It’s a very Wii-tastic day at Amazon today. The Gold Box is always filled each day with all kinds of different deals, which appear for limited times throughout the day until stock runs out. Today, it’s all Wii related.

Well, almost all Wii related. The Deal of the Day is the Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard bundle that includes the game and the controller. And it isn’t just the Wii version that’s on sale. The Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of that game are knocked down to $39.99 today only. Normally, it costs $69.99…

Head to Kmart if you’re in the market for a new gaming console. From today (August 8, 2010) until August 14, 2010, Kmart is clearing its inventory of certain console models. Most of them include the original white Wii and old Xbox 360 consoles. The Xbox 360 S is the new standard and the black Wii seems to be here to stay. Also up for a discount are numerous PSP bundles and specific game bundles.

Despite the fact that skateboarding game Tony Hawk Ride didn’t do so hot last year (reviews were… less than stellar), Activision has confirmed that a new Ride is on the way. 1Up reports that CEO Mark Griffith explained away the previous game’s poor reception in today’s Q4 call.

It’s not uncommon for games to show up at Goodwill Stores, but the games are usually opened, used or over four months old. Surprisingly, Tony Hawk Ride has defied the odds and showed up, brand new with skateboard peripheral, at a Goodwill Store in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Most expensive items are kept in a locked case in the front of the store, by the cash registers, and two unopened copies of the Wii version of Tony Hawk Ride sat on the shelf, each priced at $74.99. The game came out November 17, 2009 and the normal retail price is $119.99, so that’s quite a substantial discount.

When a Goodwill employee was asked about the items, she stated that Goodwill often receives donations from retailers like Kohls, Sears, Target and Borders, and the Arlington Heights store just happened to receive the games. I asked to take a look at both boxes, and found that both were sealed and in perfect condition. There weren’t any original price tags on them, so there was no way to determine which store might have donated them.

All Goodwill Stores have a 10-day return policy for electronic merchandise…

Announced by Tony Hawk at the Microsoft press conference, the wireless skateboard controller is smaller than a standard skate deck and “full of technology.”

Thanks to two internal accelerometers and four infrared sensors (two on each side), it will recognize foot placement for tricks, hand movement for grabs and recognize subtle movements for accurate leaning. You’ll be able to kick it up and even kick along the sides as if you are actually pushing to gain speed. Developed by Robomodo (after eight prototypes, one of which included elements from a WiiMote, Sixaxis and wireless Xbox 360 controller), the deck has a plastic body, will be battery powered and includes buttons on the side (direction pad and four main buttons) for menu selection.

Never before have I ever been as excited about announcements from a keynote as I am right now from the Microsoft keynote that took place yesterday (June 1, 2009) afternoon.

While I should be reserving judgment, what can Sony or Nintendo really bring to the table that would trump Microsoft at this point? Microsoft has made it clear that the Xbox 360 is fast becoming the all around home entertainment experience that Sony wanted (or wants) the PlayStation 3 to be and Nintendo, who knows what Nintendo wants at this point? They already have the best selling console and handheld so I’m sure they will be kicking it easy…