NEWS: Sunday Update

PHEW! It's been a couple weeks since I last updated the blog! Really sorry about that, I've been in over my head at both of my jobs. At school, it's now week three of four straight weeks of elementary school. Anyone who's ever taught it knows that it's fun, but it's so exhausting! As for the Escapist, I've been commissioned to write a feature article about the history of mechs in videogames. Look forward to seeing that by the end of this week.

Last week, I went to Nasu Highland Park. It's a theme park near where I live that I shied away from going to for the longest time, because a friend of mine who has lived in Japan a lot longer than me told me it was "shit" and to "not bother." I'm really glad I disregarded that advice, because it turned out to be one of the best themepark experiences I've ever had! Sure, it wasn't as glitzy or glamorous as Disneyland, but it was half the price, had little to no lines, and still had some pretty freaking sweet rollercoasters.

Check out this video my friend Jerry made about the whole experience:

On to the last couple week's news posts! Sorry to give you such a big dump all at once:

• Xbox One's Launch Titles Include Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct
• A Link Between Worlds Is Not a Sequel, But Not a Remake Either
• Xbox One Games Will Still be Playable When Servers Shut Down
• The Witcher 3 Features 36 Alternate Endings
• Update: Xbox One E3 Demos May Have Been On Windows 7
• Mad Max Won't be Set in Australia
• Smash Bros. Director Is Stressed Out Deciding The Roster
• 3DS System Update Brings New StreetPass Games
• Screen Australia Injects $6 Million Into Dying Games Industry
• Rumor: Game Sharing Coming To Steam
• The LEGO Movie Assembles in 2014
• Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Pulled From Stores
• Adam Orth To Give Speech On Online Toxicity
• DoTA 2 Ditches Beta Keys
• Bethesda Hasn't Given up Hope on Wii U, Vita
• Dragon Quest X is Coming to PC
• Wolfenstein's Hardest Difficulty Will Make You Cry Blood
• Armikrog Wii U Version is on The Table
• Undertale Dev: "Every Monster Should Feel Like an Individual"
• Update: Saints Row IV Refused Classification in Australia
• State of Decay Also Refused Classification in Australia
• Smash Bros. Director Justifies New Character Choices
• Broforce Unites 80's Action Bros In 2D Side-scrolling Broship
• Blood Dragon Sells Over Half a Million Copies
• Xbox One Designed "With Advertising in Mind"
• Kirobo Will be Japan's First Robot Astronaut
• BioShock Infinite DLC Info Coming Soon
• Nintendo Loses Complaint Against "wiiu.com" Owner
• Former Dev: WoW Has Killed the MMO Genre
• Diablo III Console Version Makes it Easier to Get Loot
• Walking Dead: 400 Days Out This Week, Free on Telltale Store
• Minecraft Version 1.6 Out Now, Adds Horses
• Worms Dev: Why Bother With DLC When You Can Have Mod Support?
• Journey Dev is Excited For Kinect 2.0
• Real-Life Resident Evil Simulator Comes To Universal Studios Japan
• Natural Selection 2 Adds Female Marines
• Pokemon X and Y Trailer Shows Off New Features
• American McGee on Publishers: "News Flash: Things Cost Money"
• Final Fantasy VII is Now on Steam (But Not in Japan)
• New Study: No Link Between Games and Anti-Social Behavior
• ESEA Faces Lawsuit Over Bitcoin Mining Scandal
• Skullgirls PC Beta is Now Avalaible
• Satoru Iwata Refuses to Layoff Nintendo Employees
• Razer CEO: No PS3 Accessories Because I Barely Play Mine
• Microsoft Struggles to Adapt Xbox One to Japan

Top three stories:

Ellen Page: Naughty Dog Ripped Off My Likeness

Nintendo Fans Fight For Region-Free Consoles

League of Legends Oceanic Servers Now Available

Okay guys, that's it from me for this week! Be sure to subscribe to my twitter for up-to-date news and blog updates, my youtube channel for gaming videos, and check back here every Saturday for a roundup of my Escapist news pieces!

NEWS: Saturday Update

E3 is finally over. What a crazy week it's been. This was my first E3 that I covered for the Escapist and the increased workload I had to deal with was intense. It should all pay off in the end though (literally, as I get paid per article).

So what's my opinion on E3 this year? Obviously, there is the Microsoft thing, which completely baffles me. I am somewhat of a Microsoft fanboy (i own an Xbox 360, although how I came about owning one was more of an opportune than deliberate purchase) and even I have to admit that Sony wiped the floor with them. It was just one bad policy after another. I know Microsoft are trying to change the gaming world here, and they knew there would be resistance, but damn.

