In a surprising move, online game distributor Direct2Drive has come out saying they don't intend to carry the Activision and Infinity Ward title Modern Warfare 2 when it's released next week. Though the game has been the source of controversy from everything like stunted PC playability compared to the console version, unsettling sequences of the game requiring you to gun down civilian NPCs, and even the recent public service announcement, this new development appears to be because Modern Warfare 2 requires the use of Steam to be installed.
On the one hand I'm not surprised that Direct2Drive chooses not to stock a product which requires the software of a direct competitor to use. However, I think their rationality for this is more than a little disingenuous:
At Direct2Drive, we believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased. Because COD MW 2 requires you, the consumer, to do that, we aren't able to offer the game via Direct2Drive at this time.
I can point to any number of titles on Direct2Drive that require additional third party software to run (from Games for Windows Live to PhysX to even DirectX), to say nothing of the fact that the majority of titles on their store also include invasive and annoying DRM like SecuROM which persists on a customer's computer long after the product has been uninstalled. There's never been an issue with this before, so I personally have a hard time swallowing this "We're just thinking of you guys!" line. Customers looking to purchase the game are helpfully provided an Amazon link to a boxed copy-- though I suspect most people who are looking for it at a digital-only place like Direct2Drive would probably benefit more from being sent to that other place that's stocking it, hmm.
To make up for any inconvenience, they've provided a $5 coupon for any select Activision title from now through November.
Update: Since originally writing this entry, both Impulse and GamersGate have come out saying they will also not stock the title because of the same concerns as Direct2Drive.
Because of my lack of fashion and decorating skills, I often fear that the Gay Mafia is going to come and take away my membership card one day. Luckily, Style Savvy for the Nintendo DS doesn't require you to know anything about fashion aside from matching like colors and not trying to mix punk and preppy. I also want to make it clear up front that this is not a game about fashion designing. You are a stylist, which means you will take the 10,000 different items of clothing to create fabulous ensembles. Technically, there is a teeny bit of designing, but it only amounts to a label asking you to pick the colors for one of their clothing items.
Obviously this game isn't going to be for everyone, but long story short, I had a complete blast. Full details after the jump!
Any major game release gets its own collector's edition these days. I mean, all the cool kids are doing it. So when BioWare's Mass Effect 2 touches down on January 26, it will also be available in a deluxe edition with special content.
"We're really excited to roll out this Collectors' Edition featuring so many unique items, including special Collectors' Edition armor and weapons and content that will surprise Mass Effect fans," said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. "The limited edition comic book and bonus DVD will really enhance and expand the overall Mass Effect 2 experience."
The Collector's Edition will come in a premium tin case and include a 48-page hardcover Art of Mass Effect 2 book, the first issue of the Mass Effect Redemption comic book, a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes and making-of videos... oh, yeah, and the game, too. Almost forgot about the game. In addition, you'll also have access to unique in-game weapons and armor only available with the purchase of this special edition.
I kind of hate when the special editions of games have extra weapons, armor or quests and stuff, but honestly, this is the first special edition I'm actually probably going to buy, and not for that. The original Mass Effect remains one of my favorite video game experiences ever, so I'm really interested in the art book and the making-of DVD. But you know what really sold me on it? The fact that it's only going to retail for $69.99 — that's only an extra $10 above the regular game! Sold!
This weekend's Modern Warfare 2offensive viral video fracas has gone way past just GayGamer. Many other sites have come out to express their dissatisfaction with the video which used a "hidden" gay slur in it's messaging. The video has since been pulled but it left a lot of people wondering how it got produced and approved in the first place.
G4's Adam Sessler has joined the fight with his latest "Sessler's Soapbox." Adam has been a long time friend of GayGamer and has always been outspoken when it comes to issues of gay rights and hate speech. This time is no exception and once again he comes out with both guns blazing.
Thank you, Adam, for all you've done and continue to do to help make the world of gaming a better place to be.
Get ready to yell "Objection!" while striking a dramatic pose with your Wii remote, because it looks like the Ace Attorney might be venturing to Nintendo's console in the future. That is, according to Germany's USK rating system which recently posted a rating for a Wii Phoenix Wright game.
Currently, suspicions are that Phoenix Wright's first console foray will be a WiiWare rehashing of his first handheld adventure. Last year in Japan the first Phoenix Wright game was released via digital distribution for PCs, which would make for a fairly easy port to a WiiWare game. In Japan the PC version took an episodic form, breaking the game's 4 cases into 17 chapters. However, given that the German USK rating only lists one Phoenix Wright game, it would be safe to assume that we'll be getting the whole package in one shot. Now, fans of the series might have noticed that I just said that the PC game had 4 cases, while the DS game had 5. This is because the PC version was based on the original GBA game, which was lacking the DS version's touch-screen intensive 5th case.
While it is a bit disappointing that the first Phoenix Wright game to hit consoles will likely be an older port, it is good to see the franchise expanding to new platforms. Of course, nothing is official at this point, but please tell me I'm not the only one that gets really excited thinking about the possibility of presenting evidence with an over-dramatic flourish of the Wii remote. Maybe this will help to make up for Phoenix Wright's glaring omission from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Coming To The Wii [GamerBytes]
A great big Happy Birthday goes out to our own Mikey who turns some age today that is a combination of ones and zeroes (you figure it out)! You don't see him on the front page much, but he is always there behind the scenes making sure everything runs smoothly. If the site goes down, he's always there to get it back up again. He is truly a man with an eye on the back end.
It's an honor and privilege to have known him lo these 20 years! Cheers, Mikey!
