Remember the HD-DVD / Blu-Ray wars? Well, that’s all over now, but the winner is not necessarily Sony. There’s a theory that the entire thing was engineered by Microsoft to stall for time until they could get their HD streaming services on line. Whether the theory is true or not, Microsoft just announced that they will be partnering with Netflix to provide streaming services via the XBox 360.

Together, Netflix and Microsoft will launch around 10,000 TV and film titles. Judging from the success of XBox Live (6 million active users), they should see a good take up on the service. We’ll see how they fare against the mighty Apple iTunes Store.

Last holiday season, it was incredibly difficult to get your hands on the Nintendo Wii. This year, it looks like nothing much has changed. The $250 gaming console is so popular that Nintendo is having trouble keeping up with the demand. After a very successful November (selling 981,000 units in the US, 200,000 more than the XBox 360 and twice as many as Sony Playstation 3), Nintendo is still having a shortage across the US.

You’ll be lucky to find the Wii at retail stores, where units are snapped up almost as soon as they are delivered. Some stores are limiting purchase to one Wii per customer. Amazon has some in stock, but are limiting to 3 units per household. You could always try eBay, of course, but expect to pay higher than retail.

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Sony’s Playstation 3 has had a hard time competing against Microsoft’s XBox 360 and the Nintendo Wii, even though it has better hardware. The problem was simply that it was priced too high. Just before the holiday season started, Sony slashed the price of the PS3 in the US from $600 to a more reasonable $500. They also introduced a new entry level version at just $400.

The result? The PS3’s sales grew almost 2 and a half times (245%) over the Thanksgiving holiday, on a week by week basis. I guess they still have some way to go before catching up with Nintendo and Microsoft, but this latest news makes the console wars much more interesting leading up to the year end.

Have you played Guitar Hero 3 yet? It may not teach you how to play a real guitar, but it sure is a lot of fun. Apparently, it’s also good for the songs featured in the game. Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica reports that digital sales of the songs in Guitar Hero have increased dramatically.

For example, Slipknot’s track “Before I Forget” jumped up 75 percent the week of Guitar Hero 3’s release, and it went further up 140 percent the week after. I guess we will have bands lining up to include their songs in the next Guitar Hero add-ons and Guitar Hero 4.