A top lawyer for the state resigns in protest

A new wrinkle has emerged in the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing's discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. Bloomberg reports that a top lawyer has resigned, and is ??accusing the governor's office of interferin?g with the case.

According to an email seen by Bloomber??g, Assistant Chief Counsel Melanie Proctor told staff that in recent weeks, California Governor Gavin Newsom and his office had begun to interfere with the lawsuit. It alleges that the office demanded advance notice of litigation str??ategy and next steps. And as wins in court increased, so did interference, in a manner she says mimicked the "interests of Activision's counsel."

Proctor alleges her boss, Chief Counsel Jannette Wipper, tried to protect the agency's independenc?e. Wipper was "abruptly terminated" as a result, wrote Proctor, who then resigned in protest. A representative for the attorneys confirmed the resignation and firing to Bloomberg.

A spokesperson for the DFEH told Bloomberg they would not comment on personnel matters. Wipper's spokesperson told Bloomberg that she will be evaluating all avenues of? legal recourse, including a claim under the California Whistleblower Protection Act.

In a follow-up statement to Bloomberg, a Gov. Newsom spokesperso??n called the a?llegation of interference "categorically false."

The ongoing case

The California DFEH's suit stretches back to last year, when the agency first filed against Activisi??on Blizzard. It was the result of a two-year investigation from the agency, citing allegations of harassment, discrimination, and a toxic workplace culture.

A judge recently approved an $18 million settlement in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's case against Activision Blizzard. Some have said this falls short, as Riot Games had to pay a much larger sum in its discrimination lawsuit settlement.

With the DFEH case currently pending in the Los Angeles Superior Court, this is a wrinkle in the ongoing case. In her email to staff??, Proctor encouraged staff to continue ??working on the agency's ongoing litigation against Activision Blizzard.

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The publisher's settlement with the US EEOC is moving forward

A judge has approved Activision Blizzard's settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for $18 million. The previously announced settlement was disclosed last September, as one of several suits against the video game publ?isher.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), which is also suing Activision Blizzard, had previously tried to intervene in the deal. The judge denied, however, a?nd the settlement is now moving forward.

Anyone who worked at Activision Blizzard between Sept. 1, 2016 and the present can submit a claim, related to sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination. Via Washington Post, EEOC spokeswoman Nicole St. Germain said the committee ?is pleased with the outcome.

Activision Blizzard released a statement on the settlement, outlining the EEOC agreement and other steps taken towards its workplace culture. Alongside the $18 million fund, the publisher will continue working on policies and practices to prevent harassment and discrimination. Activision Blizzard will?? also engage a third-party consultant to provide ongoing oversight, and hire an internal EEO coordinator.

The publisher of Overwatch, Call of Duty, and more was brought under scrutiny last year, when the California DFEH sued the company following a two-year investigation of the company's workplace culture. Allegations of issues within the company, ranging from sexual harassment an?d discrimi??nation to a generally toxic workplace culture, surfaced in further reports. Several other suits have been filed in the time since, and several high-profile developers have left the company.

Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard in January, for a $68.7 billion price tag.

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DOOOOOOOOOOMED!

Nintendo has brought down the shutters on two of its western-based offices. Nintendo's California headqu?arters in Redwood City �as well as its studio in Toronto, Canada �both closed their doors over the course of la??st week.

As reported by Kotaku, the former Redwood City office was a central hub for Nintendo of America's marketing department, working with retailers across the nation to supply and stock Nintendo products �from hardware and games to clothing and merchandise. Some 100 employees have been?? "displaced" by? the closure, though it's not clear how many will be either transferred to Nintendo's main headquarters in Redmond, Washington, or made redundant from their respective roles.

No official reason has been offered for the closure of Redwood City, though its SVP, Nick Chavez, recently resigned from the company in order to take up a new role with Kentucky Fried Chicken. Nintendo of America's Executive VP, Devon Pritchard, will take ?up Chavez's former role on a temporary basis. Additionally, the closure of its Toronto studio will reportedly see its employees relocated to Nintendo's m??ain Canadian headquarters in Vancouver, British Colombia.

While the closing and consolidation of studios are relatively common in the gaming industry, it is exceptionally rare in the case of Nintendo. The last major restructure within the publisher came back in 2014, when Nintendo of Europe restructured its localization and testing departments for the territory,?? ultimately releasing over 300 permanent and temporary employees from? their jobs.

While the reasons behind last week's closures remain unknown, it seems highly unlikely that Nintendo is in any form of dire straits. Its most-recent hardware, Nintendo Switch and Switch OLED, has been the best-selling global console for almost three years straight, with Sony's PlayStation 5 hardware finally breaking its streak just last month. Nintendo software also enjoys the most enduring sales of almost any developer, with releases such as Animal Crossing New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Mario Oddysey remai?ning high in the ?sales charts years after release.

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A look at some of the rarities from this year's show

"So what's California Extreme?" I hear you asking. Simply put, it's a yearly convention where arcade cabinet and pinball collectors converge in San Jose to show off their favorite machines. Enthusiasts bring their perfec??tly maintained arcade cabs from all over the state, then set them to freeplay for the weekend for everyone to examine ?and enjoy. I like to think of it as something like a classic car show, except there are arcade rarities on display rather than vehicles.

The best part is, even if you don't have any arcade games of your own to display, you can still play all you want for a flat fee. While retro games are the focus, the show's also become known as a great place for showing off new or upcoming pinball tables. Hundreds of different g?ames are represented, and with so many options there's hardly ever a long wait to play your favorites or try out something bizarre. 

