Sure, I could build a comparable PC for less money on my own, but it wouldn't be nearly as pretty, and it could potentially explode. As a former PC tech, I can really appreciate not having to worry about such things. It's like buying a fast food hamburger instead of cooking your own, only yours might burst into flame and fill your apartment with smoke. This has happened to me, with both burgers and computers, so the analogy is just perfect.

One day I shall own one, but it will be a far off day, when the new Alienware M15x laptop, which they are calling "The most powerful 15-inch gaming laptop in the universe" is a mere memory, and the Aurora and Aurora ALX, which are respectively the most upgradeable and powerful MicroATX systems Alienware has created will be replaced with wristwatch-sized models.

They're also introducing two new machines in their Area-51 line, with factory overclocked Intel Core i7 processors, but at this point I am beginning to sound like an advertisement, and that's what official press releases are for. Just know that the Aurora's and the M15x are available for order today, and the Area-51 models will be showing up in the coming weeks. Check out the official blurbs below for specs and stats.

Alienware M15x – The most powerful 15-inch gaming laptop in the universe. Sporting Alienware's acclaimed new mobile ID which debuted with the M17x laptop, the M15x offers Alienware performance in a compact package guaranteed to appeal to mobile enthusiasts and hardcore gamers on the go. The first Alienware laptop to feature a mobile Core i7 processor, the M15x also offers a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M GPU* and up to 8GB DDR3 1333MHz memory* to take on, and dominate, even the most intense game titles. Prices start at $1,499 and additional technical specifications are here.

Alienware Aurora and Aurora ALX – The Aurora is most upgradeable and the Aurora ALX is the most powerful MicroATX desktops Alienware has ever created. Featuring the latest Intel® Core™ i7 processors, including an optional Extreme Edition overclocked** to 3.6GHz, the Aurora line of desktops are designed to deliver the power needed for hardcore gaming, pro-level HD audio and video editing, 3D animation and more. To crank up your gaming performance, Aurora and Aurora ALX have options for dual 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics cards, up to 24GB DDR3 1333MHz memory[asterisk] or 12GB DDR3 1600MHz memory, respectively, and up to 2TB of hard drive storage – all in a compact, MicroATX chassis for taking up less desk space. Prices start at $1,299 and additional technical specs are here.

Alienware Area-51 and Area-51 ALX designed for extreme gamers and tech enthusiasts who demand only the latest, most advanced equipment, the Area-51 line of desktops features Intel Core i7 processors factory overclocked* to an intense 3.86GHz for peak performance. To max out your graphics benchmarks, these systems offer the quad-GPU power of dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 graphics cards. Other featured specs include up to 12GB DDR3* memory clocked at 1333MHz or 1600MHz, respectively, and six easy-access, cable-free hard drive bays that support both 7,200RPM and 10,000RPM drives, solid state drives and RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10 configurations. Prices begin at $1,999.

Steve Perlman, OnLive founder and CEO, announced the beta today on the service's official blog. Beta registrants who signed up early should keep an eye peeled for an e-mail, but latecomers interested in testing the streaming games service should still take the opportunity to sign up.

OnLive beta hopefuls should ready some "general information about your ISP, your computer configuration and your location" so that the company can determine your worthiness as a beta tester. You'll also be asked to run a "performance test" to doubly verify your beta usefulness.

Then you'll be able to see just how well the service works, if assurances that OnLive "will work" despite doubts of latency potentially ruining all the fun.

Let us know how it goes eh? Curious to see if the public experience is on par with the behind-closed-doors experience.

OnLive Opens the Beta Program [OnLive Blog]

The new ATI Radeon HD 4890 GPU does get to say "First!" to reach those speeds straight from the factory, but AMD does note that processor is overclocked, running at a higher speed than it was originally designed for. (In the 4890's case, the standard speed was 850 megahertz.)

But in AMD's defense, it is using plain old air-cooling techniques to keep the card from having a meltdown, not some fancy liquid-cooled solution that some aftermarket providers offer and PC modders go for. And look how pretty it is! All red and fancy!

So good on you, AMD. You've got the FLOPS to back it up. All we need now are seven sample cards. Wait, make that eight.

AMD Launches the ATI Radeon™ HD 4890 Graphics Card [AMD]

Visitors to FileFront today are being directed to a farewell message, explaining that the current economic environment has forced the website to close its doors indefinitely. Members of the site are cautioned to save any blog posts or stored files before Monday, March 30th, or risk losing them forever.

