Category: Videogames

Follow Dark Void on Twitter, Win Jay-Z Tickets

Jay-Z

If you like Jay-Z, Twitter, and Dark Void then you definitely want to get crackin’ on Capcom’s latest promotion. The company has a chance for you to catch Jay-Z in concert this weekend. All you have to do is follow Dark Void’s Twitter page. Here are the official deets:

We scored tickets to the highly coveted Jay-Z concert, featuring N.E.R.D., Wale and J. Cole, at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus for this Sunday November 8, 2009, beginning at 6:30PM. So, what does this mean for the Dark Void Community? Well, we’re offering this pair to one lucky Community member!

We’re hosting the contest on our official Twitter page: http://twitter.com/DarkVoidGame. To enter, all you need to do is follow our profile and re-tweet the following message:

“I wanna take @[Twitter Friend] to Jay-Z in LA! Make me a winner @DarkVoidGame. Rules: http://tinyurl.com/JayZinLA”

If you enter, feel free to take me with you. Ha! My Twitter page is here. Jay-Z would be fun, but I’d love to see N.E.R.D.

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Coffee Talk #19: I’m So Excited and I Just Can’t Hide It

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, your awesome World Series 2009 champions, this super expensive Beatles digital set, or your awesome World Series 2009 champions (again), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Sorry for the lateness. You see, yesterday I picked up Dragon Age: Origins. As you can imagine, I was incredibly psyched to get the game. BioWare is one of my favorite developers of all time — so much so that if the company was snubbed for an award, I’d totally interrupt the winner and pull a Kanye. RPGs are my favorite genre. Fantasy settings are my favorite. This is the most excited I’ve been for a game in years.

Dragon Age Origins 3

It all goes back to Baldur’s Gate for me. I played through the game 18 times. Even though I only played through Baldur’s Gate 2 11 times, I was (clearly) hooked by BioWare’s RPG mastery. I love how the company handles role-playing, storytelling, character development, music, and more.

When it comes down to it, I don’t remember the last time I was this excited to get a game. How about you? When was the last time a new game made you go all fanboy?

Major Nelson Speaks on Banning Pirates From Xbox Live

Pirates

Microsoft’s Major Nelson addressed the issue of banning software pirates from Xbox Live in a recent blog post. The man also known as Larry the Marketing Guy said:

The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them. This would also be a good time to remind you that the warranty on an Xbox 360 console is not transferrable and if you purchase a used console that has been previously banned, you will not be able to connect to Xbox Live.

While I have no problem with what Microsoft is doing and I agree with most of that Larry said, it still bugs me that console games in third-world countries have Western prices. Having lived in a third-world country for most of 2006, I was surprised to see that most games cost the equivalent of $50 to $60 while people were making $150 a month. For a lot of people, piracy was the only reasonable way to go.

My little rant aside, what do you think of Microsoft banning pirates from Xbox Live?

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Gamers Defecting From Xbox 360 to PlayStation 3 for Sequels?

Assassins Creed 2

According to research firm OTX, a lot of gamers are planning to buy sequels (Assassin’s Creed 2 and Modern Warfare 2, in particular) on the PlayStation 3 for games that they original played on the Xbox 360. Gamasutra has reported:

New data provided to Gamasutra by OTX’s GamePlan Insights finds that many sequel-buyers might be switching platforms, defecting from Xbox 360 to PlayStation 3 for more than one major release.

“The PS3 seems poised to shift the ratio of Xbox 360 to PS3 sales for most major multi-platform releases in its favor among dual owners,” [analyst Nick] Williams tells us.

This is an interesting trend that I’ve been noticing with some friends. A lot of my gamer pals that are new to the PS3 — mostly players that purchased a PS3 Slim — are buying multiplatform games for their Sony system, simply to build up their libraries. Does this apply to any of you?

