http://www.aggravatedgamers.com Gaming News, Reviews, Previews, and Interviews by Aggravated Gamers Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:12:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Aggravated Gamers Episode 71 - Diablo 3?! is now up for download. Check the bottom of this post for stream and download links. Enjoy. Podcast Notes for July 2nd 2008 Makin the Rounds Diablo 3?! News Articles http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...es-diablo-iii/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...pacity-to-100/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...999-on-july-6/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...ith-xbox-live/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...lion-accounts/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...3-360-pc-only/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...s-this-summer/ Reviews Bad Company - B- http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/07/02/aggravated-gamers-episode-71-diablo-3/ Currently building the new PC for the cast and working on some other stuff that will be unveiled very soon which is why the podcast was delayed. Expect an extra long cast though on wednesday. Friday's cast will also go on so don't worry about that. See you then. http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/30/podcast-on-wednesday/ YES, finally! read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/28/blizzard-announces-diablo-iii/ Lionhead’s has recorded over 370,000 words of dialogue for Fable 2 and the audio was recording at the London-based firm, Side where over 45 actors (aged from 8 to 80) were cast to play almost 200 speaking characters.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/27/london-studio-records-over-37000-words-of-dialogue/ World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment has announced the Blizzard Authenticator, a keychain security device that adds greater protection against World of Warcraft account theft and hijacking. The Blizzard Authenticator will debut at this weekend's Blizzard Worldwide Invitational event, retailing for $6.50.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/27/blizzard-reveals-wow-account-security-peripheral/ We are getting reports in that Sony has expanded the friend list capacity on the PS3 from 50 to 100. Confirmed by more than once source, check the link.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/27/sony-expands-ps3-friend-list-capacity-to-100/ What's this? Could it be? An Xbox 360 price drop on July 6? According to this image, the Xbox 360 Pro will drop to $299.99, at least at K-Mart. The little image circulating shows the "Xbox 360 20GB console" with a $299.99 price.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/27/xbox-360-price-dropping-to-29999-on-july-6/ If you’ve paid close attention to the rate that Medics heal in Team Fortress 2, you may have noticed that they sometimes (seemingly arbitrarily) will heal significantly faster than, say, when you’re in the midst of battle. The new official Team Fortress 2 blog has already proven itself useful, revealing ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/27/ever-notice-how-team-fortress-2-medics-heal-faster-sometimes/ Microsoft has announced that they've signed a deal with IGN to bring the site's IGN Strategize segments to Xbox Live. Or, more specifically, that they're bringing the site's IGN Strategize segments to Xbox Live, and they'll be hosted by Jessica Chobot.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/27/ign-signs-content-deal-with-xbox-live/ "It was determined that they were emulating the character in that Grand Theft Auto game, going on a crime spree" using weapons and tactics inspired by the controversial video game, said Det. Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a Nassau police spokesman. "We got certain admissions" from the boys, Repalone said. read more | digg ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/teen-crime-spree-inspired-by-grand-theft-auto/ The Call of Duty IV map pack that came out this spring is finally available as a free download for PC gamers. Or at least, for those who have the NVIDIA GeForce graphics card. Sorry ATI users, and console gamers, for that matter.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/cod4-pc-gamers-get-free-map-pack/ That's world wide, too. Another interesting fact the volume of data distributed via the PSN is approx. 86 peta bytes. That's the equivalent to 17 million single layer DVDs! read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/the-ps3-playstation-network-has-98-million-accounts/ Check out what is to comeread more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/crysis-warhead-teaser-trailer/ Slated as the culmination and conclusion of the Half-Life 2 saga, Episode 3 will be at E3 in just a few short weeks. It is also only listed as being a 360 and PC game. Sorry PS3.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/half-life-2-episode-3-coming-to-e3-360-pc-only/ During Sony's corporate strategy meeting, at which the company announced Life with PlayStation and showed off its video download service, PlayStation bossman Kaz Hirai provided some new numbers. Most relevant to this post's interests are the shipment figures for Metal Gear Solid 4: 3 million to retailers worldwide. read more ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/metal-gear-solid-4-ships-out-3-million/ During the Sony Strategic Meeting in Tokyo today, Sony announced a service that will allow PS3 owners to view daily world news interactively. The system, billed under their Life with PlayStation brand, allows you to zoom around a virtual globe (not unlike the one in the Folding@Home application) and gain world ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/ps3-set-to-deliver-worldwide-daily-news/ Sony has announced its several step strategic plan on how it will make its gaming division profitable. Until just recently, the PS3 hasn't been as profitable as Sony had hoped. