After all the wonderful things to come out of Korea — kimchee, Warcraft’s Jang “Moon” Jae Ho, ridiculous neon auto accessories, and various hot supermodels — the peninsular nation is now exporting pure evil. No, not “Juche” Communism, worse than that. I mean microtransactions.
Electronic Arts’s Battlefield: Bad Company beta debuts today on Xbox 360. The game contains ten weapons that can be unlocked. Five will be gifts for purchasers from specific retailers. But the other five will cost you cash money.
Why does EA want to take more money from people who already paid for the game? Why does EA want […]
You won’t be surprised to learn that Microsoft is coming down hard on gamers who cheated to get a higher Gamerscore. Alleged cheaters will have their Gamerscore set to zero, and will lose the ability to earn previously gained achievements.
But according to Major Nelson, there’s more. Now your Gamercard will brand you as a cheater in front of the entire XBL community.
I suppose that’s better than losing your account — or is it? I assume a lot of people will create new accounts rather than wear the Scarlett Letter. Other cheaters will probably […]
Just some cool links. That’s all. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.
Portal companion cube spotted in Canada, eh?
Guinness: Largest Gathering of Games Characters
Are you a male virgin?
If Cortana were real…
VIDEO: Never EVAR dick with a games journalist!
Got links? Let me know.
Destructoid is all agog because Fallout 3 is going to have 200 or more possible endings.
This is certainly interesting, but D-toid’s only concern here is, will it be worth it to try to play all 200?
First off, I’m suspicious that those 200 are actually all variants of a handful of real endings. “I reached the final level with the blue armor, and got the cut scene with the guy in the mustache. Now I’m going back for the red armor and the guy with the pompadour.”
Greenpeace congratulated Sony on its environmentally-friendly practices — while slamming Microsoft and particularly Nintendo over their lack of green policies.
The environmental advocacy group listed Nintendo in last place amongst 18 consumer electronics manufacturers. Last year, Nintendo received a “zero” rating; this year they fared slightly better, with an upgrade to “0.3.” Sounds like faint praise.
Sony received praise for making products without toxic PVCs, and for recycling. They came in 4th on the list.
Nintendo of America has yet to respond to the report.
Link.
From the press release:
Games-Services announced today that the upcoming world class event Mondial du Gaming (international gaming show organized from 4 to 6 of July 2008 in Paris Bercy) will host the first ESWC Masters of the history of Electronic Sports World Cup.
The ESWC Masters of Paris will gather French champions and selected international champions in thrilling showcased tournaments that will reward their winners with prize money and autoberths for the ESWC Grand Final 2008. Tournaments will be played on high-end computers provided by the Official Partners Packard Bell and Intel. Selected […]
Turbine, creators of the Tolkien-based MMORPG Lord of the Rings Online, announced the first major expansion for the fantasy game, The Mines of Moria.
From the press release:
BIRMINGHAM, UK – March 14, 2008 - Turbine, Inc. and Codemasters Online today unveiled Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online™, the first retail expansion for the award-winning massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG). Announced in Birmingham, the childhood home of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Online™: Mines of Moria™ will expand the online world of Middle-earth to let players […]
Videogame mega-publisher Electronic Arts plans to make a hostile takeover bid against Grand Theft Auto and BioShock publisher Take-Two Interactive.
According to the Wall Street Journal, EA plans “to make a tender offer to acquire all of rival video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc’s outstanding shares for $26 each.”
Last month EA made an unsolicited bid of $26 a share, or $1.9 billion, for Take-Two, who rejected the bid as inadequate.
Link.
Guitar manufacturer Gibson is suing Activision, claiming the Guitar Hero videogames violate a patent for “simulating a musical performance.”
Activision has asked a federal court to rule the claim invalid.
All my life I’ve dreamed of a movie starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Chow Yun-Fat. Yes, that’s what I dream about. Not world peace.
The last year has been kind to me. First I got a videogame (John Woo Presents Stranglehold) based on Hard Boiled, the best of the John Woo-Chow Yun-Fat oeuvre. And now, Jackie Chan and Jet Li are finally appearing in a film together.
Publishers released fewer “M for Mature” games in 2007; but the M-rated games that were released generated more money than in previous years.
From ShackNews:
An examination of data provided by the sales tracking firm NPD reveals that the number of released titles stamped with an M for Mature rating fell 14% in 2007 versus the previous year. Revenue from those sales, meanwhile, jumped from $800 million in 2006 to $1.4 billion in 2007.
It’s the battle of the fake plastic-guitar karaoke bands!
Viacom has dropped its lawsuit against Activision, having cowed the Santa Monica, California-based games publisher into negotiating out of court. Viacom owns Harmonix, creators of the first two Guitar Hero games and Rock Band.
Viacom’s claim is that Activision owes $14.5 million in royalties over technology used in Guitar Hero III.