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Coffee Talk #18: Do You Believe in Miyamoto Magic?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, if the Yankees will be Pedro’s daddy tonight, the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time movie trailer, or Josh Duhamel allegedly cheating on Fergie with an Atlanta stripper, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The other day, I wrote about the next Legend of Zelda game using Wii MotionPlus for swordplay and targeting. The reactions weren’t surprising. You’ve told me why you’re down on the Wii in the past, so I was expecting some of you to roll your eyes at the news. Yes, a lot of Wii games use motion controls in ways that are…less than entertaining, but aren’t you forgetting something in this case? Shigeru Miyamoto is working on this game!

Shigeru Miyamoto

Nintendo’s legendary game designer is responsible for some of the greatest videogame series of all time. His left pinky has more creativity in it than most game developers have in their entire body. Miyamoto has been written off as out of touch and behind the times before, but he’s always managed to come back and prove his doubters wrong.

So what’s different this time? Don’t you think Miyamoto will find a way to make Wii MotionPlus in The Legend of Zelda fun and unique? Don’t you believe in Miyamoto magic?

Super Street Fighter IV Juri Could Have Been a Chubby Ice Skater

SFIV Juri

Super Street Fighter IV’s Juri is a sexy tae kwon do vixen, but she could have been a chubby ice skater according Capcom art director Toshiyuki Kamei. Andriasang translated the official Super Street Fighter IV blog and learned:

The character’s design originally started with orders from producer Yoshinori Ono to make a female Korean character. Not necessarily an erotic female Korean character, though. According to Kamei, taking all hair and clothing variations into account, there were originally some 400 or 500 ideas for the character. Some ideas included an old woman and an ice skater.

The character was originally cuter and chubbier. They gradually thinned her out, with Kamei admitting that they at one point went too far and had to revert a bit.

Having had numerous dating experiences with Korean women, I assure you that chubby-ice-skater Juri would have been as terrifying as sexy Juri. Check out Juri in action against T. Hawk in the video below.

Continue reading “Super Street Fighter IV Juri Could Have Been a Chubby Ice Skater”

Recent Study Links Videogames to Decreased Income

Poor Gamer

Economics student Ryan MacLeod (no relation to the Highlander) did some research and found that people that videogames have a negative effect on men’s income. Yeah, I’m not going to take the work of a fourth-year hack at a third-rate school too seriously, but the Telegraph Journal did:

The results of a study by the fourth-year economics student from Mount Allison University have found that playing video games can have a negative effect on income.

The effect is so notable that for every minute a video game is played, MacLeod’s research suggests gamers can expect a 0.4 per cent decrease in income.

MacLeod found two results that were surprising: There is a significant negative effect on income for those playing video games, and second, the effect is seen in men but not in women.

I’d love to see the full study. What is he using for a comparison? People with no hobbies? Anyone that’s enthusiastic about their hobbies will spend money on them. Whether you’re into games, cars, home theater, books, etc., hobbies cost money. For example, I have a friend that loves fixing and tweaking out his cars. I guarantee you that he spends more money on his hobby than I do, but I get way more hours of entertainment per dollar spent.

While I don’t think much of this “study”, I’m sure it’s going to get some play. I’m know some mainstream reporters are going to say gamers are prone to violence and have lower incomes. *sigh*

Source via Kotaku

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Movie Trailer

I’m pretty impressed with the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time movie trailer. It looks slick and there are some nice nods to people that enjoyed the videogames. Initially, I wasn’t sold on Jake Gyllenhaal as the titular character, but he’s surprisingly bad ass! And I’m not just saying that because I lust for his sister. On the downside, Ben Kingsley looks like a dork.

Today’s Poll: Which Version of Dragon Age: Origins?!?

Dragon Age Origins

I’m torn on this matter. As a longtime Baldur’s Gate fan, it feels natural to play this game on a PC. Unfortunately, I’m all laptop these days and I worry that my Nvidia GeForce 8400m won’t cut the mustard. Plus, if I’m going to be sinking 100+ hours into a game, my couch would be more comfortable than my Herman Miller Mirra. That said, I’ve been reading about some nasty bugs on the PS3 version. I’m not sure if the same bugs plague the Xbox 360 version, but I’m going to do more research. Which version of Dragon Age: Origins to buy?!? I don’t know! How about you?

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