To combat California's violent video game bill, the Video Game Voters Network wants you to send in your broken controllers. Never mind that most players probably broke those controllers in fits of violent rage.
News Blips:
The Video Game Voters Network urges game supporters to mail old controllers to California senator Leland Yee to protest his violent video game bill. VGVN wants those interested in protecting video games from legal censorship to write "I believe in the First Amendment" on old controllers and accessories and send them to Yee as part of the organization's "You Can't Control Me" campaign. In response, the senator's Chief of Staff Adam Keigwin said, "I can only assume these broken controllers must represent the broken promises of the video game industry to parents.” Nice try, but these controllers weren't broken over weak insults like that.
Yahoo! Japan announces Shenmue Town, an online social game based on the ambitious Dreamcast series, for the Japanese web portal Mobagetown. The service will host Shenmue Town as well as other exclusive games, such as Persona 3 Social and Tetris Star. Shenmue Town is scheduled for release this winter. Details are sparse, but I think it's safe to assume sailors will be involved. [Siliconera]
Lord of the Rings Online Executive Producer Kate Paiz says revenue from the game doubled since becoming free to play. According to Paiz, players started over a million new accounts since developer Turbine removed paid subscriptions. She told Joystiq the game was never in trouble and that Turbine did the math and found the switch would generate more profit. If schools taught that kind of math, I might have actully studied a little more in high school.
Sega is encouraging fans to buy multiple versions of its upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 4. In return for buying the same game up to four times, Sega is promising to provide customers with shout-outs. These range from mentions in a sticky forum topic to inclusion in online ads. I'm not sure there are many people out there willing to pay to have their names tied forever to a Sonic game. [Sega]
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