In the Melbourne City Library, there's a special area located upstairs for people to read, surf the web with the free wi-fi and study in peace. But in the very same vincitity, smack bang right in the middle of the area, there's a set of couches and two LCD screens, one with a wii attached playing Wii Sports or Wii play, and another with a PS2, with various games on rotation. It seems to attract the attention of sleepy uni students and bums who seem to play a couple of rounds of tennis then fall asleep on the comfy couches provided (not that I have, because you know I'm a man of class and all that jazz).
Don't worry, there's a point to that story...
Cut to the Nebraska Library Commission, where, according to GamePolitics, some of it's staff (and department) are currently in hot water by the sensational press after a youtube video appeared online of said staff deep in a rousing game of Rock Band, during office hours. Unfortuately for the rocking librarians, a viewer took offense at this (jealous much?) and took it to higher ups, causing a investigation. And even more unfortunate was the fact the story ended up making it's way, sensationalised, onto the local TV station's news program: Action News 3.
Thankfully though, that higher up, Library Commission Director Rob Wagner (oooh, fancy) stood by his staff members with this to say:
...He says the library system is branching out into video games to bring more young people into the libraries.
I don't know how to feel about libraries embracing video games. On one hand, it's very good to see them willing to adapt to today's current technologies and trying to reach out to young people. But on the other, do you destroy the purpose of a library by introducing something that doesn't allow for quiet meditation and study? (That's my view of a library, feel free to challange me on that). Also, like I mentioned inthe story at the beginning of this article, they just don't seem to attract the kind of attention that the library has in mind. I'm interested to read what you readers think.
Ahem. With that out of the way, I am pleased to tell you that the rumors surrounding the shiny, shiny red xbox 360 elite Resident Evil 5 special edition package circulating the interwebs are completely true, much to the horror of my cheque book.
So, what do you get for $399US? Aside from the crimson red 360 and wireless controller (pictured right), the bundle includes a 120GB Hard Drive, a copy of Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, a downloadable RE theme and the standard elite headset. Nerdgasam worthy. Such a pity the exchange rate sucks something feirce.
I'm a sucker for special editions. They scream out to my inner fasionista in me. Will you be picking up the package when it comes out? Does simply changing the color of a console constitue a "special edition"?. Some food for thought for all you boys and gals...
Something tells me I've found the perfect item to spend my stimulus package on (if it ever sees the light of day here).
There's no doubt about it, we are living in a age where wires are becoming a anachronism: a good majority of people I know people who have ditched landlines for solely mobiles, wi-fi and bluetooth are now standard in most electronic devices and laptops can now be fit into a purse (or man purse if you prefer), allowing broadband internet connectivity and the brawn of a desktop upon your lap... We surely live in the future.
Now finally joining the ranks of these devices in the wireless age are the good old SingStar mics! Yes, if the fact you were attached to a 1m long cable stifled your inner diva while belting out Wannabe (that and any lack of actual talent) you'll be glad to find that on the 20th of March, at least in the UK, you'll be free to dance like a idiot around the living room freestyle. Apparently the new mics will also feature improved audio quality and (the icing on the cake) backwards compatibility with the ps2.
No word yet on a AUS or US release date, though the release of the mics are supposed to coincide with the release of SingStar: Pop Edition for the PS3, which adds another 30 (none of which seem to interest me much except for Bohemian Rhapsody) songs to the library and the ability to surf through your SS library entirely with your voice if picking up your controller is too much of a hassle between songs. Nifty. If only I had a ps3, I would care a bit more...
Check the jump for the press release and track listing.
Ever since Rock Band first came out, I've been hoping and praying for some good old home grown Aussie content to rock out to (well technically they have, if you count AC-DC but still...). I mean sure, we may be the ass end of the world, but we have pumped out some great musical acts (including the ultimate gay icon: Kylie!) and until now, my pleas have gone unheard. But thankfully Activision have come to the rescue and put some shrimps on the barbie with some Aussie classics for Guitar Hero: World Tour to celebrate the birth of our great nation!:
Featured in the downloadable content is Silverchair's 1995 hit "Tomorrow", which found early success as one of their first songs when it won a local music competition run by Australian television network SBS. Rounding out the Track Pack is the GRAMMY Award winning Wolfmother with "Dimension" and The Vines with their hit "Outtathaway!"
The Australian Track Pack and will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points (or 160 points per single) on 22nd January. Following that it will be live on 5th February for the PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for $9.95 (or $3.45 per single) and Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection for Wii™ for 160 Wii Points per single.
While I have an intense hatred for anything Wolfmother (you know what you did), "Outtathaway" and "Tomorrow" totally make up for that one piece of suck. And hopefully this will inspire Harmonix and Activision to release more Australian tracks as DLC for their games. Now gimme some Grates!
For those of you down under that usually snubb the Sunday paper (I for one do as there's hardly anything but filler and ads), then maybe the prospect of having a nifty and (almost) free game, and a good one at that (though can you call it a game?) will change your mind.
