Lost Vikings? Great. Warcraft? Wonderful. Diablo? Fantastic. But Starcraft 2, well, it might just be better than the lot of them. Or at least that's what Blizzard is saying, hoping we'll be swept up by the pre-release hype and play along. Totally unnecessary, since we were going to do that anyways, but whatever. Blizzard's Chris Metzen:

I think we're all doing the best work of our careers... It's been very, very rewarding to see this thing take shape. Just getting back to that Blizzard of yesteryear where it's not all about WoW - don't get me wrong, I love WOW! But we're so much more than that.

After all these years, Chris, it's lovely to hear someone from within Blizzard say that.
StarCraft II is Blizzard's "best work ever" [Blizzcast, via Eurogamer]

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We (and I mean "we" as in "humanity") are all already super-excited for the upcoming Lego MMO. We'll all have to find room to squeeze a little more excitement in, though. Think there's some space up the back. Why? Because Lego have announced that, if you'd like, they can take any character - and "other creations" - that you create in the game and make them. Into real Lego. At the proper Lego factory in Denmark.

Somebody hold me.
Brick by Brick [GI.biz] [Pic]

Ed's note: The NetDevil folks first mentioned this possibility a year ago when we broke the news of LEGO Universe.

Like eating? Like eating so much you feel like you're gonna puke and then you actually do? Me neither! But for those who do, go pig out. Everyone else, check out the WiiWare port of PC title Major League Eating: The Game. The game will take advantage of the Wii-mote and have players mimic shoving food down their gullets. What's more, the game will feature "famous eating athletes." It's apparently like a fighting game complete with burp attacks. We're sure competitive eating is a sport of some sort, but man, every time I see Gal Sone on Japanese TV stuffing plates of whatever into her face, I get a little grossed out. Nothing wrong with eating, nothing at all! But eating six kilograms of curry in twenty minutes or consuming 40,000 calories in a single day doesn't sound exactly good for the human body — pro eater or not. A Wii eating game does sound fun, though.
Pig Out [CVG]

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Datel's Wii Freeloader is awesome news. PAL gamers can get games on time, American gamers can play Japanese games, everybody wins. There's a few niggling doubts surrounding the deal, however. Well, one: won't a future firmware update stop the Freeloader from working, as it's already done once to Datel's previous GameCube-only disc? Datel say no, replying to reader Willis in an email:

...we can confirm that on every occasion that the product is used when the disc is inserted in the console that it allows the usage of any imported Wii game discs and disables the console from been able to update its firmware, if the disc is removed after been inserted and reinserted this will again enable the console to update its firmware but still allow the usage of the any imported Wii game discs.

Which unless my eye for English-as-a-second-language fails me is their way of saying "don't worry, firmware won't break this one". Course, they'd have to say that, otherwise nobody would buy the damn thing, so if you're wracked with uncertainty over picking one up I'd say wait until the next firmware update hits and we can get some independent verification.

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Sega's trying. Trying its best, trying to make good games, trying not to suck. Good for Sega! While many Japanese publishers keep up the same old song and dance, Sega is releasing a diverse smattering of games, some of which seems directed towards Western tastes, some of which were made by Western devs and some of which we actually want to play. Says Sega US president Simon Jeffery:

Much of the product that comes out of Japan isn't really suitable or appropriate culturally for the Western market, and Sega has become the first of the Japanese gaming companies to recognise that the global market has various tastes and isn't necessarily just one great big Japanese market.

Give this man a gold star. He sounds like a smarty!
Simon Jeffrey Interview [Game Daily via Go Nintendo]

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Shhhh. It's Kotaku After Dark. Time to dim the lights, pull the door closed and look at these. This. These. This Italian minx is Silvia Shon, and Silvia likes Tomb Raider. That or she thinks a Tomb Raider-inspired calendar - with naughty bits - will still do good business on the internet. Could be both, but is probably the latter. This has absolutely nothing to do with SCi or Eidos, and is already two months late, so don't expect a marketing blitz. What you can expect are Lara Croft poses and, predictably, lady bits. Clicking through while at work is not advised.