I've attended every convention since 2015, and although there are several gam?es that make appearances every year, the roster changes constantly. You never know what you're going to see until you walk through the doors. In no particular order, here are a few of the standouts I got to try out at this year's show.

Baby Pac-Man (Bally Midway, 1982)

This is a good one to start with because it combines both the pinball and arcade elements of California Extreme. A sort of sequel to Ms. Pac-Man, Baby Pac-Man is a hybrid game which combines a vide?o display on the top screen with a simple pinball game below. It's extremely rare to find a working cabinet because a lot of the parts were custom-tooled for th?is machine, and the complicated design makes it terribly difficult to maintain.

The player starts on the top screen and plays as the title character, eating dots and making their way through a maze while dodging enemies. However, the maze doesn't initially contain any energizers, so it's impossible for Baby to turn the tables on the ghosts. Players might notice there are more escape tunnels than usual on this particular Pac-Man maze, and that's where?? this game's greatest innovation kicks in. 

Whenever Baby leaves the maze via the lower tunnels, the pinball section of the machine will activate and the player will get a chance to earn some powerups for the upper video section by shooting ramps and targets below. Fruit bonuses and energizers must be earned in the pinball section, and play returns to the top screen whenever the player loses a ball. Fortunately, the maze section goes dormant while you're doing this so you don't have to split your attention ?between the two screens. 

Unfortunately, these two great tastes don't necessarily taste great together. The pinball section is too simple to be much fun, and the arcade maze is too hard to play without ducking into the pinball section first. Playing Pac-Man and playing pinball are two very different skills, and switching between the two is a little too complicated to be enjoyable. It's been speculated that unauthorized games like this one may have been responsible for Namco yanking Midway's Pac-Man license in the U.S.

Flapping Bird (Custom build, TubeTime, 2019)

Flappy Bird may have only existed since 2013, but it's probably been ported to at least as many platforms as DOOM by now. This unique tabletop machine isn't remarkable so much for the game as how it's played. The unit utilizes vector graphics, a precursor to both pixels and polygons, and it's built from an old military cathode ray tube originally used as a RADAR display during World War II. The very first commercial arcade game, Computer Space, was built using similar limitations. If you're interested in learning more about the machine and how it was built, you can find the creator at Tubetime.us or on Twitter. 

The Grid (Midway, 2001)

This one's a little more modern than most of the machi?n?es you'll see at California Extreme, and even though it's been available at every show I've been to it's still one I like to seek out and play a round or two. There probably aren't too many places left in the world where you can find six of the cabinets linked up as you can see in the picture above. The cabinets themselves have a triangular footprint and were designed so they could be installed in multiple configurations, including side-by-side or as a circular column of six with screens facing in every direction.

The Grid was created by Midway and holds the distinction of being the company's last arcade release. It's a third-person deathmatch shooter, and seems to take inspiration from Unreal Tournament, Smash T.V. and The Running Man. Despite some cameos from popular Mortal Kombat characters, these machines didn't sell very well, too unwieldy and expensive for most arcade operators. It's a shame, because in an era before reliable internet or split-screen multiplayer, The Grid wa?s one of the best ways to frag your friends (and it's still pretty entertaining launching man-sized cannonballs across an arena to slam your buddy into a wall). I wouldn't mind seeing a modern update: maybe someone can patch in 94 other players and turn it into a Battle Royale game.

via GIPHY

Criss Cross Pop-Up (Chicago Coin, 1964)

This one has nothing to do with making a video. Part bowling, part Skee-ball, Criss Cross Pop-Up sort of defies description, as it's more of an electro-mechanical amusement than a true pinball table. It's not exactly difficult since there's only one? button to press, but there's still some skill required to get the high score. That said, it's a lot simpler in execution than most pinball ta?bles and there's more of an element of randomness. 

Pop-Up challenges you to arrange four balls on a 3x3 grid by aiming a single pinball on the lower playfield, which will affect the upper display. The upper playfield actually sits below the pinball section, but it's reflected via a mirror built into the backglass so the player can see what's going on. Getting three balls in a row will earn you some points, and getting more difficult arrangements (such as one ball in each corner, or a diamond shape) will earn more than simpler configurations. You can choose which balls will be launched by waiting for the arrow to point at the proper row and launching the pinball at the target, but you're still up to the mercy of gravity and circumstance ?as far as where the balls will land. Part of the strategy is deciding how many of your ten shots you want to use to adjust and try for a more valuable grouping, or whether it might be more productive to leave well enough alone if they're already in position.

I was surprised at how much fun this one was, and my friend and I enjoyed trying to beat each other's high scores. It's never going to happen at this point, but a digital version would be a great fit for the 3DS. That said, it wouldn't be able to emulate the feel of the machine as the pinball hits the backboard, or the rattle as the balls drop into p?lace.

Teeter Torture (Prototype by Exidy, 1982)

Of all the games displayed at California Extreme, this has to be one of the rarest. Teeter Torture was never put into production, and the cabinet above is the only dedicated machine known to exist. Fortunately the ROM has been made freely available, bu?t California Extreme offers a rare chance to play on something pretty close to the original hardware.