One thing's for certain, Infinity Ward's Fight Against Grenade Spam video may have hurt feelings, but it didn't hurt pre-order sales. GameStop executive Tony Bartel announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has broken the record for most copies pre-ordered at GameStop:
"By all indicators, we anticipate Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be the biggest entertainment launch of all time... As of today, the number of pre-order reservations we've taken for the game is the highest for any title we've ever sold in our 6,200 store network."
Activision's devoted campaign to sell the game also has 2,600 Walmart stores holding midnight launches, while the people at Amazon have been ordered to search for the most Call of Duty-est town in America and the $5,000 charity contribution which that title will earn the "lucky" town. (The list is a little scary.)
UK sales are also expected to break records, notably GTA IV's record of 926,000 copies sold in one week. With 500,000 UK preorders, the projected first week UK sales of 1.7 million copies doesn't seem too far-fetched.
For what it's worth, MW2 has been getting plenty of flack for non-gay-related controversies, like one scene that has an undercover CIA officer perform terrorist atrocities at an airport:
"The way that the plot is likely being handled comes across with a lot of the wrong messages, and shows a poor method of thinking when it comes to the sensitivity of the issue."
What does this mean? Sales trump sensitivity any day.
Episode #42 of the GayGamer.net Podcast is here! Join Fruit Brute and Tiny Dancer as they discuss the big game news of the last week including: the offensive Call of Duty video, Dragon Age: Origins gay romance, Hugh Jackman as Nathan Drake, the God of War III Ultimate Edition, what we're playing, reader questions and more!
We're always looking for reader questions to answer on the show so if you have a query for the crew that you'd like answered or would just like to suggest a topic for discussion, send it here with the subject line "Podcast Question."
Well, sometimes the best of games sneak into to get you late at night, like Michael Meyers in Halloween: creep in silently but you know they've made a mark once the movie is over. Well last week a game that I covered both at E3 and PAX finally went public for all to play, and the best part it's FREE. That game, my friends, is League of Legends.
League of Legends is what they are classifying as a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA for short) that comes from the creative minds that worked on the precusor to most MOBAs, the Defense of the Ancients mod for Warcraft III. Each player in the game gets to choose a champion hero that they summon to the battlefield to play alongside other player's champions against 3-5 live opponents. The dynamic strategy and play style that comes from varied human controlled opponents truly does make this game a battle arena that forces you to rethink your strategy each time you play.
Since the last time I wrote about the game, they've actually added almost 10 more champions to the roster, added in a tutorial section for new players, reworked the user interface both in-game and for the PVP.net system, and added a whole other map to the lineup. They've really been pulling out all the stops to add more content to the game before it launched, and it really shows. They also promise to continue to add more champions, maps, and items to th game as the seasons progress, and all for a very reasonable price.
Best part about all of this is that the game launched last week, and all for that lovely price I talked about of FREE. As part of the launch celebration, too, everyone that signs up and downloads the client can play any of the 30+ champions for free until Nov. 19th when the store is set to open, and will be earning Influence Points (IP) and EXP for playing matched games. This means you can play for free with any hero to see how the game plays and give you a leg up on in-game currency (IP) during this pre-season.
I've been playing the game for the past two months in beta, and am still playing it now that it's live, and it really quick and dirty fun. Matches last 20-40 minutes (sometimes longer depending on the match up) and the matchmaking system is actually fairly robust. There is a bit of grind to the leveling system, and currently the rune system is unavailable since the game's store to purchase runes/boosts/champions won't be open until the season starts on the 19th, but there are plenty of rewards to keep you excited while leveling up. I will admit that I can't fully guage how the end-game of LoL will play out without the pricing model of the store setup, but you'll be sure to hear all about it from me once we get more firm information on how much champions cost to unlock, what custom skins are available, and how the rune system works.
Well enough of my gushing about it, if you got some free time and an alright graphics card in your PC, download the game and see for yourself. Won't cost you any money, and I promise you'll have a good time.
Great news came for music and puzzle game fans today with the announcement that the fabulous indie game Auditorium will be making the jump to XBLA, PS3, and PSP early next year courtesy of Zoo Games. What is Auditorum, you may ask? Auditorium is a musical puzzle game in which you control a stream of particles to trigger music in the environment. Reading it back, that sentence probably made very little sense if you haven't played it, which I highly recommend you do, but trust me that it is simply an amazing audio experience.
Auditorium currently goes for $10.99 for the PC version (which is totally worth it), so expect the XBLA and PSN versions to be priced similarly. And though nothing has been announced specifically about it at this point, Zoo Games has a history of publishing on the Wii, DS, and iPhone, all of which would also be a perfect fit for Auditorium. Check out the full press release after the break.
Exciting news in the world of indie gaming! The IGF, hitting its 12th year of being the indie game equivalent of Sundance, has published its list of submissions for the 2010 competition. With an impressive three hundred and six games on the list this year, the variety of games on display range from ambient racing games to RTSes to tower defense titles; the games range from things put together by an individual on their own to titles that have already seen release on places like Steam or Xbox Live Arcade.
Many of the titles on the site have downloadable versions for the public to check out-- given how often these games go to commercial release it's a great opportunity to check out up and coming developers. Previous winners of the competition have included Darwinia and Crayon Physics Deluxe, for example.
Winners will be announced next March, giving you plenty of time to look at the shiny toys online now.
• ringoxcore on Wootini's Weekly Animal Crossing Diary: @Shawn Chow has plagued every iteration of AC for me as well. Though its great to trap him between holes...
• Shawn on Wootini's Weekly Animal Crossing Diary: O Wootini, y u so cute? But seriously, I think I stopped playing Wild World because I hated when animals...
• Paula on Review: Style Savvy: I beat the game and now i dont get any customers! did this happen to anyone else?...
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