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/how-sony-plans-to-turn-ps3psp-profit-in-2008/ The DRM tool to transfer licenses for content purchased on the Xbox Live Marketplace has just been released. This will allow anyone who has purchased a new console, or had one replaced to (painstakingly) transfer the licenses to the new console in order to use all of the premium content ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/drm-license-transfer-tool-now-available/ ccording to GoNintendo, the latest issue of Nintendo Power reveals the proud return of the Castlevania series to consoles. Castlevania Judgment is, believe it or not, a 3D fighter, pitting classic characters from throughout the series against each other in mortal combat. The exact opposite of what fans have been ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/wii-castlevania-revealed-its-a-fighting-game/ This week Adam Sessler returns with his thoughts/review of Valve ’s highly anticipated zombie title Left 4 Dead. While he is in rare form this week, meaning that he is not ranting about anything, its is still the same bitingly witty Sessler we have all grown to know and love.read more ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/sesslers-soapbox-left-4-dead-left-4-awesome/ Kazuo Hirai, chieftain of Sony Computer Entertainment, that Sony will make a movie download service available to US PlayStation 3 owners this summer, Japan and Europe at later dates -- details coming "next month," presumably at E3.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/ps3-movie-downloads-in-us-this-summer/ For those of you who've been wondering what games are going to be revealed at E3 this year, here are 4 that have been confirmed!read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/kid-icarus-doom-4-alan-wake-and-hl-ep3-confirmed-for-e3/ Leaked video showing Epic Games' Gears of War 2 (360) multiplayer beta has appeared on Korean gaming site This Is Game, as spotted by AnalogHype, The game is slated to hit retailers this November.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/gears-of-war-2-multiplayer-beta-footage-surfaces/ Cliff Bleszinski, lead game designer of Gears of War 2, sites Metal Gear Solid as the kind of game Epic doesn’t want to make. What were his exact words? Read on to find out. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/cliffyb-calls-metal-gear-%e2%80%9cpassive-entertainment%e2%80%9d/ Publisher THQ passed in a new video detailing the development of Red Faction: Guerrilla (PC, PS3, 360), the latest edition of Volition Studios' shooter franchise.Guerrilla marks the debut of a new third-person perspective and cover system in the Red Faction series, and is scheduled to release during THQ's 2009 fiscal ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/red-factionguerrilla-video-shows-fully-destructible-game/ Diablo fan website DiabloII.net reports that Blizzard will indeed announce Diablo III this weekend at the company's Worldwide Invitational in Paris. Nerds unleash!read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/26/blizzard-affirms-upcoming-game-announcement-diablo-3-yes/ This excerpt from a marketing survey, completed for a company that was very interested in Xbox 360 gaming (Intellisponse, perhaps?), was sent to us by tipster frostcircus. If you're a Halo purist, you may not want to click through.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/survey-hints-at-possible-future-halo-titles/ Moments ago the New York State Senate voted 61-1 to approve a bill proposed by Sen. Andrew Lanza, a Republican from Staten Island. The video game bill mirrors that passed yesterday by the State Assembly, the measure will now go to Gov. David Paterson for consideration. If he signs the ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/breaking-ny-senate-passes-video-game-bill-61-1/ During the IDEF event at France, Sony's announced that they'll be presenting God of War 3 during this year's E3 show.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/god-of-war-3-to-be-shown-at-e3-2008/ Square-Enix has committed to re-releasing many of their classic titles over the PlayStation Network, starting today, with two Square games (Xenogears and Einhander) and two Enix games (Rakugaki Showtime and Astronoka). They're all available for ¥600 (USD$5.50).read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/square-enix-re-releasing-classics-on-psn/ When it comes up as a Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy question, you'll be happy you knew this factoidread more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/halo-3-body-count-surpasses-earths-population/ GameStrata, the leading online community for gamers, today released results from a survey of North American video game enthusiasts showing that over their peak gaming years of 18-48 the average gamer spends more than $30,500 on games and gaming hardware.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/gamers-average-30500-spent-during-peak-gaming-years/ We'll tell you what's up with Microsoft: new hardware options. It may sound totally insane, but word has it that Microsoft may begin allowing third-party manufacturers to create Xbox 360 hardware. And we're not talking about peripherals, people; we mean hardware that runs 360 game discs created by someone other ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/microsoft-to-let-other-companies-build-release-360-consoles/ For fans of Infinity Ward and the Call of Duty Series you can now get a more personal look at the team behind the games. Launching yesterday was Infinity Ward's new website. The new Internet HQ for the "recently named Best Developer in America by Game Developer Magazine, houses a ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/new-infinitywardcom-site-launched/ And right on time, WoW Insider has everything you need to know. Get your Arena team ready first for what promises to be a "Brutal" season.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/world-of-warcrafts-arena-season-4-goes-live-today/ What VGChartz claims to do is a weekly estimate of every game published in every territory - including Japan, North America, and the particularly difficult to estimate Europe and offer all of that data for free. Which is extremely impressive...but how accurate is it?read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/the-truth-behind-how-vgchartz-gets-their-numbers/ An in-depth analysis of the new splash screen that's been showing on lots of Blizzard sites and what it might herald. Includes pictorial analysis.