G4 TV - TheFeed - Other People's Misfortune

Man Arrested For Not Tweeting

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:25:00 -0800

Police in Garden City, NJ apparently arrested a man this weekend for not sending a tweet.

It all started at The Roosevelt Mall on Long Island, where teen singing sensation Justin Bieber was apparently scheduled to appear. Over 3,000 fans jammed into the shopping center and began chanting and yelling and carrying on. It looked like this:

The cops apparently asked James Roppo, a senior vice president of Island Def Jam Records, to send a tweet letting the fans know that the singer wouldn't show. He apparently failed to tweet and was cited for“endangering the welfare of a minor and obstructing government administration."

Bieber, who got his start after being discovered on YouTube, did tell his fans to go home via twitter, but apparently it didn't work.

If this near riot and the recent box office success of Twilight: New Moon has taught us anything, it's taught us that teenage girls are terrifying when gathered in groups. I suggest we all stay in our homes and play video games so they don't bother us! Trust me, it'll work.

In a related story, I recently tweeted about a personal appearance I made at a local discount t-shirt store (5 shirts for $3!); I was greeted by a surly dock-worker and a smelly girl who cuts her own hair as opposed to thousands of screaming fans. There must be something wrong with my internet.

Source: Media Memo

Mass We Pray Trailer Actually A Dante's Inferno Ad

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:31:00 -0800

Earlier this week, I turned your attention to a trailer for a supposed Wii game called Mass We Pray. In it, players use a cross-shaped Wiimote to perform the Catholic Mass. Well, I was tricked. Fooled. Bamboozled, even.

While I knew the game wasn't real, and said as much about the trailer, I didn't know at the time that it was actually a viral ad for Dante's Inferno. I figured it was some clever web comedians making with the ha-ha jokes. Had I just clicked on the pre-order link on the fake website, all would have been revealed.

I'm joining our nation's Nannies in being angry about this game. While they're mad about the "Bad Nanny" achievement, I'm angry at Dante's Inferno's advertising. I hate being tricked, especially when it means I devote valuable, valuable web space to promoting a game and don't even know I'm doing it.

Wait a minute... I'm still posting about Dante's Inferno right now! Must. End. Post. About. Dante's Inferno....

(Dante's Inferno is out for the PS3, PSP, PC and 360 in February...I'm still doing it!)

G4 Is Proud To Present Campus PD

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:25:00 -0800

When you're flipping around the channels, looking for something (anything) to watch, you know you stop on action-oriented reality programming every time. Relax, everyone does. That's why we at G4 are proud to present Campus PD, a brand new program detailing real, college police work premiering on the network on Wednesday, December 9 at 11 PM ET.

Campus PD "takes viewers along for the ride with officers on duty to capture firsthand all the mayhem and excitement they take on night after night when student fun spirals out of control." That means binge-drinking co-eds and law-and-order cops meeting head-on.

From policing parties and security issues, to keeping the peace at sports events and arresting possible suspects, ride with the Campus PD as they tackle the ongoing challenge of keeping students safe. Depicting university life from the perspective of the law enforcement professionals who police them, this ground-breaking new series presents a real-life account of these modern-day campus heroes. As they gear up for a shift, these courageous cops know they’re in for a few surprises!

The series heads to five college towns across the country including Tallahassee, FL, San Marcos, TX, Cincinnati, OH, Chico, CA, and Greenville, NC. It takes viewers deep inside the internal lives of the law enforcement professionals policing a town of fun-loving college kids. It isn’t easy, but these dedicated officers love their jobs, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s no secret that high energy police shows are very popular among male viewers. With Campus PD, we join real police teams and head to college towns, where the students – and their everyday lives – will prove highly relatable to G4’s core young male audience” said Neal Tiles, President, G4.

Campus PD premieres this December, with an initial run of ten episodes. It's available in HD, too. Check out the official site for more details.

Links Of TheFeed: Awesome Pranks And Canadians

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:31:00 -0800

There are pranks, and then there's downright cruelty. CollegeHumor's prank war between Amir and Streeter is on its eighth iteration, and I think tricking someone into thinking they're about to die is about as nasty as you can get. So enjoy that, along with some cute kittens and a couple people you'll surely want to date once you see their profile videos.

Ronald loves forklift driving, long walks on the beach, and women who aren't afraid of him. See his video on FilmDrunk.

CollegeHumor's prank war between Streeter and Amir has been pretty awesome, and Amir just upped the stakes. I'm unsure how Streeter managed not to soil his pants.

Supertremendous presents the 25 funniest kitten photos on the 'net.

CraveOnline lists their picks for the 10 best vigilante movies of all time. Do you agree with their choices?

