Throw my heart into darkness

In the old-school era, nearly every film had some kind of video game adaptation. It didn't matter if the film hadn't been relevant in decades, you were bound to find some form of interactive adaptation for a beloved classic. The Angry Video Game Nerd covered one of the weirder transitions to gaming, but I think he may have met his ma??tch.

Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope studio is teaming up with video game industry "veterans" to give us Apocalypse Now, a psychological horror RPG. Now, this is a game based on a 38-year-old film that is based on a 116-year-old novel; Dante's Inferno, eat your heart out!

"Forty years ago, I set out to make a personal art picture that could hopefully influence generations of viewers for years to come. Today, I'm joined by new daredevils, a team who want to make an interactive version of Apocalypse Now, where you are Captain Benjamin Willard amidst the harsh backdrop of the Vietnam War. I've been watching videogames grow into a meaningful way to tell stories, and I'm excited to explore the possibilities for Apocalypse Now for a new platform and a new generation," the famous director has listed on the Kickstarter page for the game.

Yes, the game is going into crowdfunding to seek the funds necessary to bring this creation to life. There are a plethora of stretch goals with an estimated delivery of 2020. I mean, I know games take a long time to make, but was it really that hard to find a proper publisher for something as revered as Apocalypse Now? With how long the possibility has been thrown a?round, is this project ?ever even going to come to fruition?

Putting aside that there is already a pretty decent game based on Heart of Darkness (*cough* Spec Ops: The Line *cough*), what would this game possibly accomplish that the movie didn't a?lready do? If the game ends up a series of cuts?cenes with some loose gameplay elements, wouldn't that just prove film was a better fit?

No platforms are mentioned on the Kickstarter page, but seeing as how 2020 ?is the potential release year, I'll just say PC, PS5, and Project Scorpio. Heck, those might even be outdated by then and I sincerely doubt a Nintendo Switch version is even being considered. Whoops! My mistake; one of the stretch goals mentions PS4 and Xbox One, so my overly cynical final statement is kind of null and void. Still, I'd be really surprised if the game actually makes?? it on current generation hardware.

Apocalypse Now - the Game [Kickstarter -- Thanks, Steve]

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Moving in the right direction

The adve??nt of eSports in mainstream media has taken off like a rocket lately. Big names like Red Bull are sponsoring teams and running editorial websites. ESPN's giving it front page placement during tournaments.

In the instance of ESPN, it app?ears as if eSports coverage isn't a short-term experiment that it's dropping. The self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports is hiring for a dedicated eSports editor. The role looks to be full-time, judging by the breadth of responsibilities.

The listing says that applicants should be proficient in their knowledge of League of Legends, Call of Duty, DotA 2, StarCraft 2, Hearthstone, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and more?. Interestingly enough, ESPN mentions that?? it's important for editors to know and understand the fantasy and gambling scenes surrounding these titles.

Apart from those specifics, this is a normal-looking editor description -- assign stories, manage writers and freelancers, keep track of the bu?dget, etc. If that sounds like stuff you can do, give it a shot. Maybe you'll end up sitting in Colin Cowherd's office.

General Editor [ESPN Careers]

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Because the media will publish anything

Markus “Notch” Persson opened up on Twitter this weekend, posting several tweets lamenting that life as an celebrity isn't all it's cracked up to be. The tweets became a news sensation as several high-profile websites painted Persson as a sad and lonely man who hates being a billionaire. Today, the Minecraft creator announced he’s just going to post some random shit to Twitter to see what the media does w??i??th it.

The media, best known for playing its role in exacerbating all of the? problems we as a society face today, pounced as Persson posted tweet after ambiguous tweet; turning his cryptic messages into baseless, non-fact-checked pieces of clickbait garbage.

“I’ve posted about 47 tweets so far, all of them nonsensical,” Persson explained. “During the last Google News search of my name I found 73 different articles in about 13 different languages, with topics ranging from me wanting to get a sex change to me potentially buying the Toronto Blue Jays. I suppose that’s better than a ton of articles telling everyone I’m a crybaby billionaire whom nobody loves. I mean, jeez, you post a?? few tweets at a particular low point of the day and suddenly you’re a Zoloft-popping sad-sack who hugs strangers just to feel human contact. My life is great. Last week I partied with both Bruno Mars and Charlie Sheen. Who else, besides a cocaine dealer, can say that?”

While gamin??g-related websites have shockingly avoided covering Persson’s tweets, established news agencies like The Daily Mail, The Independent, and Forbes are lapping up each word he writes, producing what can only be described as ad-ridden donkey shit. As he set up ?a Google Alert for his own name to track the utterly ridiculous pieces that are written about him, Persson was amused to find that even the most innocuous tweet can lead to a series of truly stupid articles.

“Look at this tweet. It’s just the number seven. I don’t even remember sending that one out. I’m pretty sure that’s a butt-tweet. Yet here’s CNET with an article? saying that tweet means I’m counting down to sometime big, with three?????????????????????????? follow-up pieces speculating what that something big could be. I think tomorrow I’m going to post the number eight just to see if they freak out.”

Persson says he plans to contin?ue fucking with the media until it stops being fun, at which point he’ll sell his Twitter account to Microsoft for 2.5 billion dollars.

The post Markus ‘Notch’ Persson posts vague tweets just to fuck with media (Fauxclusive) appeared first on Destructoid.

Despicable

The new Pac-Man redesign is pretty gross; but hey, whatever keeps y?o??u in business, Namco.

_{[Photo Credit: Kyle MacGregor]}

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'Killed by a videogame'

A 16-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome and Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome had a heart attack after getting overexcited by Sonic the Hedgehog. The Daily Mail's take on the story? He w??as, of course, killed by a videogam??e. 

Britain's favorite home of right-wing xenophobia and jubilant misogyny had a lot of fun using the death of a boy with a heart condition to make videogames look bad -- part of its long running obsession with taking craven secondhand swipes at the? game industry. Writer Kerry McDermott exploits the personal tragedy with surgical precision. 

"Killed by a video game," reports the Mail. "Excitement 'triggered fat??al heart attack of teenager who died while pla??ying his Xbox'."

The 16-year-old's mother is calling for more measures to be taken in screening young people for heart conditions, something that warrants little more than a footnote in the Mail's story of death-by-Xbox. Rather than a focus on the heart condition, we instead get rent-a-doc Sanjay Sharma saying, "There is a definite risk in predisposed young people playing video gam??es that causes surges of adrenalin in the blood."

Perhaps one day, the Mail will find a new witch to burn. Then again, it still needs to get over its hatre??d of women, immigrants, and anybody who isn't an upper-?middle class bitter white man, so I guess we'll be waiting a while. 

Derpty Derpy Derp [The Mail]

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Fox News host uses this funny thing called 'logic'

It's not every day that you can say a Fox News personality makes a rational argument re?garding any of today's hottest trends and hobbies, b??ut stranger things have happened.

In a recent segment of his talk show, John Stossel?? speaks to Franklin Graham, leader of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Ass??ociation, on the issue of violent videogames and whether they should be taxed or not. Graham thumbs the Bible for a good while as Stossel looks on, dumbfounded that such bile could drip from a person's mouth, then he proceeds to "drop the bomb."

Many of Stossel's arguments are facts we've heard countless times on games outlets -- youth violence has decreased as violent games in the?? market increased -- but it's refreshing to hear a major news network actually acknowledge that the anti-games agenda is ridiculous. Way to go, Stossel. You've got balls of steel.

Do Video Games Lead to Violence? [Stossel Show via Kotaku]

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The Creepy Cull continues

I've talked at length about the Creepy Cull of female protagonists in the game industry, where women are shunted off promotional materials and deemed unworthy to act as playable characters. It seems the scythe is wielded ??not just by publishers, however, but? by members of the gaming press itself. 