The gameplay looks to be inspired by Space Invaders, as enemies slowly fall from the top of the screen and you can shoot them before they reach the bottom. Simple, rig?ht? Well... maybe not. You can only have one bullet on screen at a time and you control the gun's movement with a spinner built into the cabinet, both of which add to the difficulty. Additionally, your gun is balanced on a see-saw, and underneath both sides of the platform the??re are plungers connected to a barrel full of dynamite. If either side has too much weight on it for too long, the dynamite explodes and it's game over. To complicate matters, if you miss any of the approaching enemies they'll attach to whichever side of the teeter-totter they land on, shifting the weight and making it more difficult to balance. 

Teeter Torture relies on a fairly simple concept, but it might have been a little too complicated for arcade-goers in 1982. It probably wouldn't have drawn in a lot of quarters compared to contemporaries like Donkey Kong Jr., Q*Bert, Dig Dug or Joust. But it's st?ill ent??ertaining and challenging, and I'm glad the owner is willing to share it with the world.

The Goonies (1986, Konami)

Sorry for the poor picture quality on this o??ne. 

California Extreme features lots of Pinball and arcade machines, but there's a console freeplay area as well. This isn't technically an arcade game, although it did appear on Nintendo Vs. Systems and PlayChoice-10 machines in the U.S. so there's a chance you might have seen it at your local minigolf facility or bowling alley. It's far more likely you're familiar with the sequel, though, since The Goonies II receive?d a worldwide release and was available? on the Nintendo Entertainment System

If you've ever played The Goonies II you probably have an idea what to expect from its predecessor: unusually large mice who drop bombs which can be used to open safes, Fratelli brothers to avoid, and some decent platform action. You might be surprised to find that the item collection and adventure game elements aren't present in the first Goonies game, and it's a rather ??straightforward platformer rather than a confusing exploration game. In my humble opinion, the earlier title is a lot more fun. 

This one's hard to find in the U.S. since PlayChoice machines were usually fairly well locked down by Nintendo and few made their way into the hands of private collectors. The Japanese Famicom version plays great tho??ugh, and someone was nice enough to bring an adapted, late-model NES to play it on.

Black Knight: Sword of Rage (Stern Pinball, 2019)

Black Knight is considered one of the premier pinball tables among aficionados, and its sequel Black Knight 2000 is at least as well regarded. The original 1980 Black Knight was the first table to debut a two-level playfield and an electromagnetic save, both features quickly embraced by the rest of the industry. Its 1989 sequel Black Knight 2000 was one of the last pinball machines programmed by Ed Boon, better known for his work on the Mortal Kombat franchise.

The newest table at the show, Black Knight: Sword of Rage features a physical black knight on the playfield who'll try to block some of your shots with a whirling flail in his right hand and a shield in his left. Sword of Rage also features a full c?olor HD screen inserted below the backglass, something that wasn't possible 30 years ago. Having waited my turn to play myself I can attest that A.) this table is a lot of fun, and B.) I still suck at p??inball.

With this machine, Black Knight becomes one of only a few pinball franchises to complete a trilogy of themed games. All three Black Knight machines were designed by Steve Ritchie, a legend among pinball enthusiasts who's known for the smooth flow of his tables. I'm not an expert but in my opinion it's an excellent machine, and it was pretty cool to be able to see all three Black Knight tables side by side. 

Pac Man and Chomp Chomp (Namco, 1983)

This one's almost as rare as Teeter Torture, but not quite. It's better known by its Japanese name, Pac & Pal, and it was never widely released outside of Japan. The game switches up normal Pac-Man gameplay by adding a rival character who steals point bonuses and drags them back to the ghosts' home before Pac-Man can collect them. Namco considered exporting the game to the U.S. under the name Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp, but the plans were scrapped, most likely because this was right around the time the company decided to pull Bally Midway's distribution rights. A few test units?????????????????????????? made their way overseas, but for many years this game remained a Japanese arcade exclusive.

The machine seen above is a homebrew project, sort of a physical answer to the hypothetical question "What if Namco had released this game in the U.S.?" The owner, Brendon Parker, meticulously restored a damaged Ms. Pac-Man cabinet, and created custom artwork based on the concept art and the old Pac-Man Saturday morning cartoon show. He also customized the game's programming, using a modified ROM which changes the sprite from the green monster seen in Pac & Pal to Pac-Man's dog, Chomp Chomp.

Both Baby Pac-Man and Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp share the same problem; Pac-Man is a damn near perfect arcade game, and adding new mechanics to it doesn't make it any more fun. Still, Parker did a fantastic job creating this machine, and it's fascinating to try it out and think about what might have been. If you'd like to know more about Pac & Pal, there's a great retrospective from a few years back at USGamer.

Crazy Otto (General Computer Corporation, 1981)

Another custom machine by Brendon Parker, this one's better known as the precursor to Ms. Pac-Man. It should be clear by now that Namco and Midway were willing to try almost anything to follow up on the success of Pac-Man, but very few of their ideas were working. Changing the fundamental simplicity of Pac-Man just made things worse, but arcade denizens who'd ?mastered the mazes were hungry for a follow-up.

A small group of technical students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had recently formed an arcade corporation called General Computer Corporation (GCC). They specialized in "enhancement kits," early ROM hacks which could extend the life of existing arcade machines. (If you've ever played a "Rainbow Edition" of Street Fighter II, you've seen this sort of thing.) Since Pac-Man was THE arcade? hit of 1981, it only made sense that GCC would tinker with the boards and ??try to improve what they could. 

