Archive for December 14th, 2008
Posted by Griffin McElroy
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, RPGs
Oh, you still haven’t seen the latest trailers for Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII? Man, we thought everyone had seen those old things by now. We guess you weren’t hip enough to get into Square Enix’s “Closed Theater” at the Tokyo Game Show earlier this year. Well, no worries — said trailers were recently released on the Re: Final Fantasy XIII DVD and, following Newton’s Fourth Law of Gaming Media Distribution, were unceremoniously ripped off their discs and launched into the internet. For as long as they remain unmoderated, we’ve got both posted after the break. Just make sure you’re wearing appropriate protective eyewear, as many of you may find them eye-meltingly gorgeous.
Continue reading Watch these Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII trailers while you still can
Watch these Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII trailers while you still can originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Coupes, Ford, Toys
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2010 Ford Mustang GT by Hot Wheels
Shortly after the LA Auto Show debut of the 2010 Ford Mustang, the automaker announced that Mattel would be releasing its own replica of the new model as part of its Hot Wheels lineup. Somehow in all the running around after the reveal in LA, we missed out on picking up an example and Ford didn’t have any press photos available. Fortunately Ford’s Dan Jarvis came to the rescue and provided Autoblog with one of the toys for a photo shoot. As you can see, the team at Hot Wheels has made the usual array of tweaks in order to minimize the aerodynamic drag of the new car and maximize fuel efficiency. The exterior mirrors have been removed and the grille has been blanked off to force air flow around the car. The biggest change, however, was deleting the powertrain. Normally, this might be a problem, but like other Hot Wheels editions, this car derives its propulsive force from external sources.
Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
2010 Ford Mustang by Hot Wheels up close and personal originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: News, Rumors, Gears of War 2
 According to a few eagle-eyed members of the official Epic Games forums, a new Gears of War 2 Combustible Map Pack will be announced tonight at the Spike TV Video Game Awards and will be available via the XBLM Monday morning at 3AM eastern.
Per comments made on the Epic forums, Spike’s live stream of the award show was (for a brief period) online and was displaying all the award show’s rehearsal footage. Oops? The rehearsal footage supposedly showed new Combustible Map Pack DLC for Gears 2 that’s set to release in early Monday morning. No other details were revealed, but we have a hunch we’ll be seeing an Imulsion map among the mix. Seeing that the live feed is no longer active (or crippled under the bandwith strain), we can’t verify the DLC announcement or its release, so keep your eyes glued to Spike TV tonight at 9PM eastern.
 Rumor: Gears 2 Combustible DLC releases soon! originally appeared on Xbox 360 Fanboy on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Culture, Online, Polls
Apologies for the lack of updates recently, folks, as I’ve been in a persistent battle with our weekend guerrilla team, who managed to whittle me down and is now taking over full control of the Weekly Webcomic Wrapup. I made a deal that would keep the McElroy Empire out of here forever … but then they altered the deal. I can only pray they don’t alter it further.
I’ve been given the opportunity to make a final statement, which I intend to do so with bullet points:
- In the world of webcomics, this is more often than not true. For better and for worse.
- Is it Funny Today? is worth checking out to see what the Internet Hivemind finds
- The 2008 Webcomic Holiday Postcard Fundraiser is now live and worth your consideration. Proceeds go to Child’s Play Charity.
- Favorite webcomic? I love Digital Unrest and its geeky science jokes.
It’s been a great 3 years, 2 months and 6 days, thanks to everyone who has been supportive of this. Griffin will take over next week, so for one last time: Here are our picks for the week’s best game-related webcomics, be sure to vote for your favorite! (Poling after the break.)
