Gadgets and Video Games

Listen, we know how hard Valentine’s Day can be on some of you jilted lovers out there, so we went ahead and got you a little something to keep you occupied tomorrow: A copy of ThatGameCompany’s microbiotic PS3 title, flOw . You can download it right now from the PSN for free, without having to deal with any cumbersome coupon codes. Our generosity only extends so far, however — the free download will stop being offered at midnight EST tonight. Hurry up and grab it — and don’t say we never gave you nothin’! (Fine, we’re not the party responsible for the game’s free-ness

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PSA: Download flOw for free until midnight EST

The plasma party may be almost over for those of you still gripping tight to your Xbox 1 and copy of Halo 2 , playing game after desperate game before Microsoft shuts the online servers, but Bungie is looking for fans to join staff members in a last hurrah on April 14. Community manager Brian “Sketch” Jarrard proclaims on Bungie.net that, “We’re all saddened at the realization that an era is coming to an end but looking back,” before asking fans to “mark your calendars now – on April 14th let’s all rally to go online for one last hoorah.” And sure, he might not explicitly mention the emptying of various malt beverages from 40 ounce glass bottles, but that’s why we read between the lines. It’s right there, people! Pour one out for Halo 2 and the original Xbox with Bungie on April 14 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

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Pour one out for Halo 2 and the original Xbox with Bungie on April 14

Electronic Arts is really pushing to gain ground in the battle for FPS multiplayer popularity. Speaking with MCV , EA Europe senior VP Jens Uwe Intat proclaimed that March’s launch of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be the publisher’s “first strong attack” launched on Call of Duty . By that stream of logic, we’re guessing the Medal of Honor reboot would be the second

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EA Euro boss: Bad Company 2 is ‘first strong attack’ on Call of Duty

If you’re in Los Angeles tomorrow and have an interest in either Mega Man collectibles or eBay profits, be sure to get to 1013 W. Olympic Blvd. in LA tomorrow between 2pm and 5pm — actually, we’re guessing you’re going to need to get there early. And bring a printout of this coupon with you

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Capcom handing out mysterious Mega Man items before VGAs

Light is, by most accounts, a pretty good thing. It’s warm, it makes plants grow and, perhaps most importantly, allows us to see .

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Alan Wake teaser shows us the power of light

Kalypso Media’s press release yesterday implying user generated content and a “powerful new mission editor” existing in the delayed Xbox 360 version of Tropico 3 certainly required us to call El Presidente to verify the authenticty of the claim. Turns out some lines got crossed, which is bound to happen when dealing with a developing banana publisher , and a representative clarified the situation. “Some of the top rated missions created with the challenge editor for the PC version will be made available to Xbox 360 players,” a representative explained. “There is no mission editor for the 360 version.” Now that makes more sense.

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Tropico 3 for Xbox 360 will feature user-created content, no mission editor

Nintendo’s most iconic foray into the handheld gaming market is finally being recognized as “an innovator” that “changed the way people play electronic games” by being inducted into Strong National Museum of Play’s Toy Hall of Fame. Among twelve finalists, the Game Boy joins the Big Wheel and the ball to be added to the list of important cultural toys. Yes, the ball is just now being inducted into the hall of fame, meaning Nintendo’s handheld made the cut in two decades, while the ball had been clawing for a spot since the days of Ancient Egypt . In your face, Ozymandias

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Game Boy inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame

Time lapse videos were all the rage back in — actually, we don’t think they were ever rage caliber stuff, but in the case of this GTA IV video that shows 15 days go by Liberty City, it’s at least reached “oh, that’s neat!” territory. The video comes courtesy of DigitalFoundry (you can watch it over at Eurogamer ) and reminds us just how much life there is in the virtual sand box, as cars drive along to their respective destinations, pedestrians shuffle about doing their own thing and, in the case of that one lady around the 32-second mark, loaf around the riverside all day and night. We just hope she’s not doing what we think she’s doing. It’d be such an unbecoming thing of the purest city in all of gaming, amirite?

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Video: 15 days in GTA IV’s Liberty City

Tags: 360-console, a-top-priority-, a-used-console, been-modified, been-previously, combat-piracy, game-business, industry, million-members, modifying-their, Retailers, warranty, xbox 360

Okay, Japanese game consumers. It’s time we had a heart to heart. Last week, Enterbrain analyzed the Japanese hardware and software sales figures for the first half of fiscal ‘09, and … well, let’s just say the numbers were pretty grim. We certainly understand that times are kinda tight — as made evident by the surplus of red arrows witnessed this year — but let’s take a moment to step back, observe the big gaming industry movements from the past six months, and illustrate how much you guys dropped the ball

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Japanese hardware sales, Sept. 21 – Sept. 27: Diminishing returns edition