Thursday, August 30, 2007

Oshiri kajiri mushi (The Butt Biting Bug) [Video]

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

A statement from the ESRB regarding Manhunt 2

It's about time the ESRB stood up for itself amid this BS moral panic surrounding the rating system used for games. This is so good, I had to reprint it in its entirety:
STATEMENT BY ESRB PRESIDENT PATRICIA VANCE REGARDING THE
M (MATURE) RATING ASSIGNED TO MANHUNT 2

August 28, 2007 - "Upon reviewing the modified version of Manhunt 2, the ESRB assigned a rating of M (Mature 17+) with content descriptors for Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content and Use of Drugs. This is a very clear and firm warning to parents that the game is in no way intended for children. As always, we urge parents to strongly consider the ESRB rating in their decision about whether a game is appropriate for their children.

"Publishers submit game content to the ESRB on a confidential basis. It is simply not our place to reveal specific details about the content we have reviewed, particularly when it involves a product yet to be released. What can be said is that the changes that were made to the game, including the depictions themselves and the context in which those depictions were presented, were sufficient to warrant the assignment of an M (Mature 17+) rating by our raters.

"The FTC, the national PTA, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Peter Hart Research have all found that parents are overwhelmingly satisfied with the ESRB rating system. Rather than publicly second-guessing what is unmistakably a strong warning to parents about the suitability of a particular game for children, which presumably neither Senator Yee nor CCFC have personally reviewed, we feel a more productive tack would be to join us in encouraging parents to take the ratings seriously when buying games for their children.

"The FTC reports that 89% of parents say they are involved in the purchase or rental of the video games their children play and 85% say they restrict them. Additionally, parents can now easily activate password-protected settings on game consoles to block out content they deem inappropriate. Further, according to a recent audit by the Federal Trade Commission, the major game retailers, representing approximately 90% of all sales, currently stop the sale of M-rated games to buyers under 17 the vast majority of the time, having surpassed the level of enforcement achieved by theatre owners in connection with children's access into R-rated movies.

"It is a parent's rightful place to make choices for their own children. The ESRB and console manufacturers provide families with the tools and information to help them do so."
In a nutshell, "Our rating system works fine, thank you very much. We encourage you to actually use it."

Link (via Joystiq)

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Thursday, August 09, 2007

Cartoon HTTP errors

Error 417: Expectation Failed
Error 417: Expectation Failed

Flickr user Ape Lad has a nice set of cartoony HTTP errors for your viewing pleasure.

See also: Goopymart's "Teh Internets"

Link (via Boing Boing)

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Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Variations on a Mario

When Joystiq upgraded their site back in July, they introduced Mario as a placeholder avatar in their comment system:



Since then, they've opened things up to their viewers by allowing them to customize their profile avatar. While one could reasonably expect that everyone would simply upload a funny picture or create their own one-of-a-kind icon, some users were a bit more subtle, using the default avatar as a canvas for their own unique brand of gaming art.

Here's a sampling of some of the Mariovatars showing up in Joystiq's comments since the beginning of August:






Nice work guys. It's cool to see a placeholder unintentionally become the genesis for some pretty kick-ass artwork.

N.B.: I know that Reggie Fils-Guevara isn't strictly based on the Mario avatar, but he rounded out the set nicely.

Update: The Marios are pouring in! It also looks like I missed a couple. I'll try to keep up:








Keep 'em coming, guys!

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