Need an extra Dual Shock 3 and want a great game to go with it? In the immortal words of Sally Struthers, “Sure, we all do!” Amazon has these great bundles which include one game and a Dual Shock 3 for $59.99. You can choose from LittleBigPlanet
Today’s Poll: Battle of the HBO Super Agents — Ari vs. Arliss
I know how this poll is going to pan out, but I’m going to run it anyway. At lunch I was telling my friend Paul about my wish for HBO Blu-ray sets for The Larry Sanders Show
While Entourage is more popular than Arli$$ ever was, I believe that Arliss Michaels could hold his own with Ari Gold. So in the battle of made up HBO super agents, who’s side are you on?
[poll id=”44″]
More iPhone / AT&T / Verizon Rumors
Ah, the rumors of the Apple iPhone going to Verizon and the speculation that it will remain exclusive with AT&T never end. Here’s a double dose for you today. First up is Engadget Mobile’s Nilay Patel, who confirmed that AT&T and Apple entered into a five-year contract in 2007, but questions whether it’s still valid:
Contracts can be canceled, amended, and breached in many ways, and AT&T’s spotty recent service history plus the explosion of the iPhone and the mobile market in general have given Apple any number of reasons to revisit the deal. In addition, the two companies obviously hit the negotiating table again to hammer out the iPad’s pricing plans, and there’s no way of knowing whether that deal involves the iPhone as well.
Next up is CrunchGear’s John Biggs. He received a tip that Verizon’s advertising agency is working on a campaign for the upcoming iPhone:
A company called Landor Associates “working on an advertising campaign” for Verizon for the upcoming iPhone (you know, the one that the police knocked down Jason Chen’s door down to get generally more information about?). Ladnor has been working on Verizon branding since 2007 and is, according to a tipster, now hard at work preparing for the iPhone HD launch.
Naturally I’m more interested in how these rumors impact your purchasing decisions. Are you going wait for an iPhone on Verizon or go with an excellent alternative like the HTC Incredible? Will you stick with AT&T if it remains America’s exclusive iPhone carrier? Share your feelings — like a Care Bear…or not — in the comments section (please)!
Win a Limited Edition Lost Planet 2 T-Shirt
It’s contest time boys and girls! Up for grabs is a super cool Lost Planet 2 t-shirt. It’s a limited edition print from the excellent people at I Am 8-Bit. As some of you know, I picked it up at Capcom’s fine LP2 launch party last week. The shirt is an American Apparel XL, which is a tad small for me (American Apparel runs tight). I could diet for the next six months so that I could fit into it or I could give it to one of you. The second option is easier.
Anyway, to win this shirt, just leave a comment that lists the 2010 game you’re looking forward to the most and why. The winner will be specially selected (Tortoise Brand) and revealed on Friday.
Valve Launching Steam for Mac OS Tomorrow
Just in case any of you Macheads forgot, Valve is launching its Steam gaming service for Apple Mac OS tomorrow with Portal and Torchlight leading the way. This is tremendous news and arguably the biggest leap for Mac gaming in years. Here’s a snippet from the press release:
The first collection of Mac titles will demonstrate “Steam Play,” which allows customers to purchase a game once and play it on all Steam supported platforms. Gamers who have previously purchased games on Steam will find them available in their account on the Mac as they are released.
While Mac users are surely thrilled by Steam finally arriving to their beloved platform, developers are probably even more excited. Here are some of the enticing features that will wow game creators:
In addition to bringing the online functionality of Steam to the Mac, Valve will also make its Steamworks suite of publishing and development tools available on the Mac platform. These include product key authentication, copy protection, auto-updating, social networking, matchmaking, anti-cheat technology, and more. The features and services available in Steamworks are offered free of charge and may be used for both electronic and tangible versions of games.
I know that quite a few of you are Apple fanatics. How psyched are you for Steam on Mac? I’m guessing some of you will become Torchlight addicts soon enough. Ha!
Coffee Talk #142: Do You Dream About Game Companies?
