Electronic Arts drew some friendly pats on the head for manning up and letting gamers substitute failed subscription fee-based game APB with a different title. Anthony discovered he was the victim of some fine print in the deal, though. Because he bought the game before July 16, EA says he had enough time to play the game before it shut down the servers, and thus isn’t entitled to a replacement. [More]
video games
Best Buy Will Give You Free PS3 Software For $30 Mandatory Charge
By 10.4.10
Best Buy’s optimization wizards have fabricated a devilish scam to exploit uninformed customers. Employees download a PlayStation 3’s firmware update in advance and tack on an extra $30 to the cost of the system. [More]
EA Removes Taliban Label From Controversial War Game
By 10.4.10
Buckling to pressure from the media and military families, Electronic Arts stripped the Taliban moniker away from characters in its upcoming war game Medal of Honor. [More]
Players Who Downloaded Failed Game On Steam Get Free Replacement
By 9.29.10
After only a few months on the market, Electronic Arts pulled the plug on the monthly subscription fee-based game APB, leaving the game’s few devotees feeling burned. The company is saving face, though, by offering a freebie to those who downloaded APB via Steam. [More]
PC Game Downloads Leave Physical Sales In Digital Dust
By 9.21.10
Thanks to rampant piracy, it was probably several years ago that computer gamers started downloading more of their games than they bought on disc, but now even honest gamers are following suit. For the first time in the PC game market, the number of digital sales surpassed those of disc-based games. [More]
Nintendo To Fansites: Don't Advertise Our Games For Free (Updated)
By 9.21.10
Nintendo’s legal team is on a quest to stop Pokémon fan sites from posting screenshots from its games. [More]
Halo Glitch Forces Some Xboxers To Play With Themselves
By 9.16.10
The hardest of the hard-core Xbox 360 gamers bought redesigned Xbox 360 Slims and snagged Halo: Reach after it was released at midnight Tuesday morning ready to battle invading Covenant forces with friends. And some were severely disappointed because the newer Xbox 360s don’t allow gamers to play cooperatively through the campaign. [More]
UPS, UPS Store And Repair Shop All Blame Each Other For My Missing PS3 (Updated)
By 9.9.10
John sent his broken PlayStation 3 off for repair, but the game console has vanished thanks to either UPS, a UPS Store, the repair shop to which he sent the device or some combination of the three. [More]
Xbox Bans Man For Living In "Fort Gay." Except, That's Where He Lives.
By 9.8.10
UPDATE: Microsoft admitted they made a mistake and has updated their training policy.
Ok, now this is getting redonkulous. Xbox has been suspending gamers for some time for mentioning or otherwise referencing their sexual orientation in their gamer profiles, but now they’ve gone ahead and banned a guy because he said he lives in “Fort Gay.” Huh huh, Beavis indeed, but there is a real town called Fort Gay. It’s in West Virginia, and that’s where the guy really lives.
GameStop Pulls 'Medal Of Honor' From Stores On Military Bases Because Of Playable Taliban Characters
By 9.2.10
If you live on a military base and really want to buy the new Electronic Arts military shoot-em-up Medal of Honor, which has stirred up controversy by allowing players to play as Taliban members, you’re going to be out of luck shopping at the GameStop on the base.
Xbox Suspends Gay Gamer For Calling Himself A "Homosexueller" Who "Likes Cupcakes"
By 9.2.10
Despite Xbox recently changing its policy to allow folks to describe their sexual orientation in their gamer profile, Super Street Fighter IV fan Shmoo found his Xbox Live account suspended for breaking their Code of Conduct. His gamer bio states, “Bio Ich bin ein homosexueller Mann in einer großen schlechten Stadt. Ich mag kleine Kuchen und Cheeseburgers.” Which translates from German to, “I am a gay man in a big bad city. I like cupcakes and cheeseburgers.” This, apparently, was verboten. [More]
Apple Set To Launch Xbox Live-Like Video Game Service
By 9.2.10
Not only did Apple announce a marauding horde of new iPods and an adorable micro AppleTV yesterday, it also revealed that an Xbox Live-ish service called Game Center is coming out next week along with the system update for iPhones and iPod Touches. [More]
After 6 Years, Microsoft Makes Xbox 360 Controller That Works Right
By 9.1.10
Ever since Microsoft released the Xbox 360 in late 2005, gamers have had to put up with a clunky directional pad that lacked precision and actually made it possible for fools out there to get lucky enough to beat me at Tecmo Bowl once in a while. Now the company has announced a redesigned controller, but it will cost players looking to upgrade. [More]
Microsoft Hikes Xbox Live Subscription Fee
By 8.31.10
In what seems like a clever ruse to get gamers to quickly buy an extra year or two of Xbox Live Gold service — which offers online multiplayer as its main draw — Microsoft announced it’s raising the annual subscription fee from $50 to $60. One-month subscriptions rise from $8 to $10 and three-month hitches go from $20 to $25. The price changes go into effect Nov. 1. [More]
This Is Your Brain On Farmville
By 8.30.10
“I justify this as being my only source of entertainment, and I’m forgoing movies and dinners out, so it’s OK,” one Farmville addict told Cnet. Frugality, or self-deluded rationalization? [More]
FTC Catches Rock Band Game's PR Agency Faking Reviews
By 8.27.10
The PR outfit that publicizes the Rock Band video game franchise settled with the Federal Trade Commission, which caught agency employees posing as customers to post positive reviews on the iTunes App store. [More]
Microsoft Upping Xbox 360 Online Voice Chat Quality
By 8.27.10
One problem with the Xbox 360’s online play is it’s often difficult to determine exactly which swear words, racial slurs and homophobic epithets the teenager on the other end spews after you off him in Modern Warfare 2. Aware of the problem, Microsoft says it will upgrade the quality of the sound that pumps through your headset. [More]
Target Tests Game, Movie Trading Waters
By 8.26.10
Target wants in on GameStop’s trade-in scene. Locations in northern California started a pilot video game and movie trade-in program Wednesday, with plans to spread the program to 850 stores by year’s end, Gamasutra reports. [More]
