Target’s been making sure its ads show up early online for people over the past few months, to get an edge over its competitors. So it’s not unexpected to see the ad for December 11-17, 2011 online already. This way, you have today and tomorrow to prepare and think about possibly making big purchases before sales take effect on Sunday.

Let’s start off with the big ticket items. They will all pretty much involve paying the normal price, but getting some kind of Target gift card with the item to make the deal seem better…

If you want to check out a guitar controller that will work with most major consoles and computers and act as an actual guitar, then stop by Inspired Instrument at CES 2011. The You Rock Guitar will be in the North Hall at booth 4384. Granted, the controller may not instantly make you rock, but it still is pretty impressive.

After this year’s Thanksgiving (November 25, 2010) dinner, you may want to head to your computer, Blackberry or Android device and do a little online shopping. Namco has announced that many of its downloadable games will be greatly reduced this Black Friday 2010 shopping season. So for one week, until December 1, 2010, you can get some iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Blackberry, Android or even computer games at some great prices.

Since there are 56 games on sale, let’s go through them by device. It’ll make things much easier…

Toys R Us 80-page Great Big Christmas Book promises “Over 50 Free Offers Inside.” I haven’t counted my list but I tried to find every freebie listing in the book. In each case you need to buy something else to get the freebie, either a specific item of enough items from a certain brand to more »

Here’s a bullet-point list of bargains that includes video games, consoles, handhelds, tech toys and even some iPhone and iPod Touch stuff. I’ve also taken screen shots of the noted items which I’ll put in a Photo Gallery. Toys R Us is also shipping items for free…

It’s girls night out with your IPhone and IPod Touch thanks to Wee Black Sheep Entertainment.

That’s right, Girls Night Outis a new game that is made to be played at bachelorette parties, birthdays or just a night out with the girls. It’s a scavenger hunt and “truth or dare” mixed in one and it’s great to play with lots of people, especially at bars.

The Japanese lucky cat has become a familiar figure worldwide. People buy statues for their homes, necklaces with the familiar charm and can even set one as their user icon when first setting up a Windows 7 computer. But many people aren’t really familiar with what this iconic cat means, or how prevalent its presence is in popular culture.

Gamers in particular may run across the familiar cat statue in popular games, without even realizing it. Even more interesting is the idea that the virtual lucky cats function the same way in games as they’re supposed to in real life.

So in this week’s Important Importables we’ll take a closer look at what the Maneki Neko is and some of its more popular video game appearances…

Toys ‘R Us’ game sales this week (October 17-23, 2010) are perfect for people who need to pick up gifts for kids or a new iPod. There are discounts, gift cards and trade-in offers that should suit everyone’s desires. Granted, many of the actual games on sale would mainly appeal to a younger generation, but there’s still some good general deals.

The iPod trade-in offer was the first to catch my eye as I leafed through Toys ‘R Us’ sale ad…

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all – good and not so good – in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

Here are some games for your 3.2 devices which includes notable apps: Brothers In Arms 2: Global Front FREE, VH1 Classic Presents: Intellivision and ESPGALUDA II.

Not much to say for this week other than I hope you weren’t expecting a keyboard dock for your iPad on launch day. Those have been postponed until mid April 2010. There’s a brighter side for games this week. Perhaps you remember the classic skiing game – SkiFree? No? Well there’s also Castle Fantasy, Touch Tanks Online, ZombieSmash, Frogger Inferno and Tradewinds Legends.