A lot of people compare what they are doing to what Steam did to PC gaming several years ago. I tend to agree with them there. Steam was met with just as much (if not more) resistance than is now facing the Xbox One, but at the end of the day it turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to PC gaming.

Microsoft wants to do the same thing with console gaming, but damn, they could have done a LITTLE bet better PR on it. Maybe eased people more into it rather than just dumping bad news after bad news.

Aside from that whole bru-ha-ha, a lot of cool stuff came out of E3. We got to see Titanfall from the guys who made Call of Duty back when Call of Duty was a competitive PC FPS and not a running joke. If they pull this off, it'll sit besides TF2 and NS2 as a go-to multiplayer FPS for me.

Watch_Dogs, with it's hide-and-seek multiplayer and crazy gameplay options looks set to really shake things up.

There was the announcement of the new Battlefront, which doesn't really need to have anything else said about it (fingers crossed for a PC release).

And then there was of course, Nintendo's direct, which pretty much hit everything right. Wii U has no games? OK. How about some big first party Nintendo games? Super Mario. BAM. Donkey Kong. BAM. Mario Kart. BAM. Oh? You are sick of the bog-standard Nintendo franchises you always see? Well here's Wonderful 101, a crazy new IP that's about controlling a whole mob of superheroes at once. You want third party? We got third party. Batman. Assasin's Creed. Bayonetta 2, which is a Wii U exclusive!

Ok we done. NO WAIT HERE'S SMASH BROS. Ok we really done now. NO WAIT HERE'S MEGA MAN IN SMASH BROS!! PEACE OUT BITCHES!

As you can imagine, I haven't had too many real-life adventures this week! Next weekend i'm planning on attending a 'scavenger hunt' in Fukushima, which sounds fun.

So anyway, here's the news for last week:

• DICE Exec: Military Shooter Market Isn't Oversaturated

• Battlefield 4 Won't Support Mods

• Super Smash Bros. For Wii U and 3DS Won't Have Cross-Platform Play

• Nvidia Says PS4 and Xbox One Are Good News For PC Gamers

• Nintendo's First Free-To-Play Title Will Launch Before March, 2014

• CliffyB Thinks Used Games Are Bad, Sony is "Playing Us"

• PS+ Not Required For Free-to-Play Online Games

• Pokemon X and Y Add Sky Battles, Horde Encounters, Fairy Type

• Super Smash Bros. Director Talks 3DS, Wii U Version Differences

• ESA Calls The Cops on Ouya's Parking Lot E3 Booth

• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Sees Dixie Join Diddy and DK

• Super Mario 3D World Features Cat Mario

• Battlefield 3: Close Quarters DLC Now Free For All

• PS4 Online Multiplayer Requires PS+ Subscription

• Eat Doritos, Drink Mt. Dew, Win an Xbox One

• The Crew Adds Boss Fights To Racing Games

• Redbox Asks For Feedback on XBone, PS4 Rentals

• First CoD: Ghosts In-Game Footage Shows Dog Gameplay

• World Of Warcraft's Raids Get More Flexible

Story of the week:

• Mega Man Blasts Into Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS

Okay guys, that's it from me for this week! Be sure to subscribe to my twitter for up-to-date news and blog updates, my youtube channel for gaming videos, and check back here every Saturday for a roundup of my Escapist news pieces!

NEWS: Monday Roundup

Hey guys. I was back in my old stomping ground Nakagawa for a homestay/rice planting weekend, so I was unable to update my blog. I had a blast, I stayed with the families of two of my old students. We pretty much just hung out all weekend, playing videogames and watching movies. It really made me miss Nakagawa town, and also my own family back home.

Saki, "Mr. Grumpy," Tom-chan and Me

Sorry it's a bit late, but here's this week's stories:

• Netflix Debuts Arrested Development Season 4 Trailer
• Activision CEO Worried NextBox, PS4 May Have "Slow Start"
• Swindle Dev: How Can Consoles Improve Ties With Indies?
• Blizzard Confiscates Gold From Exploiters, Donates it to Charity
• The IT Crowd Gets Together For One Final Episode
• Original Sonic to Get "3D Classics"-Style Remake On 3DS
• Ubisoft Fires Assassin's Creed Creator
• Nintendo's Wii U Showcase is Too Cool For a Press Conference
• Patch 3.0 For SimCity Promises to Fix Traffic (Again)
• Valve Wants to Use Your Sweat as a Gaming Device
• Michael Biehn: Dev Already Has Blood Dragon Sequel In Mind
• Sony Exec: PS4 Versions of Multiplatform Games Must Be The Best
• Ex-Dreamworks Animator's Ghost of a Tale Shows Off Its Assets

Story of the week:

• Pedal-Powered Roller Coaster Features at Bicycle Theme Park

Okay guys, that's it from me for this week! Be sure to subscribe to my twitter for up-to-date news and blog updates, my youtube channel for gaming videos, and check back here every Saturday for a roundup of my Escapist news pieces!

