In this week’s edition, Peter Molyneux raves about Minecraft and Jack Thompson wheels out the phrase “murder simulator” once again.
“Little Zangief” Demolishes Bully
After suffering at the hands of bullies for years, Australian school kid Casey Haynes finally hit breaking point. When one of Casey’s fellow students decided to attack him, Casey picked the boy up and slammed him into the ground with a brutal pile driver. Unfortunately for the bully, the fight was filmed and put on YouTube, allowing the whole world to see him get trounced. Hit the link for a video. (Link)
Jack Thompson Goes After Gabe Newell Over School Shooter Mod
Disbarred lawyer Jack Thompson, who is notorious for his opposition to violent videogames, has contacted Valve boss Gabe Newell, demanding that he put a stop to the School Shooter: North American Tour 2012 mod for Half-Life 2. Thompson said that Valve had until 5PM on Friday to shut down operation of the mod, but he didn’t say what would happen if it didn’t. The smart money is on “nothing at all.” (Link)
Fable Creator Confesses His Love for Minecraft
Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux has called Minecraft a work of “genius,” and said that Minecraft’s creator, Magnus “Notch” Persson, will be receiving a BAFTA fellowship – not unlike the accolade that Molyneux himself was awarded this week – within the next ten years. “I think Minecraft’s the best thing I’ve played in the last ten years,” Molyneux said. “[And] what’s so brilliant about it [is that Persson] did everything on his own.” (Link)
Zune Does a Rather Good Dodo Impression
After years of the Zune not finding traction with consumers, Microsoft is throwing in the towel and discontinuing its range of portable media players. The remaining stock will still be available, but it won’t manufacture any new units. It’s only the hardware that’s going away however, as Microsoft will still continue to develop the Zune software, incorporating it into the WP7 phones and the Xbox 360. (Link)
Skyrim Won’t Be Vanilla Fantasy
Whatever else you might say about it, Morrowind was a pretty unique fantasy game, stuffed full of giant bugs and bizarre beasts of burden, without a horse or a dragon in sight. Oblivion, by comparison, was a pretty typical sword and sorcery adventure, and while it was a great game, it didn’t evoke that same sense of wonder that its predecessor had. For the upcoming Skyrim, however, Bethesda says that the weirdness will be back in full force. Bring on the tentacle bears! (Link)
