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

PS3 Super Slim Could Be A Super Stumble

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Just a few short weeks ago, it seemed pretty clear how this holiday season was going to shake out for the video game industry – on a few fronts at least.

The long drought of mediocre titles would be replaced with a steady stream of AAA hits. Nintendo would roll out the first next-generation console system. And Microsoft and Sony would battle the Wii U with the best tool at their disposal: A price cut.

Then came Wednesday’s pre-TGS Sony press conference – and all hell broke loose.

Read more at GamesIndustry.biz

Sony’s explanation for not cutting PS3 prices is astounding

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Sony, it seems, thinks you’re not a big fan of price cuts. Or at the very least, they think you’re tired of trying to figure out where the real bargains are.

With this week’s unveiling of the Super Slim PlayStation 3, pretty much everyone thought the company would slash prices on the current, uh, “fat” model to help clear space on shelves for the new hardware.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Nintendo’s Wii U Already Selling Out Online

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While Nintendo’s new Wii U videogame console is still two months away from launch, gamers are already lining up to get their hands on one.

Online pre-orders from several major retailers are already sold out — but analysts caution this initial enthusiasm doesn’t necessarily mean the Wii U will be as big a cultural phenomenon as its predecessor.

Read more at CNBC.com