According to Naughty Dog, popular European gaming magazine Gamereactor was provided artwork for a cover story on The Last of Us, art that featured dual protagonists Joel and Ellie. Naughty Dog, rightly proud of both its creations, was confused to find that Gamereactor had wiped Ellie from the artwork, leaving only Joel to loo??k?? gruff and manly. 

"Hey Gamereactor, appreciate the coverage," tweeted Neil Druckman, "but is there a reason why you removed Ellie from the cover we prov?ided?"

According to readers, Gamereactor offered the Ellie-less art alongside several other cover choices for the community to vote on. This seems to?? be its justification, despite the origina?l artwork including Ellie.

Some people will swear there's no issue with women in the game industry, but more and more, we see exam?ples of outlets and companies that seem to have a distinct problem with them. Entities are going out of their way to hide women from our sight, for a number of silly reasons, and it'd ?be cool if it stopped.

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A man, a camera, and a thirst for the truth

Last year, I-Mockery and Abobo's Big Adventure's Roger Barr broke new ground in videogame journalism with his piercing critique of E3 2012. For anyone who has ever wanted to know the real E3 be??hind the glitz and glamor, his video series was mandatory viewing.

RoG took time from working on his next game, Bionic Chainsaw Pogo Gorilla, to return to the LA Convention Center and turn the ESA's dog and pony show ?on its he?ad once more. It may be the most important thing you watch all year.

Check the second part of RoG's exposé below, and also check out the rest of his award-winning catalog over on his YouTube page.

Some Things I Saw At E3 2013 - Part 1! [YouTube]

Some Things I Saw At E3 2013 - Part 2! [YouTube]

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Britain's worst newspaper has the best review

British tabloid The Daily Mail has a review for The Last of Us, a game enjoying perhaps the most unanimous critical acclaim in videogame history. The Mail, ever a bastion of wisdom and judicious thinking, feels it doesn't need to add to the praise, instead posting this amazing review:

There are not enough words or pages on the internet to describe just how good The Last of Us is. All I am going to say is this: why waste time reading about The Last Of Us when you could be playing it.

That, by the way, is the entirety of the review. Two whole sentences, the latter of which isn't even relevant since the game's not been officially released yet. However, while it may seem I'm mocking the paper for its terse review, I must stress this is probably the best written, most honest, least irresponsible thing the Daily Mail has ever published. 

Now let us look forward to the Mail blaming this five-star game for vio??lence on London's streets in a few weeks' time. 

The post The Daily Mail’s review of The Last of Us is incredible appeared first on Destructoid.

Destructoid offers a re-BUTT-al

In a recent article on Kotaku, writer Patricia Hernandez pointed out that,?? while Nintendo will censor asses, it has no problem showcasing a delicious penis.&nbs?p;

She used Animal Crossing: New Leaf as evidence, criticizing Nintendo's hypocrisy for censoring an ass in Fire Emblem while allowing Michelangelo's David to strut his stiffening stuff. Well, like her, I also have New Leaf, and I can confirm Animal Crossing is?? actual??ly pretty consistent with the dong-to-derriere ratio. 

After getting a visit from art dealer Redd in my own town (the noble town of Chungus), my eyes were naturally drawn to the pebbly posterior you see before you. While Kotaku would have you believe that Nintendo is anti-bum, I have evidence that it considers both the front and the back door equally valid -- at least as far as New Leaf is concerned. 

Our scientists have zoomed in on the offending article, and enhanced the image, allowing you to have a really close look at the ;contours of each plump chee?k, as we?ll as observe the shading definition at the point where two innocent thighs become unmistakable territory for sin and degradation. 

The so-called "Robust Statue" may be art, or it may be base pornography. That all depends on your sensibilities and standing with the Good Lord. The undeniable truth, however, is that Nintendo is not hiding all the asses from us. Nintendo deserves better than to?? be viewed as some sort of anal Gargamel, kidnapping our rumps for selfish endeavors. 

Wh?y did Kotaku hide this from you? Was it part of s??ome anti-penis agenda? That's not for me to say. That is for you to say -- a lot. Like, all the time. Start saying it now. 

I'm doing videogame journalism.

The post Kotaku lied: Nintendo loves penises AND butts! appeared first on Destructoid.

Keep your head down, then rewrite the story

Recently, John Walker at Rock, Paper, Shotgun wrote a compelling article on SimCity, and how Electronic Arts' maintenance of radio silence has dem?onstrated total effectiveness in getting everybody to shut up. The basic argument is that any controversy can be sufficiently buried, provided those involved keep their lips glued and wait for the media to wander off bored. 

"Silence is a powerful weapon in the industry," Walker?? wrote. "The mad truth is, when it comes to gaming controversies, if you ignore it it will go away. This article is a fairly futile attempt to not let it, and to make sure our read??ers know that EA and Maxis never spoke to us, never responded to any of our questions, and never sent so much as a statement."

This is, sadly, a very stark reality in the game industry. No matter how badly a publisher screws its customers, no matter how controversial a game release, all a company has to do is close ranks and hold a phalanx position until the attackers stop poking -- and they will. 

Being indig?nant, no matter how righteously, is a game of diminishing returns, one that always ends in sil??ence. 

The trouble with games media -- and indeed most news-based media -- is that it's predominantly reactionary. If there is action in the industry, the bloggers and journalists can react. Conversely, without action, there can be no reaction. During SimCity's launch, Electronic Arts and EA Maxis made all sorts of statements and promises -- activities we could react to, in order to keep the story going and add to the pressure being a??pplied to the companies involved. 

As soon as EA and Maxis keep their heads down, however, the story largely goes away, almost instantly. After all, most of the information comes directly from the companies, so if they stop giving out, there's nothing to take. A number of outlets can continue to ask for comments from these companies, but with launch period over and a reduced need for promotion, the chances of getting a response start shrinking at a rapid ??pace. Rock, Paper, Shotgun learned this -- it's attempted to get a comment repeatedly, but to no avail. Neither EA nor Maxis have to say anything anymore -- they had their SimCity launch, they got their money, now they just need to sit back and let the bad press shrivel into oblivion. 

Aliens: Colonial Marines is another fine example. During launch, there was plenty to dig up about what I still maintain is one of the most fascinating screw-ups in recent videogame memory. At first, it was amazing to see how deep the rabbit hole went, to try and work out how six years of Gearbox time led to such an unfinished mess of a game, attempting to fathom how much of the project was outsourced to TimeGate, and who developed what. But during this time, Gearbox was largely maintaining a stonewall of silence, and even outspoken developer Randy Pitchford limited himself to a tiny handful of Twitter outbursts. 

Nowadays, Pitchford spends his time retweeting positive comments about Colonial Marines, talking up the fanbase and boasting about how many people like it. As negative coverage dries up, these tactics begin to succeed, rewriting the narrative to shut out the criticism and portray a story where only positivity exists. People like me, who covered the debacle extensively, get referred to as harmful individuals, out ??to personally injure the studio for some vin?dictive agenda.

This is the s?econd major problem with covering these kinds of controversial games -- do it enough, a?nd publishers start to paint you as a lunatic. 

We saw this recently with Peter Moore, responding preemptively to its "victory" in The Consumerist's Worst Company of America competition. Moore, having already guessed EA would clinch the prize, wrote a blog demonizing EA's critics, suggesting that most people who dislike the company are homophobes angry about Mass Effect's same-sex romance, or irrational maniacs upset over certain athletes appearing on Madden box art. While EA maintains total silence over legitimate complaints -- such as knowingly launching a game that would be broken by design -- Moore pens self-serving fan fi??ction ?in which EA's raked over the coals exclusively by bigots and bedlamites. 

