Blockbuster’s main brick-and-mortar competitor, Movie Gallery, is shutting down all its U.S. stores, Reuters reports, citing the paywall-riffic Wall Street Journal. [More]
video games
Man Sues Sony For Taking Away PS3 Feature Via Update
By 4.29.10
Not content to let Sony take away the PS3’s ability to let users install alternate operating systems such as Linux, a man is bringing a class action lawsuit against the company. [More]
Sony Says It Can Take Away Data, Content With Updates At Will
By 4.23.10
Sloopydrew says Sony sent him a new terms of service email with some harrowing declarations about the company’s rights to screw with your gadgets as it sees fit — sort of a retroactive justification for taking away the ability to install another operating system on the PS3 hard drive. [More]
7-Eleven Will Now Sell You Used Games Along With Slurpees
By 4.20.10
Likely looking at GameStop’s profit margins and deciding there’s more ways to squeeze money out of customers than by selling questionable hot dogs and Slurpees, 7-Eleven is entering the used games fray. [More]
Target Offering Video Game DLC Cards For 15% Off
By 4.20.10
Joystiq reports Target has a sweet deal going on with Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 points cards, selling the $20 cards for $17. [More]
Pointing A Gun At People In Public Is Not Good Viral Marketing
By 4.19.10
In one of the more inane attempts at viral marketing, a man in New Zealand was almost shot by police as he roamed the streets of Auckland scaring the bejeezus out of bystanders with his toy gun. [More]
Microsoft Stops Carnival Trickery, Sells Online Currency In Regular Increments
By 4.12.10
Microsoft used to pull the old carnival trick while selling you Microsoft points, having you buy them in 1,000 point ($12.50) increments to buy a game that costs 800 points ($10). You’d end up with some left over, which you’d feel as though you were wasting unless you re-upped and bought more games to reduce your balance to zero. Now that’s changed, Kotaku reports: Microsoft lets you buy them in 400 point increments. [More]
EA Taking Overbilling Issue For Online Game 'Very Seriously'
By 4.9.10
An online game is sticking players with charges of up to $300 a month, Kotaku reports. But not to worry. A forum manager has checked in and confirmed that EA is taking the problem seriously. [More]
Microsoft Gives 7 Free Days Of Xbox Live To Players Who Bought Broken DLC
By 4.6.10
Those who downloaded Modern Warfare 2’s overpriced ($15) and broken Stimulus Package maps the day they came out got a little reward from Microsoft, according to Kotaku: 7 days of free gold service. [More]
Now You Get To Pay To Be Advertised To As You Play Games
By 4.6.10
Three Old Spice-themed games have lurched onto Xbox Live. Advergames are nothing new on the console, but what’s audacious about this new set of games is you actually have to pay for them, Joystiq reports. [More]
Insane PC Game DRM Drove Me To Piracy
By 4.5.10
An anonymous gamer wrote in to tell us why he felt justified to illegally download a copy of Red Faction: Guerilla: He bought it on one computer but found the DRM locked him out of re-activating the game on his new computer. When customer service couldn’t help him, he went rogue. [More]
Erotic Japanese Game "Cross Days" Tricks Pirates Into Posting Personal Info Online
By 3.31.10
If you’re trying to pirate the Japanese erotic manga game Cross Days–and I don’t care what people say, I love that I live in a world where I can type that phrase–you should know that the game’s developers are wise to you, and they’re going to do their best to shame and embarrass you. [More]
I Got $5 Because I Was Offended By Grand Theft Auto
By 3.31.10
Reader AZCardinalsRule received a settlement check from the infamous Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas class action suit. [More]
Blockbuster Doesn't Have Game I Want In Stock, Sends It To Me Instead
By 3.30.10
Blockbuster and other brick-and-mortal rental stores seemingly give you fewer reasons to patronize them all the time, but Christopher discovered a step in the positive direction by the company: He says if the store doesn’t have what you’re looking for, it will send it to you and let you keep it longer than a normal rental. [More]
Ubisoft Apologizes For Hosing PC Gamers By Offering Free Downloads
By 3.26.10
Ubisoft had the fantastic idea of forcing gamers of Assassin’s Creed 2 to stay online while they played, to ensure via DRM that players weren’t pirating their wares. Then hackers brought down the servers, rendering the game unplayable. [More]
Nintendo Gives You An Excellent Reason Not To Buy The DSi XL — The 3DS
By 3.24.10
Quick marketing lesson: How do you spoil a rival’s product launch? Announce a far superior gizmo of your own just days before the other one comes out. [More]
Hallelujah, Microsoft To Finally Allow Xbox 360 USB Storage
By 3.19.10
In a savvy move that helps defray one of the big knocks on the Xbox 360 — that its storage options are limited — Microsoft will release a firmware update that allows gamers to store games and saves on portable devices, up to 16GB in size, that connect to the console via USB, Joystiq reports. [More]