Uncoached has some Canadian motivational posters that are sure to make you want to move up to the Great White North.

If you still have a cache of last-gen games lying around, Crispy Gamer will let you know the ones that are quickly turning into collectables.

Pandemic Closing Its Doors

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:01:00 -0800

According to gaming blog Kotaku's "sources close to the situation," Electronic Arts is shutting down developer Pandemic Studios. Though unconfirmed, Kotaku's sources say the announcement to Pandemic's employees was planned for some time this morning.

Pandemic brought us Full Spectrum Warrior, Star Wars: Battlefront and upcoming stealth-action game The Saboteur. It has been around since 1998, first as an independent studio and later as an arm of Electronic Arts. EA bought the company in 2007, and since then, Pandemic has mainly trafficked in poorly received or ill-fated projects, including a canceled Dark Knight game once in development at Pandemic, Brisbane, which has since been closed as well.

We've seen game The Saboteur, and it looks amazing, for the record. Speaking of, Kotaku reports that The Saboteur IP will be passed onto EA's Montreal studio, the office behind Army of 2.

Update: The layoffs have been confirmed, but that doesn't mean Pandemic, as a brand, is dead. In a memo quoted by Kotaku, Nick Earl, EA Games Label Senior Vice President, wrote "I want to make it clear that the Pandemic brand and franchises will live on... In the months ahead, we will announce plans for new games based on Pandemic franchises."

Source: Kotaku

Reply to All: No Russian, Legend of Zelda, and My Little Uppercup

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:12:00 -0800

It's called "coverage fatigue," and it happens every year. Big Publisher announces Big Game at E3, spends the next few months making sure that Big Game gets news stories, previews, videos, interviews, TV spots, celebrity endorsements, pre-order campaigns, cross-promotional tie-ins, ridiculous collector's editions, and midnight launches. By the time Big Game finally comes out, it feels like you've already played it…but wait, Big Game: Downloadable Content is coming in a week, and Bigger Game: New Location just got announced in shareholder's conference call, and maybe we'll see something at E3…?

This year, Big Game is Modern Warfare 2. On TheFeed we use a Google spreadsheet to catalog our posts, and when I tried to count how many MW2 stories we put up this week, I got one of those formula errors. We've been reading your comments about the Call of Duty carpet bombing -- all I can say is that don't worry, we're definitely working on many other things for the rest of the year (for instance, I can't wait to get my hands on New Super Mario Bros. this weekend), and we have been posting other stories…it's just that Modern Warfare 2 is indeed a huge deal, and even though we might be sick of talking about it, there's plenty about the game to talk about. "No Russian," for instance. Last week I said that we'd have to wait and see how that airport scene played out before we could accurately judge. Well, now we can…let's start it with your thoughts. I've taken these comments from this week's Feedback/Sessler's Soapbox threads:

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Did anybody complain about The Departed? (I think it won an Oscar even.) I haven't played the game but it sound very similar to what DiCaprio's character had to go through to garner the trust of Costello's gang i.e. horrible terrible things he wasn't willing to do all in an effort to bring a mad man down. -- ltmebob

The scenario was tastelessly designed and begs the question why the player couldn't murder the terrorist leader standing right next to him in the airport. After all isn't that pretty much the goal with regards to infiltration? This isn't IW pushing the medium as an art form, this is pure shock value designed to generate controversy and more dollars. The fact that it is skippable and does not include children in the airport are perfect arguments that IW is doing this simply to push the almighty dollar. -- Nhojuhc

Sure gamers will defend to death their art form and feel that it is beyond reproach, but seriously, do I have to see a mass murder to know that it's an atrocity? Powerful? I'm moved by the murder of innocents? In what way? Do I gain hatred for our enemies? Do I need to see this to know the difference between right and wrong? -- goodbiscuits

I'm just not sure this type of "simulation" is really the key we want to use to force open the door into acceptance in society as an artistic medium. There are surely more creative ways allow players to feel an emotional response, this airport scene is nothing more than a cheap, shock factor scene. I'm afraid that in the minds of those who genuinely love artistic expression and have the level of intelligence and study required to understand artistic expression and interpretation this type of "scene" is not going to help videogames move into the artistic expression realm, but in the long run might actually hinder that progress even more. -- Glo9634

Yes, the game put you in a situation where you, a player in the guise of a CIA undercover operative, had to choose whether or not to participate fully in something horrific. Why were you in that situation? How did it come down to this? Is your life, at risk for not following orders, worth as much as the people you have been ordered to kill? These are all questions you should be asking yourself through this scene. They are all emotional responses that are supposed to take you, as a player, and draw you deeper into the narrative. -- LarcenousLaugh

This level shocked me, I found it to be very disturbing and it conjured emotions I normally don't have to deal with. That being said I am glad I played it. There are very rare moments in video games where I get an emotional response out of playing. I have gone on killing sprees in GTA, I wiped out villagers in Fable, I even nuked Megaton in Fallout 3. None of these games provoked a strong emotional response to what was going on. Fallout 3 came close but not to this degree.