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/blizzards-new-splash-screen-does-it-herald-diablo-3/ Excited about Spore but dismayed by the low dollar specs? Who plays $50 games anymore? Fortunately, EA has upped the ante, giving gaming's upper class snob a more premium Spore buying option, known as the Galactic Edition.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/spore-80-edition-announced/ Halo 3 Reviewread more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/zero-puncuation-review-halo-3/ Netflix subscribers, if you've got an Xbox 360 and a Windows Vista PC, you don't have to shell out $99 for Roku's Netflix Player box to get your Watch Instantly library on your TV screen —you already have everything you need. Using the free Windows Media Center plug-in, vmcNetflix, you can ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/xbox-360-turn-your-xbox-360-into-a-streaming-netflix-player/ The recent buzz in the industry is that the upcoming Metal Gear movie is going to star Christian Bale but grapevine suggest otherwise for they say this movie is planning out to be fully computer generated with live voice actors and is presumably going to be a remake of the ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/metal-gear-movie-to-be-cg-generated/ This image, leaked by "The Patriots," could show a PS3 trophy screen. The picture seems to show a gamer profiel, of sorts. If it's real, that is. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/rumor-leaked-image-could-show-ps3-trophies/ Today Rockstar has released a patch for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of Grand Theft Auto IV. Online play should become a little smoother; Check out the change list after the jump.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/25/arstechnica-rockstar-games-patches-grand-theft-auto-iv/ Xbox 360 owners can rest a little easier now that their consoles aren’t illegal. A federal jury has thrown out the third of five lawsuits in an ongoing legal battle between Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent SA, and found that Microsoft did not violate Alcatel-Lucent’s patent on video coding.read more | digg ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/jury-rules-360-doesn%e2%80%99t-violate-software-patents/ "At the Metal Gear 20th Anniversary party last year, Konami hinted at it being a stand alone, but then later decided to include MGO with Metal Gear Solid 4." You'd think that a video game website should know what's going on.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/kotaku-is-shocked-to-discover-that-mgo-is-a-standalone-game/ "We're looking into Wii and PSP as a company," Darrah revealed, although "nothing's been decided." BioWare is also intent on broadening its portfolio, Darrah says.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/bioware-considering-wii-psp-development/ If you've already finished Kojima Productions' Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) and are wondering where the story could possibly go from there, the answer appears to be backwards.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/metal-gear-solid-5-may-be-a-prequel/ At a developer conference in London, SCEE president David Reeves said that the future is the PlayStation Network. He points out that internal figures that show over 40 per cent of PS3 owners download games direct to their machines.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/sony-says-that-the-disc-based-delivery-system-will-fall/ First trailer for Treyarch's Call of Duty: World At War.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/first-call-of-duty-5-trailer/ Back in February we spotted a rumor that a GTA movie starring Eminem almost happened. It was knocked down the same day by Rockstar's Dan Houser, who said "we never entertained proceeding with the project." Maybe the story pitch was crap, but even if it wasn't, now we know at ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/why-well-never-have-a-grand-theft-auto-movie/ Earlier this week, Nintendo released firmware version 3.3 for the Wii in the hopes of deterring some of the homebrew work being done for the console. The update nixed the commonly-used "Twilight Hack," which made use of a modified save file to launch homebrew applications. It didn't take long for ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/new-wii-update-hacked-homebrew-lives-on/ Justin and Ian discuss everything that happened in MGS4 as well as what they liked and didn't like. WARNING!!! Massive spoilers throughout the podcast, do not listen until you finish MGS4. http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/aggravated-gamers-afterhours-episode-1-mgs4/ Podcast Notes for June 20th 2008 Makin the Rounds 2.40 in-game XMB! News Articles http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...few-surprises/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...iness-by-2012/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...ith-gag-order/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...es-team-ninja/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...o-break-apart/ http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008...lude-trophies/ Reviews Age of Conan: A- http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/21/aggravated-gamers-episode-70-new-format-xmb-conan-and-the-itagaki-saga/ The podcast should go on without a hitch tomorrow at around 3pm EST. We're planning as always to have the podcast up sometime before 8pm EST if all goes well. Prep has already been finished for the podcast so all that remains is to fill in the spots for the ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/20/podcast-tomorrow-2/ The podcast should go on without a hitch tomorrow at around 3pm EST. We're planning as always to have the podcast up sometime before 8pm EST if all goes well. Prep has already been finished for the podcast so all that remains is to fill in the spots for the ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/20/podcast-tomorrow/ Sony has just sent word that it has retooled the PlayStation Experience and PlayStation Patrol tour trucks into a more social and community-oriented experience. Better than ever, here are some pictures.