Well that all depends on who you ask. As we mentioned yesterday, we're doing this three ways. The actual outcomes have been determined by random number tumbling, with you, the readers, placing your predictions up against Crecente's automated R2-D2, which is using the randomly running over scraps of paper method of prediction. In the end, we'll not only know who is the top video game robot, but also a heartwarming tale of man's triumph over machine, or vice versa.

Why the official results are randomized: Some of you seem confused by why your votes are being ignored, so lets explain it a little more clearly. The winners have been predetermined by random number crunching. What we are voting on now is who we predict will win. Then we compare that to the predictions made by Crecente's robot, to determine which is better, human intuition or random robot hijinx. It's a war within a war. If we were to go solely on popularity, Monday's poll would have had Optimus winning, and this would all be over now. Moving on!

Let's take a look at the results of round 1!

How You Voted
First, we'll run down how you folks voted as of the writing of this post.

Optimus Prime VS. Dog
Optimus Prime: 64% (2917 votes)
Dog: 36% (1651 votes)
Winner: Optimus Prime

Mega Man VS. HK-47
Mega Man: 60% (2676 votes)
HK-47: 40% (1798 votes)
Winner: Mega Man

Portal Turrets VS. Kos-Mos
Portal Turrets: 50% (2219 votes)
Kos-Mos: 50% (2256 votes)
Winner: Kos-Mos by the skin of her teeth

Robo VS. Fruit Fucker 2000
Robo: 42% (1865 votes)
Fruit Fucker 2000: 58% (2527 votes)
Winner: Fruit Fucker 2000

How R2-D2 Voted

Using its powerful randomly running around ability, Crecente's R2-D2 robot picked Optimus Prime, Kos-Mos, Mega Man, and Fruit Fucker 2000. So both the robot team and the human team had the same picks.

And they were both half-right.

The Official, Randomized Results

In Los Angeles, Kos-Mos senses the dangerous Portal Turrets before they sense her, blasting them into bits and taking a good-sized chunk of the Los Angeles Convention Center with them in the process. Optimus Prime and Half-Life 2's Dog smash through downtown New York City, leveling buildings left and right until Optimus gently puts Dog down with a laser sword to the head. In San Francisco, Mega Man's buster proves an insufficient weapon against Knights of the Old Republic's resident homicidal droid, with HK-47 stopping at a junkyard to sell the blue bomber's parts for scrap, killing the junkyard owner and several curious dogs in the process. Finally, in scenic Raleigh, North Carolina, Chrono Trigger's Robo patiently waits for the Fruit Fucker to stop trying to have sex with him, eventually losing patience and crushing him like a can of vending machine fruit juice.

The remaining robots sense that the key to returning to their own realities lies in the transponders high atop Kotaku Towers. Unfortunately their battles have taken out the towers in New York, San Francisco, Colorado, Los Angeles, and Raleigh (that one was made of sticks), so they now turn their attentions to the other side of the globe...

Results So Far

With both human and robot predictions being exactly the same, the human race and machines are now tied at 50% accuracy each. Perhaps round 2 will change things up a bit.

Round 2, Fight!

OPTIMUS PRIME VS. HK-47
Feeling a deep ancestral pull to the land of the rising sun, Optimus Prime makes his way across the ocean, making a beeline for the Japanese branch of Kotaku Tower. Unbeknownst to him, HK-47 bought a plane ticket with the money he made scrapping Mega Man and is on his way to the tower himself, after stopping by a store for some gashapon.

KOS-MOS VS. ROBO
Wary of the reception that a blue-haired, scantily clad anime girl would receive in Japan, Kos-Mos instead makes a pilgrimage to the Canberra, Australia branch of Kotaku Tower, somehow missing the giant Chrono Trigger robot plodding along behind her.

Not counting his first Japan-only forays on the Famicom and Superfamicom, Astro Boy has only appeared in one PlayStation 2 game and one GameBoy Advance game. The year was 2004 and both Sonic Team and Treasure Inc. (partnered with Hitmaker) developed games based on the 2003 anime remake of the original 1960s Astro Boy cartoon. Sonic Team's PS2 game, Astro Boy, was pretty lousy while Hitmaker/Treasure's GBA Astro Boy: Omega Factor was one of the best things to happen to handhelds that year. Since then, we've got nothing but a quietly-announced, never-demoed tie-in game to the upcoming CGI Astro Boy film directed by David Bowers.