I can completely understand why people will be offended by this level, It is something that will drive home for a lot of people especially in a post-9/11 world. I was born in northern Ireland and my parents lived through the troubles of the whole South/North Ireland conflict (where terrorists did mow down civilians with guns/fertilizer bombs, etc.) and I am sure that if they seen this level it would bring up bad memories for them. The main shock for me was not that I was killing helpless civilians (it is just a game after all), but that this could potentially happen in the real world. -- Peatore

I think the airport scene is too clean, for lack of a better word, reason being I've played GTA , gone into an airport with a flame thrower and a machine gun and gunned people down while the were running around on fire, and then blew them up. It's part of the fun of doing things in a game that you'd never do in real life. -- Joe22

Everyone playing MW2 will react differently to this Airport situation. I shot everyone, I even made the effort to find those who were cowering behind cover and take their lives. Does this make me a bad person? I felt I owed it to the developers to engage in the scenario that was placed before me and this being my first time impersonating a terrorist in a game I thought, why not, let us commence to murdering. Now was it necessary, eh maybe, maybe not. It could have been done with a between level video/spoken narrative recap, but would that have had the same kind of impact? It's obviously creating emotions for some gamers and isn't that the point of games? To create a sense of envelopment with your characters and environment/situation. I think it was a bold move and I tip my hat. -- Sentient010

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Many excellent points have been made this week about "No Russian," which I have to believe is the most controversial scene in a video game to date, and after playing through it the other night, it's one of those things that you can't really be "wrong" about regardless of what side you come down on. (Which is not to say you can't have terrible reasoning, which I've also seen in our comments.)

For me, the scene comes down to a few things:

* Examined within the plot Infinity Ward chose to go with, the mission makes complete sense. There needed to be an impetus for what happens next in the game, and it needed to be something so incredibly powerful and horribly violent to justify the response. What happens in the airport fits that description. But the plot they chose to go with has all the subtlety of a Michael Bay film (or Tomorrow Never Dies, really), which is why something so emotionally provocative A) is surprising/shocking and B) feels out of place. It'd be like Transformers 2 preaching about the horrors of war.

* The question is: "Did I need to see that first-hand, and did I need to interact with it?" It was necessary for Pvt. Allen to be there undercover, but was it necessary for me to see the massacre through his eyes? We have to remember that this is presumably the end of a very long deep undercover assignment, and we weren't privy to Allen's experiences leading up to this. If you think about it, that could have been an entire game in itself, and the moral implications of the airport scene would have meant far more to Allen as a character and us as the players. But because it's so early in the game and lacks that context, that's where a lot of the "they did this for the shock value" argument stems from, which is totally understandable.

Would it have had the same effect if Allen was locked in a security room somewhere, watching it unfold through a window or a monitor? What if you were put in control of a civilian who had to escape, or had to watch a loved one get shot? Why not show the events through the eyes of a Moscow police officer? Like many of you argued, did we really need that scene to tell us how horrible Makarov is, especially when it was presented as optional? I would very much like to hear Infinity Ward's reasoning behind their choices.

(And did making it optional mean Infinity Ward copped out? Or did they take advantage of the medium and allow the player to choose their level of participation in a way that a similar scene wouldn't be able to do in a book or movie? There's an argument to both sides, I'm still not sure where I stand on that one.)

* Where that scene fails for me -- and it causes the whole experience to break -- is when the choice to participate is taken away and I have to fight the police force in order to proceed. As we find out at the end of the mission, it makes sense for Makarov not to care that I wasn't shooting civilians…he already knew why. The same should have held true for the airport police, who are just as innocent as the civilians they're trying to protect. Matt Keil made the point on this week's Feedback -- and it's something I definitely felt when I had to open fire -- that those virtual officers had virtual families and virtual lives that you were ending. That sounds silly to the "it's just a game!" crowd, but it's no different than words describing a character's misfortune on a page or actors "dying" in a movie. If you want your fiction to be believable, you need to be consistent. Making me shoot the cops for the sake of gameplay broke that consistency.

Another failure on IW's part provided probably the most jarring moment of the whole experience for me: walking slowly through the carnage, not firing but watching everything unfold and trying to process the imagery they were presenting…I got an on-screen reminder to switch to my grenade launcher. It was completely inappropriate for the scene, and suggestive that IW didn't really care if you shot the civilians or not.

