Easter 2008 Shipping Times

In honour of the annual event to guzzle enough chocolate to make even Augustus Gloop feel slightly queasy, the whole country is taking some time out! Yes, Easter is upon us once more!

Friday 21th March and Monday 24th are both bank holidays in the UK and Royal Mail are not working on either of these days, so any orders placed after 1pm on Thursday afternoon won't go out until Tuesday.

There will be limited customer support available on Friday and we'll start getting back to normal on Monday. We'll be pulling out all the stops to make sure any orders placed over the weekend can go out on time on Tuesday so should be with you middle of the week.

Enjoy your Easter Eggs over the break (and no, we don't mean those Halo 3 secret surprises), and in the meantime get your orders in quick before the break!

How to Get Sound From the Playstation 3 with the HD Fury Gamer or a DVI Cable

If you want to play your PS3 on a PC monitor using either a HDMI to DVI cable (if your monitor supports DVI and HDCP - be careful as most don't) or the HDMI to VGA HD Fury Gamer Cable (which doesn't require a HDCP monitor and uses standard PC VGA connections), you may be confused as to how you get sound out from your Playstation 3.

Neither the VGA or the DVI connections are capable of carrying sound. This means you cannot just plug the HD Fury Gamer cable from the PS3 to your VGA monitor and expect to hear sound. There are two options for enabling sound in this situation:

1) Digital Optical Output
If you have an amp that supports a digital optical audio connection, then this option is your best solution. One end plugs into the optical output on the PS3 and the other into your amp. You'll be able to get the highest fidelity 5.1 Dolby Digital sound on your films and games with the optical cable.


2) Red and White Phono Stereo Output (from AV Composite Cable)

If you aren't fortunate enough to have an optical amp, there is another alternative. At the same time as having a HDMI-DVI or HD Fury Gamer cable plugged into your PS3, you can also plug in the standard red/white/yellow AV composite cable that comes in the package with a new PS3, or separately available for £3.99.

The HDMI output has a separate port to the AV Multi out (see pic), which means both cables can be plugged in together. In this way, you can get a high-def PS3 image on your monitor with analog sound supplied by the red/white phonos, either plugged directly into your speakers or via your computer. To set it up, you just need to navigate the 'display options' in the PS3 menu, selecting HDMI output for video and analog output for sound.

Has this been useful to you? Let us know and leave a comment!

Let Us Fix Your Broken Xbox 360 - Round Trip UK Courier Service just £54.95

We all know the Xbox 360 isn't the most reliable of consoles. In fact, it's probably the least reliable console ever. With reported failure rate figures as high as 30%, it's about as reliable as leaving Rik Waller to lock up a pizza parlour, parting with the words 'Now whatever you do, don't touch the stock.'

So what do you do if your Xbox 360 starts to the show the Red Ring of Death, or any of the other multitude of 360 failures such as no video/audio, random crashes, freezes on booting, overheating, error 74? Well, let us fix it!

Here's how it works: You choose the Repair Service, pay £54.95 and we'll automatically send you a repair form to print off and fill out, and a shipping address label. Our courier will then pick up your Xbox 360 on your chosen day from your home or work (anywhere as long it's in the UK) to bring it to our console repair center. Our experienced technicians (who repair more than 50 Xbox 360 consoles/week dontcha know) will use the latest diagnostic tools and utilities to get your console working again.

We'll even clean and service your console at the same time, making sure factors like air flow and temperature are performing normally. With a 3 month warranty against the same fault, you’ll also have peace of mind. Once your 360 is good as new, our couriers will deliver it right back to your house.

If you're anything like us you can't be without your gaming machines for long, which is why we've made the whole service as fast and as streamlined as we can. The whole process, from collection to delivery back to you should only take 7 days. And all we need you to do is box up your console and tell us what's wrong with it. Not bad for £54.95, eh?

Get your Xbox 360 fixed right here!

TheGameTrain.com - Official Reseller of Talismoon Products

Talismoon create some of the highest quality and most innovative modding products for all the next-gen consoles such as the ever popular RROD-averting Max Whisper fan, as well as their vast range of colourful mods to customize your console to your tastes.

We're happy to say TheGameTrain.com is now an official UK reseller of the Talismoon product range, a commendation bestowed upon only the biggest and most reliable sellers. You can view our name in Talismoon's recommended sellers list right here, so you can trust you'll be getting great service with The Game Train.

Wii Freeloader UK PAL Euro Instructions

The Wii Freeloader (£9.99) is a fantastic disc for playing import USA/JAP games on your UK Wii, but there are a few instructions you must follow to get it to work. See this guide for a step-by-step tutorial on how to play imported games on your Wii:


Loading a Game

1. If the Game that you wish to play is from an NTSC region then you may need to first set the display setting to 60 Hz. This setting is found in the Tools Menu on your console.
2. Insert the FreeLoader for Wii™ disk and it will automatically load and run.
3. Multiple colour bars on the screen will indicate that FreeLoader for Wii™ is in operation. The colour bars will appear twice then the drive will stop.
4. Eject the Freeloader disk and now insert the NTSC game that you want to play.
5. The Game will play as normal.

Console/Firmware upgrades on Game Discs


Most games have an upgrade program which is loaded before the game application itself. The purpose of the upgrade program is to update your console, where necessary, with new firmware modules. When loading a game from another region on your console this upgrade program may have unpredictable results if loaded.

FreeLoader for Wii™ will automatically prevent this upgrade program from being loaded and will only load the main game application.