The result was something GCC called Crazy Otto, a vastly improved version of Pac-Man which added new mazes, monster behavior, and other enhancements. GCC showed their project to Bally Midway, who offered to buy the project and release it as an official follow-up to Pac-Man. Less than a year later, Ms. Pac-Man cabinets running a modified version of GCC's game could be found in arcades coast-to-coast. But very few people have ever heard of Crazy Otto, and Namco aims to keep it that way. 

Fast-forward to 2012. Brendon Parker has been fascinated by Pac-Man ever since the circular hero was the focus of Google's daily doodle back in 2010. He attends California Extreme as an 11-year-old and is blown away by the display of an original Crazy Otto circuit board by a member of GCC. (Even today the original Crazy Otto code is difficult to come by, thanks to a royalty deal between GCC and Pac-Man's parent company Namco.) Parker decides to learn how to reverse-engineer a Ms. Pac-Man machine and teaches himself how to hack the game's data, turning operations on and off one by one until he knows the game inside and out. He also learns how to redraw the game's sprites, changing the ghosts into furry monsters with antennae and the main character into a blue-eyed, long-legged creature which looks more like the cabinet designs. As a final touch he creates new cabinet art, e?mulating the style of the artwork on the ori??ginal display.

Now 18 years old, Parker has brought a new, Pac-Man themed restoration to California Extreme every year since 2015. He's started a business providing custom graphics for others who share his interest. He was nice enough to pose for the picture above and speak with me for a few minutes during the show, explaining his passion for Pac-Man and the work he's put into preserving some of the lesser-known games in the franchise. If you'd like to know more, there are detailed writeups on each of his projects on his website, Pacificarcades.com.

There were tons more neat arcade machines on display, including a four-player standup cabinet for Super Slam Dunk Touchdown, a brand-new pinball table based on Deadpool, and even a copy of Sega's bizarre live-action hologram game Time Traveller. This list is barely scratching the surface; you can read about some of the other rare games I've seen at the show by clicking here or here.

If you're ever in the bay area during the last weekend of July, it's well worth a trip to the Santa Clara convention center to visit the show. And even if you're not, there's a chance you might be able to find a local version, such as Free Play Florida, ReplayFX in Pittsburgh, or the monthly events held by Ground Kontrol in Portland. If you do make it out, let me know! There's a good chance you'll find somethin?g even weirder and cooler if you poke around a little.

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Beats and Buttercream

Atlus has teamed up with trendy Californian patisserie Honey & Butter for a cross-promotional to celebrate the western launch of rhythm action games Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight.

Between November 24-25, if you visit Honey & Butter's swish shop at the Spectrum in Irvine, California, you can pick up a selection of delicious macarons (meringue and buttercream sandwiches) styled like the awesome Persona heroes. I always thought Lad??y Ann was sweet, but this is ridiculous.

The shop will be decorated in Persona Dancing marketing, will have exclusive merchandise for sale, and even everyone's favourite cat sidekick Morgana will be on hand to make sure everyone leaves before bedtime. It looks like a fun weekend, and the macarons look great! Be sure to stop by if you're in the area. Check out the official Honey & Butter website for more details. Cosplay is encouraged!

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight release on PS4 and PS Vita on December 4. A special "Endless Night Collection" will also include a download code for 2015's Persona 4: Dancing All-Night.

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Kamurocho Nights

Last Saturday, Sega and Gallery Nucleus opened the doors to the Yakuza 6 "Essence of Art" Exhibit in California with a whole bunch of fan tribute art and the huge announcement of Kiwami 2 coming to the states. As exciting as that must have been, just getting a look at the recreation of Kamurocho Gate would have been en?ough for me. Sadly, I won't be able to head to California before the gallery closes on April 1, but I can watch this short video about the event.

Fans turned out in droves for what must have been the most Japanese thing California has ever seen. People were even gambl?ing in the streets, which is just bonkers. Why did I have to be on vacation (and then g??et stuck for a few days)?

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Free admission, too!

Sega will be holding a Yakuza 6 art exhibit at the Nucleus Art Gallery in Alhambra, California from March 17 until April 1. Admission will be free to all with no RSVP required for the opening day. The event will include various pieces of fan tribute art, game artwork, exclusive themed prints and even a recr?eation of the famous "Kamurocho Gate" from the series.

General producer of the Yakuza series, Daisuke Sato, will be present on opening day alongside renowned tattoo artist HORITOMO (the man who has designed all of the tattoos in each game) and both will be signing limited edition copies of the art book from the "Essence of Art" edition of Yakuza 6 for anyone that pre-orders the game at the event. The two will also be holding a Q&A with a "special announcement" to be given. Other goodies include an amazing looking T-shirt for sale at the event and a free "Ono Michio-kun" pin for the f?irst 200 attendees.

I real??ly wish I could get my hands on that t-shirt, but I won't be able to attend this event. It sounds like it will be awesome and I'd love to get to know more about the art behind each tattoo in the series. For anyone that is able to attend,? make sure to send me pictures. I'm definitely envious of any native Californians right now.

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Abilty to Hearth to location not yet confirmed

Blizzard Entertainment have announced ambitious plans to open its own dedicated space for arena gaming this Fall. The so-named Blizzard Arena Los Angeles will open October 7th to coincide with the Overwatch season one playoffs.

In a press release, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime spoke with pride of the new ve?nture: "We're at a tipping point for esports and we look fo??rward to helping usher in a new era of competition-based entertainment...We're honored to bring the best in esports to the same stage that some of the biggest names in entertainment have called home."