But despite the many problems with it, where "No Russian" succeeds is that it was allowed to exist, and it made us all feel and talk about it in this way. Very few games decide to do that (regardless of their ability to do so). And one last thing to think about, in the very next mission playing as Roach in Rio and fighting against the favela militia, a civilian ran into my line of fire and was killed. That had almost an equal impact as "No Russian," and just now reminded me how I thought it was weird the initial training course had civilian targets -- not so much anymore. We can talk about this more next week, if the letters and comments keep coming in…particularly about how this is different from the civilians in Grand Theft Auto, because that is an excellent point.

But I believe we were talking about Michael Bay…

Why has Infinity Ward gone Michael Bay? -- ScienceOfSleep

Worldwide Gross Revenue (in millions, via Wikipedia)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: $832M
Transformers: $709M
Bad Boys: $141M
Bad Boys II: $273M
Armageddon: $554M
Pearl Harbor: $449M
The Rock: $335M

I just used my official Steve Johnson Entertainment Revenue Calculator™ to add it all up: Michael Bay has made eleven-thousand billion dollars with his movies, so blowing everything up appears to be a viable creative strategy. And if Michael Bay -- and now it seems Infinity Ward -- wasn't around to provide us our guilty pleasures someone else surely would be, and perhaps with even less style. And I'll admit it, I still have a soft spot for The Rock. Nic Cage at the height of his game.

Modern Warfare 2, top of its class. Uncharted 2, top of its class. Dragon Age, top of its class... where do game developers go from here, and what is "outside of the box" anymore? -- JoeDowntown

What is the greatest online fps at the moment? And don't say COD MW2 or anything involving guitars. -- idwolf

Clearly, game developers need to make an online FPS involving guitars. That's so far outside of the box, it's back in the box. In the meantime, here's an online FPS involving dinosaurs and World War II. You are most welcome.

(This was the last letter mentioning MW2, by the way.)

When you do reviews, do your reviews happen at work or do you have to travel to play the games? Which happens more often, and did you every have an experience that will always stand out? -- bolo73

95% of the time, we review games either at the office or in the comfort of our own homes where our A/V equipment is better, the furniture is more comfortable, and clothing is optional. The off-site review events do happen, usually only with the really high-profile games from paranoid publishers, but unfortunately there's not a whole lot we can do about it if we still want to have a review ready in time for the game's retail release. When that happens, it's a relatively inoffensive affair: publishers will set up large rooms with stations for each reviewer (multiple publications will attend these events) and let them play the game in peace. It's definitely not the preferred method of reviewing, and we try to avoid it as much as humanly possible, but it's not as nefarious as some might think.

As far as notable experiences with weird review situations, I remember back when I was an intern for Electronic Gaming Monthly in my college days. It was the summer of '99, and Nintendo was incredibly paranoid about their first-party N64 games -- so much so that they had an employee travel to Chicago with the games physically locked into the N64, they had to stay in the office's demo room while the guys were playing the game, and the doors had to be locked whenever nobody was in the room -- even when they had to take a bathroom break. Things have gotten far less absurd since then, but Nintendo's still highly protective of their games prior to release.

Why does DLC for multiplatform games end up only going to one console. I like Fallout 3 and GTA4, but my PS3 isn't cutting it when it comes to my 360 DLC availablity. I understand that Microsoft wants more sales on their platform but aren't games about enjoyment, not leaving people out of the fun. -- BlakeKellermann

Because multiplatform development strategy is so essential in this generation, downloadable content is one of the few remaining trump cards for the console holders. Lost & Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony were big wins for Microsoft, so don't expect it to go away anytime soon. And I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, Blake, but games are about money. (We all gotta deal with that at some point.)

Do you think that the gaming community will be portrayed as anything more than a bunch of kids who yell racist slurs and get mad at each other, or do you think it will stay on this stereotype? -- Jopanda

What we consider to be the "gaming community" will get larger and more diverse as the years go by and more and more people are acclimated to gaming, whether through playing with their families on the Wii or playing casual games on Facebook. From there, sub-communities form with different standards for what's acceptable behavior. If we're talking about the typical FPS audience, then I can't imagine anything changing about the general player pool…ever.

Some equate Xbox Live to the schoolyard playground, but I don't buy that. There's a period of pre-pubescence when you're too old for the playground but too young to be autonomous (i.e., having a driver's license). That's the Xbox Live I'm afraid of. Before the Internet was everywhere, we would ride our bikes over to each other's houses and play games, because we were friends and that's what friends did. That the Internet (we shouldn't solely be picking on XBL here) is easily anonymous means that we don't have to maintain friendships with the people we play with, and we can curse at them without repercussions like we'd curse at cheap A.I. or bad controls. Using the term "community" to describe it doesn't seem correct. Sterling has actually been thinking about this a lot recently, look for something longer-form about this from him in the near future.

