Canadian Kid Goes Nuts Upon Receiving Wii for Christmas
Posts Filed under: Video Games
Teen Threatens Suicide Over 'World of Warcraft,' Gets Arrested
In response, the Blizzard representative immediately traced the boy's IP address and notified local police, who promptly showed up at the boys' house. Explaining to police that the threat had not been sincere, and that he was simply trying "to get what [he] wanted" in regards to the game, the boy was arrested and charged with a first-degree misdemeanor.
We're glad the boy, only 17, is anonymous. Otherwise, he might never get a job. Not because of the arrest, though. Because of the 'WoW.' [From: Middletown Journal via MyFox Springfield]
Driver Adds XBox Controls to Steering Wheel of Car
Some Xbox 360 mods are the product of serious craftsmanship, some are rather silly, and some -- like this Suzuki automobile console / Xbox 360 game console hybrid -- really give one pause. This isn't the sort of thing that one spends moments / hours / weeks on, after which he reflects for a moment ("Aren't I rather clever?"), and then hides it safely in the closet (or sells it on eBay). No, this is an automobile. We're guessing that the slight cringe of embarrassment he's going to feel when picking up his date for the cotillion will be outweighed by the safety and security he feels knowing that he can always play 'Super Smash Bros. Brawl' -- even on the road.
According to the photo's description on Flickr, this car features not one but two Xbox 360s, two projectors, and two flat screens. The game controllers are availabe at a moment's notice -- including one in the steering wheel, one in front of the gear shifter -- and one of the 360s is set in the dashboard. Oy vey. [Via On 10]
According to the photo's description on Flickr, this car features not one but two Xbox 360s, two projectors, and two flat screens. The game controllers are availabe at a moment's notice -- including one in the steering wheel, one in front of the gear shifter -- and one of the 360s is set in the dashboard. Oy vey. [Via On 10]
Joystick Coat Hangers Bring Back that Retro Look
The hangers are certainly an upgrade from traditional hooks, and you can certainly out-gamer your gamer buddies, as soon as they walk in the door no less!
Game on!!! [From: BoingBoing]
Old-School Games Reborn on the iPhone
Among the retro games available for download on the iPhone are 'Super Monkey Ball,' 'Tetris,' 'Pac-Man' and -- as we mentioned earlier -- 'SimCity.'
USA Today reviews one particularly intriguing game known as 'I Love Katamari,' in which a user rolls a ball of junk around various landscapes, continuing to accumulate more and more random items as the ball snowballs into mammoth proportions. Using the iPhone's 'accelerometer,' the gamer controls the direction of the ball by tilting the iPhone one way or another.
Could it be said that all this nostalgia for the tech of yore says something about the persistent evolution of popular technology? Could it be that video games struck the ideal balance between technological appeal and good old-fashioned enjoyment fifteen years ago? Or could it be that, just as we continue to listen to Elvis and read Dickens, we'll continue to go back to those great games of a bygone era? [From: USA Today]
How to Cook Up a Super Mario-style 1UP Mushroom Burger
Potential genius, Karen Chu, has posted instruction on the DIY resource Instructables.com detailing how to create a mushroom burger that looks like the life-giving 1UP mushroom from 'Super Mario Bros.' Creating the burgers takes a little time, but they don't seem particularly difficult to make. Of course, you could make it even easier by simply using ground chuck (accept no substitutes!) to make nice round burgers of your own instead of the veggie patties included in this recipe.
All you need is some mozzarella, green food coloring, and some nice big round buns. Now get cracking, and let us know if you come right back to life the next time you have a run-in with a goomba. [From: Instructables, Via: Neatorama]
IBM Exec Believes Gaming Good for Developing Leadership Skills
Still on the fence about whether video games offer good real-world experience and lessons for kids, despite the many studies that report findings to the contrary? If so, an executive at IBM would like to change your mind, as he firmly believes that gaming is good for children, including his own.David Laux, a Global Executive for IBM in charge of their interactive entertainment division, thinks that video games teach children valuable lessons, and refers to his own 11-year-old daughter's experience playing 'Zoo Tycoon,' a game that tasks players with managing the day-to-day tasks at a zoo. While playing that game she has to not only worry about keeping the creatures alive, but keeping the grounds clean, the employees happy, and of course customers streaming in the front gates. It's a complex mix of prioritizing and budget-minding, skills that he says are "directly transferable to a real life environment."
Retro DIY Super Nintendo Cartridge Wallet
Sure, it might be a little more cumbersome than your current billfold -- but whatever -- this is awesome. This SNES cartridge has been modded so that it holds a photo ID on the front plate, but it's also been gutted of its internals and outfitted with a hinge so that there's storage space on the inside. Oh, and it's got an LED that can be powered on and off, plus it plays game music / noises! Crazy, right? Well, it's slightly complicated to build one of your own, but Instructables has the details, should you want to give it a whirl. Ask yourself this: what better project could you ask for in the new year? [Via Hack A Day]
Collectible Video Games Made Worthless by Digital Re-Releases
If you own a Wii, Xbox 360, or PS3, and you haven't tried any of the many downloadable games that they offer, you're seriously missing out! Each system has a collection of fun and simple games available to download, usually for $10 or less. Many are new, but a large number of them are re-releases of classic titles, and some of of those were games that had become quite rare. That's good news for those who missed a chance to own them the first time around, but bad news for serious game collectors.Certain games, like the Dreamcast title Rez HD, had been selling for upwards of $50, the same as new despite being a 10-year-old game, but after the game was re-released electronically for the 360 those games are now going for just $15 or less. That's more than it would cost to download the game, but not by much, and a huge loss for anyone who was hoping to retire on a box full of classic titles. Surely there will always be some willing to pay extra to get the original games in their original format, but clearly they are in the minority. [From: arstechnica]
PlayStation 3 Lags Behind Wii, Xbox 360 This Holiday Season
Considering the way that the Wii flew off shelves last month, this next item probably won't come as a shock to anyone. According to the Wall Street Journal, both Nintendo's console and the Xbox 360 trounced the PlayStation 3 in holiday sales, with U.S. sales falling nine percent from this month last year. During this same period, sales doubled for the Wii and rose eight percent for the Xbox 360. Perhaps none of this should be a surprise, as Sony declined to cut prices on their system, while a lack of exclusive game titles and a number of inexpensive Blu-ray players went a long way towards making the PS3 the least attractive option in an already difficult retail climate. If anything, it looks like Sony won't be able to rely on the console to help prop up a flagging electronics division that just announced it will be cutting thousands of jobs in a bid to boost profitability going into 2009. Happy New Year, indeed.