Today in the Hearld Sun here in Victoria (and the 30th for The Courier Mail), you'll be able to get your hands on The Spore Creature Creator thanks to EA for just $2 via redemption. Though don't be mistaken: this is only the the demo; you'll still have to pay the $10 for the full version. But regardless it's a great way to dip your feet into world of Spore without wasting your precious bandwidth. And it may be just enough for me to finally buy a copy of the Sunday Hearld.
If you're unlucky enough to live in a PAL region like me then you know how long we have to wait for even the biggest titles. Weeks, months or even years (it's true! Look at Phoienx Wright and the Trauma Center series for example), most of the time it's a guessing game as to we'll get a game any time soon, especially with the "niche" titles such as Persona 3 and the like (we love you Koei!) and the like. All thanks to the regional lockout and the poor excuse of localization.
But there's still hope! Through the magic of importing you can enjoy games at the same time as our US and Japanese brethren, though be it with a few "hurdles" to tackle, particularly if you're in the market for a home console title. This guide will help you find out what you need to consider (both cost and tech wise), choosing where to buy your gear (and what to be wary of) and finally what type of games are considered "import-friendly" if you decide to sample some of Japan's fine electronic wares. We're doing it because we care!
Usually when one finds a bug in a video game or piece of software, the appropriate thing to do is to usually send a polite calm email explaining what the problem is and what, if any work-arounds can be put in place. What you're about to read is an example of what NOT to do. Particularly if your IQ doesn't stretch into the triple digits (which seems to be the case with this story).
Steve Fawkner, CEO of the Australian development studio Infinite Interactive dropped the bomb (so to speak) about several death and bomb threats sent to the company's Port Melbourne studio while unveiling their latest title: Neopets Puzzle Adventure at Captivate 08'. And why? All because of a single bug within the PSP version of Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords, which sees the CPU Player Assistant redundant.
While speaking to Eurogamer, Fawkner elaborated on the bizarre situation:
They were all emails, and I think at least two of them were possibly serious! They actually left their email addresses on them, so we know who they came from... We had a PSP bug and someone said, 'We're going to send you a bomb and blow the studio up!' But, er, we can track that email.
Wow, real bright. He goes on in the interview to shed some more light on the intelligence of the email senders:
Most of them were people who were going to kill us who lived in the States, and we're in Australia, so unless they were actually serious enough to hop a plane, fly over to Australia and gun me down.
As they say, stupidity knows no limits. But hopefully they fixed the problem in the end, because a bug is a bug and nobody likes them (though you don't need to express your dislike through angry emails)!
Since the introduction of the Wii's online infrastructure (well, at least for online play), one major complaint has always dogged the Wi-Fi Connection: DLC. With the the lack of memory on board the console and Nintendo's reluctance to help developers till now, it's always been a dream that's been difficult to come true. Until now.
Vicarious Visions, the developers behind the latest in the Guitar Hero series, World Tour, have confirmed that the wii version will receive "true" downloadable content, in the form of new music, both user generated (presumably free) and licensed.
It's unclear at the moment how they intend to deal with the storage limit (a meager 512mb), but my guess is that it'll be a case of swapping content between SD cards and the flash memory as you want to use it. I really do hope Nintendo does come to their senses and allow content and games to be run directly off SD cards. As many of you know, it was this very reason why RecOctane, coupled with time restraints and lack of infastructure, chose not to include DLC with GHIII:
"We've been looking at DLC on the Wii for a long time, and with Guitar Hero 3, it was the first Guitar Hero game on the Wii," he explained. "It was the first third-party WiFi title with online play. That took a lot of effort to be able to do that. We didn't have the time, and the infrastructure and stuff wasn't in place [at the time], for DLC [in GH3].
I think this very wise move will make Activision the winner in the upcoming "battle of the bands". Not only will they be tapping the large userbase that the wii provides, but are solving one of the major reasons why the wii version of GHIII didn't reach it's full potential (other than the crappy guitar and bad disks that were shipped which are no brainers to any publisher).
Hey there boys and gals! I normally would hesitate to post something so personal as this, but I thought I might as well give this a shot.
As some of you who frequent the site's chatroom may know, I'm about to be jetting off for a few weeks to Victoria's luscious wine and orange country up north. While it'll will be fun to be home and breathing the fresh country air, what's less fun is the fact that my lease runs out for my current place on the day I leave, meaning I'll be without-home when I return to Melbourne, Australia.
So in other words, I'm looking for a new mog lair to continue to plan world domination study, work and write. My current price range is around $50 - $140AUD (plus bills) per week for a place relatively close to Melbourne's CBD, or at the very least be close to a train or tram line. I'm not fussy about sharing, smokers, sexuality and gender and I'm willing to do my fair share of the house work and cook (spag bol anybody?). And you get a glimpse on the creative process of a GG writer!
If you know of such a place or are looking for a flatemate, feel free to contact me via my GG email: mrmog@gaygamer.net. Thanks!