I’ve told a few of you about this already, but I’ve been having this dream about BioWare for the last decade or so. I’m at this super fancy awards show (think Oscars or Emmys). I’m wearing a tuxedo and I’m at a podium presenting an award. Finally, with complete seriousness I say:
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, why Chase’s customer services sucks, highlights of last night’s Monday Night Raw (missed it), or your feelings on the Thor movie, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I’ve told a few of you about this already, but I’ve been having this dream about BioWare for the last decade or so. I’m at this super fancy awards show (think Oscars or Emmys). I’m wearing a tuxedo and I’m at a podium presenting an award. Finally, with complete seriousness I say:
And the award for best white developer goes to — oh my God! — Ray and Greg! BioWare!!!
I’ve actually told BioWare’s Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk about this dream. The reason I’m bringing it up again? Well, I’ve been having another BioWare dream…but I’ll share that with you tomorrow.
For now I’d love to hear about your videogame-company dreams. I’m not talking about dream games. I’m talking about dreams that involve developers, publishers, etc. Perhaps you’ve had a dream where you match wits with Will Wright. Maybe you’ve explored caves and tended gardens with Shigeru Miyamoto. I know at least one of you has had a dream about Cliff Bleszinski in lingerie (bonus points for ornate tales about Cliffy in a thong). Share your dreams in the comments section (please)!
Three Minutes of Street Fighter Legacy Coolness
Last week I posted some cool teaser clips of the upcoming Street Fighter Legacy short film. Now here’s a longer — and cooler — trailer! In addition to several familiar basic moves, Ryu busts out some ha-do-ken fireballs and Ken unleashes a sho-ryu-ken dragon punch. Check it out and kindly share your thoughts.
RPad.tv Chick Magnet vs. Crawfish Courtesy of Smartguy
RPadholic smartguy sent in this excellent series of pictures that pits an RPad.tv chick magnet against an army of Louisiana crawfish! It’s an excellent adventure and you’ll have to look at all four pictures to see how the tale unfolds. I’m certain there’s an Xbox Live downloadable game somewhere in here. I love how creative the photos have been getting! Thanks smartguy!!!
Warner Bros. Lets You Trade Your DVDs for Blu-Ray Discs
Rpadholic tokz_21 sent in this nifty link on Warner Bros. DVD2Blu program, which allows you to trade in your old DVDs for Blu-ray discs for as low as $4.95 per movie. Here’s the skinny from CNet:
Customers can go to the site and select the movies they want to upgrade. From there, they need only to send the DVD version of the movie they currently own to the service. Within “four to five weeks,” Warner Bros. ships the Blu-ray copy of the film back to the customer. Pricing for individual movies starts at $4.95 per movie — a relative bargain compared to buying the Blu-ray version in stores.
There are some pretty excellent movies available in the promotion, but there are also “winners” like Beerfest, Constantine, and Under Siege 2. I actually have a bunch of the movies on the list and will try out the program soon. In the immortal words of Jerry Maguire, “Who’s coming with me?!?”
President Barack Obama Warns Against iPods, iPads, PS3, and Xbox
Addressing graduating students at Hampton University, President Barack Obama warned the crowd about the perils of devices like the Apple iPod and iPad, Sony PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360 while admitting that he didn’t know how to use any of them. In stead of empowering people with information, modern entertainment devices distract them. The American President said:
With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation.
I actually think he has a valid point. Obviously gaming consoles are entertainment devices that are meant to distract you from the real world, but I am completely guilty of using my PC, iPhone, etc. to absorb loads of useless information. Sites like IMDB and Wikipedia have made the quest for trivial pursuits even more engrossing. While a lot of people are hating on Obama for being anti-fun, I actually stand by the President on this one.
What do you think? Do today’s electronics make information more of a distraction than an empowering asset? Or does the President just hate videogame consoles and iPads? Does anyone else find it alarming that the most powerful man in the free world doesn’t know how to use an iPod (*kidding*)?