Just a thought before retiring for the evening. The next xbox is doomed. Why, you may ask? Because it is my prediction that Microsoft will NOT listen to anyone that matters in the gaming industry, losing complete site of trends which need to be seen, and mess it all up, to put it nicely. Sony on the other hand has already made its rounds quietly to the developers and is going to build a kick-ass machine that devs have prayed for. Plus Sony will also subsidise the machine of around $400, making the PS4 sell for $599. That should be around $200 cheaper the the Microsoft Next Box. We will just wait and see if this comes true.

goodnight.

One Million Moms is calling on Toys R Us to pull an Archiecomic about same-sex marriage from its shelves.

Remember the One Million Moms? It’s the division of the American Family Association that wanted JC Penney to drop Ellen Degeneres as its spokesperson because she’s openly gay. That demand went nowhere, so now the group is trying its luck with another target: Archie Andrews, specifically issue 16 of Life With Archie, which tells the tale of Kevin Keller, an openly gay soldier who returns from the war to marry his boyfriend.

ANDY CHALK | 29 FEBRUARY 2012 2:30 PM

“Select Toys ‘R’ Us stores are now selling Archie comic books with a same-sex wedding displayed on the front cover. The front cover reads ‘Just Married’ with two men marrying and one is wearing a service uniform,” the Moms say on their website. “These comic books are sold at the front checkout counters so they are highly visible to employees, managers, customers and children. Unfortunately, children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in a toy store. This is the last place a parent would expect to be confronted with questions from their children on topics that are too complicated for them to understand. Issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, which is becoming extremely common and unnecessary.”

The group says Toys ‘R’ Us should be “more responsible in the products they carry” and want consumers to drive that message home with an email campaign requesting that it remove all “same-sex ‘Just Married’” Archiecomics immediately.

It’s probably worth pointing out that in spite of its name, One Million Moms actually has about 1200 followers onTwitter; it also apparently boasts about 44,000 followers on Facebook, although the link to its Facebook group now seems to go nowhere, perhaps a consequence of the growing number of anti-One Million Mom groups popping up all over the place.

Toys ‘R’ Us hasn’t yet commented on the complaint but Archie Comics co-CEO Jon Goldwater has, and in a pretty snappy fashion, too. “We stand by Life with Archie #16. As I’ve said before, Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone. It’s an idealized version of America that will hopefully become reality someday,” he said in a statement. “We’re sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.com feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate and narrow-minded people.”

Nicely put, sir.

Source: The Mary Sue

• By Eddie Makuch, GameSpot
• Posted Feb 27, 2012 8:14 am PT

What might the future of gaming look like? Epic Games is answering that question next month at the 2012 Game Developers Conference, where it will show off its next-generation technology behind closed doors.

What would Marcus Fenix look like on next-gen tech?

The company today detailed its GDC 2012 presence, noting that it will bring its next-generation technology–the Unreal Engine 4–to the show, which runs March 5-9 in San Francisco. A preview of the engine will be offered to “select” licensees, partners, and prospective clients during the show, with those parties forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

As for the next generation in general, speaking with GameSpot last summer, Epic Games president Mike Capps said, “It’s hard to know exactly what’s going to happen. We’re bullish on the next generation. We’re excited about it. But there’s a big risk that nobody cares because they’re all too busy playing [Zynga Facebook game] Empire and Allies, and they don’t need a next-generation console box.”

Of the three major console makers, Nintendo is the only company with a next-generation console announced and on the horizon. The Wii U is due for a worldwide release this holiday.

Epic also reiterated that studio design director Cliff Bleszinski will host the 2012 Game Developers Choice Awards. Fans who can’t attend the awards show in March can watch a live stream of the event here on GameSpot (and through GameSpot’s YouTube channel) the evening of March 7 at 6:30 p.m. PDT.

Ex-Tripwire Interactive Staffer Releasing Break Blocks for Charity!
27 February 2012, Roswell, GA

We are happy to pass on this message to the press from one of our ex-employees, Dayle Flowers, one of the guys who coded both Killing Floor and Red Orchestra 2. He left us to pursue his dream of making games for the greater good, so we’re very happy to support him where we can!

Introducing Break Blocks, a break dancing, action puzzle game.  Proceeds from each sale donated to charity.

Greater Good Games is a two-man, independent game studio whose creators’ dream is to use their passion for making games to help others. The studio was co-founded by Dayle Flowers, a former Tripwire Interactive employee, and one of the driving forces behind both Killing Floor and Red Orchestra 2, and Noah Wood, an illustrator and game enthusiast.  Greater Good Games was built upon a commitment to charity, and shares a portion of the proceeds from every single sale with the charity “Doctors without Borders”.  The Greater Good Games financial mission can be found at the finances section of their website (http://www.greatergoodgames.org/), to explain how that works.

Keys (just copy-and-paste into the game when it asks for one):

cRbJ8-X8O09-Ejlub-pI1EX-67acG
eseme-3zC1M-aDekC-d87OQ-kKW35

Grab a copy at the Review Build Download Link:  http://www.greatergoodgames.org/BreakBlocksReviewBuild.zip

Oklahoma House Bill 2696 was defeated in the House Revenue and Tax Subcommittee on February 20. This legislation would have placed a 1% excise tax on the sale of “violent” video games. When asked to withdraw his tax proposal, Representative Will Fourkiller (D) attempted to create the Oklahoma Task Force on Video Games’ Relationship to Obesity and Aggression. This proposal failed as well.

It was obvious that this bill singled out video games with unfair and unfounded claims, and something needed to be done.

Upon hearing of this legislation, Oklahoma VGVN supporters worked quickly, sending hundreds of messages to the OK Subcommittee on Revenue and Taxation and to Rep. Fourkiller letting them know that they would not stand for this proposed legislation.

And they were successful!

Oklahoma VGVN supporters pointed out that contrary to Rep. Fourkiller’s claims, there is no evidence linking video games with real world violence or obesity. This legislation would have taxed games like Get Up and Dance and Zumba Fitness 2: Party Yourself Into Shape, which actually encourage players to get up off the couch and burn calories.

They also informed them that the U.S. Supreme Court had rejected the idea that a state could impose content-based restrictions on video games and it was important for Rep. Fourkiller and the subcommittee to know that this should not be any different when it comes to Oklahoma.

Thanks for your efforts in Oklahoma. We need to continue to make sure other states are not the next victim of having their First Amendment rights threatened. So keep up the great work, gamers!