Heroic Henry: Windows 8.1 May Bring Back The Start Button: If you're a current owner of Windows 8, you have noticed that Microsoft has ditched the start button since it's introduction of t...
EA Replies to Worst Company in America Poll
It's that time of year, when consumers from around the United States vote on the "worst company in America." Poised not to repeat last year's results, in which EA earned the crown as worst company in America, Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore took to the company blog to campaign against your vote.
"Are we really the “Worst Company in America?” I’ll be the first to admit that we’ve made plenty of mistakes. These include server shut downs too early, games that didn’t meet expectations, missteps on new pricing models and most recently, severely fumbling the launch of SimCity. We owe gamers better performance than this," Moore admitted. He event went on to list five key bullet points looking to dispel common complaints.
Unfortunately, a few of those bullet points don't necessarily have the evidence to support Moore's claims. As consumers were quick to point out, SimCity's always-on functionality will always remain, in gamers' eyes, to be a scheme. After all, why should they believe otherwise? What has EA done -- other than giving out a free game for the launch troubles -- to prove otherwise?
- Many continue to claim the Always-On function in SimCity is a DRM scheme. It’s not. People still want to argue about it. We can’t be any clearer – it’s not. Period.
- Some claim there’s no room for Origin as a competitor to Steam. 45 million registered users are proving that wrong.
- Some people think that free-to-play games and micro-transactions are a pox on gaming. Tens of millions more are playing and loving those games.
- We’ve seen mailing lists that direct people to vote for EA because they disagree with the choice of the cover athlete on Madden NFL. Yes, really…
- In the past year, we have received thousands of emails and postcards protesting against EA for allowing players to create LGBT characters in our games. This week, we’re seeing posts on conservative web sites urging people to protest our LGBT policy by voting EA the Worst Company in America.
As for Origin, consumers questioned how many of the 45 million registered users were actually satisfied with their experience. Some even argued that they have been forced to use Origin because EA pulled their catalog out of Steam. Does 45 million count if most of them are unhappy?
Not all of Moore's defenses were out of line, though. The complaints about Madden NFL's cover athlete and the LGBT debate prove that some consumers will never be happy with EA -- even if things change. "If that’s what makes us the worst company," Moore said of the company's support of LGBT characters in games, "bring it on. Because we're not caving on that."
"Every day, millions of people across globe play and love our games – literally, hundreds of millions more than will vote in this contest," he defended. "So here’s my response to this poll: We can do better. We will do better. But I am damn proud of this company, the people around the globe who work at EA, the games we create and the people that play them."
"The tallest trees catch the most wind," Moore concluded. "At EA we remain proud and unbowed."
For as frustrating as EA can be at times, I agree that there are far worse corporations in America. If the worst EA does is charge microtransactions or require me to be online to play games, then I think many of these voters need to get their priorities straight. There are far bigger problems in America.
VIA GameZone
Video Game Acapella
Video game covers are dime a dozen. Hell, there are sites dedicated to remixing or redoing our favorite songs from classic video games. Enter Smooth McGroove. This bearded fellow has some amazing pipes, and his song choices certainly aren't easy by any means. Not to mention the entire song is ALL him.
His most recent cover, Spark Mandrill from Mega Man X(shown below) is pure bliss to your ears. Seriously, this guy is a legend. His other covers includeFinal Fantasy VII Battle Theme, Bloody Tears from Castlevania, Ocean Overworld from Wind Waker and more! Seriously, check out this guy's YouTube channel, your ears and your nostalgic kid within you won't regret it.
The massive list of indie games headed to PS3, PS4, and Vita
Sony has already spotlighted a few of indie games including Blacklight: Retribution, Primal Carnage: Genesis, Divekick, Limbo, and a very intriguing Rain. But there's so much more to look forward to. At this year's Game Developer's Conference, Sony hosted a PlayStation Indie Arcade with hands-on demos for more than 25 incoming indie games. Below is a quick list of the gamesheaded to PS3, Vita, and PS4.
PS3
- Rain
- Divekick
- Spelunky
- Sportsfriends
- Ibb & Obb
- Guacamelee!
- Hotline Miami
- Dragon Fantasy Book II
- Thomas Was Alone
- Luftrausers
PS4
VITA
- Divekick
- Spelunky
- Velocity Ultra
- Limbo
- Metrico
- Guacamelee!
- Hotline Miami
- Dragon Fantasy Book II
- Tomas Was Alone
- Luftrausers
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Original Post: http://www.gamezone.com/news/2013/03/26/the-massive-list-of-indie-games-headed-to-ps3-ps4-and-vita
9 Year Old Attempts to Make RPG Game
Finally, some good news concerning females in technology.