The key is to find people online who are cool, keep them on your friends list, and use the mute button as often as necessary.

Miyamoto finally started to talk a little bit about another Zelda, and in the past has talked about trying to freshen up the franchise. What would you all like to see in a new Zelda game? Are you excited about Wii MotionPlus technology and what it can bring? -- thesilentmole

Anything involving motion control needs to be built from the ground up with motion in mind (Twilight Princess was not, if you remember), and that includes some beloved Nintendo franchises that might be overdue for a complete mechanical overhaul. What I really enjoyed about Wii Sports Resort was the fencing game, particularly the little adventure mode with you running through the field and bopping guys on the head. I've never really had a problem with the current 3D Zelda combat (Wind Waker was excellent in this regard), but I could buy into the idea of MotionPlus.

But before we talk about swinging swords, the most important thing for the next Zelda game is a proper overworld. As much as I adore Ocarina of Time and recognize it for the landmark 3D game it is, my heart is still broken by the empty fields of Hyrule. In the older games, getting to each of the 8 or so dungeon puzzles could be a puzzle in itself -- they've been slowly adding those elements back into the series with Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, but it's still not the same.

And maybe it's time to change up the art style again. Not necessarily cel-shaded, not necessarily "realistic," but something unique and fresh, like how the Mario & Luigi series has a distinct look different from, say, Galaxy or NSMB.

WEBMASTER HATES YOU

I always wonder why Gouken dont have a uppercup like everybody else who knows his fighting style. Ken, Ryu, Akuma, Sakura, even Dan has a uppercup. So my question is WHY NOT A UPPERCUP! -- ben

Because a lower cup feels a lot better. Trust me.

--Webmaster

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This week's Reply-to-All has been brought to you by bananas, the East Dillon Lions, and "Just" by Radiohead. Send your letters to webmaster@g4tv.com, and I'll see you next Friday.

(Confidential to Jeff G./J. Green at E. Arts. We formally challenge you to a Mailbag-off. Please respond by sundown tonight, or you shall forfeit the contest.)

Links Of TheFeed: Slammin' Salmon & Wannabes

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:54:00 -0800

We know how much everyone loves Olivia Munn. That's why I felt the need to issue a PSA and point out her role in the upcoming movie, Slammin Salmon. For Munn, along with some ridiculous gangster wannabes, the new trailer for the Smokin' Aces sequel, and some awful bootleg dvd covers, check out the links below.

The new trailer for Slammin' Salmon, the latest from Broken Lizard (Beerfest, Super Troopers), on FilmDrunk. Look closely, and you might spot a cameo from G4's own Olivia Munn.

Crispy Gamer presents another great moment in voice acting: Castle Shikigami 2.

Seth McFarlane has a dirty secret, and CollegeHumor is ready to expose it.

Items lost in translation are always good for a laugh, so here's 15 of the worst international bootleg dvd covers.

Crave Online has the smokin' new trailer for Smokin' Aces 2: Assassin's Ball.

Ridiculous gangster wannabes are not solely an American phenomenon, Uncoached proves they have them in Russia as well.

Modded Xbox 360s Clog Up Craigslist

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:15:00 -0800

This is a public service announcement: Be very, very careful about buying a used Xbox 360 right about now. As you might know, Microsoft is in the process of banning up to a million modded 360s from Live. These bans are affecting the black-market economy of mod-boxes; modders are racing to unload their illegal and soon to be perma-banned boxes on the internet. Craigslist is glutted with modded Xboxes at dirt-cheap prices, as well as people offering to unban your Xbox (My guess is, it won't work.). I've heard already from several TheFeed readers already who recently purchased used Xboxes that are banned. There's nothing that can be done, so, as they say in Latin: Caveat emptor. Or, "Don't a dink."

Of course, if you are in the market for a modded Xbox (and I don't condone this market, at all), it's a buyers' paradise of cheap, modded machines on Craigslist. As long as you never want to play online, won't use any Live services, don't mind not having any kind of a warranty, and are okay with stealing from people who don't deserve it, you can get a modded Xbox for super cheap these days.

According to Microsoft: "If you purchase a modified console second-hand, the warranty is not transferable and the purchaser assumes the risk for any previous modifications... If you purchase a console that has been previously banned, you will not be able to connect to (Xbox) Live."

Has anyone out there been banned for their mod? Have you purchased a used machine, only to find it's a forbidden Xbox? Leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Nugget From The Net: Worst Moments In Video Game Voice Over

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:40:00 -0800

As the video game industry matures and professionalizes, we're rapidly losing the charmingly bad voice-over that defines the genre. Thankfully, some recent games are meeting the challenge, but far too few!

