If video games are being equated to taking drugs, then Bitmob must be one well-mannered crack house.
News Blips:
A British therapist compares two hours of gaming to taking a line of cocaine. The prognosis appears amidst a Lancashire Evening Post article which recounts the tale of "Jack," a teenaged gamer who "discarded his friends, neglected his school studies and survived on junk food as he embarked on marathon gaming sessions of up to 48 hours." Steve Pope, a local therapist, highlighted the rush of adrenaline that gaming can provide, saying that "spending two hours on a game station is equivalent to taking a line of cocaine in the high it produces." I prefer to consider my gaming binges as drinking the highest quality brandy, thank you very much.
Insomniac (Resistance, Ratchet & Clank) enters into a multi-platform partnership with EA. The once-exclusive developer for Sony will embark on an entirely new franchise for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 systems. "We as a development studio were looking for a publishing partner with global reach that does things on multi-platforms," explained Insomniac CEO Ted Price to 1UP. "Our goal here was to reach even more players by going to the Xbox 360 with this new franchise." Price was tight-lipped about any specific details, but I wouldn't rule out seeing Spyro the Dragon as a downloadable boss in the next Dragon Age.
IndustryGamers reports that PS3 exclusives attain higher Metacritic scores over Xbox 360 exclusives. The average rating for PS3-only titles is around 76 percent, with Xbox 360 games averaging at a much lower 67 percent. The analysis also indicates that exclusive titles for the PS3 are on the rise; while the number of exclusives for the Xbox 360 still greatly exceeds those on the PS3, the two consoles maintain a roughly equal number of titles that achieve a rating higher than 70 percent. That's all well and good, but since when has Metacritic been the go-to source for game performance?
It's time to dust off that blazer and piano key necktie in your closet — Rock Band 3 will add a keyboard instrument to the lineup. An image displayed at the end of Green Day: Rock Band's demo shows the typical band makeup of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, along with a new piano key icon. In addition to the inclusion of backup vocals, the increased repertoire of instruments will allow seven players to jam together in the upcoming title. As it's not quite enough for a flock, I will be naming my new band "A Group of Seagulls." [Destructoid Blog]
Got any hot news tips? Send 'em over to tips@bitmob.com.