The Myth of the Media Myth

In an article on the Escapist website, game designer Brenda Brathwaite talks about the mainstream perception of videogames and takes a good look at how the perceptions are formed. She points out it is easy to blame "the Media" for the public's perception of games but finds that there are other reasons rooted in how people feel about their relationship with videogames in their lives.

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Xbox Live takes serious action against gamerscore cheaters

Microsoft has taken action against numerous cheaters on Xbox Live who have been manipulating their gamerscore. The actions include resetting the gamerscore of these people to zero, removing their ability to regain all previously gained achievements, and labeling them as a cheater on Xbox.com and in the Xbox dashboard.

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GameSpot editor leaves: timeline of staff exodus inside

Jeff Gerstmann was fired from GameSpot, reportedly for a bad review given to an advertiser's game. GameSpot staffers then began to quit the site, many in protest. Today we add one more name to the ranks, and look at the timeline of events.

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Did you see that? Sneaky In-game Ads and Crackdown

The other night while the kids were sleeping I was bouncing around the Shai Gen district and I noticed something very odd on one of the buildings. It was a billboard that said "H and K in '08'...in theaters April 25th". WTF?

I hadn't picked up Crackdown in some time. It and All Pro Football have been my games of choice as of late because I can play them in short bursts before getting to bed. My first thought was "oh what a lovely Easter Egg" and then when I googled 'Harold Kumar Crackdown' I found this link.

I don't have a problem with in-game ads, but this is the first time I have run into them in a game. I always thought that I wouldn't pay them any mind when I saw them, but here I am giving the movie face time because I thought I was seeing things. Clever marketing ploy, indeed!

Dungeons & Dragons creator dies

Gary Gygax, co creator of the pen-and-paper game that directly spawned Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights and influenced the entire RPG genre, has died at age 69.

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