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/19/sony-redesigns-its-playstation-trucks-for-social-gaming/ Level Up has just learned that Electronic Arts veteran Neil Young has left the company for an unspecified "new project," on which EA Games label president Frank Gibeau wishes him the best of luck. During his 11 year tenure at EA, the affable Brit captained such projects as the ahead-of-its-time ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/19/11-year-ea-vet-neil-young-leaves-for-new-project/ It seems that the days of computer created penis monsters and self-buggering entities are numbered, as EA has started threatening to ban people for creating porn using the Spore Creature Creator.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/19/ea-bans-the-spore-porn-aka-penisauruses/ People aren't just using the Spore Creature Creator to make penis monsters. Creative kids are trading cocks for controllers — just look at what Kotakuite zOmbi's friend Eric made in the Spore creator editor a few minutes ago. Yep, that's right, Eric made an Xbox 360 controller.read more | digg ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/19/spore-creator-editor-spawns-xbox-360-controller/ Highlights include mounts at level 30, changes to non-combat pets, Curse of Shadow and Curse of Elements have been combined, Hunter pet changes, Magisters' Terrace Nerf, changes to Rogue's Cheat Death ability and more!read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/19/wow-patch-243-notes-are-now-live-with-a-few-surprises/ An industry study conducted on the worldwide video game industry has predicted that the video game boom will continue through to 2012, with total sales soaring to $68.4 billion by 2012. The outlook isn't as rosy for PC gaming, which is projected to drop by 1.2 percent during the same ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/19/gaming-expected-to-be-a-68-billion-business-by-2012/ And the Itagaki vs. Tecmo legal battle continues! On June 10th, Tecmo filed with the Tokyo District Court for a "gag-order" against former employee and Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki before the court case begins.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/tecmo-slaps-itagaki-with-gag-order/ Warren Spector, the man who helped establish Ion Storm and create the Deus Ex and Thief franchises, has some choice words about games that take forever to beat. Speaking at the Game Education Summit in Dallas about how educators can prepare students for places in the games industry last week, ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/warren-spector-thinks-100-hour-games-arent-the-way-to-go/ EA CEO John Riccitiello has been talking at a session with investors at the William Blair & Company's 28th Annual Growth Stock Conference, and said that the publisher didn't expect Warhammer Online to meet World of Warcraft's level of popularity. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/ea-ceo-john-riccitiello-warhammer-online-wont-rival-wow/ The RetroUSB NES/SNES controller adapters enable gamers to easily attain a more genuine Virtual Console experience through the ability to use original controllers. Some hackers have gone even further, building custom circuitry into old equipment. Custom Nintendo themselves have contributed the Super Famicom Classic Controller to the cause of authenread ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/hacker-makes-wii-friendly-nes-snes-n64-controllers/ Word on the street is that key members of Team Ninja -- as many as three dozen or more -- are headed out the door as well, but that's not all. It seems that each one of the soon to be ex-ninjas will be serving Tecmo with a class-action lawsuit ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/itagaki-taking-36-members-with-him-as-he-leaves-team-ninja/ Say goodbye to homebrew (at least for now, until they figure out how to exploit something else).read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/nintendo-kills-twilight-hack-with-wii-menu-update-33/ We've come a long way since Pong and Space Invaders. But video and computer games are still striving to be both interactive and realistic. Have you seen the "Saturday Night Live" skit of the interview with Grand Theft Auto IV's main characters, Niko and Vlad? Their arms move imprecisely, as ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/amd-says-new-graphics-chip-makes-games-seem-real/ Valve has announced that the Pyro class update for its online multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 will be released this Thursday. To celebrate the update, the company is also doing a free TF2 Weekend, starting this friday.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/team-fortress-2-pyro-update-coming-this-thursday/ "PC gaming is not only not in decline, it's alive and well and growing," said Roy Taylor, chief technical officer of the PC Gaming Alliance, a nonprofit trade group.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/why-the-decline-of-pc-gaming-is-just-a-myth/ We’re also happy to officially report that the 2.40 system software update for PS3 will include “XMB” access in-game. The update will also include “trophies,” an exciting new feature that we’ll be providing more details on soon, as well as some other new enhancements. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/18/playstation-3-firmware-236-soon-v240-to-include-trophies/ Media Create stats reveal that Metal Gear Solid 4 has solid 300,000 copies in Japan turing Dragonball Z’s: Burst Limit 92,000 game’s sold in Japan in to nothing.