Astro Boy's absence from video games could be due to many reasons – licensing, marketing, etc. – but two big ticket items ultimately tank any hopes of a serious Astro Boy gaming franchise: demand and need.

There's not enough demand for Astro Boy video games in the United States because we don't love him the way they do in Japan. The 1960s cartoon didn't even complete its full 193-episode run in the States when it originally aired in 1963; and it took decades before Dark Horse Comics to translate and publish the manga. Poor Astro Boy just wasn't on the radar as America's resident robot hero.

Back in 1960s Japan, when Astro Boy was first created, there was a desperate need for heroes. World War II had been over for more than a decade, but there was a loss of hope in the country and a profound fear of technology and nuclear weapons*. Anime and manga icons like Astro Boy and Ashita no Joe restored to Japan a sense of purpose and youthful optimism they'd lost in the war. Also, science-y things like Astro Boy put a friendly, rosy-cheeked face on technology, which helped the country cope with the devastating fear inspired by the A-bomb attacks.

In short, Japan needed Astro Boy and America didn't. Without the need for the robot boy hero, America never established a connection to Astro Boy that would inspire parents to make their children watch the 1960s cartoon. Later when the 2003 reboot of the anime series reached America, the show still couldn't find its audience and was canceled after spawning the hideous PS2 game and the wonderful GBA game.

That's not to say America can live without robot heroes.

We have one, in fact, and his name is Mega Man. Mega Man does most of the same stuff as Astro Boy – he even has the beam cannon on his arm – and he beat Tezuka's beloved boy robot to the US gaming scene by a good decade or more. He may not be as fleshed-out a character as Astro Boy, because Mega Man didn't start out with a manga or cartoon series to establish his back story. But he did have the whole filial piety thing going on with his creator, Dr. Light, which was similar to the connection Astro Boy had for his adoptive father figure, Dr. O'Shay (a.k.a. Dr. Ochanomizu, Dr. Packadermus Elefun, Professor Peabody, Jimmy Durante's nose-twin). So what if Mega Man wasn't about childlike wonder or youthful optimism; so what if he never did anything serious like address racism against robots. Mega Man was about kicking robot ass and Americans can totally get in on that.

So, alas, Astro Boy. We loved you in Omega Factor and we respect you as a cultural icon worthy of Mickey Mouse's company – which is why you're in the Robot Hall of Fame. But Mickey doesn't have a great gaming franchise and so far, you don't either. Maybe your upcoming tie-in movie game on PS2, Wii, PSP and DS will be good. Heck, maybe the film itself will be awesome. But in the meantime, we'll be sticking with Mega Man 9.

*The Films of Akira Kurosawa, Donald Richie

Capcom isn't completely sure and that's why they're asking their blog readers to go support their iconic blue-clad hero by voting for him on the Robot Hall of Fame's official site. The French robot, Maillardet's Automaton is currently ahead of Mega Man by 8% — but I'd say Dr. Wily's foe has much stiffer competition from Futurama's Bender and Invader Zim's Gir.

It may be that Mega Man still has a chance, even if the Automaton tops him in the voting pool; the Robot Hall of Fame has two categories to honor robots. One is for real-life robots like Honda's ASIMO and the other honors robots from science fiction where robots "have achieved worldwide fame as fictional characters and have helped form our opinions about the functions and values of real robots."

Hm. Maybe Bender and Gir's chances aren't so good, then. Also Will Wright is on the jury, so that may be Mega Man's ace in the hole.

Get Mega Man into Robot Hall of Fame [Capcom]

I've been messing around with all three for a bit now and am most intrigued by the one you can access by clicking on the black hole where a rectangle should be on the front page. Maybe Wright is just messing with us, but I'd like to think that if we get the order "right" it might reveal something.