In remembrance of a bygone era, please enjoy this compilation of the 50 worst moments in video game voice-over.

I'm playing it in my headphones now, and imagining what it would be like if all these lines were in one, single game. Awesome!

Clowns Line Up For Video Game

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:12:00 -0800

The clowns you see above were apparently lined-up this morning at the Best Buy in New York City in order to buy a new video game. No, not Modern Clownfare 2. Instead, they were interested in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a new DS and Wii game that came out today.

I assumed the nightmarish harlequin tong was hired by the Ringling Bros. to garner a little cheap publicity, but my wife, who attended Ringling Brothers Clown College (for reals) isn't so sure.

"I don't think those are 'real' Ringling Clowns," Mrs. Johnson told me. "The makeup is right, but the costumes and attitude are not, especially for a public event. I'm guessing those are Clown Enthusiasts. If Ringling had paid people to wait in line for a video game, you would bet they would have done it right. There would be an elephant and jugglers and CIRCUS."

I still think Ringling's PR department is trying to garner a little publicity by sending paid clowns to wait in line, and I, for one, am not going to give them the satisfaction of posting their picture and talking about the circus game on this blog... oh, crap. Too late for that. Anyway, enjoy your nightmares.. .there are more terrifying pics at the source link below!

Source: Kotaku

Should Uwe Boll Stick To Movies About Video Games?

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:08:00 -0800

Hey, gamer-person: Have you heard about Uwe Boll's next feature? No? That's probably because it's not based on a beloved video game. Instead, Darfur is about, well, Darfur. Specifically, a group of journalists who visit the strife torn country of Sudan and must decide whether to help victims of the war/genocide there or leave in order to report on their plight.

Check out the trailer below.

I've only seen some on-set pics and the trailer, so I really have no way of knowing whether it's any good or not, but judging from Boll's treatments of various second-tier video game franchises (BloodRayne, Dungeon Siege, Etc.), it's safe to assume the plight of the victims of Sudanese genocide won't be handled by the most sensitive, skilled artist in the world-- perhaps tellingly, the word "existence" is misspelled in the film's official trailer. But, good or bad, Boll can make films about whatever he wants. And the trailer looks low-budget and generic, but not bad necessarily.

While I don't imagine too many people in the Sudan care about Boll making a movie about the conflict there -- they have bigger things on their mind than the output of a questionable movie director -- it is interesting that if Boll were creating a movie version of God of War the entire gaming community would be freaking the hell out before they saw frame-one. But the Darfur Genocide? meh.

I'm not going to tell you you should care about what's happening in some foreign country (I mean, you should, but I'll bet you already know that) but I do think the game community should be aware of how they express their passion for the games they play. Basically, if you don't dig a game/system/website/personality, that's cool. Don't buy/read/watch it. But it's a little ridiculous to try to make other people feel bad because they happen to feel differently from you. Why chafe another guy's feelings when there is actual injustice and suffering in the real world?

While gamers were busy bashing Boll from the safety of message boards because he had the temerity to make a movie based on Postal, Uwe was at least trying to make something worthwhile. As long as Darfur isn't patently insulting to the seriousness of the situation there (and it definitely could be), I say the score is Boll: 1, Boll-haters 0.

What do you think: Should Uwe Boll make movies about sensitive political events or video games?

Feel free to follow me on twitter or send me an email.

Jimmy Buffett Trademarks "Margaritaville" For Use in Gaming

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 15:53:00 -0800

Ancient singer Jimmy Buffet's Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Enterprises has filed a trademark registration for the word "Margaritaville," and thus reserved the right to make a game called Margaritaville or use that word in "Interactive game software, computer game software, electronic game programs, downloadable interactive, computer, video and electronic game programs, computer application software for mobile phones; electronic game software for wireless devices."

In my opinion, any game from Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Enterprises has a huge chance of being crappy, but to give Buffett a fair shake, I found the biggest Jimmy Buffett fan I know, G4's Mike D'Alonzo, and asked him about the implications of this news. This is an exact transcript of our conversation.

Steve: What do you think a Margaritaville game would be like?

Mike: I really don't have time to do this. But something like: The player is a beachcomber who walks the shore looking for people who are dumb enough to go to a Jimmy Buffett Concert.

Steve: Who would it appeal to?

Mike: Mainly balding old jerks and college kids.

Steve: I thought you were a huge Jimmy Buffett fan.

Mike: I'm not. I hate Jimmy Buffett.

Steve: But you once told me you wanted to buy a PT Cruiser. I just assumed you liked Jimmy Buffett.

Mike: Look, **shole, I already told you I don't have time to do this.

Steve: Do you ever pick "Margaritaville" when playing Rock Band?

