Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the international edition of the Week in Review… señoras y caballeros, recepción a la edición internacional de la semana en la revisión.
Mechwarrior Vs Attorneys: FIGHT!
IGN has been broadsided by a cease & desist attack from Robotech creator Harmony Gold over a promotional trailer for the recently announced MechWarrior game. Harmony Gold’s issue seems to be the use of certain designs “borrowed” from Robotech/Macross when MechWarrior was getting its start as a tabletop wargame back in the early 80s. It’s been years since any fan has even seen one of these designs,as the game’s creator FASA stopped using them to prevent potentially devastating lawsuits. But here’s the thing, the new game is supposed to be set during the Third Succession War, which people more interested in these things than I am inform me is when these particular types of mech roamed the earth. Can a compromise be reached with Harmony Gold, or is the new game finished before it’s even begun? (link)
OnLive Goes Kind of Live!
OnLive, the service that – if you believe the hype – may just spell doom for the console giants has entered a state that has certain characteristics of an open beta. Those who applied ahead of time got a free pass in, but according to a post on the OnLive blog, there are a handful of keys left to the beta that are on a first come, first served basis. Of course, by the time you read this, they might all have gone, so you better hurry up.
Go! RUN! THEY’RE COMING! FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES! Sorry about that…flashbacks… (link)
Evil Genius Bashes Video Games
There are two kinds of people that design giant robots: videogame designers and diabolic masterminds. After Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino’s comments, it’s clear that he’s not the former. In Tomino’s mind, games are little more than brightly-colored wastes of electricity with no lasting cultural significance. In his defense, he sees a correlation between games and his own industry: “People working on CG have become caught up with how to use these tools, but do not give a thought on creating content that will be relevant 10 years from now,” Tomino said. “As long as we remember to ask ourselves the question, I believe that a hint towards the next step can be seen” (link)
Langdell Quits IGDA
Tim Langdell has quit his position on the board of directors of the IGDA, pre-empting his possible expulsion. Langdell has been accused of using his position in the IGDA as a weapon against anyone who dared to use the name “Edge”. Langdell issued a statement claiming that he had the best interests of the organization at heart and that his departure was not an admission of wrongdoing. Regardless of what his reasons might be, Langdell’s detractors must be pretty pleased right now. (double link!)
Move Over Goofy, We’ve Got Captain America Now
Finally, probably the biggest news of the week is that the ever-so-wholesome Disney has bought comic-book giant Marvel. We must now prepare ourselves for the announcements that the Jonas Brothers will be joining the Avengers and the Punisher will be getting a new sidekick in the form of Hannah Montana. Of course it also means that Deadpool might be in the next Kingdom Hearts, so it’s not all bad… (link)
