giving its contraptions away for free. Some lucky frequent flyers with Southwest Airlines joined the Ageless Americans as the second group to receive the Nintendo DS care package.

In other DS news, Codemasters finally got around to recalling the faulty Bubble Bobble Revolution cartridges that have been in circulation, which is great news for all of those frustrated players who thought they would never see past level 30.

If you haven't just ran from your computer to find a jiffy bag and your faulty copy of Bubble Bobble Revolution, a sack full of other such blog goodness is waiting to be enjoyed, such as a report on when Final Fantasy PSP will be released, what sort of content to expect from the next FeedYourPSP download, where to buy a waterproof Nintendo game, what a night vision Chotto Shot video looks like, and who is involved in the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid movie.

Phew! If you don't need a lie down after all of that I'll eat my DS. Toodlepip.