I Have No Idea What’s Going On, So Here’s a Dancing Clown Bear Murdering a Metal Gear Character

Oh, something about Street Fighter X Tekken, custom character design, interview with Yoshinori Ono, whatever. Check out the picture. Joystiq has the story.

California Pays Up for Failed Video Game Law

The great state of California recently tried to legislate away video games with a law targeting the sale of violent video games. The law was smacked down in a 7-2 ruling from the Supreme Court, which is about as close to the Voice of God as legal rulings can be. Because of this, California has been obligated to reimburse the Entertainment Software Association for legal costs and other damages. Where is that money going? Digital Media Wire has the story.

Video Games Turn 40

Here’s the story on how it all happened. Video gaming has been around for a while, but it all got started with two people; Ralph Baer and Nolan Bushnell. Ralph was a Magnavox engineer, and produced a little slice of technology called the Odyssey. Nolan headed up a company called Atari. Know your roots, folks. Gizmodo has the story.

Mewtwo Returns

The hilariously overpowered legendary pokemon Mewtwo is returning to the series after a long, and justifiable, absence. His emergence comes in the form of a downloadable character for Pokemon Black and White, as well as a card for the collectible card game. Other Mewtwo-themed offerings abound. Also, check out the Mewtwo timeline to see why this classic Pokemon character was sent riding off into the sunset in the first place. Gamesradar has the story.

Massive Multiplayer Online — It’s Not Just for Games

Ever wonder where captchas come from? These days, they’re usually part of a massive online project to digitize books, one word at a time. This talk from the TED conference shows the power of the internet when organized for massive collaborative projects. It can even make 4chan useful.

Netflix Trolls Gamers, Pulls Video Game Rentals, Asks You Mad?

A few months ago, the media rental monopoly Netflix announced that they would be adding video games to their spinoff service, one Qwikster. Early into the new year, Netflix has donned the troll mask and pulled game rentals from their lineup. The whole Qwikster idea provoked everything short of outright firebombings from the investor community, and without the protection of a second company to shield them from the copyright cartels, Netflix has stalled any future video game rental plans. Gamasutra has the story.

This Week’s EVE Online Drama, From the Desk of The Mittani

EVE Online pretends to be a game about spaceships. This is a lie. EVE Online is a game about the drama and conflicts created by throwing a hundred-thousand people on the same server with gear and goods that can take months to build and minutes to explode forever. In this environment of paranoia and hate, one group has conquered all others; Goonswarm. Of the major players in Goonswarm, the Mittani is considered the most knowledgeable and dangerous. He is Goonswarm’s spymaster, and through his machinations, empires have fallen. Care to listen to him talk about the latest EVE Online politics and drama? Ten Ton Hammer has the story.

The Internet Reviews Bastion

Bastion is a game and a story about a kid who finds himself rebuilding a fortress from a lost age. It’s also one of the better small games released in recent years, and you need to know about it. So here’s a review on Bastion, rising from the dark depths of MIT’s journalistic tradition. The Tech has the story.

Minecraft and Lego, it Has Finally Happened

The popular indie game Minecraft is more or less about pulling apart and restacking blocks, while horrible monsters try to feast on your entrails. Lego is more or less about pulling apart and restacking blocks, while horrible prices feed on your credit card. They’re a perfect match, and it’s finally happened — Lego has announced sets based on Minecraft. And lo, the angels did sing. The International Business Times has the story.

Star Trek Online and the Social Implications of Becoming Free-to-Play

In the newest MMO Anthropology the transition from subscription services to free-to-play for the video game Star Trek Online. Over the past three months Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment have been preparing their MMO property for this transition and there have been numerous changes to the game world. The most significant of which the addition of dilithium—a commodity/reward currency that overtook other reward currencies and melded them into one—and the addition of a pay-currency called Cryptic Points.

Other changes have been the addition of a virtual item shop and a tier system between Silver (free-to-play) and Gold (subscription) accounts with access to different bonuses and additional game enhancements such as more character slots, ship slots, inventory, and etc. for subscribers.

The introduction of a sudden rush of free-to-play users

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