Posted 8/28/09 6:00 pm EST by Brian Warmoth in News, PC
Illegal and abusive sex acts in Japanese games -- namely those featured in the U.S.-banned PC game "RapeLay" -- earned extra media attention for the Japanese sex-game genre this year. Now, the United Nations has stepped in and issued a formal recommendation, urging Japan to crack down on rape and sexual violence in games.
Posted 8/28/09 3:30 pm EST by Brian Warmoth in News, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
Russ already found out how to play "DJ Hero," but now the inner workings of the game's controller are publicly available on the World Wide Web, thanks to the Federal Communications Commission. A smattering of files including radiation tests, a user manual and -- to the joy of provocative computer-chip photo lovers -- pictures of the turntable's insides have all been compiled and posted.
Posted 8/28/09 2:00 pm EST by Brian Warmoth in News, Xbox 360
"Super Elite" Xbox 360 bundles appear to be waiting in the rafters with 250GB hard drives right now. Just as Microsoft confirmed that its 120GB Elite and 60GB Pro packages would be slashing their price tags this weekend, Amazon's German site and local distributors in South Africa reportedly leaked details about the Elite's successor.
Less than a year after Electronic Gaming Monthly suspended its two-decade-old print magazine, original founder Steve Harris has announced that December 1 will mark EGM's return. Harris announced that he owned the print and publishing rights for the high profile industry magazine after the Hearst Corporation bought control of its online arm 1UP. He predicted a forthcoming relaunch for EGM, but today that second coming has an official date.
"Plans put in motion today for EGM to return on December 1...," Harris wrote from his Twitter account.
Posted 8/27/09 2:00 pm EST by Brian Warmoth in News, Xbox 360
Remember those Facebook and Twitter capabilities that would be available on Xbox Live for Christmas? One paragraph from a Microsoft's Xbox price-cut announcement this morning stirred up headlines by implying that Facebook and Twitter integration for Xbox Live users would only be open to Gold members. An official statement from Microsoft, however, appears to have back-peddled from that claim and leaves a morsel of hope for non-paying players on XBL.
Posted 8/26/09 6:30 pm EST by Brian Warmoth in News, PC, Xbox 360
EA's doors and online cash registers are now open for business to anyone interested in squeezing two or three more hours out of "Mass Effect." The minimally publicized DLC titled "Pinnacle Station" went live yesterday for PC and Xbox 360, and priced at the $5 mark, it won't break the bank. But it may have broken something temporarily in the game-worlds of users who rushed to install it.
Though the fate of "Beyond Good and Evil 2" has yet to be confirmed publicly from an official source, one writer claims to have personal confirmation that game has been put in suspended animation. If a pause button has been hit on the Ubisoft sequel's development, the game's conspicuous absence at E3 will turn out to be a canary in the media coal mine ahead of any official acknowledgment.
Posted 8/26/09 2:00 pm EST by Brian Warmoth in News, PS3
Sony's new PS3 Slim offers an enticing deal for the third-generation Playstation platform's holdouts -- perhaps too enticing for Best Buy's tastes if a rumored internal memo turns out to be legit. The bigwigs up top at the retail giant have reportedly granted store managers permission to offer customers a free game and price-matching if they approach the customer service desk eager to exchange a recently purchased full-size PS3 for its slender new offspring.
Posted 8/25/09 4:49 pm EST by Brian Warmoth in News
Britain took reasonable steps 25 years ago to legislate against the sale of adult media to minors. A procedural blunder found in the wake of the country's admission to the European Union, however, may have just handed a Get Out of Jail Free card to recent offenders while the country gets its paperwork in order. The 1984 Video Recordings Act criminalized the sales of violent and explicit material to children under 18 in the U.K., but during recent efforts to update the law, someone discovered that the Act was never properly enacted.
Posted 8/25/09 1:30 pm EST by Brian Warmoth in News, Xbox 360
Whether you've been contemplating a first step onto Xbox Live or the warranty just ran out on your red-ringed 360, a price drop on the Xbox 360 60GB and 120GB Elite systems could be on its way to help you out as soon as next week. The $50 and $100 price-tag slashes, respectively, come just as Sony's new $299.99 PS3 Slim hits stores the first week of September.