The real kicker is, if you want to keep these stories alive, if you care about industry bullshit and feel it's too important to simply forget, you have no choice but to reinforce the publisher's narrative and look like a vindictive crackpot. After all, if publishers are staying quiet, if they're ignoring your requests for comments, what can you do? At that point, your options are l??imited, and mostly involve inventing new articles from whole cloth -- be it a no-news post that simply reminds people a certain problem still exists, or finding some contrived way to pen a "fresh" op-ed on things people already know about. At that point, you end up becoming the very fanatic publishers say you are. 

Most writers don't want to do that. They don't want to become some raving demagogue, and I do find it hard to blame them. Some games writers want to just write about the software and blot out the seedy surroundings -- and I get that. Hell, many readers want that, and I understand it completely. In fact, if you cover a topic t??oo many times, most readers will start a backlash, which is another issue that?? cripples one's ability to keep the pressure on. 

A cat may love being petted, but if you do it to the point of over-stimulation, they start to bite the hand that's stroking, and no matter how passionate gamers are about a subject -- they will grow tired of it in time. It's a natural reacti??on, and one that I can't blame anybody for, especially in an age of information overload, where news moves quickly and no subject can stick around for long. 

Once a reader has had his or her fill of a topic, the backlash begins. The shitstorm surrounding SOPA?? was exciting to most people for a while, but it required a lot of coverage to truly communicate how vile it was, and a lot of coverage -- in the Internet age of aggressive apathy -- is too much coverage. It didn't take long for comments to go from intrigued to lethargic, w??ith calls for Destructoid to "let it go" and "move on" and "just go back to talking about videogames."

Be it about online passes, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Electronic Arts or harmful legislation, I've been told to "get over it" more than I can adequately remember. I've gotten told to "get over" almost everything I continue to care about, and I dare say it's a familiar phrase to anybody who's talked about a certain controversial subject for a long enough amount of time. Sadly, that's exactly what publishers bank on. It's just what they're waiting for. All they have to do is batten down the hatches, erect the flame shield, and wait for the community to turn on itself, to split between those who have gotten over it, and those who need to get over it.

Eventually, apathy wins, everybody gets over it, and the publisher can h??ype its next unfinished piece of shit, that the cycle may begin anew. 

So what can be done? Nothing, probably. Just keep on keeping on. However, I do hope that those who do "get over" these things, and angrily demand others join them, understand that they're essentially a brick in the publisher's stonewall. Nobody is obligated to be angry and indignant -- I would not be so arrogant as to demand any reader or fellow writer take up arms for a cause they don't believe in, and more than likely don't think matters. However, I do ask for an understanding equal to mine -- an understanding that it's equally arrogant to demand others stop caring about something, just because you don't care.

There are many who continue to give a shit about SimCity, Aliens, and all sorts of other nasty industry crap, and they're having a hard enough time keeping the discussion alive with ??publishers attempting to drown the?m out and snootily dismiss them as a "vocal minority."

And that goes double for the "game journalists" of the industry. Those whose job it is to cover the industry and serve the readers, yet tell other writers to get over it, to stop whining, and to just talk about videogame press releases. Those journalists who call angry gamers "entitled" and dismiss their complaints. Those journalists who join publishers -- often publicly laughing with them -- and ??sneer at anybo??dy with a criticism. You know who you are. I know who you are. And I know Electronic Arts is not your friend, no matter how much you cuddle up to them. 

It should, really, go triple for publishers themselves. It should be said that they'd be best served not looking like decadent aristocrats, smugly dumping on the "vocal minority" and boasting about how much money they've made, as if raking in ill-gotten dubloons is an automatic invalidation of any complaint, rather than a fallacious use of argumentum ad populum. It should be said, b???ut what's the point trying to squeeze blood from that stone?

After all, these are ??the words of a lunatic from the fringe minori??ty, who really should get over it.

But won't.

The post SimCity, Colonial Marines, and The Silence appeared first on Destructoid.

Will discuss journalism, JRPGs, and probably corgis

Longtime game and music journalist and -- oh yeah -- Destructoid editor-in-chief Dale North will be available for your viewing, listening, and creeping pleasure at PAX East this week with two awesome ??panels:

Do JRPGS Really Still Matter (Saturday 3/23 10:00AM - 11:00AM;? Archnid T??heatre)

"From Final Fantasy to Chrono Trigger, Japanese role-playing games have played an integral role in many of our lives. But some say they’re obsolete. Stagnant. Even dead. It’s 2013: do JRPGs really still matter, or are fans just clinging to a stale genre that reminds them of their childhood? Join Kotaku’s Jason Schreie??r, Destructoid’s Dale North, and Polygon’s Alexa Corriea and Phil Kollar for a conversation about the past, present, and future of Japanese RPGs."

Why would you WANT to be a video game journalist? (Saturday 3/23 12:30PM - 1:30PM; Naga Theatre)

"Every year at PAX we have panels about how to break in to video game journalism, but are you sure you know why you’d want to? Is the career what you really think it is? Come hear some stories?? about the challenges and pitfalls of getting to know the video game journalism industry from the inside."

Pro-tip: Talk cameras, corgis, froyo, hair grooming and Atlus to get on Dale's good side, which will probably end up with him firing me and putting you in my place. Just remember to keep your cool. I know, I know: Catching a 3D, photorealistic Dale North in the wi?ld can get exciting.

Also, don't forget to check out our Twitch channel and stay tuned for more written and video exclusive interviews.

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Ziff Davis shutting down some of its recent acquisitions

IGN laid off several members of its editorial team today. The move follows IGN's recent sale to Ziff Davis Media, ?which also? plans to close subsidiaries 1UP, GameSpy, and UGO as a part of the restructuring. 

"Our goal is to do fewer things and to do them exceptionally well," reads an internal memo from Ziff Davis CEO Vivek? Shan. "In that vein, we want to direct all of our energy and work behind our two flagship brands: IGN and AskMen."

The full memo can be found below, detailing?? the Ziff Davis' strategy for the outlets going forward.

Today, we took some diff?icult but important actions that will ensure the continued growth and health of IGN and AskMen. Before I go into more details about the changes, you should know that they resulted in the elimination of jobs at IGN. It's always upsetting to say goodbye to colleagues and let's do wh??at we can to help these employees as they seek new opportunities.

It's also important for you to know that we are absolutely confident that we now have the best structure and team to successfully move ??the company forward and that there are no further planned reductions.

The changes we made today are designed to allow us to Simplify and Focus. Our goal is to do fewer things and to do them exceptionally well. In that vein, we want to direct all of our energy and work behind our two flagship brands: IGN ??and AskMen. They are both category killers and share a vision of a multi-screen (PCs,?? tablets, smartphones, TV) and multi-format (text, photos and video) world.

As a result of our decision to focus on our core brands, we are:
· Winding down 1UP.com, UGO.com and GameSpy.com;
· No longer ad repping 3rd party sites such as GameStop.com and FamilyGuy.com;
· Actively engaged with parties interested in acquiring IPL. IGN's role going forward will be to broadcast and cover a variety of eSports events;
· Dividing our ad sales t??eam into two: one focused on IG?N and the other focused on AskMen.

On the IGN front, Peer Schneider will continue t?o oversee all of editorial and product, focusing those resources exclusively on IGN. The foundation of this entire company is its content and we will continue to have the best people in the industry producing it.

Charlie Barrett will oversee the monetization of IGN everywhere in the U.S. - PCs, tablets, smartphones, YouTube??, consoles - and now be able to concentrate the sales and ad ops teams' efforts where they can make the most impact.

Frank Puma will assume an exciting new role as executive director of programs and solutions, reporting to Charlie. The sales developme?nt, design and creative teams will report to Frank, whose charge is to deliver world-class advertising experiences.