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And the amazing bug entries keep rolling in! Here's a creepy crawly from reader WhyCause, who writes:

I made this guy out of a packing peanut and staples.
With a little ink thrown on for colour.

So yeah, we're giving away a copy of Insecticide (DS or PC, the winner decides). Here's the contest, it's a fun one: Make an insect. Like a 3D, real world one.

That's it.

You can use anything to make it EXCEPT CG. So yeah, if you want to make a bug outta newspapers, sticks, clay, whatever, DO IT. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom with the subject line "Insect." The contest ends March 7th. The winner's fame is ENDLESS.

Via G4TV, it's been confirmed that Valve's desirable, adorable line of plushies are about to expand beyond the Half-Life universe. They'll also be releasing plushies based on Team Fortress 2's iconic characters, with the big, cuddly Heavy to be first in line. All well and good, I say, but don't dilly-dally from the HL ones too long - my future, unborn son will not want a Wallace Breen plush toy, he will need one.
[GameTrailers TV]

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Nerds! Two thousand of them, apparently. They came in droves to the Akihabara Sofmap for the midnight release of erotic PC game To Heart 2 Another Days. The game's launch is supposedly one of the biggest for an erotic game, and it would've been bigger if not for the game leaking online before it went on sale. So there ya go.
ToHeart2AD [Akiba Blog via Alafista]

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You'd think that, considering the tepid, room temperature-response most of you had for America's finest XNA-developed titles, Japan's would be even worse. After all, tons of Americans have a 360, but very, very few Japanese do. That logic is, however, all busted up, as Microsoft Japan have shown at their "XNA Game Studio Japan 2008 Spring Contest". While most American titles looked like flash games, most Japanese ones look like...well, Xbox games.

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According to Japanese game blog My Game News Flash, a year ago, 20GB PS3s were being bought back at ¥15,000 ($US 145) for 20GB and ¥20,000 ($194) for 60GB. But now that Sony has dropped backwards compatibility from the new consoles, those BC launch day machines are starting to look more attractive. And valuable! Some stores are buying back used consoles the 20GB for ¥40,100 ($US 388) and the 60GB for ¥46,000 ($US 446). Of course, that means stores will turn around and sell these machines for more! Ah, too bad folks didn't realize a good deal last year. Guess everyone was too busy hating on the PS3!
Used PS3s Going for High Prices [My Game News Flash via Hobby Blog]

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Sure, we know Metal Gear Solid 4 is a big game and all. We didn't know it was gianormous. Literally! Last week, Kojima Productions producer Ryan Payton said there wasn't enough space for an English language track on the Japanese version of MGS4 and vice-versa. Just listen to this exchange between Hideo Kojima and Famitsu:

Kojima: For us, we're not still not satisfied with the quality we can do. You know, there's not capacity space.

Interviewer: Wait, wait a sec. Saying there's not enough capacity, are you talking about Blu-ray?

Kojima: That's correct. There's not enough space at all. (laughs) ...There's not enough space. We always talked about where to cut and what to compress.

Hideo Kojima, gaming's Icarus, flying too close to the sun.
Blu-ray is Too Small [Hatimaki Thanks, Beau!]

We had a taste of NVIDIA's borderline-ridiculous option for performance enthusiasts a few months back. The results of this fearsome hardware configuration? A 33% increase in frame rates for Crysis on its higher settings. Sure, it's nice to play Crysis at its sexiest, but not for such a premium price.

Now Legit Reviews has a more in-depth look at the setup running Call of Duty 4, STALKER and Call of Juarez, all tested at 2560 x 1600.

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On March 25, the Australia Interactive Media Industry Association will be hosting a panel at the Privilege Club in Sydney to discuss the evolution of online gaming and its implications on advertising and marketing. The panel will consist of various industry experts, including EA's Mark Fordham and Janet Carr, producer of the ABC's Good Game.

