Gadgets and Video Games

Filed under: Online , RPGs , Meta (about Joystiq) , MMO See that shocked look on Thrall’s face above? That guy’s the leader of the Horde, and he just read (on WoW.com , of course) that for the first time, players of World of Warcraft will be able to switch their factions — players will be able to leave his Horde, and those dirty Alliance might come to his side. No wonder he’s so shocked

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The best of WoW.com: June 23-30, 2009

Even back in the old west, cowboys knew how to throw together a solid multiplayer match. Evident in this trailer for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood , the cattle rustlers and other denizens of the wild west partook in the staples of a multiplayer experience, including traditional survival and team-based combat modes. Back then, they didn’t call it “multiplayer” though. To them, it was all a part of Manifest Destiny . After you’ve checked out the trailer above, be sure to hit up the gallery below for some screens

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Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood trailer shows off multiplayer modes

According to Gamestop’s Sterne Agee analyst, Arvind Bhatia, retailers have nothing to fear from digital distribution — not for the next five years, anyhow. Speaking to Industrygamers , Bhatia disclosed that Gamestop management has been conducting thorough studies on the capabilities of digital downloads and its potential adoption for several years now and that the findings are still in favor of brick-and-mortar establishments. Bhatia predicts that a market for downloadable titles won’t put serious pressure on retailers until 2014, which he proclaims will be a time when “25% of the population” will have easy access to download technology and when price and storage capacity won’t be such a concern. Although Gamestop’s study might sound like it’s trying to combat digital distribution, Bhatia states it’s not about competition but more on adaptation and learning how to profit from the changing distribution channels

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Gamestop: Digital distribution not a threat for another five years

From the obscure annals of May 2008 comes the testimony of BBFC head David Cooke, who confirmed that the now irrelevant UK ratings board had investigated the authenticity of “instructional information about how to make the drug crystal meth” in Grand Theft Auto IV . The incident was brought to light today in a Times Online article examining PEGI’s recent appointment as the sole UK video games classification authority and allegations that the organization might not be as thorough as the BBFC had been in its review process; for example: testing out GTA IV’s so-called meth recipe. We’re not certain just how far the BBFC went in its drug trial, but “independent advice” was sought in order to deem that “crucial ingredients and techniques were missing” from the game’s simulation. What does this mean for the rest of us?

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Baking news: GTA IV meth recipe flawed

So far, all we’ve known about ” Codename Eden ,” the project Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Q Entertainment is working on with Ubisoft, is that Mizuguchi is involved, and that Ubisoft didn’t think it was worth cutting into its E3 press conference’s Cameron Time to bring Mizuguchi up to talk about it. As a result, all we got was a brief mention of the project and an awkward wave from Mizuguchi’s seat in the audience. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz , Ubisoft executive director Alain Corre offered substantial hints that the new project may be a music game. First, he described Q as “very advanced and specialised in how to exploit the music genre.” GI followed up by asking about Ubisoft’s interest in entering the market and competing with Guitar Hero and the like.

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Ubisoft’s collaboration with Q Entertainment likely to be a music game

Brains! Braaaaaaaiiiinnnnssss! Due to nightmarish travel complications during a return trip from E3 and then a bizarre, four-day long hippie sun-cooking ritual , the author of this humble feature has been out of commission for some time — an oversight for which said author apologizes. If only the cultivation of comics was a brisk process! As you might imagine, it takes days of intense concentration, followed by a solid day of drinking, and then another day of concentration, and then, yes, another half-day of drinking. We’re back in action, though! Below are our seven favorite gaming-centric webcomics of this past week! You can (and should!) vote for your favorite after the jump, and drop a link in the comments to tell us what gems we missed out of during our accidental furlough. Consumer Advocacy (Penny Arcade) How to Spot the Doomed Characters Early (Dipswitch) All Work and No Play (Sidescroller) The Power of Teamwork (2P Start) A Dose of Fake Reality (Virtual Shackles) Prince of Amnesia (Burn the Internet) A New Business Venture (Digital Unrest) Continue reading Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is back from the dead Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is back from the dead originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:30:00 EST

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Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is back from the dead

With the release of the Wii MotionPlus , Nintendo has apparently placed how-to videos with applicable games to instruct its customer base on how to attach the accessory. Destructoid took the opportunity to upload the video, which walks a fine line between airplane emergency video and a tape that would be played in “health” class.

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We know you’ll need it: the Wii MotionPlus instructional video

Filed under: Online , Meta (about Joystiq) , MMO Joystiq’s sister site WoW.com covers the most popular MMO ever, World of Warcraft , every day of every week. Want to know what’s new in Azeroth? Here’s our biggest stories from the last seven days. News Upcoming mount changes Required levels for mounts are being lowered, as are the costs for each. Isle of Conquest details released Hot new deets on the game’s upcoming battleground instance.

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The best of WoW.com: June 9-16, 2009

CryTek’s newest, shiniest piece of tech is CryEngine 3, which will be put to use in the upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Crysis 2 . While the first footage of the console versions looks remarkably similar to what you’d get from a PC, a closer examination reveals how top-end gaming PCs are still capable of rendering better graphics with CryEngine 2. According to tehdaza on YouTube , “CryEngine 3 running on console hardware is about the same as CryEngine 2 running on ‘medium’ settings.” The look of the console versions can be recreated on the PC by using low textures, high shaders and object geometry and medium on all other settings. You can check out the video after the break

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CryEngine 3 equal to CryEngine 2 ‘medium’ settings, reveals comparison video

The vertical sandbox genre has gotten two meaty steroid shots with the recent releases of inFamous and Prototype . For those who would prefer a little history lesson on the genre before jumping into these recent releases, might we suggest playing Crackdown or Spider-Man 2 . Both titles are clear inspirations for the latest games and can likely be found at a budget price.

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WRUP: The Crackdown on inFamous Prototypes edition