We would like to give a warm thank you to all of you who have been part of the FileFront communities we have built together. Your support has had a meaningful impact for all of us here at FileFront. Again, we want to give you a sincere "thank you" for your support over the years and wish you all the very best.

FileFront owner Ziff Davis held on to the PC games site during the sale of the 1UP Network to UGO early this year, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Farewell, FileFront! You had a great run, and your 90 terabytes of storage space shall be sorely missed.

Farewell from FileFront [FileFront - Thanks everyone]

We've already heard about the new downloadable content support for Steam, and the matchmaking is the same we've seen in the PC version of Left 4 Dead, now available to publishers and developers worldwide. The most interesting new feature is Steamworks new anti-piracy technology, Customer Executable Generation, or CEG. CEG basically creates a unique copy of a game for each customer, which can then be played on any compatible PC without install limits or root kits. You buy a copy, and that is your copy, completely unique to you. A simple and elegant solution to PC game piracy that manages to benefit both publishers and the consumer at the same time.

With new publishers flocking to the service every day and innovative new features like these regularly added, it's hard to imagine anyone toppling Steam from the top of the digital delivery heap anytime soon.

Microsoft first attacks PC game piracy with the introduction of zero-day piracy protection and server-side authentication, requiring that consumers verify their products before participating in online play. If that doesn't sell game publishers on the service, there's also a new Marketplace API that allows developers to integrate in-game stores, opening up new revenue streams without taking the gamer out of the game. Finally, players will be able to save their game settings to their Games for Windows LIVE account, allowing them to access them via any compatible PC.

"This update and other features currently in development represent a tipping point in the evolution of Games for Windows – LIVE as a leading online PC gaming network," said Ron Pessner, general manager of Games for Windows – LIVE. "In the coming months, we will continue to deliver on our promise to provide gamers and publishers with the industry's best connected gaming experiences through the LIVE service."

While the Games for Windows platform itself has been mildly popular with publishers and developers, far less have embraced the actual Games for Windows LIVE online gaming service. Perhaps these newly announced changes will signal a turnaround in that trend. Probably not, but good on Microsoft for giving it the old college try.

Nine different categories were under contention this year, with six awards chosen by Mod DB editors and three chosen by the gaming community through popular vote, including the top honor - Mod of the Year. This year's big prize go to the creators of Project Reality, a mod for EA's Battlefield 2 game that strives to deliver the most realistic combat environment possible. The team has tweaked the game's physics, visual effects, and overall play style while adding new factions to the game. Project Reality took second place for Mod of the Year in 2006 and 2007, so this year they finally get their chance to shine.

Check out the full list of winners below, and be sure to visit the link to see some of these amazing mods in action. If anything you'll find a few new ways to squeeze fresh gameplay out of some of your old PC favorites.

EDITORS CHOICE

* Most Innovative Multiplayer (Celestial Impact)
* Best Original Art Direction (Delta Sector)
* Best Upcoming Mod (Curse)
* Best Upcoming Indie Game (Zeno Clash)
* Best Indie Game (Mount & Blade)
* Best Singleplayer Mod (The Ball)
* Best Multiplayer Mod (Project Reality)

PLAYERS CHOICE

* Best Upcoming Mod (Dead before Dawn)
* Indie Game of the Year (Mount & Blade)
* Mod of the Year (Project Reality)

The 2008 Mod of the Year Awards [Mod DB]

Capcom vice president of business development and strategic planning Christian Svensson, speaking to VideoGamer.com, names summer as the target release date for the PC version of the fourth game in their venerable fighting franchise, while revealing plans to possibly deliver the game to store shelves bundled together with Mad Catz's highly sought-after arcade controllers.

"We rolled out our Mad Catz sticks and pads, and the interesting thing to note about all of those sticks and pads is they all work with PC as well. We may, and I'm in talks with Mad Catz to figure out how can we actually do some bundles of pads and Street Fighter IV PC."

Hopefully the damn sticks will actually be available once the summer rolls around.

Street Fighter IV PC coming this summer [VideoGamer.com]

So says Microsoft's VP of the Interactive Entertainment Business for the EMEA region, Chris Lewis, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz about the future of PC gaming.

"Windows 7 will be great for games, undoubtedly," he said. "It's all good news - it's even more robust, it's quicker relatively, and the early testing cycles are proving very promising overall.