The AIMIA is after the opinions of gamers as well as insiders, so if you're of the verbal persuasion, your presence will be appreciated.

From the looks of the release, the panel will also be discussing online gaming in general, including trends, technology and demographics, so if you're not exactly thrilled by the thought of sales talk, there are other chunks of meaty information to sink your fangs into.

If you're seriously thinking of paying the event a visit, hit up this link to give the AIMIA an idea of numbers.

Press release after the jump.

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The weekend-without-end has surprisingly come to... um, an end. As I'm somebody that sees two emails a day as "a lot to write", this weekend and the hourly posts has been somewhat of a challenge. Countless hours and countless aspirin later it's time for my final post.

Here's what you missed if you were out enjoying the beautiful Spring-is-around-the-corner weather we had here in Atlanta, or just doing something other than sitting at a PC.

HD DVD, redux

LEGO Batman: The Videogame

Weird Artistic Timewaster of the Day: Gravitation

Video Games & Violence

Hot girls and plenty of brew

On the Future of Racing Games

Piracy and Casual Games

pwnage (TM)?

Preserving Our History: Preservation for Gamers

Rule the World with your Mind!

In addition to the release of Army of Two and Super Smash Bros Brawl there are two baseball game releases to remind us that Spring is just around the corner - at least it is here in Atlanta. Despite the dusting of snow on my deck last week, blooms are appearing around the yard already. And as always there's a handful of quirky DS games to give me pause.

Bully: Scholarship Edition (Wii, X360)
Rockstar's Bully comes to the Wii and 360 with optimised graphics and all new missions.

Let's Ride! Friends Forever (DS)
"Every girl needs a best friend, and yours is your horse! Together, there's nothing you can't do."

Major League Baseball 2K8 (PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360)
MLB '08: The Show (PS2, PS3, PSP)
Performance enhancing drugs not included.

Army of Two (PS3, X360)
The third-person shooter with a heavy reliance on partnership hits the streets.

Chicken Hunter (DS)
Shoot the chickens while they run amok.

Imagine: Figure Skater (DS)
Following in the footsteps of Imagine Fashion Designer, Imagine Animal Doctor, Imagine Babyz and Imagine Master Chef.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
You won't have to wait much longer - it's set to be released March 9th, 2008.

Okay folks, two corrections:

1) Mass Effect is due out on May 15, not March 15, as previously stated.

2) The main prize for the GAME promo is most definitely a Chopper motorcycle, rather than a helicopter. Our informant got back in contact with the clarification. In my defense, I know nothing about motorcycles, and there was no mention of anything bike-related in the original email.

Apologies for the mix-ups. I've been battling headaches and nausea for the last few days, which has had me a bit behind the ball. Thanks to everyone who gracefully pointed out the mistakes.

Update: Added a diagram of said motorcycle.

A Look at Valve's Left 4 Dead
More visuals of Turtle Rock Studios' upcoming survival horror co-op shooter. Now with extra zombies!

Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Class balancing and server fixes - what more could you want from an update? Pie, maybe.

Kotaku Originals: From T2 Offer to MGS4 Date
A collection of original excellence from everyone's favourite gaming blog. Great coverage of GDC 2008 included, just for you.

Looks like I pegged this Thompson guy all wrong. Apparently he's willing to put his well-honed legal skills to good use in EA's efforts to acquire T2. Thompson's rambling missive states:

I am delighted to work with Electronic Arts to evict the Zelnick Trojan Horse from within Take-Two's corporate walls. In doing so, I can get the new Take-Two into the clear as to the trouble I and others can send its way.

Ooh - good catch, I need to check my PC for that Zelnick Trojan ASAP. Thank God for a Good Samaritan like Jack. In light of this attitude shift I vote we let him sit at the big kids table next Thanksgiving.