There are even plans to open a small store nearby, selling rotational merchandise dependent on whatever tournament is currently underway. That's some big bucks, brother.

Though the new arena, located at Burbank, California, is expected to be the home for the most prestigious competitive events within Overwatch, Hearthstone, Starcraft II, World of Warcraft Arena and Heroes of the Storm. Blizzard will continue to include high-ranking matches as part of their Blizzcon events, traditionally held in A?naheim.

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The straight edge drinking game is how many times the Vita will be mentioned

T??he PlayStation Experience, Sony's attempt in recent years at?? an annual gaming convention, will be returning this December. The event itself will be once again hosted at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California and will run from December 9-10.

PSX 2017 will also be featuring the 2017 Capcom Cup. The event will have a special dedicated tournament stage for Street Fighter V on Sunday, December 10, with the top qualifying players from the 2017 Capcom Pro Tour c?ompeting for large amounts of cash-money and to be considered world champion.

Tickets are available now, with an early-bird special, no less! (No, not your gra??ndpa's early-bird special that he gets with a side of bacon.) Instead, this early-bird special is a discounted ticket price for a limited time. If you purchase your two-day tickets now you'll get them at a discounted rate of $65 (the standard price is $75).

Early-bird ticket holders will also receive an exclusive invitation to a special event held on Friday, December 8, in which you'll “get up-close and personal” with various game develop??ers and “PlayStation personalities.”

You'll also need to be 18 or older to attend PSX 2017 in general, no children or babies are allowed. There also have been no specifics yet on what games or developers will actuall??y be attending PSX 2017, though Sony has said it will announce further details regarding this in the coming weeks??.

With that said, will you be checking out PSX 2017? Will you be getting an early-bird special? If so, which one??? The PSX 2017 tickets or breakfast at the gas station down the street?

PlayStation Experience Returns to? Anaheim Decemb?er 9, Featuring Capcom Cup [PlayStation Blog]

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You can't see me

Even with the Switch launching in roughly nine? days and with a ??public preview event still scheduled for two cities, Nintendo is going to be demoing the Switch in a few more places with some twists.

This time, they are bringing a mock living room to three entirely different locations to simulate how people can play the console. John Cena is also going to be at the California event, hopefully stumbling into the room and ??holding up the title belt, along with some YouTubers. The details are below:

• The Desert – Invite only
  Feb. 23, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. PT
  Blue Cloud Movie Ranch
  20019 Blue Cloud Rd.
  Santa Clarita, CA 91390

• Aspen – Open to the public
  Feb. 27, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. MT
  Snowmass Village
  45 Village Square
  Snowmass Village, CO 81615

• New York – Open to the public
  March 3, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET
  Flatiron Plaza
  Broadway between 23^rd and 24^th St.
  New York, NY 10010

I like how New York is apparently a different environment. How is it outside today? Very New York like. That event will have some costumed people walking around as Mario and Luig??i, which does sound super fun.

Honestly, though, I don't think I'd be playing my Switch in any of these locations. If I were in Aspen, wouldn't I be skiing? If I were in the desert, I'd be doing my best to find help or increase my chances of survival, not playing a Switch. If I were in New York City, I wouldn't show any signs of having technology on me so?? that I don't get mugged.

Switch and Play with Nintendo Switch in Unex?pected Places across the U.S. [Business Wire]

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And built a new esports arena

University of California, Irvine announced its esports initiative in the spring: build a gaming arena and give out, "as many as 10 academic scholarships" to students on its League of Legends team. It was apparently a good fit for the university, where "72 percent identify as gamers and 89 percent support the creation of an e-sports team." It was even ranked the "No. 1 school for gamers in 2015" by College Magazine, which is apparently a real publication and not a Simpons sight gag.

Of substantial more interest to me, however, is the Business Insider article, "This California university will pay half your college tuition just for playing video games," mostly because it's more of a slideshow prefaced by a couple paragraphs of non-information. I did learn that the folks at Irvine ruined a perfectly good pool hall to bu??ild this atrocity of 70 gauche chairs that start at $300 a piece to go with 70 $2,000 gaming rigs, "which includes top-of-the line graphics cards and processing power."

But while the photo captions make much of the cost, it's also noted that all the pricey equipment was donated, which I guess it why there's a separate picture of a Logitech keyboard/mouse and a Logitech headset.  Additionally, it'lll cost students $4/hour to use the facilities, so it might even make money beyond its corporate sponsorships. Ma?ybe that's paying for those 10 scholarshi??ps?

Well, actually, according to the more recent Business Insider article, "UCI is bringing in five students on the new scholarship, four of whom weren't even looking to attend. It covers about half of in-state tuition." The other five League team spots are up for grabs with an open tryout.

If you are a California resident, attending UCI costs about $32,103 per year. Tuition is $14,750, so if these are half-tuition scholarships, your sports medicine degree with a focus on esports will only cost you $24,728 per year! (Out of state tuition alone is $40,000/year).

So, sure, this scholarship is only pittance off ballooning higher education costs in the United States, but, hey, you get some money for playing games! And if you're a student there, you have access to gaming PCs -- with things beyond League.

"And other gamers in the UCI arena will be able to play pre-loaded titles such as Diablo 3, Overwatch, Final Fantasy 14, and Minecraft," Business Insider notes, followed by a still image of El Diablo from Suicide Squad. What!!! Why? I don't know!