"I think it'll be nothing but good news for PC gamers, but we'll have more to say on that later on this year"

Great news for nervous gamers everywhere, until you think about it. I mean, they wouldn't come out and say it wasn't good for games, would they?

Personally I've had few problems with things running in the beta version of Windows 7. I do miss Vista, if only because on Windows Vista you knew where you stood - hip-deep in mud. Yes, we'll call it mud, for the sake of the children.

Windows 7 will be "great for games" [GamesIndustry.biz]

Most people know BFG for their graphics cards, but they're looking to make a splash in the high-end gaming / home theater PC industry now with their Phobos line, which garnered rave reviews at their debut at CES earlier this month. The system comes in three starting price points - $3,000, $5,000, and $8,000 - each with what I assume is thousands of dollars worth of bells and whistles attached. Each features water cooling of some sort, with the higher end featuring quad-SLI GeForce GTX 295 1.79GB cards, a dedicated 1GB card for PhysX, and 6GB of memory - and that still leaves room for another $3,000 worth of upgrades.

To put that in layman's terms, yeah...it'll run World of Warcraft.

They're really drool-worthy systems, though the BFG Technologies brand and I have never really been friends, after that horrible summer when I returned my 6800 GT video card four times before they found a working one. They've got one hell of a warranty though (concierge service?), so if you have the means you might considering heading over to www.BFGSYSTEMS.com and giving them a gander.

BFG TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES PHOBOS™SITE www.BFGSYSTEMS.com
Orders now being taking for BFG Tech’s unique new high performance gaming/home theater system

Lake Forest, IL – January 22, 2009 – BFG Technologies, manufacturer of the stunning new high performance gaming/home theater system — Phobos, is excited to announce that orders are now being taking for Phobos on www.BFGSYSTEMS.com. The new site offers a variety of the highest-end brand name PC components available, allowing customers to custom-configure Phobos to meet their elevated quality standards. The system received rave reviews while on display in Las Vegas at CES 2009. Many show attendees commented on the refined aesthetics of Phobos, its innovative touch panel LCD with one touch overclocking, and BFG Tech’s unique concierge service offering.

“Based on the reaction at CES in our booth and the resulting positive news coverage, it is clear to me that Phobos will be a great differentiating strategy for BFG Technologies," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation. "Phobos is a great example of how the era of white box PCs has evolved into a new realm of innovation and distinguished design. Congratulations to the entire BFG team who have demonstrated their commitment to the PC enthusiast who desires both form and function.”

Phobos is designed to deliver unbelievable performance. The ‘Phobos Elite’ configuration features the Intel® Core i7 965 Extreme Edition 3.2GHz Processor, two BFG NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 295 Graphics Cards, and CoolIt® Contained Liquid Cooling Solutions to keep both the GPUs & CPU cool during the fiercest of gaming battles.

BFG Tech also outfitted Phobos to serve as a home theater command center by choosing Windows® Vista Ultimate with Media Center, including four hard drive bays, offering RF remote and TV tuner with DVR functionality, a front slot-loading Blu-ray Disc® drive, the option for 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound audio cards, and an integrated iPod®/iPhone® syncing dock.

FULL SPECS BELOW

For more information about Phobos, contact PR representative Mark Olson at 305.576.1171 x17 or markolson@maxborgesagency.com, or visit www.bfgsystems.com. For additional information about BFG Tech please visit www.BFGTech.com.
About BFG Tech

BFG Technologies is a privately held U.S. based supplier of premium power supplies and 3D video cards based on award-winning NVIDIA graphics technology, and a manufacturer of high end gaming/home theater systems. BFG Tech is dedicated to bringing the latest high quality, high-tech multimedia products to PC and gaming enthusiasts at competitive prices. Like the company’s target customers, many of BFG Tech’s employees are gamers and PC enthusiasts, and they strive to provide hardware and marketing that reflects the company’s passion and excitement for the latest technology. www.BFGTech.com
Phobos™ System Specs

Phobos has three conveniently pre-configured high-performance systems that can be used as a starting point:
• Phobos Performance (from $3,000)
• Phobos Advanced (from $5,000)
• Phobos Elite (from $8,000)