A new head of engineering and technology? for IGN will be recruited as quickly as possible. Tech has a monumental role to play in the growth of IGN and will be committe??d to working hand-in-glove with edit, product and sales.

On the AskMen front, Ric Poupada will continue to oversee all aspects of the AskMen organization and is excited to have a new VP of sales, Paul Chenier, reporting to him. Paul has been a longtime advocate of the AskMen brand and?? is one of the most talented sales executives in our organization. Having him build a dedica??ted AskMen ad sales team will do wonders for the business.

Ian Chambers will continue to run Intern?ational out of the UK for both IGN and AskMen and we're thrilled with the ?performance of our businesses overseas.

Mike Etheridge will be the?? VP of finance and operations for IGN and AskMen, working across all of the departments to ensure that we're growing our business, expanding our margins and making metric-based decisions.

Rachelle Igoe will be the head of human resources for IGN and AskMen, ensuring that we continue to nurture, attract and retain the best ??talent in the industry.

I'm sure that there will be a number of questions in the days and weeks ahead but please know that we will be a better functioning and nimbler organization from this mom??ent forwa??rd.

IGN hit with layoffs, 1UP?, UGO and GameSpy shutting down [Polygon]

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Shave his head? Never in a million years

While some argue the PlayStation 4 reveal event wasn't as full of megaton announcements as it should have been, many glossed over one important and startling bit of news -- Ninja Theory's Tameem Antoniades has hacked off the hair upon which Dante's locks from DmC: Devil May Cry were based. 

An effort to distance comparisons between Dante and he? A chance to escape the critique of those who blame him for Dante's stylistic overhaul? His personal tribute to Richard O'Brien? Whatever the reason, one thing is clear -- this was the biggest story of Sony's event, and only Dest?ructoid has the brass ones to bring you this sizzling journalism. 

We may not have gotten a glimpse at the PS4 itself, but Tam Tam's new form factor is a sight to behold. Maybe this is a clue as to what Dante will look like in DmC 2: Deviler May Cryer!

Oh, and ap??paren?tly Sony spelled his name wrong. 

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Sleaze meets sleaze to have a sleazy little baby

The Sun loves to talk about how dangerous those violent videogames are, and frequently runs stories vilifying interactive entertainment for inspiring crime and teaching the youth of Britain all sorts of terrible things. Still, that won't stop it from running pictures of a naked lady in the name of advertising Crysis 3. 

This tabloid's love of basically-porn-that-somehow-isn't-porn has been a long-standing hypocrisy every time it tries to play the moral guardian, but things get extra delicious when its love of the scant ?is used to promote the very videogames it demonizes. Not that Electronic Arts is off the hook, either -- it makes itself look like a mainstream doormat by cuddling up to a half-baked "news" rag with a firmly established anti-game agenda. 

The woman, as a matter of general information, is Ashley Roberts, a judge on one of the dozens of "people performing a thing in a contrived thing" TV shows Britain has. As there's no way of running this story without a picture of her, but no way to criticize the picture without subsequently being a hypocrite, I have plastered a great bi?g Ekans over her nuddy regions. I've also added a Skitty in the corner, for fashion's sake. 

Long story short -- the Sun's a load of two-faced drivel, Electronic Arts should have more respect for its games than t??his, and Ekans is still the best Pokemo??n.

The post EA + Tabloid = Half-??naked woman in Crysis 3 bodypaint appeared first on Destructoid.

Junk mail of an entirely different flavor

We certainly get sent all manner of weird tat and nonsense in our role as semi-professional videogame jesters, and sometimes it's just ridiculous enough to achieve the desired effect and get a post. Here's 505 Games, literally sending me rubbish to promote Terraria's XBLA/PSN release.

It's a game about crafting stuff from stuff, so what better way to promote the console port than with a box full of pebbles an??d a rubber pickaxe? To the marketing department, it's a savvy and cute?? idea. To me, it's a box of stones I now have to deal with. Well played, 505. Well played.

Game's out in Spring. Now if you'll excuse me, my hands are covered in grit and stone dust. My job is so beautifu??lly ridiculous. 

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Developer gives Erin Burnett a furious piece of his mind

Last week, we talked about how CNN anchor Erin Burnett desperately tried to link videogames to violent ??cr??ime, attempting as she did to lead a psychologist into agreeing with her, and appe??aring flustered when he didn't. She wants her viewers to belie?ve games turn people into killers, and funnily enough, many of us found that intellectually offensive. 

One such offended party happened to be David Jaffe, who addressed Erin Burnett via the magic of Twitlonger and launched into a massively wordy as??sault that dressed the journalist down something fi?erce. 

"You, ma'am, are at best an idiot that CNN should be ashamed to have as an an?chor," he began. "At worst, you are the worst kind of American: one who has allowed the healthy desire for success to morph into a capitalistic cancer that makes it ok to ignore the facts in order to make your product more appealing, regardless of the consequences.

"To make matters worse, your own views about v??ideo games -- which you seem to have no problem sharing with your hundreds of thousands of viewers -- clearly have not been formed by any actual research or real life experience with the medium."

Jaffe mentioned how there's zero research to support the belief that videogames make people violent, though I imagine that's barking up the wrong tree with Burnett. She clearly didn't care about evidence when she steamrolled her guest the moment he started disagreeing with her. Jaffe went for the jugular, though, bringing up the social dangers presented by Erin's industry, rather than his. 

"There is very real evidence that our society suffers greatly when our news media fails to properly inform the public," he told her. "The fact that you think a guy who 'trains' on a shooting videogame would be granted the skill to horrificall??y, tragically kill those CHILDREN in Norway only serves to show how little research you do before you open your mouth in front of your world wide audience under the guise of delivering news.

"I'm not sure what makes your argument look more ignorant: the fact that you don't back up your idiotic statement by showing a correlation to the current health of America's agriculture sector with the popularity of Farmville OR the fact that the sic?k, deranged evil loser who killed those poor kids in Norway had picked such a poor 'training' tool that after 700 hours of play, he was only capable of hitting little kids with his bullets versus the well armed pretend terrorists and highly skilled virtual soldiers that he was battling in the game.

"Shame on yo??u," he concludes. "But more importantly: ??shame on your profession. It deserves so much better."

A scathing retort -- words Erin will likely ignore, but ultimately deserved to hear. Her?? little performance on CNN was simply staggering in its offensive ignorance, and I do hope she got nothing but negative feedback as a result of flinging her shit around on national television.

David Jaffe Lashes Out at CNN Anchor [The Escapist]

The post David Jaff?e launches glorious verbal attack on CNN anchor appeared first on Destructoid.

News Corp hands over gaming site as part of 'restructuring'

j2 Global subsidiary Ziff Davis has acquired IGN, following months of rumors that News Corp, run by billionaire tyrant Rupert Murdoch, was looking to offload the ?site in a "restructuring" plan. IGN, of course, also owns AskMen and GameSpy, which shall also become property of Ziff. 

"Joining Ziff Davis’s world-class digital media portfolio further strengthens IGN and AskMen’s growing presence in international markets," claimed IGN in a statement to VG247. "Alongside our local teams in the UK and Australia, we have developed a global network of expert publishing partners that deliver locally relevant con??tent in 10 languages and over ??40 countries. By combining our forces we will reach a greater audience of males 18-34 than ever before."

Ziff Davis once owned 1UP, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and UGO before filing for bankruptcy in 2009.

The post Ziff Davis buys IGN appeared first on Destructoid.

Anderson Cooper's Town Hall special discusses gun violence

It might be easy to label all major news pundits as being dangerously ignorant of videogames, especially when it concerns sexual or violent content. However, we ought to know better than to paint everyone with the same broad brush strokes. Believe it or not, there are in fact media personalities who don't immediately jump on the "gam??es are evil" narrative.