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/14/metal-gear-solid-4-300000-copies-sold-in-japan/ The control system, said the "source", actually consists of a smaller-sized device that can attach to the body - and multiple devices are intended to be used in concert, such as wearing two on the hands to move a character's hands in-game, or four, on hands and feet at the ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/14/details-on-sonys-motion-controls-no-break-apart/ GomTV is branching out to audiences besides Korea, sponsoring Starcraft commentaries by "Tasteless," past US pro-gamer and WoW commentaries. Whats next? A US cable channel devoted to E-Sports Commentary? These are just a few of the commentaries (some World of Warcraft as well) that GomTV has released to test the ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/14/finally-english-starcraft-wow-commentaries-sponsored/ Learning how neutrophils attack infection in the bloodstream isn't exactly the most gripping topic for your average high school student, but the Federation of American Scientists hopes to change all that — with video games. Advocates are enthusiastic about the promise of video games in schools, but some educators are ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/14/are-video-games-the-new-textbooks/ Aggravated Gamers Episode 69 - The Return is now up for download. Check the bottom of this post for stream and download links. Enjoy. Guest - David Anderson (Daviblight from conceptart.org) http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/13/aggravated-gamers-episode-69-the-return/ GamePlasma was recently tasked with the job of reviewing a game titled "Limbo of the Lost." However once one of their writers, Erik Franck, started playing it, he noticed some very familiar settings. It appears that Limbo of the Lost has blatantly taken in-game environments and textures from Oblivion.read more ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/13/game-steals-in-game-enviroments-from-oblivion/ "Electronic Arts could have continued to compete by offering a lower price and/or a higher quality product," the suit said. "Instead, Electronic Arts quickly entered into a series of exclusive agreements with the only viable sports football associations in the United States: the National Football League, the Arena Football League, ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/13/football-gamers-sue-ea-blatantly-anticompetitive-conduct/ For this week ’s Sessler’s Soapbox, Adam Sessler brings up an issue that’s old, but still unfortunately valid. That is, he, like many people, is fed up with the amount of racist and homophobic talk on Xbox Live. As he points out, the situation is just getting uglier all the time.read ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/13/sesslers-soapbox-is-tired-of-the-bigots-on-xbox-live/ "Just like new cars drop in price when you drive them off the lot, the resale prices of video games drop in price the day you buy them. In fact the resale price of video games released in 2007 dropped 0.24% per day. But do well reviewed games drop as ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/13/fact-video-games-are-dropping-in-price/ An great ending to a great series read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/13/metal-gear-solid-4-review-ign-1010/ Every once in a long while, a game will come along and change all the rules. Final Fantasy VII transformed the RPG genre, Resident Evil helped create a new sub-category of gaming -- survival horror -- and Grand Theft Auto III single-handedly reshaped the gaming landscape. And now comes Metal ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/13/review-metal-gear-solid-4-is-a-masterpiece/ Aggravated Gamers - Podcast Update is now up for download. Check the bottom of the post for stream and download links. This podcast is primarily meant to inform you guys about what has been going on these last couple months and explain the new format for the podcast. Podcast coming ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/09/aggravated-gamers-podcast-update/ Well it has been quite some time since we have done a podcast and I see it as my duty to inform you all why there has been such a delay with the podcasts these last four months. About four months ago I was diagnosed with a medical problem that ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/06/06/podcast-update/ Late last night, we learned the story of Richard Gaywood, the not-so-happy Xbox Live user whose gamertag was banned. Since "RichardGaywood" was both the user's gamertag as well as his legal, honest-to-goodness given name, Kotaku contacted Microsoft to learn the reason behind the ban. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/microsoft-explains-gaywood-ban/ Cue the I-told-you-so's -- the everlasting rumor about last year's Xbox 360 hit BioShock popping up on the PS3 turns out to be true. According to the July issue of EGM, publisher 2K Games has confirmed that the underwater shooter is making the transition to Sony's shores.read more | digg ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/bioshock-confirmed-for-ps3-holiday-2008-release-date/ Instead of using positive review quotes from gaming publications they went with the most ridiculous comments that one hater has been systematically posting on Wired. Dtoid also found out that the guy has been trolling them since 2005 on various sites. Can you imagine his face when he discovers this?read ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/penny-arcade-promotes-their-game-with-blog-comment-flamebait/ Microsoft announced this afternoon that there would be no spring dashboard update for the Xbox 360.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/microsoft-no-spring-dashboard-update-for-360/ What does Valve think of the PC Gaming Alliance? Are they as tired of the PC gaming "problem" as we are? What is at the root of the issue, anyway? Read on for some answers.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/valves-doug-lombardi-pc-gaming-is-not-dying/ When the first Gears of War 2 gameplay footage was revealed, it did nothing for me, at all. The only thing that instantly jumped out to me was using Locust as meat shields, but nearly everything else felt very familiar. I shrugged off my disappointment, as I knew it was the ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/gears-of-war-2-multiplayer-details-opinion-and-analysis/ When Disney died in 1966, Mr. Miyamoto was a 14-year-old schoolteacher ’s son living near Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital. An aspiring cartoonist, he adored the classic Disney characters. Shigeru Miyamoto, a man whose creative successes have spanned almost 30 years. From Donkey Kong, to Mario as well known as Mickey Mouseread ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/shigeru-miyamoto-the-walt-disney-of-our-time/ CVG Staff have confirmed that the framerate issues in NG2 were found in the final build of the PAL version.