A number of games will not function unless the upgrade program has first been loaded and so FreeLoader has an alternate. See below for the selective alternative load method guide for these games.


Alternative method: For Games which require a firmware update

1. Insert the FreeLoader for Wii™ disk and it will automatically load and run.
2. Multiple colour bars on the screen will indicate that FreeLoader for Wii™ is in operation. The colour bars will appear twice then the drive will stop.
3. Eject the Freeloader disk and then RE-INSERT / RE-LOAD the Freeloader disk once more.
4. The multiple colour bars will appear twice more and the drive will again stop.
5. Only after the Freeloader disc has been separately loaded twice, eject the Freeloader disc and now insert the Game Disc that you want to play. The Game will play as normal and this time the upgrade program will be selectively loaded.

CAUTION: Please be aware that allowing the upgrade program to run may, in a number of cases, still cause unwanted effects.

Since any game updates can create unwanted results or even incompatibility with Freeloader, it is recommended that all new games, even ones from your own region, are loaded via Freeloader’s alternative selective upgrade method.


Online Upgrades: A Warning

FreeLoader for Wii™ works with all current versions of Wii firmware at the time of its release (11/03/08).

No guarantee can be given of compatibility with future firmware releases so if Online Updates are performed on your console this may prevent Freeloader from functioning correctly.

We recommend that you consider the benefits of any Online Upgrade against the possible loss of compatibility with freeloader and its functions.


Has this helped you out? Let us know by leaving a comment!

How to fix a blank/black screen on the PS3

If you've been tinkering with the PS3's video settings and inadvertently set it to a mode that your TV doesn't support, it will give you a black screen. Even when you turn it off, the screen will remain black, though you should still be able to hear sound. Hear that horrible churning noiseracing through your stomach? That's the feeling you get when you've just made a £300 paperweight.

As the Playstation 3 supports loads of video inputs - component, Scart, HDMI (but not native VGA), it's very easy to select a resolution or type of cable that your screen doesn't support, which results in the PS3 giving a black screen.


Fortunately there's a very easy, though not widely known fix: Turn the Playstation 3 off. Hold the power button down for 5 seconds until the PS3 beeps twice. This will reset the PS3's video settings to its default settings and your screen should now appear.

One useful device if you're moving screens a lot is the E-Setter (£14.99), an external USB device that lets you pre-select the video cable and resolutions to use.

Did this work for you? Leave a comment and let us know.

HD Fury 2 First Details Sneak Preview

NOW SHIPPING FAST FROM THE UK!

BUY THE HDFURY 2 HERE FOR £119.95

As part of being the UK distributor for the HD Fury, we're privy to interesting information on HKMod's future projects and developments. We've just discovered the first details about their next project, the HDFury2.

Despite it's sequel-stricken name, you've got no need to worry if you've already bought the HD Fury or HD Fury Gamer as it's not intended to supercede these models. Instead, it will give you even more connection options while maintaining the superb picture quality you've grown to expect from the HDFury. It's not so much PS2 to the PS1 as it is Empire Strikes back to A New Hope - it's different, but just as good as the original.


Onwards! Here's everything we know about the HD Fury 2:

• Component (YPbPr) output. If your screen only supports HD through component input, the HD Fury 2 will convert a HDMI signal to YPbPr. Some screens will also only support 576p through VGA, and the HDFury 2 will tackle this problem. As a HDMI to component converter you'll benefit from upscaled PS1/2 games on the PS3, which is not possible through a straight component connection.
• Sound output. Use the red/white analog phonos to connect your speakers. We don't currently have info on whether optical/coaxial sound output will also be made available.
• HDMI input. The current HD Fury has a DVI input and so requires an HDMI-DVI adapter (either in the form of a HDMI to DVI cable or a HDMI to DVI adapter, in conjuction with a HDMI cable).
• Out in three months? It's due out in three months. Probably. Don't blame us if it's not though.
  

And that's all we know folks. Stay tuned to the blog for further updates as it gets closer to release.

What do you think of these features? Let us know by leaving a comment.

TheGameTrain.com: Now Offering Walk-in Collection from Birmingham

We're pleased to announce that in addition to the numerous shipping options we offer for both domestic and international delivery (we have customers from all over the world), you can also pick up your orders from our warehouse in Birmingham. Of course if you do collect, you won't need to pay for shipping.

For all you Brummies that want to take advantage of this service, just select 'Collection from Birmingham' at the checkout and give us a ring on 0800 652 5140 to arrange a time to pick it up. Do make sure you ring ahead so we can make sure someone's in!


We're located near the city centre in the Jewellery Quarter. Our full address is:

The Game Train Ltd,
The Argent Centre,
Unit 202A,
60 Frederick Street,
Hockley,
Birmingham,
West Midlands,
B1 3HS

HD Fury Gamer 2008 Edition: In stock in the UK on Wednesday 3rd March!

The final version of the HD Fury Gamer is currently winging its way to The Game Train and will be in stock on Wednesday (assuming no bad weather delays!). Plenty of you have pre-ordered the much awaited all-in-one PS3 HDMI to VGA cable and this means all your pre-orders will ship out on Wednesday. There's still stock available on the pre-orders, so get yours quick at the pre-order price of £49.99 right here.

As a bonus, here's a few pics of the what the final product and packaging will look like:





Buy the HD Fury Gamer Edition here for £49.99

Are you getting the HDFury? Leave a comment!