Earlier today, Jim discussed CNN's Erin Burnett and her obvious agenda. But on the very same channel, we have Anderson Cooper, a man far more sensible and open-minded ?than his peers.

Last night, I tuned in to Cooper's Town Hall: Guns Under Fire special, where a guest panel discussed possible ways to address gun violence in America in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting and related events. While videogames weren't the primary focus of the discussion, the topic undoubtedly came up, and I'm plea?sed that they were able to address it in a cool, level-headed manner.

You ought to check out the entire thing, but if you just want ??to watch the videogames segmen?t, it's this clip labeled "The mental health stigma and violence."

Cheryl Olson, co-author of the games violence research book Grand Theft Childhood, was on hand to once again point out there is little evidence to support any link between violent games and real-world violence. From her studies, she learned, "[T]he typical 13-year-old boy is playing at least one mature-rated violent game on a regular basis. And when you are looking at something very rare like a school shooting, and something that's statistically normal like pla??ying violent videogames, it's kind of hard to make that link."

Cooper agrees, "I looked at the study ?in ten different countries between gun violence and videogame sales, and it doesn't seem like there's a link in all these different countries."

The discussion then shifts towards children suffering from mental health issues, and from there the paneli?sts begin talking about the difficulties parents face in getting even so much as a proper diagnosis and treatment for their mentally ill kids.

Audience member Liza Long is invited to stand up and share the story of her 13-year-old son, who exhibits great mental instability and a proclivity towards violence. Long fears that her son has the potential to be a school shooter o?ne day, but her efforts to seek proper treat??ment are hindered by doctors who would rather throw more medicine at him and authorities who would rather throw the boy in prison.

As it turns out, Long's son does not play first-person shooters and its ilk, instead preferring Minecraft and Dungeons & Dragons. His issues clearly do not stem from the media he consumes, yet because current laws and medical policies are reactive rather than proactive, there's very little Long can do to prevent a potentia??l incident down the road.

Granted, videogames are but a small portion of the entire Town Hall, but when it is touched upon, it's done with serious class. This may not seem like the most mind-blowing discour??se to you -- these are the kinds of conclusions game bloggers and other pro-game outlets draw on a regular basis -- but considering it's a public forum held in front of possibly millions of viewers, it's very refreshing to hear.

So yeah, more of that on TV, please.

The post Whoa! A gun viole?nce talk? that does NOT blame games! appeared first on Destructoid.

Erin Burnett wants psychologist to say things he doesn't believe

CNN's Erin Burnett last night tried desperately to make a psychologist blame videogames for gun violence, attempting to coerce him into agreeing with ??her that "violent" games make pe??ople more likely to kill. 

"There's a saying ??that guns don't k?ill people, videogames do," began Burnett, before she invited William Pollack onto the show to try and make him confirm it. 

Pollack, for his part, was quick to label M-rated ??games as "heinous" and said he believed fantasy violence ought to be controlled by the government. However, his qualifying sentiment that videogames alone can't turn a person into a killer seemed to ag?gravate Burnett, who continued to push him into saying otherwise. 

When Pollack mentioned assault rifles, and implied gun control was important, Burnett brought up Norway shooter Anders Breivik, subscribing to the murderer's claims that he was able to train himself to shoot a real gun playing Call of Duty. In response, Pollack again restated his belief that games are a problem, but not the problem, ??prompting Burnett to expose the real motive behi??nd her interview. 

If you watch the video above, you'll see at the 5:34 mark where Burnett cuts to the chase, rudely cutting into Pollack as he says controlling fantasy violence won't solve all of our problems, to ask again, "Does it cause violence?" She then completely steamrolls over whatever he was about to say to bring up Grand Theft Auto. It's painfully clear how irritated sh??e is that this guy isn't just blindly nodding t??o every engineered opinion she presents. 

"You kill a prostitute, and that's a big thing, you get to win points," lied Burnett??. "I find that offensive. But does that mean that those people who play that game are more likely to kill people?"

Pollack's answer? No. He said there was absolutely no evidence, though admitted gamers may be less willing to break up fights and may engage in domestic violence. As questionable and alarmist as even that is, it?? clearly wasn't the answer the CNN reporter had hoped for. ??;

As the interview concludes, I urge you to take a moment to observe Erin Burnett, stuttering, dejected, and visibly disappointed -- a far cry from the look of petulant smugness she begins the interview wearing. She wanted a psychologist to say violent videogames cause killers, and got one who said they don't. She wanted her assumptions to be backed up, and was told there no evidence supported her opinion. ?The sorrow on her face? says it all. 

Naturally, Erin and her sordid ilk will continue to bang on the same drum, and can find any number of alleged psychologists who will say anything they want. With that in mind, it's a small comfort, but it is nice to see a panic-mongering hack squirm after utterly failing to get the story she so pi??tifully and obviously tried to claw for herself.

The post CN??N host tries and fails to link videogames to violence appeared first on Destructoid.

Salivate over grade-A man-meat on February 1st

[Update: Leigh Alexander has decided to call off the event, following an examination of potential risks. It's been proposed that the event alienates those who do not neatly fit into the straight male and straight female dynamic, ?not to mention potentially distressing those for whom the subject of objectification is no laughing matter. 

"What I wanted to encourage through humor was caring, empathy and a willingness to listen and educate -- now I've been asked to change course, and by calling a halt to #Objectify I hope I'm modeli?ng those same qualities myself," explained Alexander.

With so many people who are s??ure to be smug dicks about this, it took some guts to call the event off, so major respect due. For the record, I will still be dem??anding Holmes put on his mesh tank top.]

On February 1, everybody involved ??in the tech industry -- including gadgets, computing, and videogames -- is being encouraged to objectify male writers in a bid to demonstrate what it's like to never be recognized for your work before your looks. Whenever you share a link from a male writer that day, be sure to mention how they have great hair, or pre?tty eyes, or that you want to bang them.

The event was put together by omnipresent writer Leigh Alexander and her friend Ben Abraham. They wanted a fu??n way to generate discussion about the outwardly harmless objectification that occurs whenever an audience seems unable to talk about a female writer's latest published article without first making sure everybody knows they're attractive -- or unattractive, as the case may be.

"The purpose isn't to show men what it feels like to be objectified, but to catalyze exactly these kinds of conversations and begin a fun, non-hostile dialogue on how irrelevant gendered compliments are to people's achievements," explained Leigh on the event's Facebook page. "Hopefully the?? net effect will be that next time, before someone comments on a woman's work with a superficial compliment, they remember she's a person who'd like to be recognized for her work."

Rarely, when a male writer's work is linked on a blog or social network, does his appearance come up. Not that it doesn't happen -- my own fatty-fatness seems to be more important to some commenters than my actual writing -- but I can certainly attest to seeing the words of my non-male writing friends inextricably linked to their physicality. Even when that link is complimentary, it's still an objectifying thing.

As Leigh asserts, it's not about making men feel bad. Some have suggested the event will "backfire" when male writers find themselves flattered and pleased by the compliments they rarely get. The goal was never to make anybody actually feel objectif??ied??, though. It's more about pointing out how weird it is to actually go to the effort of associating physical features with mental output.

Basically, once you start objectifying a male writer for no good reason, you can gain a n?ew appreciation for just how strange and uncalled for it is -- and if it's creepy or odd to you that you're making a point to say Justin McElroy has beautiful, creamy thighs, maybe you could try and think how it looks when you're saying similar things about Colette Bennett.

As for me, I very much spearheaded male writer objectification with my love for Jonathan Holmes which, naturally, is one of the reasons Objectify A Male Tech Writer Day has become my new Christmas. I shall be demanding Jonathan Holmes put on a mesh tanktop and shake that booty on top of a lo?wrider -- but this time I'll be doing it in the spirit of the season!

