With Biggie dead, MC Frontalot tapped to create track for Penny Arcade game

Moments ago I received a press release announcing the latest work of nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot, a cut on the soundtrack for the upcomingPenny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. To say this move is due to the demographic overlap between his music and the audience for the title would be like saying I’m having difficulty writing this because I’d much rather be watchingtheStreet Fighter 4teaserover and over again: exceedingly obvious....

July 13, 2025 · 3 min · 626 words · Jennifer Smith

Xbox LIVE makes a lot of money, one billion since 2006

Xbox LIVE makes money, but how much does it actually generate? According to anEdgereport, folks (this includes advertisers) have spent a total of one billion dollars on Gold subscriptions, downloadable stuff, and advertising since 2006. Big number, right? Well, research firm In-Stat thinks that Microsoft’s service will be able to generate one billion dollarsannuallyby 2013. The firm also believes Nintendo and Sony will be able to generate quite a bit of money, too....

July 13, 2025 · 1 min · 156 words · Valerie Garcia

You will want to watch this Sonic animation

Tony Ponce pointed out this video, using words such as “spiffy” and “kick-ass” to describe it. I think you’ll find that he is not wrong. It’s a fan-created project attempting to recreate the final zone inSonic & Knuckleswith a few adjustments to set the scene and an unfinished conclusion. The creator, a YouTube user called “Major Dump,” says that he started on the project over a year ago but got burnt out working on it while holding a full-time job as a professional animator....

July 13, 2025 · 1 min · 102 words · Marcus Molina

Your web browser as a gaming platform: Can InstantAction deliver?

Many years ago, in a land far away, I used to have an office desk job. I didn’t have a cubicle — I was lucky enough to share a large office with one other person — but the life can become lonely and, during downtime, quite boring. It was at times like these that Flash-based games saved my life. Sites like Shockwave.com featured a variety of simple, browser-based games that would help me kill hours upon hours....

July 13, 2025 · 7 min · 1325 words · Sara Rogers

Zelnick: Don’t punish gamers who buy used

Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick may be the head of a highly successful publisher, but unlike the heads ofotherpublishers, he doesn’t have his panties in a bunch over used games. In fact, he thinks criticizing them is “irrelevant” and that recent methods to combat secondhand gaming won’t work out. “It’s irrelevant to be critical of the used-game marketplace,” says the android-faced executive. “You don’t want to use a stick punishing users for buying used; you want to give them a reason to buy new....

July 13, 2025 · 1 min · 185 words · Ralph Cooper

Zenimax buys Resident Evil creator and Tango Gameworks

Zenimax Media– the company that owns both Bethesda and id Software — has acquired Tango Gameworks. In case you didn’t know, the man at the top of this rather young studio is none other than Shinji Mikami, he who createdÂResident Evil. “It’s refreshing to find a publisher who understands, trusts, and supports the development of blockbuster games and works to make it a collaborative effort,” beams Mikami. “The library of AAA franchise titles ZeniMax owns speaks for itself....

July 13, 2025 · 2 min · 255 words · Michael Humphrey

A plethora of Virtua Fighter 5 vids

Need more proof thatVirtua Fighter 5is a pretty little thang? Well, then check out these three videos that prove just that. Watch as happy and not-so-happy glossy people duke it out in a virtual circle of non-death. Oooooohhhh, aaaaaahhhh, sooooo pretty!

July 12, 2025 · 1 min · 41 words · James Williams

Alien Breed evolves on Xbox LIVE next week

Hey, look! The folks at Team17 are releasing a game that doesn’t have the word “worms” in its title! The developer has announced thatAlien Breed Evolution: Episode 1will hit Xbox LIVE Marketplace next Wednesday, December 16. It’ll run you 800 MS Points, and has players navigating the halls of an alien infested space station. Sound scary? (I admit, I peed a bit.) Bring a friend — the game supports cooperative play, as well....

July 12, 2025 · 1 min · 103 words · Melanie Sims

Altered Beast: Gaming’s Citizen Kane

If there’s one question that crops up consistently within the pretentious, cheese-eating gamer community, it’s this: When will gaming get itsCitizen Kane? Oh, videogames willneverbe taken seriously by a mysterious and clandestine group of people who we don’t know unless gaming has its equivalent of a movie that barely anybody’s seen but keeps getting cross-referenced in order for writers to look smart. Many believe that videogames do not yet have their opus, their crowning artistic glory, their proof that interactive entertainment can stir the soul and move the heart....

July 12, 2025 · 6 min · 1214 words · Kristin Riggs

Angry Birds Rio for Android exclusive to Amazon

Angry Birdsis quite possibly the most popular game in the world right now. It’s certainly managed to tap into the culture as we see references appearing all over broadcast television. Plus, if it’s a videogame and my mother knows what it is, you’ve clearly managed to do something big. Now Amazon is seeking to capitalize on that fame by gaining the exclusive distribution rights for the next installment,Angry Birds Rio....

July 12, 2025 · 1 min · 202 words · Rachel Weaver

Awesomesauce: Free content comes to Age of Booty

Age of Bootyhasn’t even been out on Xbox LIVE Arcade for a week and the title’s already receiving content in the form of an extra game mode. Best of all, it’s completelyfree, unlike the DLC from certainotherpublishers. Earlier today, senior producer Daryl Allisondished out the good newson the title update which contains Battle Royal, a mode that pits four teams of two players each against one another and is available right now....

July 12, 2025 · 1 min · 130 words · Brenda Vance

BabaGeek: Halloween 2009 Custom Yoshi Mascot and Baby Mario Costumes Finished

[Editor’s note: craineum is at it again with his Halloween costumes.Last year, he made his kids Mega Man and Kid Icarus outfits. This year, his kids are dressing up as Yoshi and Mario. Sweet! — CTZ] I really like doing themed costumes for my family.Last yearwe went as members of the Captain N: The Game Master television show. While that was fun and very successful, I wanted to let my oldest pick who he wanted to be this year....

July 12, 2025 · 4 min · 666 words · Chris Klein

Ballad of Gay Tony adds ten Xbox Achievements

If for whatever reason hours worth of new single-player gameplay and multiplayer additions won’t do it for you, Rockstar’s added a bit more toGrand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony— all new Achievements. Rockstar has revealed today that the “expansion” will add ten new Xbox LIVE Achievements when it’s made available this Thursday, October 29. You’ll get 15 gamerpoints for “dancing “perfectly in both of Tony’s clubs” (“Catch the Bus”), or another 15 gamerpoints for winning the L....

July 12, 2025 · 1 min · 109 words · Gail Alvarez