In the same week that people lost their minds over the Donglegate and upon learning that a woman is behind the popular Facebook page "I F*cking Love Science," the Internet redeemed itself somewhat after throwing its collective support behind a Kickstarter campaignthat'll help a 9-year-old girl build her very own role-playing game.
With the help of her mother Susan, Mackenzie Wilson—she goes by Kenzie— turned to the popular crowdfunding site to raise $829, enough money to cover her entrance fee to RPG STEM Camp, a program where kids learn the necessary skills to build their own video games.
According to her video, the third grader hopes to build an RPG that's free of inappropriate language and violence and that "allows team members to face danger together and get hurt but doesn't kill teammates off and eliminates them from battle."
Kenzie notes in her project page that she wants to get a headstart in technology thanks in large part to her entrepreneur mom.
"My parents are into technology as users but my Mom has to hire programmers and developers sometimes for her work," she notes. "She's really glad I like computers and programming because she says as a business person she feels like she's held hostage by developers.
"She's the one that got me interested in creating my own stuff on my computer instead of just playing with stuff other people create."
Also serving as motivation were her two older brothers, teenage haters who don't think she's capable of raising the money, much less actually make a game.
They're wrong at least in one accord. In the two days since the campaign was launched, 844 backers have pledged $15,499. That's more than enough to send Kenzie to camp all summer long and to purchase a new laptop. On top of that, Adobe has agreed to give the 9-year-old a complimentary subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud to help Kenzie in her noble pursuit.
It's not just Kenzie's older brothers drinking the haterade. Some Kickstarter commenters are cautioning other backers that this might be a scam.
"I think many of you are missing some very suspicious things regarding this Kickstarter," writes backer Corey Brinn. "First the Kickstarter rules themselves say that you can't Kickstart for tuition, a camera, etc and all these things are basically what the Kickstarter is for.
"Also check out the mothers linkedin. She's a Harvard grad amongst many other things that needs to raise money to send her child to camp? The video also has a 9 year old girl saying she will basically have to rely on 'sugar daddy's' multiple times if she is unable to go to camp? These are all very suspicious things in my opinion. I've reported the Kickstarter so they can look into it further. It smells like a scam that is using 'the cute factor’ to real people in....'"
The backlash has been loud enough that Susan Wilson responded in an update, noting that she will be posting a video showing off her entire family.
Negativity aside, it's refreshing to see the Internet put its pettiness away long enough to make a little girl's dream a reality.
Want to donate to help Kenzie, the 9 year old? Check out her Kickstarter page here: Kickstarter
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Original Article: http://mashable.com/2013/03/22/9-year-old-girl-kickstarter-video-game/
Rumor: Xbox 720 Mandatory Game Installs?
Be prepared for long stretches of boredom next Christmas morning, as leaked documentation suggests the next Xbox will feature mandatory game installation.
Leaked development screenshots for the upcoming console -- codenamed 'Durango' and known colloquially as the Xbox 720 -- were posted by vgleaks, along with some Windows documentation that supposedly details the new system's features.
"Every Durango console will have a hard drive, although its exact capacity has not been chosen," the documentation reads. "It will be large enough, however, to hold a large number of games. All games will be installed on the hard drive. Play from the optical disc will not be supported."
In other words, if this information proves genuine then it sounds like gamers will be using discs to install games, but after that the shiny plastic circles will only be good for hanging from trees to scare birds. Seems a little wasteful, non?
The documentation does say, "An installation system is being designed that will allow gamers to begin playing while the game is being installed," so there's hope that you won't have to wait too long for the game to finish saving itself to the console before you can play.
The hardware overview also points to a "high-fidelity Kinect Sensor, which will be required for the system to operate." That also sounds a little ominous, but until we know more it's hard to know what to make of this. "Improved ergonomics" on the controller meanwhile hint at a redesign for the iconic Xbox gamepad.
We'll likely see the next Xbox given an official airing in the next few months, possibly at the E3 gaming trade show that kicks off in June.
What do you think about mandatory game installs? Are they a good idea, or a potentially disastrous move? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
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[Rumor: PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 Price: Possibly $350]Original Article: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/xbox-720-to-make-game-installs-mandatory-leaked-docs-hint-50010715/
Need for Speed Most Wanted is on Nintendo Wii U
Need for Speed Most Wanted U, is now available on the Nintendo Wii U.
This version of Need for Speed is specifically designed for the Wii U. This version comes with features that the other consoles don't have. One of the features is a local co-op mode that allows a second player to use the GamePad that provides GPS and control over the traffic in the course, while the first player navigates the car with a Wii Remote. The GamePad user can also change from day to night, boost up the performance of a car, distract cops, and more.The other features that the game provides for the GamePad is switching between cars with a simple press on the touchpad, and also playing TV-free by using the screen on the pad. The Wii U version also comes with the Ultimate Speed Pack bonus.
Smite: Gameplay (Video)