If you'd like to talk about the steel nipples and glazed necks of the industry's hottest slabs of boyflesh, feel free to get salivating on February 1 with the help of the #Objectify Twitter hashtag. You can also read Leigh's FAQ on the plan to get better acquainted with it --?? probably a useful resource for anybody planning to mouth off about how insulting the ??day is or how it's going to magically stop all sexism forever.

As ??for me, I'm off to tell Be??n Kuchera he's got pretty, pretty lips.

The post Objectify A Male Tech Writer Day [Update] appeared first on Destructoid.

Man on Internet says things in 'saying things' SHOCKER!

Remember that guy who said Microsoft's Xbox division cannot be sustained by the company? Well, here comes another analyst with the same suggestion, going so far as to believe rival Sony could acquire the brand. Them's ?some damning words!

"The entertainment division will be spun off, sold to someone like Sony or possibly Barnes & Noble, or dramatically reduced in size," said Forbes' Adam Hartung. "Unable to make a profit it wi??ll increasingly be seen as a distraction to the battle for saving Windows -- and Microsoft leadership has long shown they have no i??dea how to profitably grow this business unit.

"As more and more of the market shifts to competitive cloud infrastructure Apple, Amazon, Samsung and others will grow significantly.  Microsoft, losing its user base, will demonstrate its inability to build a new business in the cloud, mimicking its historical failures with Zune (mobile music) and Microsoft mobile phone??s.  Microsoft server and tool sales will suffer, creating a much more difficult profit environment for the sole remaining profitable division."

Hartung goes as far as to say that the rise in power of Android and iOS, as well as the decline of the PC m?arket, "means nothing short of the ruin of Microsoft." Mass layoffs are expected, along with the financial loss of anybody who remains invested in the company. It's suggested that nothing can halt Microsoft's fall into the abyss. 

"... failure is already inevitable," he continues. "At this stage, not even a new CEO can save Microsoft. Steve Bal???lmer played 'Bet the Company' on the long-delayed release of Win8, losing the chanc??e to refocus Microsoft on other growing divisions with greater chance of success. Unfortunately, competitors already had enough chips to simply bid Microsoft out of the mobile game -- and Microsoft’s ante is now long gone -- without holding a hand even remotel??y able to turn around the product situation.

"Game over. Ballmer loses. And if you keep yo??ur money invested in Microsoft it will disappear along with the compa?ny."

Astute analysis? Rampant click-bait pr??esented by myself just because it's rampant click-bait on a slow news day? Whatever you reckon (it's the latter), it seems a handful of writers are really sticking it to Microsoft lately, who seem to believe Google and Apple have ?finally put themselves in a position to slay the beast that is Microsoft. 

Okay, so the guy might just be mental, but imagine a Sony-branded Xbox. If there's one thing this industry needs, it's the combination of overpriced Av?atar items AND f?irmware updates. Talk about a power couple!

The post Some g?uy: Xbox might be sold to Sony,? Microsoft is ruined appeared first on Destructoid.

Twelve months of outrage

Another year, another round ?of videogame controversies! 2012 was perhaps one of the biggest years ever for scandal and strife, filled with sexism, lies, and ... ??Doritos? 

We've compiled the most outrageous outrages of the year, though?? narrowi??ng it down to just the biggest and most explosive stories was pretty damn tough. Come with us on a trip down memory lane, as we look at the biggest videogame controversies of 2012. 

Retake Mass Effect

In the eyes of some, Mass Effect is to videogames what Star Wars is to film. Such a comparison holds water when you take a look at the fanbase, especially its reaction to Mass Effect 3. This was the big finale, the culmination of a trilogy in which millions of gamers had invested their time, their interest and, yes, even their emotion. In many ways, its ending was guaranteed to piss people off, as nobody can put so much personal stock in a story and not feel disappointed by the way it concludes. However BioWare ended it, it'd never be exactly what individual fans envisioned. 

Nevertheless, nobody was quite prepared for the backlash. Aside from the usual Metacritic mauling, petitions were erected to have BioWare change the ending. Business authorities were notified as fans accused BioWare and Electronic Arts of lying. Cupcakes were sent to the studio's office in protest. The biggest sticking point lay in how commercials promised fans that every choice they'd made in the series mattered, when in reality the ending all came down to one of three "choose your ending" options, like any ot??her videogame. 

The anger became focused into the "Retake Mass Effect" campaign, which eventually got big enough to where BioWare released new downloadable content in order to "contextualize" the ending. For some, this was the olive branch they wanted. For others, it fixed nothin?g. Even now, months after the game's release, the debate as to whe?ther or not fans were ultimately cheated by BioWare rages on. 

Are you right there, Phil Fish?

There is a reason public relations is such a big sector of the game industry, and it's because game developers seem to have a habit of really putting their feet in their mouths. Phil Fish, already a controversial figure in the indie development scene, demonstrated just how badly things can go when you utter the wrong thing, after he said to a Japanese developer, "Your games just suck."

Of course, he went and said this right before his project of many years, FEZ, was slated to launch on Xbox Live Arcade. Years and years of promotion and hype, undone by a single sentence. Pretty soon, whenever FEZ was mentioned, talk emerged on whether or not ????the creator was a racist. There were gamers who refused to buy the game, due to concerns over supporting a bigot, while others were simply angry that he'd so bluntly write off an entire sector of game development. 

Chances are pretty good that Fish, for all his faults, is not a racist. His dismissal of an entire nation's games, however, was undoubtedly ignorant, and it's not hard to see why so many were offended. Nevertheless, FEZ performed quite well and enjoyed huge critical acclaim. Just a shame about that patch. 

The diabolical disaster of Error 37

Diablo III was one of the most anticipated games of the year, and after making six million sales in a week, it was easily among the biggest successes. Nevertheless, the game's always-online requirements remained a sticking point, especially when the glorified DRM meas?ure meant users couldn't get into the game on launch day. 

Many gamers trying to log in were hit with "Error 37" messages, Diablo III's servers unable to handle the masses of would-be heroes frantically attempting to enjoy the game they just paid for. The whole mess illustrated the major problem with PC gaming at the moment, as paying consumers feel less like customers and more like lodgers, enjoying temporary stays in a ga?me's world at the mercy of corporate landlords.

Nobody owns the games they pay for, and handing over your $60 doesn't guarantee you th?e ability to play what you bought -- and that's kind of not cool.

Street Fighter X Tekken X Disc-Locked Content

On-disc DLC is not a new concept, but gamers are growing increasingly tired of having to buy "extra" content that was already surreptitiously sold to them. This weariness came to head with Street Fighter X Tekken, featuring as it did a f??ull roster of playable characters hidden on the disc, wait??ing to be unlocked via later purchases of "downloadable" content. 

Despite the usual load of excuses (separate budgets, multiplayer ??integration, etc.), Capcom's behavior in this instance was largely considered a case of going way too far. Full character models, along with prologue and ending movies, were all sat there like sleeper agents, and it came off as more than a little i?nsulting. 

Capcom, for its part, would go on to say that it'd be "re-evaluating" its DLC policies in the future, though admitted Dragon's Dogma would still ship with disc-locked content. It remains to be seen whether or not Capcom can continue to resist this tacky b??usiness practice, or if it'll go back to old habits once it think?s the heat is off. 

Bayonetta 2 ... U MAD?

Perhaps one of the more ridiculous outrages this year concerned Bayonetta 2, a game that simply would not have existed without Nintendo's support. That didn't stop "fans" being utterly disgusted that the sequel would be a Wii U exclusive, seemingly preferring to have no game at all rather th??an one bound to Nintendo's newest home console. 