I've not seen the movie and don't know shit about 99% of comics, but I've been told this cat is supposed to be an Aztec fire god and he, up until joining the squad, had been using his Aztec fire god powers to be a really shitty, low-level drug dealer. Makes about as much sense as him coming up in this article, which is just doze??ns of pictures of cardboard boxes f??illed with Asus monitors

Th??is California university will pay half your college tuition just for playing video games [Business Insider].

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It's about sending a message

According to multiple industry sources (including former Dtoid CEO Hamza Aziz!), Konami has closed its Los Angeles studio, formerly known as Kojima Productions Los Angeles.

Duke Nukem creator George Broussard was one of the first to tweet the news earlier last night. Eurogamer later confirmed?? the reports, claiming "over 20 jobs" had been made redundant by the closu?re.

This comes after Konami dropped Kojima's name from the studio, renaming it to Konami Los Angeles Studio. As of last night, Konami's careers site displayed job openings at the studio, including the hig??h-level positions "Senior Ga?meplay Programmer" and "Senior Multiplayer Designer," but all open positions at the Los Angeles studio have been removed as of press time.

We've asked Konami for comment, and will update this sto??ry as necessary.

Konami closes LA studio res?ponsible for Metal Gear Online [Eurogamer]

The post Konami Los Angeles ??Studio? to be closed, staff laid off appeared first on Destructoid.

Public urination?

Once a mecca for arcade and fighting game fans, the venerable FGC hot-spot Super Arcade closed the doors of its Walnut, California location last December after failing to reach a lease agreement with its landlord. After being unable to find another suitable location in Walnut, it was announced that Super Arcade would re-open in a new location i?n the beautiful city of Azusa, California in the near future. That was until the city council decided to deny them the permit required to own and operate an arcade in a 3-1 vote.

Citing a multitude of bizarre rationales including the idea that an arcade would bring an undesirable element to the?? city and an increase in “public urination,&r?dquo; the city decided that it could live without an arcade and flung Super Arcade back into real estate limbo.

So this is how the last arcade dies. Under the phantom threat of public “oopsy” puddles. I think Patrick Miller, known as @Paththeflip on Twitter, put it best -  

welcome to 201??5, where empty ??lots are preferred to arcades

— Patrick Miller (@pattheflip) June 25, 2015

Super ??Arcade denied permit by the city council of Azusa by 3-1 vote [NeoGAF]

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Rockstar still looking into issues with GTA Online

Today's Grand Theft Auto V title update was more than an unlock to play Grand Theft Auto Online. It also ?fixed some issues in the Stor??y Mode. Here's the breakdown:

• Fix for interface issues when using Internet on the cell phone after completing the game, or during a mission replay
• Fix for the Vanilla Unicorn occasionally becoming locked
• Fix for issues where the character’s money could drop below zero and become stuck there
• Fix for the Epsilon Program missions not progressing properly after delivering some cars
• Fix for issue where the Atomic Blimp sometimes does not appear as a phone contact for Collector’s Edition owners
• Fix for issues with saved vehicles going missing, or losing their upgrades
• Fixes for several map escape and collision issues along with other various bug fixes

Sweet, no more garage saving issues. Additionally, Rockstar is continuing to look into the issues with GTA Online.

The post Here’s what the Grand Theft Auto V title update fixed appeared first on Destructoid.

A quick guide on the beginning of your online adventure

Rockstar's ambitious Grand Theft Auto Online launches tomorrow for those that have Grand Theft Auto V. How will you access it? First you'll need to download a Title Update that will be released on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live tomorrow around 7AM Eastern time if things run smoothly. Once the update is installed, you'll boot up the game as you normally would and then pull up the character select wheel to select the newly unlocked fourth character slot. This will take you straight into GTA Online.

There's a big narrative in GTA Online with an initial offering of 700 missions on top of racing, deathmatches and the like. As far as the narrative is concerned though, it takes place a few months prior to the events in GTA V.

Players will all have pads, and these will be save zones as to prevent any sort of griefing. So you can't be a dick by shooting up someone's home or st?ealing their cars. Plus, other players have to be invited in first before they can enter your pad.

Rockstar's official site also details how the microtransaction stuff works, but to sum it up it will all be fair. "To allay some concerns we’ve heard on this subject, we can assure you that the game is designed such that the option of purchasable GTA$ should not disrupt the playing field." No one can start up GTA Online and just start spending real money to rack up their own skills as everyone will have to rank up to the??ir Reputati?on Points first. 

Note that the Content Creator toll won't be available right away. It'll be relea?sed later this fall, so you won't be able to cr??eate your own custom races or deathmatch jobs just yet. 

Oh! And join the Destructoid Crew!

The post What you need to know to start playing GTA Online appeared first on Destructoid.

A closer look at Santa Monica and Hollywood

GameTrailers went on a tour of Los Angeles to compare the real city streets to that of Grand Theft Auto V's Los Santos. The video tour focuses on the big touristy spots around ?Santa Monica, with some glimpses at Hollywood too.

S?o how do the two compare? ?Pretty close for the most part. Santa Monica pier isn't as lively in Los Santos as in real life,

The post How does GTA V’s Los Santos compare to Los Angeles? appeared first on Destructoid.

Earn your degree at Monster Hunter Community College today!

Digging into the finer features of the Monster Hunter series can often feel like academic research. I just want to kill giant dragon creatures, consarnit! It's not like I wan??t to write a graduate thesis on the blasted thing!