Of course the website was created back in 2002, so maybe it's just a bunch of silliness. Afterall, he did have a hand in making this M.Y. Robot video.

Stupid Fun Club

Role-playing pioneer Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa might be dead come February 28th, but the team behind the title continue to show their dedication to the game's dwindling fanbase by patching in the promised player-controlled mech robots at the last moment, perhaps delivering a taste of what might have been had the game not tanked so horribly.

Five new mechs have been added to the Edmund Range Training Grounds zone in the game, which has been newly enlarged in order to accommodate some heavy metal combat. While four of the mechs are class-themed, any class can take them for a spin, provided they have the Logos symbols necessary to activate the suits' special abilities.

With the addition of the new mech suits, now would be the perfect time to login to the now free-to-play Tabula Rasa and give them a go. Well, I suppose now would be the only time to do so.

Deployment 16.4 - Patch Notes and Known Issues [Tabula Rasa via Eurogamer]

The subtitle for Plain Sight is "Kill Yourself", and there's a god reason. You are a robot, killing other robots for points. The more points you get, the bigger and brighter you become. We've seen this sort of thing before, yes? Here's the twist - you only get to bank points if you kill yourself before the others kill you. Not only do you have to be good at robot killing, you also have to know when to throw in the towel, which adds a nifty little element of strategy / gambling to the game.

To participate in the open beta, hit up the link below and download the game. That's it, no account needed - just download the 128 MB file and go. Happy hunting. Make sure you kill yourself in a timely fashion.

Download Plain Sight Now [Beatnik Games]

The main benefit of using a Wii remote to control military robots is the ease of use, especially compared to today's control panels, which feature more than 40 buttons that a soldier must keep on top of during sensitive procedures. On the other hand, developers have to overcome sensitivity concerns to make sure a twitching soldier doesn't accidentally set off a bomb or alert enemies to the robot's presence, while also making sure the signal cannot be hacked. The last thing we need is for the enemy to pull out their own Wii remotes, as hilarious as the mental picture that brings to mind may be.

How long until we start getting photos of remotes stuck in jeep windshields?

Cythbot "sees" the pucks coming via a camera hooked to a doohickey that measures light intensity, and once it crosses some threshold it instructs the mechanical parts to activate the strum bar, with the corresponding pneumatic finger playing its fret. This one will actually play the whammy bar notes, unlike the earlier mod by a dad who set up an optics device to play Guitar Hero and finally defeat his son.

Lots more technical discussion at the link.

Guitar Hero Robot Plays Video Game With Electronic Precision [Wired]

Sega has created the ultimate peripheral for guys too busy gaming to meet women. Meet Ema - Eternal Maiden Actualization, Sega's robotic girlfriend. She stands around 18 inches tall and can sing, dance, and totally make out with you. When switched to "Love Mode", a feature sadly lacking in real life companions, Ema uses infra-red sensors to detect nearby human heads, doling out kisses with her cold, mouthless face.

Ema goes on sale in September for around 18,000 yen ($166 USD), and while she is currently exclusive to Japan, Sega isn't ruling out bringing her worldwide should demand prove high enough.

Not going to say anything further, as opening my fat mouth at this point could get me in serious trouble.

Sega creates robot girlfriend [Telegraph.co.uk - Thanks Seiger!]

Wii controls to defuse bombs [Metro.co.uk]

The Optimus Prime PC Case Mod [ExtremeTech]

Consider this an introduction. A How-To, if you will. Bandai's goodwill ambassador Masked Bakuc. The vids provide a good walk through for constructing a Gundam plastic model while wearing a Lucha Libre mask and a cape. Basic and advanced techniques are covered. Hit the jump for the exciting sequel as well as footage of Bakuc surfing. In costume, too! Brian Ashcraft

Bandai Instructional Vids [Patrick]

Wow, I can't believe it's only been a year (or so) since I first stumbled upon Destructoid and wrote a brief love note to their big, boxy mascot.

Oh Destructoid, you're so funny you make our sides hurt. What with your big metal grin, recently upgraded Lampoon 5000 chip and twin death rays, you're destined to spend a robotic lifetime cracking us up.

