Busy playing Portal 2? I'm sure many of you called in sick to work or school in order to have precious time for more Aperture Science shenanigans. Of course, not every teacher or boss is completely oblivious to what you're up to, as evidenced in today's News Blips.
News Blips:
A teacher cancels class after lots of students call in sick to play Portal 2. Rather than deliver a lecture that fell on the game's release date to the remaining stalwarts of academia (read: almost none), the teacher wisely chose to instead move the lesson later in the week, sharply throwing his reputation into the "cool teacher gamer" camp. Homework: Compare and contrast the viscosity of the Repulsion and Propulsion Gels within a 12-slide presentation. [G4TV]
Console players of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim could see PC-created mods show up in their games. Executive Producer Todd Howard told Edge that while the bundled Creation Kit is solely reserved for the PC version of the game, the resultant mods can also be implemented on the console versions. "We'd like to see it happen, because it works; it's how we made the game," he said. "I think it's something really cool about what we do, but 90 percent of our audience is on the consoles, so 90 percent of our audience can't even see this thing. So if we can solve that, we'd like to." Mods, traditionally a mainstay of PC gaming, have kept previous games in the Elder Scrolls series thriving with content packs, graphical tweaks, and even discomania. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is set to come out for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 11.
Sony displays ambivalence in response to rumors of the PSP Go's demise. It all started when Andriasang translated a blog post, reportedly written by a Japanese Sony Shop employee, claiming that production for the handheld has ceased. Sony issued a statement to Eurogamer with an interestingly cryptic tone, saying, "It is a very exciting time for PlayStation portable devices. Before the end of the year we are launching NGP, our next generation portable device, which we believe will revolutionize portable gaming. In the meantime, the current generation of PSPs continue to be in demand, especially since the introduction of our value for money, Essentials range of games, and we will continue to meet that demand." The PSP Go has seen rocky times ever since its October 2009 launch; high pricing and the lack of UMD support ultimately caused older versions of the PSP to gain more traction.
Those who buy used copies of SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs will have to cough up an extra $15 for full multiplayer features. As part of Sony's initiative to recoup lost revenue from second-hand sales, the additional fee purchases the SOCOM Pro DLC pack, which is freely included in new copies of the game. Content includes four Custom Game types and two exclusive weapons, along with "exclusive multiplayer maps, various co-op additions, dedicated leaderboards, and lots more." What's next? Fees for unlocking controller sensitivity? Full level lighting? [PlayStation Blog]
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