What a Guy... Jack Thompson is Ready to Help EA with T2 Takeover Bid [Game Politics]

Twirl SUVs as easily as flicking a fly and never be bullied again. But first you'll need to hone your mad brainwave skillz via Emotiv System's EPOC neuroheadset. As previously covered by Crecente, Emotiv Systems has been developing a hands-free brain controller. And now... they're looking for beta testers!

Be the first in your block to terrorize via brainwaves - impress the ladies - save mankind!

A few things to know in advance:

1) you'll have to be 18 or older
2) beta sessions are on-site at Emotiv offices in San Francisco during March & April, 2008
3) you'll have to supply your head size (I might be old-fashioned but feel that there's some things that should just stay between a man and his barber)

Check it out!

Emotiv EPOC™ Beta Evaluators Needed

There's a fun little piece over at the Escapist on social networks (real ones, not the virtual variety) and gaming. The social aspect of gaming lends itself to the creation of complicated rules and unspoken codes of behavior:

School days were a waiting game, ticking the seconds off until we could dash home and play, our bags bulging with the triple prongs of spare Nintendo 64 controllers. Lunch breaks were spent reliving past conquests and planning for future marathon sessions. Our passion for Mario Kart 64 spawned a mythology. Rules and codes developed, seemingly arcane in their source, unwritten, but loudly voiced:

"YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT!"

And it's true. I wasn't. My elation at discovering a neat glitch on the expansive Wario Stadium track quickly turned into disappointment as my less nimble-thumbed friends informed me that, as long as they couldn't use a shortcut, I wouldn't be able to.

Sociologists already look at in-game behaviour and norms, and I have no doubt anthropologists will someday be looking at how people gamed and why. It's an interesting part of games in general, not just video games.

You're Not Allowed To Do That. [The Escapist]

Gametrailers TV takes a look at Valve's new zombie shooter "Left4Dead". They promise a unique premise with AI that can take on any role in the game including any of the four survivors. It also features more than just your garden variety zombies including a Witch that's a bit creepy.

Also in this clip is a brief overview of some publicity stunts that have been used for past game releases. This includes a party bus purportedly roaming the country promoting "the first presidential election for the animal kingdom."

Um, okay.

Gametrailers TV with Geoff Keighley

An update for Team Fortress 2 was released on Thursday; the updates will be applied automatically. Additions such as adding a 'custom' tab to the server browser and fixing some class balancing issues are included, but there is a lengthy list of other updates, additions, and fixes over at the Steam website.

Team Fortress 2 Update Released [Steam]

I never use my headset on XBL. Frankly, I have enough on my mind just trying to get my meaty hands to manipulate the controls properly let alone attempting to carry on any semblance of a conversation. And then the handful of times that I did use it I plain hated the experience. At best I had to listen to kids while they were talking smack [alert: 9 minutes of profanity-laced posturing] or just humming to themselves.

And at worse... well check out some of the links to listen to more examples of what has me leaving my headset in the box. I couldn't make it more than a couple of minutes into them and I already feel stupider.

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Nick Montfort, a professor at MIT and GrandTextAuto contributor, has declared (with a some analysis) Passage is a superior game to Portal. Now, if the goal of games at large was to make people think, I might agree. But I think stating that "there are really two big ideas in these two games: The passage of a person through life and the idea that takes control by default in the other, supposedly message-free game, the passage of SKUs through retail stores" is going a little far. But like most provocative statements, I suspect it was intended to spur discussion as much as draw attention to a little game like Passage, and the comments section doesn't disappoint:

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Facing fines of up to 10% of their sales on DS displays, Hitachi Display and Sharp are to be investigated by the Fair Trade Commission, Japan's fair trade group. According to eNews 2.0:

... the institution said on Thursday that the two electronics companies would be investigated because they were suspected of fixing prices of display panels for Nintendo's DS portable gaming devices. The Commission's investigators have already searched a few factories and offices owned by Sharp and Hitachi's display unit, Hitachi Display.

