The Week in Games

WoW Philosophy! Strippers and Counter-Strike! And Hot Elf Lovin’! … after the break.

Hype of the Week

Dragon Age: Origins (88-92 on Metacrittic, depending on platform) was released this week. It’s BioWare’s latest RPG, set in a dark fantasy world. It’s deep in story, squad-based tactical combat, and elf-girl lovin’.

Here’s one of the many trailers, this one oddly set against a “30 Second to Mars” tune:

Business

Sony released a financial report that says the PS3 has lost them $4.7 billion so far, but, hey, maybe next year. (Or, as the suits say, “we’ll be able to reach profitability at some point in the next term.”) … Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox), the upcoming tactical shooter from Activision, set the record for the highest number of pre-orders that GameStop has ever had. Activision is hoping to do $500 million in business with the title next week. … Permuto, a web promotions agency, did a round-up of the top Christmas toys since 1960. Videogames have dominated the last 20 years. … China said ‘no’ to World of Warcraft. Their General Administration of Press and Publications ordered NetEase, which had been operating WoW in the area, to cease collecting subscription payments.

The Arts

GameSpy released a list of ‘Top 10 Terrible Videogame Novelizations.’ Mega Man 2 – the novel? … CollegeHumor released a preview for a horror movie based on The Sims. … World of Warcraft and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy) was released last week. The product description says:

Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) in videogame history, World of Warcraft is everywhere — from episodes of South Park and The Simpsons, to online series like Watch the Guild, accolades and awards from game critics, and prime-time commercials with Mr. T. Inevitably, such a cultural phenomenon triggers deeper questions. When does an assumed identity become real? Does the Corrupted Blood epidemic warn us of future public health catastrophes? What are the dangers when real life is invaded by events in the game? What can our own world learn from Azeroth’s blend of primitivism and high-tech? In these lively essays, a specially commissioned guild of philosophers, including Yara Mitsuishi, Monica Evans, Tim Christopher, and Anna Janssen, tackles these and other complex questions arising from WoW.

Do-It-Yourself Gaming

Unity Indie, a complete development environment for producing games, was $200, and is now free. … You can also make games the old-fashioned way.

Pretty Pictures

BoingBoing did a really nice round-up of Brutal Legend production art. … Kotaku published some concept art for the planned Fallout MMO. … French gaming magazine Amusement published some pictures of a Gameboy being shot through a wall. (Use the horizontal scroll to see it.) … This trailer for American McGee’s next Alice game hit the net:

The Sins of Gaming

This week, we cover ‘wrath’ with the adults-only version of Manhunt 2 coming next week, ‘lust’ with this story about a competitive Counter Strike match turned strip club, and the rest of the sins with this article about shitty or questionable things famous gamers have done in game. … And we repent by donating to OneBigGame, a non-profit publisher that’s working with famous industry veterans to create a series of casual games. Proceeds will then go to Save the Children and the Starlight Children’s Fund.

Tchotchkes

Pre-order Left 4 Dead 2 from Steam, and your Team Fortress 2 avatar will get a nice hat. … Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction Collector’s Edition has some nice crap in it, including a custom USB drive, an art book, stickers, and an embossed steel DVD case. … Team Fortress 2 has an in-game supplier, Mann Co. There was a mention of its address in the September update. Some people wrote to Mann, and got back some cool stuff. I think my favorite is the comic book, “Saxton Hale’s Jungle Brawl,” which has the line, “AN APE WILL DIE ON EVERY PAGE!”

Thanks for reading! … If you like the round-up, tell somebody.