Ball and Stick (Digital Unrest)
Unavoidable Square tax (MNC)
A Penetrating Look (Penny Arcade)
Town Folks (Brawl in the Family)
Of bar bets and pub puns (Sidescroller)
Is that a tear? (GameMarks)
Crossover (CAD)
Who Reviews the Reviewers? (2P Start)
Burn me once, shame … (Dueling Analogs)
Continue reading Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is passing the baton
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is passing the baton originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Joseph L. Flatley
It looks like all those crazy rumors are true — we’ve just received word that the Celeron-based Eee Box B203 has popped up on Asus’ website. Aside from the the Intel C220 processor, very little has changed from the Atom-based Eee Box B202: it sports Windows XP Home, ships with up to 2GB RAM and 160GB storage, and measures a diminutive 222 x 178 x 26.9 mm (roughly 8.7 x 7 x 1 inches). Of course, it still ain’t the prettiest device we’ve ever seen — but if it’s cheaper, faster, and small enough to fit behind your monitor anyways, we’ll gladly overlook the paint job.
[Via Liliputing] Filed under: Desktops
Asus unveils Celeron-based Eee Box B203 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Government/Legal
 With all signs pointing to White House action on an automaker bailout despite the the bill not making it out of the Senate last Thursday, Canada has its taxpayers’ wallets on standby as well. Our neighbors to the north account for a 20% share of the auto industry, and both the federal and Ontario governments are ready to add a commensurate amount of money to the bailout pot if U.S. government action does take place. So, assuming President Bush instructs Henry Paulson, the recently-crowned King of All Our Money, to give Detroit $14B out of TARP to tide them over and keep the RenCen escalators running until this all officially becomes Obama’s problem next month, look for an additional $2.8B or so to come across the Detroit River. Thanks for the tip, BrandleSmith!
[Source: Reuters]
Canada to the rescue! (after U.S.) originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Meta BD
2008 is coming to an end in a few weeks and for some of us it can’t end soon enough. However, we here at Big Download continue to press on with enough major news stories, downloads and original features to fill a Corellian space freighter (every web site should have a Star Wars reference). Let’s check out the highlights from the past week:
Exclusive features
Continue reading The Best of Big Download: December 8-14
The Best of Big Download: December 8-14 originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by Griffin McElroy
Filed under: Driving, Business
The latest episode of Electric Playground brought with it a shocking (yet somewhat believable) report — they claimed to have learned from an unspecified source that Electronic Arts is canceling the development of new titles in the Need for Speed series. When they asked for a comment from EA, a spokesperson responded with a statement that neither confirmed nor denied the report.
We tend to handle rumors without named sources with a bit more trepidation than others, but the cancellation of EA’s 14-year-old racing franchise isn’t completely outside the realm of possibilities. After all, the gaming industry juggernaut has sailed through fairer economic waters, and the latest installment in the supposedly canceled series, Need for Speed: Undercover, currently holds a Metacritic rating of 65 — which also happens to be the exact number of people who purchased the game. We’ll let you know when we hear more.
Rumor: EA cancels development on Need for Speed series originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Convertibles, BMW
Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2010 BMW Z4
After releasing photos and information on its new Z4 roadster yesterday, we now have a pair of videos showing the Z4 in action. In the first clip BMW Automobile design head Adrian van Hooydonk and exterior design head Anders Warming discuss the new design. The operative word in the new Z4′s design appears to be “Joy” although how joyous this car will be remains to be seen. Certainly the new look should make observers a lot happier than old one but ultimately any car is about the driving experience. Here the second video demonstrates how you can use the Z4 for the automotive equivalent of finger painting. The videos are after the jump. Thanks to Alberto for the tip!
[Source: BMW]
Continue reading VIDEO: 2010 BMW Z4 hits the road
VIDEO: 2010 BMW Z4 hits the road originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: TUAW Business, Podcasts
You can participate on TalkShoe by using the browser-only client, or you can also use the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client. For the web UI, just click the “TalkShoe Web” button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. You can also listen in on the Talkshoe page or call in on regular phone or VOIP lines: dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 — during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!
Recording support for the TUAW Talkcast provided by Ecamm Network’s CallRecorder for Skype.
TUAWReminder, talkcast tonight at 10 pm originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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