Monthly Archives: September 2012

EA drops the ball with NBA Live cancellation

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In a year where there have been plenty of head-scratching moves by video game publishers, EA’s decision to sit out yet another NBA season is perhaps the most baffling.

It is nothing short of a colossal failure on the part of the company that has historically been the leader in sports games. The company’s inability to put together a high quality (or even remotely competitive) product in the ample time budgeted to do so has given Take-Two de facto exclusivity in a lucrative field for the third consecutive year. And barring a miracle or some extraordinarily savvy maneuvering, it may have just ceded the category forever.

Read more at Gamasutra

Big name games turn 25 this year

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1987 was a landmark year for pop culture entertainment. It was the first time we heard Capt. Jean-Luc Picard tell the crew of the Enterprise to “engage.” A dysfunctional yellow family called The Simpsons debuted in a series of shorts on “The Tracey Ullman Show.” And “Dick Clark’s American Bandstand” took its final bow.

The video game universe saw some pretty dramatic events as well, as several of the industry’s biggest franchises got their start in 1987 — and some 25 years later, they’ll still kicking.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

EA cancels NBA Live 13

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Despite several promises that its flagship basketball franchise would return after a three-year absence, EA has decided to once again bench NBA Live.

The decision is likely to disappoint fans who were hoping to see some competition in the NBA field once again, but is terrific news for 2K Sports, whose NBA2K 13 will once again have the court to itself.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Critics: ‘Bad Piggies’ is… not bad

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Bad Piggies, Rovio’s first truly original game since Angry Birds, hits app stores everywhere today, putting the focus on the light-fingered, egg-loving pigs that have long tortured the feathered protagonists.

It’s a blend of familiar territory and new mechanics for the developer, blending well-known characters from its hit series with the building elements of Amazing Alex (the company’s rehashed version of Casey’s Contraptions that came out earlier this year). Players must build a craft out of the inventory they’re given at the start of each level to let the pigs complete their goal.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Is video game baseball doomed?

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It’s the bottom of the ninth for fans of baseball video games.

While baseball used to be a viable market segment of the video game world, times have changed. Take-Two Interactive, publisher of the MLB 2K baseball game series, confirmed in May that they won’t renew their exclusive contract with MLB and has strongly indicated that they won’t field a player at all next year.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Collectible Porn: Magazines, Movies and Antiques

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Erotic collectibles generally aren’t showcased in the living room — they’re something most people would only brag about to close friends. But if you know the market, they can be curiously lucrative.

Odds are that porn DVD you bought online will never appreciate — even 50 years from now. But the sex industry has a deep history in various forms of culture and at various stages of media. That has proved enticing to certain collectors.

Read more at CNBC.com

Old-school exposé: Blowing on NES cartridges did more harm than good

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If you owned a Nintendo Entertainment System back in the day, you probably had a game seemingly crap out on you at some point. Perhaps the game wouldn’t boot  up correctly, or would suddenly stop working in the middle of a loading screen.

For millions, the solution was clear: Remove the cartridge and blow into it again and again until it worked. It was the mid-80s version of wiping a DVD on your shirt — and it seemed foolproof.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria launches

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World of Warcraft might be dealing with a subscriber downturn these days, but nothing draws the crowds back like a new expansion.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, the fourth expansion for the hit MMO, releases today, bringing with it a higher level cap, a new character class and a new race — pretty much catnip to lapsed WoW players.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

The many Easter Eggs of Borderlands 2

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Regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of Borderlands 2’s over-the-top combat and loot gathering (we definitely are), you have to give the game credit for one thing: It refuses to take itself too seriously.

Not only do the game’s characters spout hilarious lines as they mercilessly mock the player, enemies, and even gaming in general, but the game is loaded with winks and nods to an untold number of other pop-culture icons.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

20 predictions for next-generation consoles

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Now that Nintendo has priced and dated the Wii U, it’s only a matter of time before people once again start trying to guess what Microsoft and Sony have in store. Other than unnecessary redesigns, that is.

Aside from secondhand information from developers, there aren’t many facts out there regarding the Xbox 720 (technical codename: Durango) or the PlayStation 4 (technical codename: Orbis). But they’re both definitely coming, so we’re heading out on a very large, very shaky limb today by blasting out some informed predictions for what gamers might expect in the near future. While we don’t expect every one of these to come true, we’re sure going to brag about the ones that do. Take it away, crystal ball!

Read more at Yahoo! Games