Which is why Capcom USA wants to take you to school. Literally. From 11 AM to 5 PM PST on Saturday, April 20, at the Capcom USA office in San Mateo, California, you'll be able to attend the first-ever Monster Hunter Community College. With a curriculum based entirely around the newly released Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, MHCC will offer beginner and intermediary classes and even provide early access to DLC Event Quests. You are invited to bring your 3DS and, hell, even your Wii U along for local co-op, and you can even attempt some "Extra Credit" challenges broadcast live on Capcom's TwitchTV channel for a chance at secret unannounced prizes.

Enrollment is free, so if you happen t??o be in the area and want some good ol' fashioned book learnin', you s??hould go. It's just a shame that MHCC is limited to such a specific region. I would love for Capcom to take this on the road or at least set up cameras in the classrooms to allow people to tune in from home. Don't just stream the challenge attempts!

?Monster ?Hunter Community College: enroll NOW for the April 20 session [Capcom Unity via GoNintendo]

The post Capcom is holding live Monster Hunter cla??sses on April 20 appeared first on Destructoid.

Kojima Productions, makers of the Metal Gear series and largely why people put up with Konami's sh*t still, has opened up a Los Angeles branch. The studio is currently looking to create a new team, and there are a number of open job listings over on Gamasutra. Open positions?? include environme??nt artist, gameplay programmer, cinematic artist, graphic engine programmer and more.

Obviously Kojima wants this new branch of the studio to be working on games. Whether that's brand new titles all together, or working directly with the Japanese studio on projects such as Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, remains to be seen.

Western-influenced Kojima builds a ?new team in Los Angeles [Gamasutra]

The post Kojima Productions opens Los Angeles based studio appeared first on Destructoid.

Kojima Productions confirms that they're looking to open a new studio in California. A tweet from senior producer Kenichiro Imaizumi says that they're looking to set u??p?? shop in The Golden State, but only if they "can find the right people."

Kojima is hiring all kinds, with the most recent job listings asking for project engineers for the latest Metal Gear Solid game for "high-end consoles and PC." Develop says that they're also looking for engineers to help with the FOX Engine as well as programmers, audio folks, and artists for concept and cha??racters.

If you've always dreamed of making a MGS game, Konami will have a booth in the career pavilion at GDC next month that you should visit.&nb?sp;

The post Kojima Productions plans to open new studio in Calif??ornia appeared first on Destructoid.

Nintendo will host a launch event in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 6-10 p.m., for Rhythm Heaven Fever, and hands-on sessions and giveaways are planned for the event. They're teaming up with iam8bit and Giant Robot to throw a party at the iam8bit gallery, so expect some art with your gaming, food, and drinks. Shirts, posters and other pr?izes will be given away.

Attendees will be able to film and submit clips to be included in a special Rhythm Heaven Fever interactive video experience.

Nintendo says that the ??event is public, but on a first??-come, first-served basis. The iam8bit Gallery is located at 2147 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California. 

The post Rhythm Heaven Fever launch event in LA at iam8bit appeared first on Destructoid.

California tried to establish unconstitutional regulations on videogames and failed miserably. Brown v. ESA had the Court voting 7-2 to Alpha Counter a 2005 California law that would put an unlawful lock on game distribution. The Entertainment Software Association is expecting a fat check for $950,000 from Cali to take care of legal fees incurred during the recent Supreme Court case. The ESA says they'll use that cash to help children in challenged communities in California, and they plan to launch a new charity this year that will work to cha??nnel young gamers' energies toward future job opportunities.

"Senator Yee and Governor Schwarzenegger wasted more than $1 million in taxpayer funds at a time?? when Californians could ill afford it," said Michael Gallagher, ESA president, in a release. "However we feel strongly that s?ome of these funds should be used to improve services for California’s youth."

States really need to stop with this business of trying t?o regulate videogames. As of now, the ESA has received $3.1 million in legal fees in total. 

The post California ??to ??pay ESA $950,000 for failed case legal fees appeared first on Destructoid.

While the East Coast is home to MAGFest, the West Coast has been a little left out in the retro gaming and ??indie music festival scene. Well that's about to change as a new festival called Rockage will be debuting in San Jose on February 11 and 12. On top of the free play arcades and pinball tables, there will be over 20 different bands/DJS performing by groups such as The Glowing Stars, 8 Bit Weapon, A_Rival, crashfaster, ComputeHer, The Megas and more.

Tickets are $20 for advance two-day pass, ?or you can get a single day pass for $20 at the door. The festival will be open to all ages, and THERE WILL BE FOOD TRUCKS!! There is also going to be classic gaming tournaments plus the first West Coast Gu??itar Hero tournament of 2012.

You can follow Rockage on Tumblr and Twitter to keep up to date with?? what's going on with the show.

The post Rockage celebrating retro gaming & indie music in NorCal appeared first on Destructoid.

Capcom is hosting a Fright Club this Thursday at the Mezzanine in San Francisco. Much like their Fight Clubs, this will be your chance to play Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Resident Evil: Revelations before their releases.

Bonus! There are a ??ton of acts performing which include Murs, The Alchemist and Ohno, David Banner, DJ QBert, Dan the Automator, Domino of Hieroglyphics and DJ Goldenchyld. The first 200 people in line will also receive an exclusive gift.

Full details over on Capcom-Unity and the Facebook invite page. Who's going?!

The post San Francisco: Play? the new Resident ?Evil games this week appeared first on Destructoid.

Shigeru Miyamoto was already in California to attend tonight's Spike Video Game ??Awards, so he took some time out from his trip to.??..go to the mall?

