Near Field Communication Technology in Nintendo’s Wii U

Near Field Communication isn’t exactly a household word, but the products it enables are. Chances are good there’s some in your phone, and those Skylanders toys you’ve been stacking up? Yep, NFC. I wonder what gaming property Nintendo controls that might benefit from something like the Skylanders business model. Hmm, I wonder… Oh, wait, Pokemon. Gamasutra has the story.

Kingdoms of Amalur Developer Interview

Kingdoms of Amalur is a single-player RPG set in fantasyland like every other single-player RPG whose name doesn’t start with “Fall” and end with “out.” What sets this new title apart is fluid and dynamic combat, with special moves that combo into each other. Mobility on the battlefield seems to be a key component of the Amalur fighting experience, as well. Here’s an interview with developer Ken Rolston about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Ten Ton Hammer has the story.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 — A Lesson in How Story Matters

The Final Fantasy series has suffered a peculiar disease, one common to artists and designers who go too long without criticism, who gather too many fans who adore the artist and not the art. That disease is creeping stylism. The work of the artist becomes more and more obscure, bizarre, more tied to the tropes and references of what came before. Eventually, no one save the artist himself can understand what in the hell is going on. To illustrate that point, here’s a review of Final Fantasy XIII-2. GameInformer has the story.

Family Research Council Discovers Star Wars: The Old Republic

More importantly, the horrible fundie right-wing think-tank group has discovered that characters in SWtOR can be… gay. That’s right, same-sex romances are coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic, largely because this is a BioWare game and that’s what they do. The Family Research Council handled the news with their usual dignity and diplomacy. Kotaku has the story.

City of Heroes — A Eulogy for Statesman

In the MMORPG, City of Heroes, the game’s lead developer was represented in the game itself as their iconic kinda-sorta Superman equivalent, Statesman. That developer, Jack Emmert, has since been removed from the game. The fans of City of Heroes rejoiced, as Jack’s ideas of what the game should be were slowly choking the whole thing to death. Either way, City of Heroes has finally cut out the last of Jack’s influence by killing off his character. The death of Statesman represents a turning point for City of Heroes, and perhaps frees the game from old chains so it can explore new territory. Oh, and here’s Statesman’s eulogy. City of Heroes has the story.

The Soulcalibur Workout

Fighting games like Soulcalibur are probably responsible for a good many gamers taking a look into the world of martial arts. But what about the world of exercise? Namco Bandai has joined forces with something called GYMBOX to create a workout routine based on the moves in Soulcalibur. GamersHell has the story.

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.