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/ninja-gaiden-2-frame-rate-issues-in-the-final-build/ Funcom has announced that Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is shaping up to be one of the fastest selling PC games of all time. Half of the visitors to Hyboria, over 400,000 of them come from North America. The record pre-orders for the game have translated to financial dividends.read more ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/27/age-of-conan-one-of-the-fastest-selling-pc-games-of-all-time/ If you were wondering if AoC was going to be a hit, wonder no more. � Funcom has announce that it has shipped 700,000 units world wide for its May 20th launch date, which includes 110,000 units of the special edition box.� To put that in perspective, World of Warcraft [...]read ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/age-of-conan-ships-700000-units/ Bill Gates has commissioned 100 mother of pearl-clad Xbox 360s to be used as extra special gifts, the first of which was given to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/bill-gates-gives-xbox-360-to-south-korean-president/ More info will be posted soon but suffice it to say it involves a company that did not live up to it's promises on computers purchased for review and a long arduous process of trying to get our money back. It's really fun stuff and we'll talk about it later ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/podcast-returning-soon/ Kotaku explores the Entertainment Software Association's decision to move E3 to Santa Monica last year and the enormous cost of the move in both money and industry credibility. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/moving-e3-cost-the-esa-5-million/ With the departure of Activision from the ESA—and its subsequent withdrawal from E3—the company will only be showing its upcoming titles off-site. The ESA has taken issue with this, arguing that companies not involved in E3 should not be eligible to win such awards. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/esa-up-in-arms-about-game-critic-awards-e3-award/ Shortly after you won Skater of the Year, your character disappeared. No one knows what happened to him, but the skaters of San Vanelona hope he’ll come back. And they need you. In the past five years, the cops have cracked down on skaters. Caps were put on rails to ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/first-skate-2-teaser-trailer-and-details/ Historical pre-order and ship-in numbers for 2008 ’s most anticipated MMO - - Early access offer oversubscribed – First review of game gives a 9 out of 10.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/age-of-conan-collector%e2%80%99s-edition-completely-sold-out/ XBOX 360 lounge pants that are apparently officially licensed by Microsoft have started popping up at online retailers. The $17.99 pants are machine washable, have an open fly, side pockets and a covered elastic waistband with adjustable drawstring tie.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/officially-licensed-xbox-360-pjs-now-available/ According to one developer at EA Mythic, Nintendo is the most likely candidate to create a successful console MMO.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/ea-mythic-nintendo-could-make-winning-console-mmo/ The Xbox360 exclusive just keeps on getting better thanks to the Unreal Engine "which never stopped evolving," says Cliffy B. The Epic team have been able to cram more action and higher quality effects and environments thanks to "having artists that are smart".read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/gears-of-war-2-action-fives-times-bigger/ "No online racing for you!' That's the message Nintendo is sending to Mario Kart Wii owners hoping to race their Hitler Miis on its Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/nintendo-joins-the-rest-of-the-world-in-not-welcoming-hitler/ You might remember an image that showed up awhile back depicting how Bowser might look if he were real. Well, that same guy decided to give the same treatment to another beloved video game character with this realistic picture of Sonic the Hedgehog.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/realistic-looking-sonic-the-hedgehog-to-give-you-nightmares/ Yes. Shocking. For your submission, the picture, showing Soul Calibur's Ivy as she's depicted on the game's official website. On the left, how she appears on the Japanese site. On the right? How she appears on the American site.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/namco-bandai-in-shock-soul-calibur-breast-cover-up/ Who could possibly have envisaged Nintendo ’s Wii Fit as being the next software title to have ‘nanny state’ experts up in arms and calling for reclassification and even a ban, but, thanks to the fact that a certain Wii Fit balance board had the audacity to call a young girl ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/20/wii-fit-dares-to-call-young-girl-%e2%80%98fat%e2%80%99/ In an interview posted by The Seattle Times, John Smedley President of Sony Online Entertainment, gave his thoughts on MMORPGs and where they fall in for PS3.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/13/sony-aiming-at-mmorpg-market-for-ps3/ The Official site of Dark Alex now has PS3 section logo under the familiar PSP section logo. Many are now hoping that we could one day see a custom firmware on the PS3.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/13/dark-alex-working-his-magic-on-the-ps3/ PARIS, France. May 12, 2008 -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans for its third BlizzCon ™ gaming convention, to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on October 10 and 11. BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment®'s Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo®.read ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/13/world-of-warcraft-blizzcon-2008-announced/ PlayStation Official Magazine UK got the exclusive review - here's an interview with the reviewer before the mag ships.