The videogame industry – like any industry – is more than capable of being a harsh mistress. Sometimes one mistake is all that is required to cause downfall.

Blue Omega, the dev team behind the less-than-stellar ‘Damnation’, have recently experienced this harsh truth first hand.

Mourn the loss of yet ANOTHER development team, after the jump.

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Slowly ruining your gaming experience, one click at a time.

Figured that title would get your attention.

As an avid gamer, there is a pretty good chance you’ve at least spent a day or two with the online gaming sensation that is World of Warcraft.  There were some major announcements over the last few days in the World of Warcraft universe that will impact not only your life, but the entire Chinese economy!

Not sure where I’m going with this?  Raid with me into the jump!

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Hi, ho, Kermit the Frog here, amongst a pile of boxes, writing on a laptop stacked on a filing cabinet in my brand new basement.  What a mess.  Have I mentioned that moving is a pain in the ass?

Anyway, back on topic, I know this might be a little old, but I’ve been out of the scene for about a week and I’m just getting my claws into it.  A week ago, Rockstar Vancouver released screenshots for the upcoming Max Payne: 3, and I have to say, I’m not amused.

Bullet time with me over to the jump to find out why these screenshots piss me off!

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We knew it was coming. Unlockable clothes for your Xbox Avatar. There’s been speculation from a number of sources about it being paid content and others claiming it’s linked to achievements; regardless, we haven’t heard a word about if these will totally suck or not.

I, having some time on my hands now that the missus is off gallivanting in a foreign country (The ongoing saga of Gamer Girlfriend will continue in two weeks!) came up with some ideas for clothes that might not be terrible.

Take heed, developers. Read the article, everyone else. (more…)

Brightly hued button pummeling news now, with Brian Hayes, a producer on Fight Night Round 4, teasing (via interview) that face button controls could be coming to the rollickingly realistic slugfest simulator. All the details can be found in a rather handy compartment, located after the jump.

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The Midway bankruptcy proceedings just got a bit more complicated. According to a court document found by GamePolitics, Lawrence Kasanoff, who served as a producer for both of the live-action Mortal Kombat films, has filed suit against Midway in an attempt to prevent Warner Bros. from acquiring some of the company’s notable properties. Warner’s $33 million bid was reported in May, and if approved, would net the company numerous Midway assets, including the Mortal Kombat IP and the Chicago studio.

At the heart of the suit seems to be Kasanoff’s right to produce future films and television shows based on the franchise, a license he claims is both perpetual and exclusive. Kasanoff is currently listed as producer for the third Mortal Kombat film, which is scheduled for a 2010 release. The plaintiff in the case is Threshold Entertainment, of which Kasanoff is chairman and CEO.

If Kasanoff’s declarations are true, then he would seem to have a valid case. However, I find his assertion that Mortal Kombat would not be as popular sans his contributions to be ludicrous at best, and nursing-home insane at worst.

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Sarcastic Gamer proudly announces that on October 17th, 2009, gamers from around the world will join together for Extra Life 2009!   Last year thousands of people played video games for 24 hours straight and raised over $120,000 to fund pediatric cancer research and treatment.  We can’t wait to see what this year has in store!  Keep reading to find out how to sign up! (more…)

When Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was officially unveiled at Nintendo’s E3 2008 media briefing, many assumed that it was and would remain a DS exclusive. Even the official Chinatown Wars web site pegged it as such.

Though, as has become apparent, the word “exclusive” rarely means just that. Oftentimes, it means that a game – or piece of content – will be exclusive for a limited time only. Nowadays, companies are looking for bigger returns on their investments, and, as result, third-party exclusives are becoming increasingly rare.

It should come as no surprise then, that a PSP version of Chinatown Wars is currently in development at Rockstar Leeds, the same studio that handled the DS SKU. Rockstar North is also involved with the project.

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Seems like Sony can’t catch a break.  In a bullying move by Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick, he told a UK Times reporter about Sony and the PS3:

“They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony…”

Why would he make such a claim? Follow me after the jump for the analysis.

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[Yamster's note: Havok originally wrote this up on his own Sarcastic Gamer Community Blog but we figured it'd be cool to share it on the front page too as it's a pretty good point of view. Of course, we encourage you to get in on the act and write up your own opinions in your own community blog too!]

I am generally supportive of the ESRB, as I believe the group provides a number of valuable services to the games industry and to parents. In addition to rating all retail releases in the U.S. and Canada, the non-profit organization works with public officials to promote its letter-based ratings. All this to ensure that kiddies, tweens and teens play games that are appropriate for their age. Though, as we all know, young ones still manage still get their mitts on violence-laden titles.

That said, there is a moment or two where they get right under my skin, like today. Read why over the jump.

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Question: What do inFAMOUS, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Wolverine and Prototype all have in common?

Answer: They’ve all been put on hold thanks to a certain PSN title that came out last week.

Follow the magical jump to find out which downloadable release has halted my progress on the biggest games of the last two months, and why that trend is set to continue.

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The British Government is considering the idea of tax breaks to developers of quintessentially British games.

We at SG consider ourselves to be experts in what makes things British and decided that we could lend a hand in showing how things should change. We’ve listed how a few recent games could have netted themselves a few pounds.

Have a knees up at the chippy, after the jump. Pip pip.

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Proud Owner of the Wii Fit

In a speech to the American Medical Association in Chicago yesterday, he had the following dig:

The second step that we can all agree on is to invest more in preventive care so that we can avoid illness and disease in the first place. That starts with each of us taking more responsibility for our health and the health of our children. It means quitting smoking, going in for that mammogram or colon cancer screening. It means going for a run or hitting the gym, and raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside.

OH NOEZ, HE’S ATTACKING TEH GAMZ!

Or is he? Follow me into the jump, if you can drag your fat ass over there.

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