‘PHOBOS ELITE’ STANDARD CONFIGURATION*

• BFG NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 295 Graphics Cards (x2 for Quad SLI®)
• BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 for Dedicated PhysX™ Processing
• Intel® Core i7-965 3.2GHz Extreme Edition Processor
• CoolIt® Contained Liquid Cooling Solution (GPU&CPU)
• Brand Name Intel® X58-based SLI Motherboard
• Brand Name 6GB PC3-12800 1600MHz High Performance DDR3 Memory
• Western Digital® VelociRaptor 300GB Hard Drives (x4)
• Brand Name Slot Loading Blu-ray® Super Multi Optical Drive
• BFG LS-1200 1200W High Efficiency Power Supply
• Creative X-Fi 7.1 Sound Card
• Integrated iPhone®/iPod® syncing dock
• Unique 8” Interactive Touch Panel LCD with One Touch Overclocking
• All Aluminum Chassis with Hidden Cable Management
• In-Home Set Up Included with Every Phobos Purchase

*Based on current configuration at the time of printing. Specifications and available options subject to change. See www.bfgsystems.com for updates.

Refined Aesthetics. Unbelievable Performance. Concierge Service.

When I first upgraded to Windows Vista, I wasn't just disappointed. I was depressed. It looked lovely, had all these new bells and whistles, but bells and whistles take up memory, slowing things down to a crawl. Well TechRadar UK's article on Windows 7 has me feeling a great deal better.

Windows 7 is essentially what Windows Vista should have been. They've taken the same OS and streamlined it, making it much more efficient memory-wise. Essentially what this means is you wind up with more free memory and an OS where all the bugs that plagued Windows Vista's launch as far as 3D performance goes are already ironed out. It's like getting a memory upgrade and a lovely new interface.

I've yet to try Windows 7 myself, having been understandably worried about screwing up the grudging agreement my PC has reached with Vista at this point, but after reading TechRadar's thoughts I'm feeling a bit more confident. Should I take the plunge?

Windows 7 - what it means for gamers [TechRadar UK - Thanks Sensai-N]

The IdeaCentre A600 All-in-One Desktop includes a 21.5-inch frameless screen, integrated speakers, digital TV tuner and a 4-in-1 optional remote controller.

"It is the first to bring PC users the ability to play games using the remote control's 'motion drive' feature, which controls on-screen objects according to the movement of the remote.

Unlike competitor's remotes, the Lenovo 4-in-1 remote controller can also be used as a VOIP handset3 to make and receive phone calls over the Internet, similar to a typical cordless telephone. The remote also serves as a media center/TV remote, and with Microsoft Vista Media Center users can use the controller to operate DVDs, movies and TV. Additionally, the remote also functions as an "air mouse" so it can be used to operate the cursor on the screen, eliminating the inconvenience of using a wired mouse."

That seems like an odd combination of abilities, and I'm not really sure how much I care about motion controlled games on my PC. The A600 hits in April starting at $999.

The Vista-based Firebird will come with quad-core Intel Core 2 processors of up to 2.83 Ghz (note they don't tell you what the base line comes with), 4GB of DDS2-800 memory and dual Nvidia Geforce 9800S video cards with 1 GB of memory. The computer uses notebook PC components, meaning its maximum energy usage is a mere 350 watts. An external power supply means that it's also much quieter.

The computer also includes twin hard drive bays, 6 USB ports, an eSATA connector and dual-link DVI and HDMI display connectors.

"The high-performance PC space seems to have gone out of control when power supplies exceed 1.6 or 2 kilowatts, drawing more than the wall can handle, and people have 3-4 video cards and spend $5,000 to 6,000 on a machine just to play a videogame," said Rahul Sood, Chief Technology Officer for HP's Global Gaming Business.

I'll certainly be interested to see what that $1800 get you in the way of minimum specs.

HP Set to Unveil Power-Sipping PCs for Gamers [PC World]

The study goes on to conclude that the $20 billion dollar PC gaming market, predicted to rise to $34 billion by 2011, was bigger, worth more money, was growing faster and had better tech than the console market could provide. Okay then! PC gamers in one corner, console gamers in the other. Ready, fight!

Study Claims PC Market is the Largest [Edge]

[B]y keeping Freeman quiet, Valve also creates one of the most personal first-person games in existence. Rarely does the player ever find their control lost, and when they do, it is because Freeman also is physically restrained. As a result, the player becomes Freeman; everything that he does occurs because of the player.

By keeping Freeman silent, Valve's designers take a fundamentally linear experience and allow the player to impose his or her will or personality on the character through which they play, writes Smith. I've talked about how I frequently role-play a choice or a battle in an action/shooter genre, restarting if it felt I won cheaply or out of character. Half-Life definitely indulges this. While it makes it a winner for me, what makes it a winner for you? Or would you like to hear this iconic game hero speak up and say something, someday?