Within moments of the game's announcement, folk were flinging shit around their cages in furious protest, sending such vile messages to Hideki Kamiya as, "I better see an Xbox release in future or I'll kill you," "FU*K you and fu*k YOU Platinum Games. Not buying games from you again. No respect for loyal gamers," and "Platinum studio?? is dead for me. Considering to cancel my MGRising pre-order too."

The term "entitled gamer" is overused and often utilized in the wrong situation, but for this particular debacle, its certainly a term that seems to fit. Bayonetta's fans painted a truly ?despicable picture of themselves that day. 

Doritosgate

An image of Geoff Keighley sat, dead-eyed, next to a bag of Doritos and ?a load of Mountain Dew. It started as a generally humorous image, shared on social networks and used to poke fun at game journalism's increasing proximity to advertising agencies.

Things took a more serious tone, however, when Eurogamer columnist Robert "Rab" Florence penned an article severely criticizing the way in which games media seem to hop gleefully in bed ??with industry PR. In particular, he picked at the British Games Media Awards, a ceremony in which game marketers essentially reward their favorite writers. Even worse, this year they had those same write?rs Tweeting advertising hashtags to try and win a PS3. 

Things took a turn when Rab focused on one particular writer, Lauren Wainwright, who defended the hashtag contest. He noted how her defense of the practice led h??im not to trust her opinion, as someone who justified games medi??a's complicity with product placement. Lauren would go on to accuse Eurogamer of libel, and her employer MCV got involved. Eventually, Eurogamer edited Rab's article to remove Lauren's name, and Florence quit his post at the publication in response. 

This chain of events sent shockwaves throughout the gaming community, forums such as NeoGAF began shining a spotlight on a number?? of dodgy practices, and the media felt the heat. Some outlets wrote up new ethics codes, others promised to cut out publisher-paid preview trips. Many writers took hard, long looks at themselves. Then again, others wrote off the entire thing as unimportant whining, and didn't take the introspective opportunity. Whatever one's opinion, this was easily among the most tumultuous issues of the year, and something I personally haven't forgotten.

The War Z and the war on telling the truth about things

2012 was so packed with kerfuffles that some studios had to wait until the last few weeks of the year to get their turn. Hammerpoint sung out twelve months of controversy with impressive gusto, releasing The War Z under a banner of lies. The game hit Steam with a list of features that weren't even in the game, promising multiple maps, skills, and up to 100 players per server. None of those were available a?t launch. Not only that, but customers weren't told they were playing a glorified alph?a build that, frankly, was a mess. 

The game itself was a huge disappointment. It was less zombie-survival MMO and more all-versus-all deathmatches with snipers talking out unarmed newcomers -- newcomers who'd survive for a few seconds and then have to wait four hours to respawn (unless they made a brand new character or paid Hammerpoint extra cash for an instant revival). As customers got pissed, Hammerpoint spent its time silencing dissent on message boards and attempting to portray complaints as the work of disingenuous fanboys. Valve, however, saw things differently, and actually pulled the game from Steam before offering refunds. 

At the time of writing, more information continues to appear concerning the lazy and sketchy development of The War Z. This is a story that could carry?? us comfortably into? the new year.

2012: The Year of Sexism

The videogame industry is no stranger to social pressure, beset as it is by critics and pundits who wish to blame interactive entertainment for every ill in the world. This year, however, the heaviest of the pressure came from within. 2012 was undoubtedly the year gaming got serious about gender issues, which can be a good or bad thing, and the sheer volume of events that ?happened is staggering. 

There really are too many things that happened to name individually, but a few of the biggest include Hitman: Absolution and a trailer depicting Agent 47 bashing the crap out of fetishized nuns, the attacks on BioWare writer Jennifer Hepler, a women threatened with rape after seeking funds for a video series on videogame gender tropes, and the PR missteps of the Tomb Raider reboot.  

Tomb Raider was arguably the most high-profile issue, a seemingly genuine attempt by Crystal Dynamics to craft a strong female character that managed to offend by beating the crap out of her and promising murky implications of attempted rape. While the game looks on track to be quite good, the big mouths of executives and developers dug themselves into deeper and deeper holes, as they attempted to backtrack on earlier statements and go so far as to deny the word "rape" even exists in their minds. It all got a bit David Brent, to be ??hone?st. 

Of course, while some gamers enjoyed having provocative debates over the problem of sexism in the game industry, others pushed back, angry that their escapism was being dragged into such heated discussion. Whatever your opinion, though, I think we can all agree it's at least a testament to the growth and continued influence of videogames that we can even have these discussions nowadays, where? once any i??ssues would be roundly ignored. 

I mean, you can just i??gnore any controversy that doesn't interest you, right? 

Oh right ... Internet. 

The post The biggest videogame controversies of 2012 appeared first on Destructoid.

Camp hack n' slash can feed your 'Darkest Thoughts'

As if the circular blame game surrounding violent crime wasn't bad enough, one particular British tabloid has decided to implicate Dynasty Warriors in the Adam Lanza school shooting. Yes, we've moved on from Mass Effect and are onto a game that doesn't even feature guns. 

"Chillingly, his favourite video game was said to be a shockingly violent fantasy war game called Dynasty Warriors," writes The Express, "which ?is thought to have given him inspiration to act on his darkest thoughts."

Yes, that's right -- the camp, kung fu B-movie stylings of Dynasty Warriors has transformed, through the power of journalism, into a "violent fantasy war game" with "chilling" implications and the power to feed one's "darkest thoughts." A game with no blood, that refers to defeated opponents as "KO'd," and isn't even rated 18 -- the series is that friggin' tame. 

I already ranted about the cowardly buck-passing of the violence-friendly news media, so I won't go into it again. I will, however, provide video footage of the game thought to encourage the darkest thoughts of a killer, just to highlight what a fucking ??ridiculous bunch of shitting idiots they have writing for the Express. Enjoy!

So very, very chilling. 

The post Dynasty Warriors implicated in school shooting appeared first on Destructoid.

Angry mob goes after games when media misleads them

Yesterday, the mainstream media sunk to a new low in its rush to build the latest death circus. Following a horrific school shooting in a Connecticut kindergarten, news sources -- chiefly CNN -- jumped to dangerous speculation, with reporters going so far as to ??the publicize the killer's Facebook account. 

Unfortunately, it was the wrong Facebook account. Somewhere along the line, people had confused killer Adam Lanza with his brother Ryan, and so several social network profiles with the name of the wrong man were being shared and vilified online. Meanwhile, one of the Ryan Lanzas had to deal with losing his brother (and mother, who was teaching at the school), and found himself accused of murder in a publ??ic spectacle. ;

However, Ryan Lanza was not the only person wrongfully targeted by the media. After discovering his Facebook page, CNN's audience noticed Ryan had "liked" Mass Effect, and ?that tenuous link w?as enough to kickstart a witch hunt.

Ironically, after being inspired to stupidity by bad media influences, a bunch of dribbling idiots went to attack a game for being a bad media influence. 

[Image via Mashable]

"Good job guys, you have blood on your hands that won't wash off," claimed one person. Others called for the game -- one of the least controversial in terms of in-game violence -- to be banned. One person even wanted the developers to be banned somehow, as punishment for,?? "C??reating such sickness."

It's safe to assume none of these attackers actually know what the game is about, and didn't bother finding out before they accused it of "promoting evil" and claimed the ??employees of BioWare need to, "Burn in Hell." Long after it came?? to pass that news sources had screwed up and outed the wrong person, the moral guardians of Facebook continued their assault. Once they sniff blood, the truth no longer matters. 

Right now, the Mass Effect page is flooded by support from fans who have done a good job of swallowing up m?isguided abuse with rationality a??nd reason. Meanwhile, it seems the wolves have begun to slink off and find something else to lash out at. 

