Joystiq

When the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences kicks off this year's D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas it will do so with opening remarks and a keynote address by Gabe Newell. The Valve supreme commander will join the show's laundry list of other industry luminaries when the event takes over Sin City's Red Rock Casino the week of February 17.

Among the more interesting scheduled talks include a presentation by Resident Evil 5 creative director Jun Takeuchi, who plans to address the challenges devs face when creating games for a global audience. Another by Ensemble's Bruce Shelley will see the game designer look back on the studio's history as well as discuss what may have led to the company turning out its lights for the final time. As for what Newell himself will be talking about, nothing has been announced, though our Magic 8-Ball says it will be PC-centric and not particularly flattering towards DRM.

We're thrilled with our newly settled-upon logo (courtesy of SideScroller's El Verde) -- unfortunately, it has inspired within us a terrible avarice for methods to make this feature more mainstream-friendly. Seriously, folks -- we've developed an insatiable jones for branding. If we don't get a theme song, T-shirt design, public broadcasting program, direct mail campaign and series of action figures soon, we're going to get a powerful case of the shakes, and that's going to make typing extremely difficultaagninrhfaerebr

Thanks to everyone for your submissions to this week's lineup! You know the drill -- seven comics follow this paragraph, a poll (for choosing your favorite comic) is after the jump, and the comments section (for telling us what we left off the list) is below that. You could keep scrolling further down, but eventually you'll reach some stuff that has very little to do with gaming-centric webcomics, which will probably just end up confusing you.

That Empty Feeling (VG Cats)
Works for Anything (Digital Unrest)
The Metal with the Broadest Shoulders (SideScroller)
Water Under the Bridge (Dipswitch)
The House of Miyamoto #11 (Hsu & Chan)
Dark Prophecy (EXTRALIFE)
Rejected Countdown Pages (Burn the Internet)

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Hopping into the Way Back Machine reminds us that Team Fortress 2 originally sported a traditional art style. One of the first classes to get a redesign was everyone's favorite Boston southie, the Scout. Although concept artist Dhabih Eng promised to harm people if the original concept art for the Scout was ever released, Valve has nevertheless added the art to its blog. From a military look (as seen above) to a track-suit wearing delivery boy, the Scout has seen his fair share of edits. Those of you interested in the evolution of Team Fortress 2's Scout should check out Valve's blog.

"How come I can't ever just grab a guy and rip him in half?" When X-Men Origins: Wolverine Project Lead, Dan Vondrak, asked why Wolverine had been gimped in every other game he starred in, we got the sneaking suspicion that someone finally "got it." Wolverine is a badass, and this debut CG trailer slowly makes us believe that maybe, just maybe, he will finally get the game we all know he deserves. Check out the trailer after the break.

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This weekend Steam is offering 30% off the entire Rockstar Games library, including the recently released Grand Theft Auto IV. Looking to erase the memory of being subjected to the recent Max Payne big screen adaptation? Max Payne and its sequel are among the titles reduced in the sale. Bulk buyers will also be happy to know the Rockstar Collection is now priced at $69.99, which includes everything in the catalog except GTAIV (which has been reduced to $34.99) including Grand Theft Auto IV. If you're looking to add a little chaos to your PC game library, this could be worth your time.

Update: Grand Theft Auto IV is included in the complete Rockstar Collection, however Bully: Scholarship Edition is not (on sale for $20.99). The Rockstar Collection is on sale for $69.99.

First, apologies for the delay! Mr. McElroy is without his 'nets so, that left a woefully ill-equipped me to handle editing duties. To make up for the delay, we've assembled some Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group-goodies for everyone. With Justin out, we asked the JPAG hosts to fill in with their own, stirring rendition of Justin's trademark intro. Honestly, we're not sure how we'll go back to the old way of doing things. And above: a collage of folks encouraging us to "Fire Justin McElroy" at the UK JPAG meetup. We didn't realize the University of Kentucky had so many listeners ...

Lastly, we're joined by Joystiq's Ross Miller on his very last day at the 'Stiq. He's been here longer than almost everyone (combined!) and – we don't know about you guys – but we're going to miss him! Enjoy (and big thanks to JPAGer James Lockwood for the pics)!

(Also: You can stream the latest episode right on our page – look over to the right. Neat, eh?)

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Hosts: Chris Grant, Ludwig Kietzmann and Justin McElroy Ross Miller (with special guests, Justin McElroy and Randy Nelson!)

Music: "Get Ready for Love" by Nick Cave, "Red Eye" by Ben Kweller

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See all of this week's links after the jump.

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If you enjoy the work of Scott Langteau, whose repertoire includes a few of the Medal of Honor games and Legendary (developed by Spark Unlimited, a company he co-founded), then you might be interested in his latest project: Telling you (or your kids) to stop being unhealthy, slovenly layabouts.

Langteau made a somewhat uncommon leap from the realm of video game development to the world of children's book authorship, his first outing being the cautionary tale Sofa Boy, due out mid-February. The book focuses on a young lad whose strong proclivity for video games denies him the healthier aspects of life, such as "bathing, good food, fresh air, sunlight, and old fashioned exercise." It sounds like a lighthearted, well-meant lesson about moderation -- though we're sure some will be offended by the portrayal of the somewhat obsessed gaming enthusiast.

[Via MTV Multiplayer]

True to its word, THQ downsized its wireless division. According to THQ's Brian Farrell, the realignment will see the company "focus only on games for high-end handheld devices," sending around a hundred of its mobile phone staff to the unemployment line.

