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Microsoft Retires Gamerscore Blog
Gamerscore Blog, an important part of Microsoft’s Xbox community outreach for several years, is being retired. Microsoft will now focus that effort through Xbox.com and the Xbox dashboard. In the final post, published yesterday at 5 p.m., Gamerscore said that internal housekeeping had organized community outreach into several channels, making Gamerscore a little redundant, making…
By Owen Good Published January 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Originals: Obi-Wat?
Flipping Obi-Wan from good to bad? Is this pro rasslin’? Apparently Free Radical’s decided to turn eternal Force face Ben Kenobi to heel. I’d rather see a bunkhouse stampede with Zuckuss, Porkins, and a Dianoga. The retcon or newcon or noncon or whatever it was that eagle-eyed Crecente spotted in the leaked Battlefront III footage…
By Owen Good Published January 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Physics Of The Mushroom Kingdom Are Worthy Of Research
Glenn Elert is a physics teacher from Brooklyn. He and his students did a little research recently, and published a serious paper reporting their findings. How serious? Mushroom Kingdom serious. Yes, Ebert has wisely forgone teaching his kids about gravity the boring/realistic way, and instead decided to chart the gravity in the Mushroom Kingdom. So…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Why Do You Think Arcades Failed In The USA?
Yesterday was… Thursday. Today is… Friday! Time to talk, time for Tell Us Dammit. No, make that TELL US DAMMIT. Here’s who it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn’t some marketing survey or whatever. It’s an emotional investment in you. Yes, we’re interested in knowing you,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Child’s Play Done For The Year, Final Amount Tallied
Another year passes, another Child’s Play charity drive winds up. Each year it seems to be getting bigger, grander, more charitable, so let’s take a look and see how much you lot managed to raise. This time around? Records were broken. No, broken and then broken again. Over the course of the 08/09 campaign, an…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
A Week In Comments
Wii Music Coming to Classrooms Comment by: ortega602086 And NASA will implement Dead Space for training astronauts…you never know. Zork Returns In MMO Form, Somewhat Comment by: PositivelyGreg Nominated by: Alternate Maze You are in a twisted set of passages, every one alike. Somebody else’s intellectual property is lying here, forgotten. It looks like it…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Homebrew Wii HDD Workaround Succeeds Where Nintendo Does Not
No HDD on the Wii eh, Nintendo? Big mistake. Makes Wii owners sad. Never mind, while Nintendo may be lacking the will to make a storage device for the Wii, others are more adventurous. Matrix have parted the curtains on the WiiZii, a plugn-play mod (mod! avert your eyes!) that allows you the user to…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
UK Female Devs Make More Money Than UK Male Devs [Update]
According to game site MCV, women in the UK game industry make more than their male counterparts. But how much more is the question. The answer is £2,000 (US$2,947) more. MCV and its sister publication Develop magazine surveyed 528 UK game industry professional to collect its findings. Here’s what we learned: • The average annual…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
NPD Say PC Sales Are Down, Down, Down
2008’s NPD numbers are now out there for analysis. So let the analysis commence! Up for discussion tonight are PC sales numbers, and how the NPD Group tell us they’re down 14% from 2007. Which, according to the way the NPD Group collect their sales data, is correct! Bad bad news, right? No, no, no.…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
Let’s Read Final Fantasy XIII Scans IN ENGLISH
These V Jump scans are not new — they popped up a few days ago. They were in Japanese, and now they’re not. Final Fantasy-XIII.net has kindly translated them into the English for your reading enjoyment. So… Enjoy! Jump Scans Translated [Final Fantasy-XIII.net]
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rockstar: Sorry, No Grand Theft Auto “V” In 2009
The most recent issue of Game Informer contains “loose talk” that Rockstar Games is readying a new Grand Theft Auto, a fully-fledged follow up to GTA IV for the holidays. Not so, say Rockstar reps. We checked in with the Rockstar folks this week to check out the first downloadable episode, The Lost and Damned,…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
A Whirled All Its Own
My impressions of Puzzle Pirates developer Three Rings’ new project were colored by the minor car accident I got into on my way to check it out. Escaping into a virtual world was just what I needed after filing an insurance claim in a San Francisco parking lot. I began the process by walking through…
By AJ Glasser Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
Now Everyone Can Shoot Nazi Zombies In Call Of Duty
Didn’t much care for World at War. Seemed a bit…trashy. But the bit at the end, where you can kill Nazi zombies? Loved that bit. And as of today, everyone can love it. Treyarch have “unlocked” the previously endgame-only mode – called Nacht der Untoten – so that everyone can play it, regardless of whether…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
The U.S.’s Top 20 Games From December Are An Odd Mix
The NPD Group’s top ten bestselling video games contain very few surprises; it’s filled with Nintendo super-hits for the Wii, hyper-violent shooters and Guitar Hero. But the top twenty games from December mix things up. Gamasutra reveals December 2008’s second-besters, with games like New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS and Link’s Crossbow Training…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Behemoth Prepping Follow Up To Castle Crashers
The creators of Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers have not given up on the video game development business. In fact, they’re already prototyping a new title! Way to soldier on, The Behemoth. Artist Dan Paladin writes on the Behemoth’s Development Blog of Development that the studio is “off to a very strong and solid start,”…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
A Night on the USS Hornet
The Battlestations: Pacific event yielded a good look at the game, excellent (if eccentric) sushi and some decently sweet swag. The embargo for my impressions expires on Monday morning, so check back then for the full rundown. In the meantime, I present you party pics and a swag report: Pictured: One “medium” t-shirt that fits…
By AJ Glasser Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rock Band Pendant Shines Up Your Nerd
I’m not a jewelry wearing kind of guy, but even I get a little giddy seeing ThirdProjectJuno’s masterfully crafted, shiny video game-themed things. Juno’s latest is a lovely and classy Rock Band inspired pendant. No, this 14 karat white gold preciousness isn’t for sale — not even that fabulous Metroid-esque ring we posted so long…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
Chicago Wants A “Horn Hero,” Apparently
Pop-rock-jazz outfit Chicago doesn’t want anyone, especially Activision, to encroach on the soon-to-be-burgeoning trumpet, sax, and trombone video game scene. Therefore, Chicago has protected “Horn Hero” to prevent anyone else from making said video game. Sorry Harmonix, but the four decade old band has filed trademarks with the US Patent and Trademark Office for a…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
Cussin’ and Nintendo
To: Bash From: Crecente Re: Trying To Stop Cussin’, Huh I was mostly joking when I said that this morning. I just accidentally typed Holy Duck. But, I do try to limit my cussing whenever possible. Too much of it rots the brain, and I do a lot. It’s a lazy way of expressing annoyance,…
By Brian Crecente Published January 16, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sonic & The Black Knight Trailer Upholds Proud Sega Butt Rock Tradition
Sega’s not one to shy away from awful cheese metal and lukewarm butt rock in its video game soundtracks. Thankfully, Sonic & The Black Knight looks to stay true to that hammy musical tradition. The latest trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog’s next Wii outing has everything you’ve come to love about recent games in the…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 16, 2009