The promotional event, depending on how it's handled can be a great way to bring together both old and new consumers to a franchise/company's wares with great financial results, or a total flop. Nintendo Australia's attempt to spread the gospel according to Miyamoto, the Connection Tour, which returns again this year is a combination of the two.
For those of you who haven't been to the previous years events, The Connection Tour is basically a small series of events around Australia in Westfield shopping malls (which for some reason all seem to be situated hours away from the CBD) that allows people to try out the latest Wii and DS games (notable ones this year is GH: Areosmith, GH: On Tour and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon) and duke it out with a competition using the latest flavor of the month (last year was Pokemon D/P), this time being of course the upcoming Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart Wii. There's also some exciting free stuff to get a hold of if you're lucky. I like free stuff, and so should you.
While it's nice to meet and face off against other DS/Wii gamers in the flesh for a purdy new DS, preview the latest upcoming games and get loads of free shiz, the utterly clueless booth babes, the two hour train ride to the malls out in the sticks where they host the events and the allocated space which accommodates for only 1/3 of the total attendance makes it almost unbearable even for a free event, particularly for something that the sole aim is to ram the product down your throat.
Check the jump for the press release and location and dates
All of us know that there's nothing greater than to gather around with a few mates and lay on the smackdown with a few rounds of Brawl or Mario Kart. It breaks the ice and gets the conversation running along smoothly. But according to Kasidie, a magazine for swingers, it can help couples do a whole lot more than just talking, in particular the Wii with it's "seductive" motion controls.
The article provides handy hints for swingers and couples to maximize their love lives through the magic of gaming (most of which can't be mentioned here for obvious reasons), though needless to say the active nature of many of the games discussed (Mario Party, Wii Sports, WarioWare Raving Rabbids, Guitar Hero and Rock Band) are ripe for adult situations:
Unlike many other games, Wii Sports strongly encourages physical activity among players. The games generally require movements modeled after the actual sports you are playing. This provides numerous opportunities for physical intimacy and heightened sexual tension ("Here, let me help you perfect your bowling stance. Let's start with those hips...").
Oooh la la! I don't think Nintendo would necessarily approve of it's "touching is good" motto being taken so literally, but it's always nice to be shown that the Wii isn't just for children, Soccer mums and crotchety old people. And it's every guy's (at least mine) dream come true: Gaming and sex all rolled into one. Everybody wins! But remember: Play Safe (in both senses wink wink)!
I must admit, I'm a extreme completist when it comes to games, particularly RPGs. I don't know why, but whenever the need arises to collect things, be them coins, trophies or achievements, the OCD side in me breaks loose and go nuts. Explains the 150+ hour save file in Pokemon D/P.... But according to US researchers it's not because I have a addictive personality (thank god), but apparently because I'm "wired" that way as a member of the male sex.
Professor Allan Reiss and his research crew wired up both male and female subjects to a scanner while playing a unknown game that involved winning territory (most likely an FPS), with predictable results. While women had a good understanding of both the game mechanics and goals required to win, the male subjects were "alot more motivated to succeed". The research also 'discovered' that the most popular types of games for men are"territory and aggression-type" games.
The real discovery though in the study and the belief for the findings is that when men win, a part of their brain, linked to the section that controls rewarding feelings and addiction, is stimulated. I can imagine an teenager using this an excuse to his parents: "but mum! My gender is making me do it!".
While this is stating the obvious to a degree, it's at least nice to know how and why there are guys who take things slightly too seriously in a usually friendly match online. And I know quite a few gals who are just as dedicated to laying down the pain. But regardless of gender, it's always good to remember moderation. Tell me what you think. Plausible or total BS?
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Ever since Rock Band first came out, I've been hoping and praying for some good old home grown Aussie content to rock out to (well technically they have, if you count AC-DC but still...). I mean sure, we may be the ass end of the world, but we have pumped out some great musical acts (including the ultimate gay icon: Kylie!) and until now, my pleas have gone unheard. But thankfully Activision have come to the rescue and put some shrimps on the barbie with some Aussie classics for Guitar Hero: World Tour to celebrate the birth of our great nation!:
Usually when one finds a bug in a video game or piece of software, the appropriate thing to do is to usually send a polite calm email explaining what the problem is and what, if any work-arounds can be put in place. What you're about to read is an example of what NOT to do. Particularly if your IQ doesn't stretch into the triple digits (which seems to be the case with this story).
Hey there boys and gals! I normally would hesitate to post something so personal as this, but I thought I might as well give this a shot.
The promotional event, depending on how it's handled can be a great way to bring together both old and new consumers to a franchise/company's wares with great financial results, or a total flop. Nintendo Australia's attempt to spread the gospel according to Miyamoto, the Connection Tour, which returns again this year is a combination of the two.
All of us know that there's nothing greater than to gather around with a few mates and lay on the smackdown with a few rounds of Brawl or Mario Kart. It breaks the ice and gets the conversation running along smoothly. But according to Kasidie, a magazine for swingers, it can help couples do a whole lot more than just talking, in particular the Wii with it's "seductive" motion controls.