The legendary game maker is shown in the photo above behind the wheel of a IRL-sized Mario Kart at the Westfield Topanga mall in Canoga, California.  He showed up yesterday to check out the custom work by West Coast Customs, made to celebrate the release of Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS.

Two things:

1. There's a Topanga mall? Topanga?

2. If I were at the mall, ?out to get some shitty Sbarro or something, I would have freaked the fuck out i?f I ran into Shigeru Miyamoto. I bet that happened yesterday.

The post Miyamoto in a life-sized Mario Kart makes my day appeared first on Destructoid.

Attention San Francisco folks! There's a new arcade in town and it's the last refuge for you fighting fans within the city. Southtown Arcade just opened up shop and is a simple little spot with just over a dozen arcade cabinets. All the cabinets are of ??the Japanese-style sit down variety and each co??st just twenty-five cents to operate.

The newest cabinet the shop currently has is The King of Fighters XIII while the rest are made up of something every fighter will enjoy. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike, Vampire Savoir, SNK vs Capcom SVC Chaos, The King of Fighters '98, Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core and of course, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting are part of the current lineup. There's also some Magical Drop 3, Windjammers and Metal Slug if you're looking for a little variety.

Southtown Arcade is looking to bring?? in more arcade units and they may look into more non-fighting units. It's just dependent on?? what you the local fans want to see. The business is very small and does need your support so hop in a play a few matches. 

Southtown Arcade is located at 447 Stockton Street (right by the tunnel entrance) and are open Monday, Thursday, Friday from 3PM-9PM, Saturday from 12PM-9PM and Sundays from 12PM-7PM. Follow them on Twitter for new announcements. 

The post New arcade pops up in San Francisco appeared first on Destructoid.

TimeGate is coming to San Francisco this Thursday to show off Section 8: Prejudice's multiplayer. What does this have to do with you? Well if you happen to live in the Bay Area and are o??ver 21, you can come by and play the game too! Yes, you too can feel just like a member of the gaming press as you sign an Non-disclosure agreement, play a videogame befor??e it's official release and take advantage of the open bar!

If you want in on the fun, you're going to have t?o tell us in the comments why we should pick you. We'll only be picking two of you, but the ?winners can each bring one additional person along with them. Good luck!

The post Come play Section 8: Prejudice in S?an Francisco this week appeared first on Destructoid.

Video Games Live is a celebration of all things videogame music. The concert travels the world performing music from our favorite games and it's a concert you need to experience at least once in your life time. The concert is coming to Los Angeles next month on?? June 17, the same week as E3 2010.

We have four pair of tickets to giveaway for the Los Angeles show and all you need to do to enter is leave a comment below telling us what videogame song you would love to hear be performed at a Video Games Live conce??????????????????????????rt. You can enter as many times as you'd like, but you have to wait until at least three other people have left a comment before entering again.

We'll be picking four random comments to give the tickets to after the contest closes on May 14 at 11:59 PM CDT. Also??, please only? enter if you are sure you'll be in the Los Angeles area on June 17.

[Update: Contest closed! Winn?ers are BetaChris,  ms-fable, zo??mbieslapper, Michael Parra!]

The post Contest: Win a pair of tickets to Video Games Li??ve in LA! appeared first on Destructoid.

Since neither The Lord of the Rings: Conquest or Mercenaries 2: World in Flames were met with warm reception, the Internet seems to have collectively decided that the widesprea??d layoffs at Pandemic and integration into EALA was single-hande??dly due to those two games.

Speaking to Kotaku, EA CEO John Riccitiello wanted to make it perfectly clear there were more important factors that ultimately decided the studio's fate. The "bloody expensive" nature of running a business in California was one such reason, with the locations of?? EALA and Pandemic being so close to each other only further hurting the situation.

He also says "the shift toward fewer titles" combined with digital distribution becoming increasingly important every day also factored in the decision. "It's not a package??d goods business any more," Riccitiello believes.

In closing the discussion, he also mentions how Pandemic will live on with Mercs: Inc and if enough people enjoy The Saboteur, that game could potentially see a sequel.

The post High costs of California to blame for Pan?demic closure appeared first on Destructoid.

Although?? E3 proper doesn’t start until this Tuesday, we hoofed it down to the Los Angeles Convention Center to pick up our badges and to see how thin?gs were going.

With two more days to go until the big event officially starts, the show is definitely very much a work in progress. Workers are frantically putting up banners, throwing booths together, and doing some last minute planning and placement for the show’s entrance; we even overheard that the Ghostbuster’s Ecto-1 would be making an appearance.

Right now, the convention center is alive with pre-show activity, but it pales in comparison to what we expect it to look like when filled to the brim with attendees. Still, there’s plenty of stuff to see both inside and out, like large signs advertising the show’s biggest titles, like Mass Effect 2, Assassin’s Creed 2, Mafia II, Modern Warfare 2… damn, that’??s a lot of sequels, isn’t it?

Check out the gallery for more images from the pre-E3 LACC, both inside and out. You may even spot some new images of your favorite games; I’m pretty sure the Splinter Cell: Conviction artwork is new&hel??lip; beat me with a stick if I’m wrong. 

We haven’t even scratched the surface of our E3 coverage, which officially starts tomorrow with Microsoft’s early morning media briefing (10:00am PST). Stick ??with us -- it should get pretty crazy.

The post Pre-E3 09: A peek ??at the Expo as a work in progress appeared first on Destructoid.