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/13/mgs-4-gets-1010-in-first-review/ George Kelion has said that these screenshots only show how pretty the game is, and that gamers shouldn't judge it based on them alone. “You can’t tell altogether that much from the screenshots other than the fact that it’s pretty,” Kelion said.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/13/rare-says-gamers-shouldnt-judge-banjo-kazooie-based-on-ss/ 8bitjoystick (a site known for some good Xbox 360 intel) has confirmed that Microsoft has been working on an Xbox 360 accessory known as "lips." What's "lips," you ask? No one knows for sure, though we know it's not the Wiimotesque Newton, and voice certainly comes to mind. read more ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/13/xbox-360-announcing-lips/ "When Mass Effect comes to the computer it will not use SecuROM.... The developer said the decision came after listening "very closely" to its fans and that the new system will also allow gamers to play the game without the DVD in the drive."read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/bioware-backs-down-from-draconian-mass-effect-authentication/ When Hideo Kojima said the MGS4 graphics on PS3 weren't to his "satisfaction" or that he realized there were lots of "restrictions" the PS3 posed, he didn't mean it. He meant to compare it and his game to a flying car. Even if a flying car doesn't make it into ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/kojima-so-not-disappointed-with-mgsiv/ Representing the first media of the game to arrive since its 2006 announcement trailer, the images provide an in-game glimpse of the first Banjo effort to hit a home console since the Nintendo 64 release of Banjo Tooie in 2000.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/first-banjo-kazooie-360-screenshots-leak/ Sometimes it's best not to ask "what if"...read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/if-nintendo-made-halo-3/ "Despite some hand-wringing by fans, EA today announced that their hugely anticipated Will Wright game Spore will not make use of SecuROM's 10-day periodic re-authentication and instead use a modified version to require online authentication." Hurray!read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/spore-to-remove-securom/ the first in-game footage of the cover-heavy action game sequel Gears of War 2 (X360).read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/gears-of-war-2-footage-debuts/ A pair of Harvard researchers say violent games are absolutely fine for teenage boys and girls. In fact, they say boys who don't play any games are considered socially inept.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/harvard-researchers-say-violent-games-are-ok/ Great controversy surrounds Assassin's Creed and decision to remove DirectX 10.1, damaging ATI's surprising performance advantage. TG Daily conducted detailed investigation and after talking to various game developers, Ubisoft and Nvidia, learned that original explanations do not hold ground. Was there any money involved...? Read on.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/assassins-creed-tangled-in-scandal-that-wont-go-away/ Universal has signed a deal to turn Bioshock into a movie. Director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) will head the project and Aviator writer John Logan may write the screenplay.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/bioshock-movie-in-development-gore-verbinski-directing/ The title sold about 3.6 million units on April 29, its opening day, bringing in roughly $310 million ( €200.91 million). This is $10 million (€6.48 million) more than what Microsoft Corp.'s "Halo 3," another blockbuster game, took in during its first week last fall.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/12/gtaiv-breaks-halo-3s-record-500-million-in-1st-week-6mn-2/ At first we thought this Wii Pole Dancing game was a joke—how could something so sexy come to such a "family-friendly" and casual console like the Wii? Turns out it's not a joke. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/08/the-wii-pole-dancing-game-is-really-coming/ If this is the future of casual gaming, motion controls, and Wii, count me in. Boom Blox may not be the best Wii game, depending on your proclivities, but it's definitely the best use of the Wii yet. It's immensely accessible, wonderfully tactile, and stands as one of the best ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/08/spielbergs-boom-blox-is-best-use-of-wii-controls-yet/ Id Software announced Doom 4. Also, they're hiring, in case you have a knack for designing better in-game flashlights.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/08/doom-4-announced/ Blizzard is fighting against a company that sells a bot program for use with World of Warcraft, but is doing so in a novel, and scary way: using your RAM to play games is copyright infringement, until Blizzard tells you it isn't. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/08/blizzard-attempt-to-kill-wow-bot-bad-news-for-copyright-law/ Rockstar Games just confirmed that they have released a patch for the Playstation 3 version of GTA IV which was causing issues with online play.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/08/rockstar-patches-gta-ivs-ps3-online-play/ The title sold about 3.6 million units on April 29, its opening day, bringing in roughly $310 million ( €200.91 million). This is $10 million (€6.48 million) more than what Microsoft Corp.'s "Halo 3," another blockbuster game, took in during its first week last fall.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/08/gtaiv-breaks-halo-3s-record-500-million-in-1st-week-6mn/ Live from Sony's PlayStation Day 2008 in London, David Reeves has just announced Killzone 2 for February 2009, ending speculation that the game would arrive this fall.