Mike: No. Jesus.

Steve: Thanks for the interview!

Mike: Whatever.

Regardless of Jimmy Buffett, here's a picture of Mike sitting on a marshmallow in a huge cup of hot cocoa!

Konami Expects Profits To Fall 82%

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:41:00 -0800

Bad news: In a financial forecast released by Konami for the six months ending September 30, the company predicts its profits will have dropped 82%. Ow.

Konami is expecting to collect around 1.26 billion US in revenue, down 22.5 per cent on the same period in 2008, while net income is expected to come in at 24.3 million, down from 132 million.

Konami feels the loss in profits is mainly due to the fact that the company released Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots last year, and this year, it did not release Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. If you pirated any Konami products over the last six months, you are part of the problem, and I demand you turn yourself in to the proper authorities at once.

Source

Dog Buys Microsoft Points

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:36:00 -0700

According to a broadcast on reliable, non-biased news channel Fox News, a dog owned by a Virgina couple purchased $62 worth of Microsoft Points. According to the pair, the dog got its paws on an Xbox controller and managed to purchase 5,000 points while the couple slept.

Personal experience: When he was about a year old, my child purchased an episode of Lost I had already seen. He just hit the green button and was able to select and confirm the purchase. I think this is done on purpose by Microsoft because they figure this will happen occasionally... but I'm a conspiracy theorist.

As for a dog buying points, I'm a little dubious. It seems like the series of button-presses needed to turn on an Xbox and buy points couldn't be accomplished by anything but a super-intelligent wonder dog, like Lassie or Beverly Hills Chihuahua. But one thing is clear, If this story is true, it proves that dogs like the Xbox where cats like the PS3. I think this is fairly accurate. As for who which pets like The Wii, it's clearly hamsters.

Huge Judgment In Wii-Based Radio Stunt Gone Wrong

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:14:00 -0700

Remember a couple years ago, when a radio station in Sacramento held a contest called "Hold your wee for a Wii." in which participants had to drink as much water as possible in a short time? Remember how Jennifer Strange, one of the players, died from drinking too much water? Well the Justice System ruled in the lawsuit resulting from the death yesterday. The Strange family was awarded $16.5 million from Entercom Communications Corp., the company that owned the radio station.

I say: Good. If there's anyone who deserves to lose millions of dollars it's people in the entertainment industry who put civilian's lives at risk. It's not like water intoxication (the cause of Strange's death) is some obscure thing. Even a little bit of research would have revealed that drinking too much water can kill a person. Also, listeners were calling the radio station while the contest was happening, saying, "This is very dangerous. Someone could die." and the DJs made jokes about it. In fact, I think the award should have been higher.

I also think you'd have to be crazy to do any kind of radio or TV endurance contest for such a small prize. Seriously, if people need a Wii so bad, they could get a second job for a month or sell their plasma or something.

Source

Nintendo Reports Declining Profits

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:49:00 -0700

A just-released Nintendo financial statement reveals that the company's profits fell more than 50% for the last six months. Nintendo reported a profit of 69.5 billion yen ($767.8 million) for the six-months that ended September 30, compared with 144.83 billion yen for the same period last year. That's gotta hurt.

Sales were down as well, falling 34 percent in the same period. Nintendo said it sold 5.75 million consoles during the first half of its fiscal 2009, down from the 10 million units that consumers purchased for the same period last year.

The reasons for the drop in profits are many: Nintendo blames weak sales of the Wii, as well as a lower profit margin caused by the recent Wii price cut, and those ever-bedeviling fluctuations in world currency. Another possible reason: A dip in Nintendo DS sales caused, presumably, by the everyone-has-to-have iPhone, and Apple's positioning of the device as a game console as well as a telephone and GPS system. Could the announcement of a new version of the DS be an attempt to combat Apple eating into Nintendo's sales?

Nintendo sees a brighter future ahead, of course, predicting strong holiday sales based on its lineup of first-party games.

Back in September, Adam Sessler sat down with Nintendo head Reggie Fils-Aime to discuss the Wii price cut, and tried to get a little info on Nintendo's financial health. Check it out below: It's really interesting to watch Reggie answer some pretty hard-hitting questions -- he's officially confident, but he must have known what was happening at that point:

Watch Larger Version of this Video

Man Assaulted In Iowa For Being A "Zombie"

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:56:00 -0700

Are there Zombies in Iowa?! On Sunday, a patron of Panchero's Restaurant in Iowa City apparently thought as much when he saw another patron. He was so sure about it, that he felt the need to take matters into his own hands and physically assault the individual right in the middle of restaurant, while yelling "zombie." (Yes, this is a REAL story.)