The company stated plans to "restructure" its European wireless subsidiary earlier this week, though Moconews reports that THQ has also shuttered is San Diego mobile studio in addition to its wireless offices in both the UK and Germany. For now, the company's Universomo studio in Finland will be the hub for THQ's wireless efforts, promising that iPhone users will have all the Worms they can handle for the foreseeable future.

[Via VG247]

If the standard laws of the five-year console cycle apply to Nintendo's money-printing handheld, then said laws would dictate that the lifespan of the Nintendo DS (in its many, many forms) is nearing its end. The system's current install base of 84.1 million across the U.S., Japan and Europe is hardly anything to scoff at, and would certainly earn the device some form of lifetime achievement award at its retirement gala -- but according to Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, the DS will break the standard five-year cycle, and further expand its install base in the years to come.

Iwata claims that should interest in the DS expand in the U.S. and Europe as it did in Japan (where nearly one in every five people currently tote the handheld), the system's install base will nearly double -- his estimate for the handheld's final tally is a nice, round 152.2 million units. That's ... a pretty specific number. We're not usually one for conspiracy theories, but we're wondering if that estimate isn't, you know, time machine-assisted.

Greetings Program. With a sequel to 80s nerdgasm TRON set to digitize theaters in a couple years, Disney Interactive Studios is already rumored to be working to put an adaptation of the upcoming film on the Game Grid. The news follows reports earlier this week of layoffs and studio shrinkage at Disney's video game arm, though according to Variety this hasn't stopped the company from talking to potential game developers about the project.

Master Control has not yet revealed what the rumored game will be like. Perhaps it will be a shooter like Monolith's TRON 2.0, or simply let us dress up a grizzled Jeff Bridges in a variety of rotoscoped outfits. End of line.

Unable to secure a publisher, the developer of Faith and a .45 has placed the game on hiatus, reports PS3 Attitude. Faith and a .45 stars protagonists Ruby and Luke -- Tobey Maguire's evil twin brother, from the looks of him -- who face off against an enemy force led by a ruthless oilman who's out for their blood. You know, the usual song and dance. When last we heard from developer Deadline Games -- which is currently developing two downloadable games based on the Watchmen graphic novel -- the studio showcased Faith at GDC'08 in hopes of luring in a publisher. Guess that didn't go so well.

[via Evil Avatar and 1UP]

Following a deadly shooting spree in Portland, Oregon last Saturday, January 24, the Oregonian newspaper noted that alleged shooter Salvador Ayala was a "video game fan" and enjoyed games such as Left 4 Dead and Resistance: Fall of Man. The Portland Mercury now reports that local police are "not pursuing a link between videogames and the shooting."

Detective Mark Slater, who noted that a copy of Grand Theft Auto III was found in Ayala's apartment, said, "There were a lot of videogames in the apartment," adding that the games were "of a wide variety of the kind you might find in any 24-year-old's apartment."

While no motive has yet been found, it is now known that Ayala left his roommate a note on the day of the shooting. The note contained Ayala's bank information, social security number, and instructions to the roommate urging him to sell Ayala's Playstation 3 and car and "keep the money." The note closed, "Good luck in this shitty world." The Mercury states that Ayala's friends and roommate now describe him as being "depressed."

[Via Game Politics]

Speaking to GI.biz, Sega Europe president and COO Mike Hayes discussed the importance of Metacritic, specifically to publishers approaching developers about future projects. Hayes said that being able to "put objectivity" into the video game business is very important when publishers are putting millions of dollars on the line. "You have to try and find that objectivity," said Hayes, "and it's going to come from how much it costs, when it's coming out, and how good the game is."

In particular, Hayes said that Metacritic scores are important for "high-end Playstation 3 or Xbox 360" titles that are attempting to "break out" in a particular genre. "You have to target that quality," said Hayes, "because otherwise you don't have a hope in Hell." He added further that there is "too much evidence" that games that fail to surpass a certain Metacritic score "are not going to cut through."

Still, according to Hayes, Metacritic isn't the only consideration, as several factors -- such as release date, platform availability, and whether or a not a game is part of an established franchise -- affect a game's success. Hayes believes it would be wrong to make Metacritic score targets a part of every developer contract, but notes that it's not unfair for publishers to have "certain expectations of quality levels" for expensive projects. "But to demand it on absolutely everything," he said, "wouldn't be right at all." There's a Sonic Unleashed joke in there somewhere.

Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games:

A few weeks back, I mentioned that the FTC was looking into regulating DRM. Well, in part on some discussions at the Game::Business::Law Conference, I have a sneaking suspicion that the FTC likely won't stop with DRM. In fact, I would be willing to guess that within the next few years, the often maligned End User License Agreement ("EULA") may fall into the realm of being regulated as further "consumer protection." Is it necessary? Well, that's a matter of opinion, really. The only certainty is that it will be able to bring in additional revenue for the government, which is certainly short on cash these days.

If the FTC opts to regulate EULAs, I see three probable scenarios to accomplish its goal. Before I get ahead of myself, I should describe what the theoretical goal of consumer protection is: to prevent companies from taking advantage of consumers. Generally, though, it isn't necessarily the average consumer who's seeing the greatest benefit from the regulations. Often it's the most uneducated consumer, which usually means the regulations tone things down to a level of near absurdity.

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Sure we've got a new skin and some structural changes, but the biggest change is one you probably won't see. I'll let you in on a secret: We've adopted a litter of kittens to shadow write for us, and then we throw in animated GIFs to give it a human touch. How's that for and ? While the felines formulate, we'll be taking a long overdue gaming break. Here's what we'll be up to. (Stay tuned after the WRUP for a bonus scene.)

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