Gadgets and Video Games

OnLive has announced that its cloud-based game streaming service will launch in the 48 contiguous US states on June 17, 2010. The service will initially be available to PC and Mac owners for a monthly service fee of $14.95. Each game purchase and rental will carry a charge on top of the base subscription. Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive, confirmed that the final version of the OnLive “experience” will be demoed at E3 2010, which kicks off just two days before the service goes live.

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OnLive launching June 17 for PC and Mac, $15 per month service fee

Most businesses enjoy exchanging goods and services for fungible assets, so it’s not too shocking that Australian retailers are pulling for the nation to adopt an R18+ rating , which would cut down on the number of games the OFLC is forced to outright ban. Two retailers, GAME and Gametraders, recently spoke to GameSpot about their support of the new rating, and explained they’d be willing to adhere to surprisingly strict protocols in order to sell mature titles.

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More retailers sign on in support of R18+ rating in Australia

Rock Band Weekly features one act next week: Alice In Chains. The band, which has sold 17 million albums worldwide, released a new album last September after … yikes, fourteen years! (Hey, at least they didn’t go all Duke Nukem Forever , right?) Next week’s DLC track pack includes two songs from the new album, along with “We Die Young” from the band’s debut record, plus two ditties from their self-titled 1995 album.

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Rock Band Weekly: Alice in Chains

Well, Demomen, you put up a good fight, but the rocket-armed Soldiers proved too strong a combatant to topple. Team Fortress 2 ’s helmet-wearing class won the “War” update challenge, netting an additional item (boots which reduce rocket-jumping damage) to go with the update’s other additions. You can check up on all the new items, maps, achievements and totally out-of-place crafting mechanics on the update’s hub page . Or, you can simply log on to the game right now , and get the update yourself.

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Soldier wins Team Fortress 2 war, update goes live in time for free-to-play weekend

Sometimes an idea is just so good , you can hardly believe you came up with it. That must be how Harrison Krix felt after creating the elaborate and awesome Big Daddy costume you see above — not since BioShock released have we been so eager to heap praise on something. Well, Mr.

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BioShock cosplay recreates Rapture at the Aquarium

Idol Minds, known best for the PS3 downloadable game PAIN , has laid off more than half of its staff, according to a report by Kotaku . The original team of 46 has been reduced to a mere 20 through a series of layoffs, the latest of which affected seventeen developers. Kotaku’s sources point to budget cuts from long-time publishing partner Sony Computer Entertainment

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Rumor: PAIN developer Idol Minds lays off more than half of staff

There’s only one word I can use to describe the tone of Tecmo and Red Entertainment’s Nostalgia , but that one word describes it perfectly: jaunty . I don’t think I’ve ever played a jauntier game in my life, one that’s so upbeat about the abstract notion of adventure . This enthusiasm for getting out and seeing the (fake) world is aided by a simplistic, familiar RPG gameplay system that keeps the mechanics of the game out of the way of your adventurin’. If Dragon Quest were set in a fake version of early 20th century Earth, it would be Nostalgia

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Hands-on: Nostalgia (DS)

Frontier Developments has used the WiiWare platform to deliver two small, but high-quality games: the LostWinds series. However, according to David Braben (and a quick look at the offerings on any console download service) not everyone has taken the same approach.

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LostWinds dev: Don’t treat download services as a ‘dumping ground’

A couple of weeks ago, our attention was turned to a demo reel produced by a commercial sound designer named “Bix,” which, no, we imagine is not his Christian name. The reel included a 30 second teaser trailer for Max Payne 3 , featuring slow-motion bullets, a mysterious masked woman, appropriately crisp sound design and a highly implausible release window of “Winter 2009.” Thinking the video was just a fan project made to bolster an artistic portfolio, we thought little of it. However, the clip’s recent disappearance from the aforementioned reel (and its sudden circulation ) has caused us to think otherwise. We’re still not certain whether the teaser was commissioned by Rockstar, but we do know that it’s hot as the sun , and waiting just behind the jump. Continue reading Supposedly leaked Max Payne 3 teaser is rad, chronologically unsound Supposedly leaked Max Payne 3 teaser is rad, chronologically unsound originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:59:00 EST.

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Supposedly leaked Max Payne 3 teaser is rad, chronologically unsound

Even though the economy has seen better days, UK brick-and-mortar retailer GAME is seeing growth. Its used games revenues in the first half of this year ending July 31 grew by a whopping 12.3 percent to now make up “25.7% of total sales,” paralleling US retailer GameStop’s yearly used game revenue percentage . But things aren’t all Ferrari 458 Italia -filled days and caviar dreams around GAME HQ, with total sales dropping by seven percent.

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UK retailer GAME sees big boost from used game sales