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/06/forget-september-killzone-2-dated-february-2009/ Microsoft is teaming with the Companions in Courage Foundation to deliver Xbox 360 kiosks to children's hospitals across the country, the company announced today. Each kiosk will include an Xbox 360 packed with select games, movies, television content and access to a private network that allows hospitalized children to play ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/06/microsoft-donates-xbox-360-kiosks-to-childrens-hospital/ Warcraft and StarCraft developer Blizzard has begun offering direct downloads of select PC titles via a new portion of its online store. Furthermore, owners of certain Blizzard efforts can now register their CD keys on the site to add the titles to their Blizzard Account and download them for free at ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/06/blizzard-opens-digital-download-store/ The emerging effort to use videogames as a channel for selling music is entering its next phase with the recent release of "Grand Theft Auto IV."read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/05/grand-theft-auto-simplifies-song-purchasing/ As we have stated, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360," said a Microsoft official in an email to GamePro on Monday. "Games are what drive consumers to purchase game consoles, and we remain focused on providing the largest library of blockbuster games available."read more ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/05/microsoft-has-no-plans-for-xbox-360-blu-ray-drive/ Crysis sold 1 million copies worldwide as of February this year, but Crytek is nevertheless struck by how many illegitimate copies are circulating. Crytek engine business manager Harald Seeley said that he could not reveal specific internal figures pertaining to piracy of Crysis, but he added, "I can say the ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/02/crytek-crysis-was-the-most-pirated-project/ This New York Times blog article describes how the release of GTA IV affects Take Two's stock price and any potential deal with EA.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/02/grand-theft-auto-iv-and-real-world-billions/ See what's been discovered by Liberty City locals! Check the categories on the right to show markers for just about any person, place or thing in Liberty City. First to find something? Right click on the map location and choose "Add Marker" to share your original discovery.read more | digg ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/02/gta-4s-liberty-city-the-google-map/ The Chinese language Economic Daily News is reporting that Pegatron, an OEM subsidiary of ASUS, has won the order from Microsoft to assemble the Xbox 360 with Blu-ray Disc ROM drive -- shipments are expected to being in Q3 of this year.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/05/02/breaking-xbox-360-blu-ray-console-shipping-by-september/ 3DMark Vantage, the new Vista-only benchmark tool from Futuremark. To run Vantage, you'll need Vista with Service Pack 1 installed, a DirectX10-compliant videocard, 1 GB of system RAM and a CPU that supports SSE2 instructions (though ideally you'll want a dual-core processor).read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/29/3dmark-vantage-released/ ...a surprising amount of [UPS] workers are getting busted stealing the game from the shipment boxesread more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/29/grand-theft-ups-copies-of-gta-iv-stolen-en-route-to-retaile/ If you’re feeling stressed, forget about “calm blue ocean” mantras and squishy toys to squeeze. Instead, a new study from East Carolina University says you should fire up a casual game. read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/29/study-shows-games-help-reduce-stress/ Jack Thompson refreshes his assault on Grand Theft Auto IV, providing a link to a lap dance- and murder-packed IGN video you'll likely see soon on the evening news.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/29/gta-iv-sex-video-gives-thompson-other-critics-fresh-ammo/ Lashing anti-video game critics, he said “There is a big fear factor here. It’s the coming of the railways, it’s Elvis shaking his hips. It’s cars going over 25 miles per hour and making people explode.”read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/29/rockstarnorth-president-says-anti-gaming-critics-fear-change/ Nobody really expected Wii Fit to be a flop, and obviously the rampant success in Japan should've tipped us off, but it looks like the little exercise-centric peripheral is really doing alright for itself over in Europe. Dixons.co.uk says it sold a Wii Fit every four seconds on Friday, and ... http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/28/wii-fit-is-selling-like-gangbusters-in-europe/ Analysts predict Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games' open-world, action-driving game will easily top last year's record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft and Bungee Studios' first-person shooter "Halo 3"read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/28/gtaiv-will-sell-9000000-copies-at-launch-says-ap/ Nintendo does not plan to cut prices of its popular Wii gaming console or DS handheld game system anytime soon, the company's president said Friday.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/27/nintendo-bucks-tradition-says-no-price-cuts-for-wii/ "...we are preparing for a spike that could be much larger than what we saw with the launches of Halo 3 and Activision's "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare."read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/27/what-xbox-live-is-doing-to-prevent-gta-iv-server-riot/ And Leland Lee hasn't even seen it yetread more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/27/gta-critics-blindly-decry-violence/ During a nearly one-year period, Frank Buchanan allegedly made about 192 purchases on two credit cards at various stores. What was out of the ordinary, however, was that the 30-year-old Buchanan also allegedly had about 183 refunds on those cards.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/27/man-buys-23178-worth-of-games-returns-them-with-blanks/ GamePro reviews Rockstar's eagerly anticipated fourth installment in their Grand Theft Auto franchise--cast your fears aside because GTAIV is the better than you can imagine.read more | digg story http://www.aggravatedgamers.com/2008/04/27/gta-4-review-the-best-gta-game-ever/