Sunday, November 20, 2011

News Roundup: 20 November 2011

Happy Thanksgiving (Americans)!  The end of the Holiday Rush of Great Games (tm) is finally here!  The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword came out today, and with that, the march to Black Friday begins.  A few interesting stories after the jump!



Sensationalism, hooooo!

Let me be frank: I hate PETA. I think they are silly, small-minded, bleeding-hearted morons who should actually practice what they preach instead of constantly yelling about things. So, when something like this comes out and reinforces my perception of them, I laugh. But, of course, like all idiotic organizations they backpedaled furiously when they realised they were wrong. Still stupid, PETA. (via Game Informer)



I know that Batman save is around here somewhere!

Awful news from Warner Brothers' video game division. It seems that some XBox users are having their Arkham City saves vanish. The company is feverishly trying to find a solution and are asking fans experiencing the issue to head over to the forums and head to this thread. Hopefully this gets resolved soon.



The Jurassic Park Jeep in better days

Telltale Games, makers of awesome adventure games like Back to the Future and the upcoming Heavy Rain-inspired Jurassic Park are having a bit of a dino problem. Kevin Henry, the owner of a Jurassic Park replica Jeep (and a friend of mine from college), has alleged that his Jeep was damaged during this summer's Penny Arcade Expo. Telltale borrowed the Jeep to use in its booth display promoting the upcoming game. Apparently, it was damaged in route back to Denver and insurance is taking time to assess the damages. Henry's angry blog posting found it's way to Reddit, and a good ole fashion Internet Shit-Storm has commenced. According to Henry,

While Kevin Bruner (CEO of Telltale - ed) explains that he has been in constant contact with me, his prior posts on Reddit indicate that he had never heard from me regarding this issue. I explained that Telltale told me to go after the transport company myself, and that’s all they ever said. (The transport company had no liability after Telltale signed for the Jeep). They never indicated that there was a third party insurance company working on the claim. I believe there never was one, and that is why Kevin Bruner is now said to be paying out of his own pocket. This insurance policy that is being 'worked on' was never mentioned in any of their emails after PAX, today is the first I have ever heard of it. What started as a pretty straightforward story has now attracted (people) that think it's all a publicity stunt on the eve of their launch.”

We'll see where this goes from here, but Bruner has offered a personal check to cover the damages. T-Rex accidents are a bitch, eh? (Haha, Colorado humor...oh, that's terrible and I'm sorry).


Maybe, according to Edge. Ubisoft Montreal and one of Sony's in-house teams have been pulled off current hardware and are now starting to work on dev-kits for the new systems. We already knew that Nintendo's Wii-U will be out next year, but the possibility of Microsoft and Sony releasing new systems is news. According to the article, Sony has learned from this generation and won't give Microsoft another year-long headstart. Microsoft might have taken a PR beating with the Red Ring of Death, but they are still on top. So, what will these new systems offer? We've nearly hit the realistic top for graphics. I would expect a bunch of announcements starting in January at CES, and then a news-plosion during June's E3 in Los Angeles.


Being a gamer is great. Being a parent is great. Being a gamer parent is great, too (I'm one). But this? This crosses the line into weird fan-dom territory that borders on insanity. Better hope little Dovahkiin puts a lot of points into Speechcraft and Stealth. He'll need it. You know, to run from the bullies. And hiding. Come on! Nerd humor! … At any rate, the parents and kiddo get Bethesda games for life, so that's cool, I guess. (via Game Informer)


For those getting ready to face the hordes of shoppers next Friday, here (thanks to Joystiq) is a breakdown of all the gamer-related deals to be found.  Good luck if you head out there!

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