NEWS: Saturday Roundup

Now that I'm writing daily news stories for The Escapist, I've decided to collate all of the articles I post during the week right here on Steve's Game Blog! Here's this week's stories:

• Nvidia Claims PS4 Is Only as Good as a "Low-End" PC
• You Can Finish The New Thief Without Killing Anyone
• Painkiller Dev Can't See The Benefit of PS4 Over Gaming PC
• BioShock Infinite Steam Pre-Orders Now Include a Copy Of XCOM
• 4gb Patch For Aliens: Colonial Marines Improves AI, Graphics
• Sonic Generations Mod Adds New Levels From Unleashed
• Rumor: More Evidence Suggests Always-Online For Next Xbox
• 2.6 Million Tune in to MLG's Latest Esports Event
• Carmageddon Resurrects Onto Next-Gen Platforms
• Horror Movie Summer Camp Lets You Live Out A Slasher Flick
• Heart of the Swarm Moves 1.1 Million Units In 2 Days

Story of the week:

• Richard Garriott: "Most Game Designers Really Just Suck"

Bonus content:

• Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon Review - Second Player No More

Okay guys, that's it from me for this week! Be sure to subscribe to my twitter for up-to-date news and blog updates, my youtube channel for gaming videos, and check back here every Saturday for a roundup of my Escapist news pieces!

NEWS: Saturday Roundup

Now that I'm writing daily news stories for The Escapist, I've decided to collate all of the articles I post during the week right here on Steve's Game Blog! Here's this week's stories:

• EA Offers Free Game to Early SimCity Adopters
• Gearbox Teases New Borderlands 2 Playable Character
• Games Workshop Reveals New Warhammer 40k Video Game
• Valve's Business Saw a 50% Increase In 2012
• Red Orchestra Dev: CoD Has Ruined A Generation Of Gamers
• Jury Orders Nintendo to Pay $30 Million In Infringement Case
• Tropical Skyrim Mod Replaces Snow With Sand
• Japanese Robot Car Drives Itself, Seats One
• Richard Garriott Explains Why He Needs a $1 Million Kickstarter
• Japanese Game Pits Wrecking Ball Against Terrorist
• Just Cause Dev Claims PS4 Will Out-Power Most PCs For Years

Story of the week:

• Xi3 Opens "Piston" Steam Box Pre-Orders, Costs $1000

Okay guys, that's it from me for this week! Be sure to subscribe to my twitter for up-to-date news and blog updates, my youtube channel for gaming videos, and check back here every Saturday for a roundup of my Escapist news pieces!

NEWS: Sunday Roundup

Now that I'm writing daily news stories for The Escapist, I've decided to collate all of the articles I post during the week right here on Steve's Game Blog! Sorry I'm a day late this week, I er, just forgot to do it yesterday... Here's this week's stories:

• All PS4 Games Will Be Available as Downloads
• Sims Creator Loves New SimCity's "Guilt-Driven Experience"
• Death is Coming for Everyone in Game of Thrones Season 3
• Blizzard Will Unveil a Completely New Game at PAX East
• Epic Announces Gears of War: Judgement Season Pass
• Tear up Hong Kong's Streets in Sleeping Dogs: Wheels of Fury
• Maxis Will "Eventually" Increase SimCity's City Sizes
• You Can Now Play League of Legends On Your Mac

Story of the week:

• CliffyB: Microtransaction is Not a Dirty Word, EA is Not The Bad Guy

Okay guys, that's it from me for this week! Be sure to subscribe to my twitter for up-to-date news and blog updates, my youtube channel for gaming videos, and check back here every Saturday for a roundup of my Escapist news pieces!

NEWS: Saturday Roundup

Now that I'm writing daily news stories for The Escapist, I've decided to collate all of the articles I post during the week right here on Steve's Game Blog! Here's this week's stories:

• The PS4 Won't Require a Constant Internet Connection
• PS4 May Not Block Used Games Afterall
• Sony Stock Drops After PS4 Event
• Sony Gives Free PSN Credit to Loyal Customers
• Natural Selection 2 DLC Adds Gorge Tunnels, Railguns
• Blizzard Halves Mists of Pandaria Price for Patch 5.2
• Starcraft Patch Brings "LAN" Play, Clan Support
• Crytek Boss: "Impossible" For New Consoles to Beat PC

Story of the week:

• China Opens Unofficial League of Legends Restaurant 

Okay guys, that's it from me for this week! Be sure to subscribe to my twitter for up-to-date news and blog updates, my youtube channel for gaming videos, and check back here every Saturday for a roundup of my Escapist news pieces!