Naturally, other news sources went for the blanket approach when finding anything other than the killer to blame for the killings. FOX News brought on alleged analyst Dr. Keith Ablow to claim reality TV and Facebook have reduced our ability to empathize, before saying, "I guess you co?u?ld add gaming to that, computer games."

All during this blame game, the hand-wringing television pundits fail to realize that, through all of this, THEY are the media that seem to inspire a lack of empathy while turning tragedy into a sideshow. THEY are the ones glorifying this type of violence by talking about?? it 24/7 with dramatic recreations, fevered dissemination of any minuscule bit of information, and an obsessive focus on the killer's life. 

When I think about being out of touch with reality, I don't think of gamers, I think of the kind of person who'd tell a game developer to "Burn in Hell" because a wrongfully accused "gunman" happened to like a videogame on Facebook. When I think of a lack of empathy, I think of scores of imbeciles callously blaming innocent people for the deaths of children, just becaus??e they made a product that the assumed killer happened ??to enjoy at one time.

But the "news makers" who wrongfully accused somebody of an awful crime, and inspired their audiences to start harassing innocent people with an onslaught of truly vile insults, will continue to sit in their glass houses, gleefully throwing stones at everybody else while refusing to take a look at their own grimy role in the sleazy carnival of murder. After all, idiots who are quick to hold "the media" to account seem consistently unable to hold the media they consume to the same?? level of scrutiny, so the likes of FOX and CNN never have to feel responsible for the shit they perpetuate.

With that i?n mind ... I guess we'll d??o this again in a few months. 

Fucking hell.

The post Mass Effe??ct and more attacked over school shooting appeared first on Destructoid.

Racism and homophobia not given a looser leash either

Last week, Halo 4 was at the center of a brouhaha with word that sexist behavior in Halo 4 online play would net the user a lifetime ban.

While some folks applauded the measure, others asked why homophobic and racist activity wasn't due the same level of punishment. Others declared that free speech was being infringed upon -- not that free speech laws actually protect sexists, racists, an??d homop??hobes from XBL bans. 

In any case, we spoke with Microsoft to shed light on these questions, and were informed instead that Xbox Live's banning policy had, in fact, not changed, and certainly wasn't being upgraded or altered for Halo 4. 

"While Xbox Live indeed does not condone harassment of any kind, account and console bans are issued based on a robust complaint and evidence-based system," said a spokesperson. "There is no difference in the Xbox Live Terms of Use and Code of Conduct for Halo 4."

In a clarifying phone call, I was informed that sexism is not treated with lesser tolerance than racism, homophobia, or any other type of abuse, and that Microsoft takes each case as it comes. All pricks are treated equally, in other words -- my words, not theirs exactly. 

So there you go. Your sexual harassment will be c?onsidered with just as much gravitas as your decision to insult somebod??y's racial background. That's what we're all striving for, isn't it? Everybody just being bigots together, in perfect harmony!

Or something like that, anyway.

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Earning our karma

I came across Destructoid back in 2006. At the time, it was barely a blip on the industry'??s radar. It was just a pack of dedicated bloggers with a rebellious streak. N??ow, this site has seen at least a dozen of its own graduate and pursue other roles in the gaming industry. It's grown to a site with millions of monthly views. 

Our Special Selections

These are the sites that w??e think are particularly excellent for one reason or another.

Critical Distance and Dire Critic
Kris Ligman contributes to both of these sites on a regular basis. The first, Critical Dis?tance, is a blog dedicated to highlighting other independent blogs. The latter is Kris' personal site and it is fantastic all-around.

Nightmare Mode
Those of you disillusioned with the growing bond between many game journos and PR folks might be in?terested in Nightmare Mode. Run by former Dtoider Patricia Hernandez, the site is personal and honest, which is a lot more than can be said for many other sites these days.

Awesome Out of 10
Several former Dtoiders and thei??r pals contribute to this blog regularly. It seeks to turn the whole notion of numbered scores for games on its head by boiling each game down to a word or phrase... out ?of ten.

Geekdom

Venus Patrol
Venus Patrol focuses on the visual and aesthetic beauty produced by the games industry. Concept art, screens, a?nd side projects all get a fantastic showcase her??e.

Die Gute Fabrik
These guys r??epresent a game studio in Copenhagen. Their team attempts to translate the mechanics of physical games into something ne??w with 21st-century technology.

Unwinnable
Wow... ?just... wow... The scope of Unwinnable is somewhat ridiculous. There's so much content covering so many different aspects of geek culture you are guaranteed to find something you like here.

Dorkisms
Deeply personal and heavy on the swears, Dorkisms is just as the name implies -- ??a dorky place with dorky things.

General Gaming

Brainy Gamer
Are you a scholarly gamer? Do you enjoy your frag fests with a piping hot cup of the finest herbal tea? Brainy gamer might be your place. They try to look past the superficial and get into the meat of games, criticism, and the culture that surrounds them.

Attract Mode
A "videogame collective" of artists, designers, journalists, and the like, Attract Mode is best described as a mini Gamasutra with a much more attractive website.

Twinfinite
When I see the Tw??infinite people at conferences, I ?think of a very young Destructoid. These folks are dedicated and they deserve your clicks.

Action Button
Tim Rogers is a person. And this is his blog. Operating without a standard review format, Tim and friends post some of the more engaging pieces of legitimate criticism I've ever read. Great stuff.

Rock Solid Audio
Run by a former game journo, Rock Solid Audio is a fantastic bl?og from one Nick Suttner.

Beeps and Bloops
Not updated ??very often, Beeps and Bloops is focused on "informed criticism," something that our industry is definitely lacking.

Grantland
I'm going to preface this by saying that if you haven't read Tom Bissell's Extra Lives, you should probably go ta??ke care of that. This? man is a brilliant journalist who happens to be a gamer. His content is fantastic and you need it in your life.

Electron Dance
If you like well-thoug?ht, intelligent discussions about videojuegos, then this another site you can add to your? list of daily bits.

Good Games Writing
This isn't so much a news or reviews blog in the traditional se??nse as it is a place to highlight the best in games journalism. It gave me a smidge of hope amidst the recent Geoff Keighly insanity. It's go??od to know there are people being awesome all the time, everywhere.

Quarter to Three
QtT is rather close to my h??eart a website that acknowledges the apparently c?hronic insomnia of the people who game. Among the sites listed here, this is among the most active and has a relatively high post/day count, so you'll get quite a bit to keep your eyes busy.

Themed websites

Indie Games
It follows that some indie game blogs would be about indie games, right? Well ?this is one of the best. Give it some l?ovin'.

Free Indie Games
The title says it all.

Tiny Cartridge
Are you passionately in love with all things DS? Are you sick and tired of not getting all the DS coverage you feel you des?erve? Tiny Cartridge has you covered.

HookShot Inc.
HookShot Inc. is all about cheap, sma??ll downloadable games that run $15 or less. If you're a gamer?? on a budget, or just love PSN and XBLA, this might be your jam.

Dead End Thrills
Duncan Harris uses heavily modded games and a pretty solid gaming rig to squeeze all the visually beauty he can from ga?mes... then he takes pics. Seriously, if you ever want to see just how pretty some games can get, you should check this guy out.

Rockman Corner & The Mega Man Network
These blogs are all about Mega Man. I mean EVERYTHING Mega Man. From fan art to music to modern film, these people have an obsession. Our very own Mr. Tony Ponce swears by both, and Destructoid editors are never wrong.

We sincerely hope that you'll take a look a??t some of these? sites and give them the traffic and recognition they deserve. If you don't like one, don't worry there's plenty here to keep you occupied for a long time to come.

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