It was March 30, a mere two weeks after the site had gone live and my attentions were much appreciated.

In the twelve months since then we've asked Niero to justify his robot head, been briefly assimilated by the Destructoid collective, had some of my anatomy appear in their masthead and, by far the best bit, watch a new site blossom into a powerhouse of gaming news and opinion under the guiding hands of Niero and Robert Summa.

Congratulations guys and have fun at your party tonight. Sorry I can't make it, but hopefully some of our readers will show up to see if projectile vomit can clear the mouth grid. Enjoy the stretch hummer, you earned it. Brian Crecente

Destructoid Turns One [Destructoid]

Ollie Barder has a fascinating look at Japanese developer Sandlot and the mecha/robo games it's made. Sandlot is responsible for titles such as Gigantic Drive and The Chikyuu Boueigun. The company's name and philosophy is much like those "sandbox games" that let players wonder freely. What's more, the company has a definite vision of what a Sandlot game is. Writes Barder:

For almost all but one of Sandlot's games they have a very similar gameplay implementation in regards to the player viewpoint, that of a boy on the ground looking up at an immense mechanical behemoth (or at the very least a discernable sense of scale to the gaming proceedings).

Interesting company, interesting article. Check it out for yourself. Brian Ashcraft

Ollie Talks Sandlot [GameSetWatch]

Do you remember when you first saw Rocky and was moved almost to tears by the triumphant story of an untalented boxer who, by dint of his determination and ability to sustain massive blows to the head, rose above his own fears to prove that he wasn't just a bum? Three movies later, Rocky looked like a supermodel, drove a Porsche, shattered the Iron Curtain after wiping the pinko sweat of Ivan Drago off his brow with the corner of the American flag and — even more unbelievably — lived in a mansion with a talking robot. Philly leg breaker makes good!

I always wanted one of those talking robots, but they stopped selling them at the Sharper Image after around 1984. Luckily, Vice City Stories takes place in 1984, and you can buy one in the Domestobot, who also bares an uncanny resemblance to Nintendo's R.O.B. Now that Silent Hills Origins is sure to suck, this is the only title I'm looking forward to on PSP. Florian Eckhardt

Domestobot In Vice City Stories Is The Nintendo R.O.B. Robot [Gamebrink]

Name the two robots that sit in toy-form on my desk at home. I'll be nice and give you a clue. You can see them, or at least part of them, in the background of an image I posted sometime this month.

Good luck and yes, I'm evil.

Check out the rules for our PS3 giveaway, if you're confused about this. Brian Crecente

While Sega did bring us the Dreamcast (and for that, we are forever thankful), they also squirted out this horrible robotic cat (and for that, we are freaked). Sega calls this beast "Near Me," a word play on "nyan," the Japanese word for "meow." GameSetWatch stumbled across the kitty on eBay. The seller states:

SEGA CREEPY CAT ROBOT " NEAR ME " KITTLY RETAIL USD 400 Available only in Japan, New in box

When you touch Near Me that will respond to sound by moving it's head in in the direction of the sound or twitching its ears It becomes a different character by your way to raise it, It doesn't walk but Near Me can mew in several different way

A robotic pet so unsettling that "creepy" is used as a selling point. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [GameSetWatch]

In the interests of furthering the social lives of gamers in the San Diego area, I have decided to post about The King of All Bots: an event being touted as a badass, robocentric partay.

Prepare to receive "the deets":

The Morena Club (1319 Morena Blvd / San Diego, CA 92110) is holding an event, The King of All Bots, on Saturday, August 19. Beginning at 9 PM, it will be the first in a series attempting to infuse gamer pop culture into the club scene. What's on tap for this very first unfashionably fashionable sock hop? DJ Jive Alive will be spinning some records — hip-hop, down tempo, rock, and random SNES MIDIs, local artists Ty Hunter and Lena Low will build and destroy a robot made from assorted audio equipment, and "Johnny Robo" will be playing on the club's plasma screens.

A very important feature I discovered when peeping the poster was that there is no cover charge. Now you have no excuse. Eliza Gauger