The impromptu vigilante, described as a "dark-complected white male with short brown hair, about 20 years old, between 6-feet and 6-feet-2 and weighing between 200 and 230 pounds" decided to stand up for the rights of the living, when the accused "zombie" had the audacity to walk into the restaurant, sit down, and order food! The vigilante then proceeded to punch the victim in the eye. After the accused undead patron attempted to call the police (or possibly the "Zombie Police?,") the vigilante proceeded to hit him again, this time breaking his nose. The vigilante (can we call him "The Zombie Whacker?" ) immediately slipped out of a back door and (as of now) is still at large.

The "zombie" was then taken to a local hospital (a "Zombie Hospital," I assume) for treatment and is fine. But really, what difference does it make? A zombie is already dead, so breaking his nose, if anything, would be doing him a favor.

I don't know about any of you, but it's about time somebody stood up to these zombies! Would you feel any sympathy for these flesh-eating bastards if it was your son or daughter who got bitten? We never should have bailed out the Umbrella Corporation! It did NOTHING for the Racoon City economy. (Which is failing due to minor things like complete and total obliteration.)

Source

Postal Worker Steals Over 2000 GameFly Games

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:21:00 -0700

If you live near Philadelphia, and you wonder why you never got that game you requested from GameFly, it could have been Reginald Johnson's fault. The postal clerk pleaded guilty of stealing 2,200 games sent from GameFly.

Criminal mastermind Johnson would swipe the games as he unloaded mail from tractor trailers, then he would turn the games in for store credit from GameStop. Overall, the stolen games amounted to $86,000. Not bad for a postal clerk!

When you steal that volume of games, someone is going to notice, and they did notice. Federal authorities sent some test mailings through Johnson's station, and gathered enough evidence to arrest him. When arrested, Johnson was carrying a duffel bag with 81 GameFly games in it, and he had 79 more games in his SUV, along with three Wii Fits, a Playstation console, game controllers and a GameStop receipt. Ouch! Caught red-handed!

Johnson faces 12 to 18 months in Federal Pound-Me prison. U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller set sentencing for Jan. 13.

Source

New "Game" To Encourage Spying On Neighbors

Fri, 9 Oct 2009 14:13:00 -0700

The United Kingdom is about to launch the largest ARG in history! In this case, "ARG" doesn't' stand for "Alternative Reality Game," though. Here it means "Actual Reality Game." You see, Web users in the U.K will soon have to ability to monitor the nation's network of four million or so video cameras streaming video of public spaces to the internet. If you see anyone committing a crime on-cam, report him or her to the coppers and collect points (one point for seeing a suspected crime and three points for a confirmed crime.) Winning players will get their usernames on the internet in connection with the criminals they helped nab as well as cash prizes up to 1,000 Euros.

Apparently, the phrase "snitches get stitches" hasn't made it across the Atlantic.

The game will initially use CCTV cameras in shops and businesses in Stratford-upon-Avon but will be rolled out across Britain by December before going worldwide next year. As you'd expect, civil libertarians are quite upset at the idea of turning an entire nation into finks, but the police, as you'd expect, see no problem with the scheme at all.

As a fan of message-heavy, high-concept science fiction films, I am very happy to hear that the movie is finally starting. I can only assume an organized underground network of freedom fighters will attempt to disable all the cameras with laser beams. Also: A volcano will be involved somehow.

What do you think about this "game?" Would you play it if it was here in the States?

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NASA To Blow Up Moon Tomorrow

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 10:40:00 -0700

Our long national nightmare is finally ending. In retaliation for the Mooninites' vicious invasion of the city of Boston a few years ago, NASA will explode the moon tomorrow night, and thus usher in a bright, new, moon-free future.

NASA's cover story for the moon-splosion is that they are seeking confirmation that there is water on the lunar surface, and they plan to send a rocket down to the crater Cabeus, then fly a spaceship through the dust kicked up in order to analyze the dust cloud for the presence of water. They say the explosion won't actually harm the moon in any way. Yeah. Right. The old "we're looking for water!" excuse.

"We will finally show that damned moon who is the boss: The U.S.A," a NASA scientist did not say. "America can, should, must and will blow up the moon." He did not add.

The fireworks start tomorrow morning at 4:30AM PST. Do not miss it.

We at TheFeed applaud NASA's courageous actions, as we have long hated the moon, mainly because of the man on the moon -- I'll bet a rocket will wipe that smirk off his face. We also hate the nefarious influence the moon has on our tides. Centuries worth of floods have been caused by the moon's tyrannical gravitational pull, and we are simply sick of it.

As yet, the National Foundation for the Advancement of Werewolves has not commented, but experts expect them to say something like, "Oooo-wooooooo!" Here's Mr. Show's take on the developments.

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