The Week in Review

Will our heroes escape the clutches of the wicked Doctor Elemento? Who knows? This is a news round-up.

Backwards Compatibilty? Pshw! Who wants that?

Sony’s John Koller has stated unequivocally that the PS3 would not be getting backwards compatibility; saying that despite the noise people were making about it, they weren’t buying the console to play old games on. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems a little disingenuous to say that people weren’t buying the PS3 to play old games when the feature was removed in 2007. It’s probably some super-secret business thing that us mortals wouldn’t understand (link)

How Much? I Could Buy A Real Mewtwo For That!

Cod Mewtwo is in danger of going down as the ‘gougiest game in history’, as it was announced that the price would be increased on the PC version of the game to bring it in line with its console brethren. No doubt console owners are pleased that the pricing is ‘fair’, but for PC gamers like me who aren’t paying any royalties to a hardware manufacturer, the move just reeks of corporate greed.

I’m in the UK too, so Samus only knows how much I’m going to have to pay… (link)

Would You Like Some Stereotypes With That?

The Japanese arm of McDonald’s has found itself at the center of a controversy as the non-profit organization FRANCA attacked an ad campaign recently run by the company. FRANCA asserts that the depiction of the white McDonald’s customer – known as Mr James – as nerdish and ignorant is damaging to progress made on the behalf of foreigners seeking equal treatment in Japan and should never have been run in the first place. (link)

What Comes Before Rocktober? ZEPPTEMBER!

People who have been waiting with bated breath for the release of Brutal Legend In October can breathe just a teensy bit easier, because there is a demo on the way, great news for those amongst us eager to take it up to 11. Not bad going for a game that nearly didn’t get released at all.

And before you start complaining, I know ‘Zepptember’ is weak. You think you can do better? Be my guest. (link)

‘Tis The Age of Dragons!

Here’s a question for you: you’re on a quest and you have the opportunity to get your hands on a holy relic that can heal any wound, but some of your comrades are worshippers of the religion that venerate the relic and would be more than a little annoyed if you swiped it. Do you take the artifact or do you leave it where it is? This is just one of the difficult choices that BioWare is going to force you to make in Dragon Age: Origins as revealed to the lovely and talented Susan Arendt. Hit the link for more details.

(link)

Xbox 360 Experiences Epic Fail

A study has shown that more than half of all Xbox 360s have experienced the dreaded Red Ring of Death. This is far and away the highest rate of equipment failure of any of the current generation of consoles and the news will no doubt be like a gas can chucked into a fire with the amount of flames it will generate. The weird thing about all this is that Microsoft still somehow manages to inspire a great deal of brand loyalty, just proving the old adage “Gears of War 2 can make a man forget himself.” Ok, I may have made that up… (link)