Wednesday, August 15, 2007
What’s The Longest You’ve Spent In Setting Up An Interview?
11:40PM Brian Ashcraft | To: Crecente From: Bash RE: Leip of Faith No creds for McWhertor and Mark Wilson? Yikes. Well, if they can’t enjoy the games, at least they can enjoy the beer. Had a really frustrating day. I’ve been trying to set up an interview for a freelance article. Thing is, I’ve been trying to set it up for months. Like, two months or so. I call the company and keep getting the run-around. Lots of you-should-talk-to-this-guy nonsense. My editor is being super understanding, but still, it’s really, really draining! Gotta think of away to work around these dudes — ’cause they’re doing a damn fine job of working around me! So I ask: what’s the longest you’ve spent in setting up an interview? Ungh. What you missed last night More »
300 Available On XBL Video Marketplace
11:20PM Luke Plunkett | 360 owners, you might have missed this while you were busy playing the BioShock and/or Katamari demos. OK, you probably missed it, so know now that 300 is available for download from the Xbox Live video marketplace. Should slo-mo slaughter and loincloths ahoy be your thing, there are both SD and HD versions of the film available, though the HD clocks in at a whopping 5.3GB. When it comes to HDD space, high def manflesh don’t come cheap, yo. 300 now on Video Marketplace [Major Nelson] More »
Wii Making Companies Rich, Causing Coporate Expansion
11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | The Wii isn’t only making Nintendo buckets of cash, it’s making other company money, too! And to keep up with the demand, those component makers are expanding. Take, American company Analogue Devices, which make the Wii-mote’s acceleration sensor, or France’s STMicroelectronics, which is responsible for the nunchuk guts. The US company just converted one of its facilities into a Wii-mote sensor plant, which the French one is creating a sensor production line in Milan. What’s more, Nintendo’s supplier of power chips and WiFi components, Mitsumi Electric, has now bagged a fivefold increase in operating profit. Stick with Nintendo, kids, they’ll make your company BIG and RICH. Wii Profits Increasing [Tech UK] More »
MMO Players Not Introverts
10:40PM Brian Ashcraft | MMO gamers are totally social. They talk to other people. In real-life, even. And there’s even study that proves it! Published in American journal CyberPsychology and Behaviour, the paper was written by researchers at Nottingham Trent University. Almost 1,000 online gamers from around the world were examined in the study, which showed that 75 percent of online games make good friends with people they meet online. Half of them have even meet their buddies in real life, while one-in-ten want to develop some sort of, um, physical relationship. More stats: 30 percent found themselves attracted to another player. 40 percent preferred to discuss sensitive issues with online friends instead of real friends. Nottingham Trent professor Mark Griffiths says: More »Screwattack’s Ten Worstest Mario Games
10:20PM Luke Plunkett | Mario’s been in loads of games. No, not loads, tonnes. Like, over 200, and we’re still counting. Scattered amongst that catalogue are some of the medium’s finest games, yeah, but also some of its stinkiest pieces of crap. This video celebrates that crap. Mario 2’s presence is a bit harsh, as is including the fantastic Mario’s Early Years, but on the whole this is a refreshing sprint back through the shitty side of memory lane. More »
Martha Stewart Wii Cake Made By Human
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Ah, yes. The Martha Stewart Wii cake. Not exactly something easy to make! But Flickr user rufus50 did just that: he actually made one, writing: My attempt at a Nintendo Wii cake and you can eat it Martha Stewart Yes, she probably could. Wii Cake [Aeropause] More »
Fury Beta Offering $1 Million Worth Of Schwag
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | Aussie developers Auran, and their publisher overlords Gamecock, want you to try out the Fury beta when it opens up later this month. So they’re offering incentives. Like a million bucks worth of em, as part of the “Fury Challenge” they’re gonna run with the beta. Sponsors for the contest include NVidia, Dell, IGN, GameStop, Harvey Norman, FHM, Logitech and ZBoard, so expect prizes to come from their wares and offerings. Ever wonder what half a mil’s worth of Dell keyboards and IGN Insider subscriptions looked like? Me neither, but I bet It’d look weird. Fury Challenge [Official Site] More »DS Motion Sensor In the Flesh
9:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Earlier this month, Nintendo’s Magkid went on sale in Japan. The game features a motion sensing dongle that connects via the DS’s GBA slot. Tech site Digital World Tokyo has a few pics up of the motion sensing add-on. Along with that Face Training DS camera, loads of interesting little first-party peripherals are coming out for the DS. Wonder if this are a one-off deal or if Nintendo plans on making more games for these thingies… Motion Sensing [Digital World Tokyo] More »Australian Sales Charts
8:30PM Luke Plunkett | Well, lookey here. A SingStar game is released, and it debuts at #1. STOP THE PRESS! No, really, congratulations SingStar 90s, you are the first SingStar which doesn’t completely suck. Rest of last week’s charts look like business as usual (as in naught but PS2 and Nintendo), aside from one thing. Robin Hood’s Quest. Anybody out there know what the fuck that is, and what it’s doing as the sixth highest-selling game in the country? Answers below, thanks.
1) SingStar 90s
2) Mario Party 8
3) Pokemon Diamond
4) SingStar 90s Bundle
5) Guitar Hero 80s
6) Robin Hood’s Quest
7) SingStar Pop Hits
8) Pokemon Pearl
9) TMNT (DS)
10) Transformers (PS2)
[charts courtesy of GfK] More » 
