Kotaku: Fyi

Seriously Everyone, Don't Buy The 360's HD DVD Add-on

Mark Wilson — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:00:06 MST

Transforming from my week with Gizmodo covering CES, I bring a little perspective from the buzz of the CES press rooms, several high ranking media journalists and at least one adult film director of the year: HD DVD really is dead. Microsoft may not be going Blu-ray just yet, but Warner is gone from HD DVD and it really will cause a ripple through the industry.

You may be enticed into picking up an HD DVD player (like that Xbox 360 peripheral), especially since we're sure to see loads of deals cropping up in the next few months. But if the pulse of the press is right, which I guarantee it is, HD DVD has been diagnosed with an incurable disease begging for medicine you shouldn't subsidize. Save your money; avoid the heartbreak. Don't fall for the last push of a dead platform. HD DVD is officially a "no buy." As for Blu-ray, the PS3 is still the best deal on the market.

Smoking Pot Gets Your Guitar Hero eBayed

Mark Wilson — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:40:13 MST

Some of you may have already heard about the Canadian teen who was caught smoking pot. His dad, upset over his son doing drugs, put the copy of Guitar Hero III for Wii—that was being saved as a Christmas present for the boy—on eBay. The auction mentioned:

While I doubt this will keep him from ever smoking pot again, I think it will make him think twice before doing illegal drugs on my property.

The game went for a whopping $9,100,01...which will inevitably lead to loads of problematic-youth-spawned gaming paraphernalia flooding the eBay markets. Lesson learned!

Pot-smoking son punished with eBay auction [thestar] Thanks MrPants!

Major Nelson Says Don't Cheat, Share, Or Do Drugs

Mark Wilson — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:00:27 MDT

OK, we lied. Major Nelson made no online warnings about drug use, but he did issue a very stern warning against sharing Xbox Live accounts and/or cheating to increase one's Gamerscore. Sharing accounts is the worst violation, destroying your Gamertag and affiliated points and purchases forever. Cheating through game save hacks or "nefarious techniques" won't get you banned, but it may get your Gamerscore deleted.

But the real reason not to cheat on Live or with game saves is that it makes you a douchebag. And the real reason not to share your account is that it hurts ~~Microsoft~~ starving babies and/or your parents' credit.

Xbox LIVE account sharing and Gamesave tampering (don't do it) [majornelson]

Igarashi Confirms New Castlevania DS

Mark Wilson — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:00:09 MDT

Koji Igarashi is apparently not one to keep secrets...if you don't count the hundreds of sarcophagi in his basement. That's why when Wired asked him if another Nintendo DS Castlevania game was on its way, he didn't do the whole, "err...uhh...no announcement at this time...what's that?? "turn into a bat an fly away* maneuver.

We're doing another Nintendo DS version. There hasn't been an official announcement, but we're doing it...we want people to enjoy the PSP version, and afterwards we're announcing it. So, please wait a little bit."

Hmm...by "wait a little bit" we hope he didn't mean, "don't tell the entire world." Because then we might feel bad for the ~~vampire~~ guy.

Interview: Iga Talks Castlevania Everything [via cvg]
[image]

Mass Effect Goes Gold, Hurry Up And Wait

Mark Wilson — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:20:44 MDT

When I read that Mass Effect had finally gone gold, my heart leapt. Two bluebirds flew in through the conveniently open window within close proximity, dropping a wreath of rosemary and dandelions upon my head. My Xbox 360 kicked on, warming the room its...love. And somewhere, off in the distance, I could swear I heard an angel swooping down to rescue a baby who would have otherwise spilled apple juice all over the rug. Then I realized-

Mass Effect still doesn't come out for a month. DAMN!

Mass Effect Goes Gold [Bioware]

Console Wars Are Still A Four System Battle, At Least

Mark Wilson — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:40:47 MDT

Crave Entertainment's COO Rob Dyer makes a good point about this holiday season's console battle:

In fact, we see it more of a four consoles, two handhelds market...Christmas will be very strong and we see PS2, Wii and the handhelds leading the way for us.

A family friend of a friend asked my advice on a good console to buy their kids this Christmas that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg—one with lots of kids' titles, too. I responded, the PS2. They thought I was crazy. They meant "next-gen" console, apparently. And by "next-gen," they really meant Wii. So then just buy a flipping Wii like you wanted! But the PS2 is cheap and has a huge, price-reduced library still worth exploring (and still expanding), and chances are that many parents will be keeping their pocketbook in mind this holiday season while picking up PS2s and PS2 titles—especially if Wiis sell out.

PS2 still strong in software sales [gamesindustry]