Keep Freeman Quiet [Thunderbolt Games]

"We recognize that gamers expect these features in standard retail games, so why not in indie games as well?" said Greenhouse's Vlad Ceraldi. "But, in a crowded gaming world of achievements and trophies, it's inevitable that all of the good words are gone. We've just snatched the last few that make any sense, so 'good luck' to anyone else looking to offer something similar."

The actual news, points out Greenhouse's Robert Khoo, is that this is likely the first in-game awards system for games on Mac and Linux. The first game to get the treatment is Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode Two.

Greenhouse Unveils Nitrogen Software Development Kit! [Greenhouse Forums, via Joystiq]

An MMO where you get NPC party members? Good grief, yes. A thousand times yes. I get the extra hands I require to tackle a stronger foe, but without them bitching and whining at me because I didn’t use my double-cloaking no-hit AOE poison buff at exactly the point they would have used it if they were playing on their own. See? SEE? Every single bugger in these games just wants the others in their parties to be the over-qualified AI companions that perform the tasks they don’t have time for. If you don’t play like they would have done it, you’ve failed them, you’ve let them down, you’ve spoiled their game. ... But if my party members are NPCs, they’ll do what they’re programmed to do, or when I tell them to do it. That’s great for any of the above frustrations I might experience. But more importantly, when I don’t do what they might want when they might demand it, they’re not going to storm off in a giant pissy huff and block me on IM.

John deflects the "then you don't want an MMO," argument — "I really do want an MMO of KotOR’s world, because then I’ll have myself a KotOR game that doesn’t end! And Bioware, mightiest at the RPG, utterly suck at endings."

This does make a lot of sense, and BioWare's shrewd for implementing the NPC party member option. I haven't gamed MMOs ever partly because — well I don't even own a PC, but that's beside the point — I'm just not that into what other people are doing with their game experience. I have enough on my hands just managing my own. And holy shit, Walker's right when he talks about people playing Team Fortress 2, "screaming - and I mean SCREAMING - in anger at a Medic’s failure to uber-charge them the very instant they wanted it." Go through that, or anything close, and you start to question whether multiplayer really is fun.

Anyway, you can tell I'm in something of a pissed mood this AM, so the argument resonates. Check it out.

The Trouble With Other People [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

LucasArts' reasoning was that the variety of gaming PC setups out there, plus the limitations of lower-end configurations, would make it difficult to create a version of SW:TFU that everyone enjoyed. Stude, in an interview teased on Videogamer.com, called that an "uneducated" excuse and added "LucasArts hasn't made a good game in a long time."

Said Stude:

"In the last several years there have been at least 100 million PCs sold that have the capabilities or better of an Xbox 360. It's ridiculous to say that there's not enough audience for that game potentially and that it falls into this enthusiast extreme category when ported over to the PC. That's an uneducated response."

But wait, there's more:

"I think you probably got plenty of feedback and opinions from your readers and my personal opinion is if they're making games for the Wii, Xbox and PS3 they're scaling their experience to meet all three of those platforms. They're good on the Wii, better on the Xbox 360 and the best on the PS3. There's no argument that they could give not to be able to support good better and best on the PC."

Oh he's not done yet. Hey, what the fuck you looking at, Wii? Yeah, you. /gives titty-twister.

"LucasArts hasn't made a good PC game in a long time," he said. "That's my opinion. They make some pretty good games for the Wii, you know those little sticks you wave in the air, that seems like a natural fit for a lightsaber game, sure. But I think the last good PC game they made was probably Jedi Knight 2, and even their strategy games weren't that great. So I can understand why they would make that call."

And the coup de grace for the makers of Star Wars: STFU or GTFO or whatever your name is:

"They're not really creating product within LucasArts themselves. They're going at it job shopping their IP. That may be a little controversial for me to say, but that's what I see. There's no development team necessarily within LucasArts any more, they've basically turned into an intellectual property machine and supporting the PC, why should they? It really doesn't fit their property.

Damn. Tell us how you really feel, Randy.

LucasArts Slammed for No PC Force Unleashed [Videogamer.com, via GamerCenter Online]

Karoshi Suicide Salaryman [Armor Games]

Xbox TF2ers, Lombardi also restated Valve's commitment to bringing all the updates to the 360 version. He still didn't give a timeline though.

No Team Fortress 2 Updates Until Next Year [Shacknews]