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By virtue of my profession, I'm a bit of a preservation nut - careers will be built on sources that would be rotting away if it weren't for intense efforts to preserve them, and there's still a large swath of the historical record that's gone forever. The list of lost films from the 'golden ages' of silent film, for example, is staggering, and that's for works created in the 20th century. Luckily for video games, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Maryland, Stanford, Rochester Institute of Technology and Linden Lab have banded together under the auspices of the 'Preserving Creative America' initiative of the Library of Congress. There was even a GDC roundtable on the issue. The project is intended to get 'endangered' and rare games into the proper hands to preserve and archive them - but in a way that will also give a sense of the original experience:

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We received a tip that the list of achievements for the new Rainbow Six game have made it into the wild. My favorite after a quick perusal of the list is "Haute Couture," given for creating your own custom camouflage.

I'm ashamed to admit that the game that I've come closest to getting all achievements is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix followed closely by Shrek the Third. Sad but true.

Xbox 360 Achievements

In typical fashion, one post on the games-as-art debate spawns a response. This is one debate I actually enjoy watching, since the evidence people haul out in support their positions is fascinating. We go from the Impressionists to 300 in this Gamasutra essay by E. Daniel Arey, and he tackles the question of why the 'art inherent to games' does indeed matter. Just like any good artistically driven medium, games have pushed the boundaries since their creation, he says:

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The Aesthetics Technologies Lab at Ohio University has created Biomodd, a great example of video-gaming-outside-the-box. As their website describes it:

Biomodd is a social and interactive art project that brings together ecology, game culture and installation art. The work tries to visualise and rework the intricate relation of organic life, technology, pleasure and consumption. Inspired by the case modding scene, a monumental custom computer is bult as a form of expanded sculpture. Inside the case, excess heat of overclocked processors is recycled by an elaborate living ecosystem. The computer hardware is used as server for a new computer game. The objective of this game is to bring some of the main themes of Biomodd into an imaginative multiplayer game experience.

So get this - they're using the heat from the aforementioned overclocked processors to grow plants within the case. I'm loving the idea of using the effluent from our overheated PCs to sustain life. Cool - clever - creative.

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Adrian Crook had an interesting presentation at the GDC Worlds In Motion Summit on the issue of free to play games - where they've been, where they're heading, good things, bad things .... He's put up the slides and speech over at his website, and while the narrative redux is apparently not as zippy as the original presentation, it is an interesting listen.

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Kotaku reader Arun pointed out a very apt Boondock strip that provides a nice counterpoint to yesterday's Video Game Violence post. I'd suggest going to the link below for a hella larger view of the strip unless you've got a monocle handy - and I'm guessing if you had a monocle it would always be handy.

[Tech Amok]

Kotaku faithful T3CHTony loves all things Mario and doesn't care who knows it. Here's his recent tattoo that he received at Electric Tattoo in Pasadena, Maryland.

It's a relief to see that it's a cool tattoo. I like good tattoos and actually just got a new one in memory of my daughter two weeks ago but cringe whenever I see one that looks like it was drawn with an Etch a Sketch or whose subject matter may necessitate a lengthy explanation to the grandkids one day.

Very cool Tony - wear it with pride!

In the latest salvo in the let's-claim-credit-for-a-commonly-used-term-that-we-didn't-even-create War(TM), Finnish software company Futuremark Games Studio filed papers on February 26, 2008 to protect the trademark "Pwnage" in relation to:

"... computer game software; computer game programs; computer game discs; interactive multimedia computer game program; downloadable ring tones, ... multimedia software recorded on CD-ROM featuring fictional characters and computer games; pre-recorded DVD's, video tapes, laser discs featuring movies about fictional characters, and pre-recorded compact discs featuring music; motion picture films on fictional characters...".

Wow... at least they aren't attempting to apply it to every piece of media published or anything like that.

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