<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?><rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:taxo="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/taxonomy/" xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><title>owengood</title><link>http://owengood.kinja.com</link><description></description><language>en</language><item><title><![CDATA[The Xbox One Gives the First Look at the Future of Sports Video Games]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/the-xbox-one-gives-the-first-look-at-the-future-of-spor-509139085</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" class="youtube" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JxE5MaKuCEc?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;showinfo=0" id="youtube-JxE5MaKuCEc"></iframe></span></p>

<p class="first-text">EA Sports had an outsize presence at the Xbox One's debut today in Washington, peeling the tape off something called the Ignite Engine and teasing a &quot;very special relationship,&quot; with the console, while offering few specifics of that beyond some exclusive DLC for the <em>FIFA</em> franchise.</p>

<p>All four sports titles discussed today—<em>FIFA, Madden</em>, the newly acquired UFC license and a rehabilitated <em>NBA Live</em>—will also release for PlayStation 4. Still, it's meaningful that EA Sports chose the Xbox One's event to showcase its next-generation promises. It was silent for the PS4's debut.</p>

<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" class="youtube" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EkfskHzm2_E?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;showinfo=0" id="youtube-EkfskHzm2_E"></iframe></span></p>

<p>That means this series of four videos are sports gamers' first understanding of what the extra processing power of the next console generation will mean to their experience. Andrew Wilson, the executive vice president in charge of EA Sports, said the Ignite Engine will offer &quot;ten times more animation detail&quot; and processing power that translates to better, faster decisionmaking for both player and AI alike. </p>

<p>While yes, the visual fidelity in these clips is tons better than anything you're playing now, it'll be some time before that claim can be fairly judged. The pre-rendered scenes, particularly those of Lionel Messi and Robert Griffin III, are blood-pumping and dynamic. But some of the animations in the wireframes and technical demonstrations—particularly RG3 getting rid of the ball to his halfback as the blitz bears down on him—look very familiar to longtime players of each series.</p>

<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" class="youtube" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3cHulyPN0QA?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;showinfo=0" id="youtube-3cHulyPN0QA"></iframe></span></p>

<p><em>NBA Live'</em>s showpiece scenes make that work look more sophisticated than you'd expect for a title that abruptly canceled its past two editions. That said, EA Sports' failure to execute with current-generation hardware for that franchise makes it a legitimate question what they're able to do with next-generation technology, even if they put all of their effort into that platform. Realize that while <em>NBA Live 14</em> is a definite for PS4 and Xbox One, no announcement has been made about a PS3 or Xbox 360 version.</p>

<p>There also needs to be some reading between the lines. EA Sports has never done console-exclusive downloadable content. The publisher's willingness to scrap Online Passes is assuredly because the Xbox One will feature across-the-board used-game restrictions. We can assume some form of this will be present on the PlayStation 4, whose used-games support still has not been fully addressed.</p>

<p>Sports video games have long been among the games you'd take over to a friend's home to play on his machine there. If you want to do that on the Xbox One, you'll have to install the title to that machine and pay a fee to do so. Now he gets to keep it. We're unclear on what the fee is, or what that means for the original owner, but offhand the viral-sales nature of such a system certainly plays to EA Sports' favor.</p>

<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" class="youtube" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IYXb5dDsK3U?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;showinfo=0" id="youtube-IYXb5dDsK3U"></iframe></span></p>

<p>I still think we are due for major announcements regarding EA Sports' next-generation offerings as numberless subscriptions rather than annual releases. (All four games appeared on stage under their upcoming numbered titles.) For now, this is the clearest vision available of what the future of video gaming will mean for sports, one of its oldest and largest-selling genres, worldwide.</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">xbox one</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">kotakucore</category><category domain="">next-gen</category><category domain="">ea sports</category><category domain="">sportaku</category><category domain="">sports</category><category domain="">nba live</category><category domain="">madden</category><category domain="">fifa</category><category domain="">ufc</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509139085</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Xbox One is Not Backward Compatible]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-is-not-backward-compatible-509088037</link><description><![CDATA[<p class=" class=&quot;has-media media-640&quot; first-text"><a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4350662/new-xbox-has-no-backwards-compatibilty" target="_blank"><em><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18odro4vjn4pxpng/ku-xlarge.png" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>The Verge</em> reports</a> that Xbox One will not be backward compatible with Xbox 360 titles. That is according to Mark Whitten, Microsoft's vice president for Xbox Live.</p>
<p>When asked if Xbox One will be able to play 360 titles over Xbox Live, or by downloading them, or by some means other than a disc, Whitten said the company had no plans for such a service at this time.</p>
<p>This means also that Xbox 360 titles a user owns on Xbox Live will not be playable on the Xbox One.</p>
<p>&quot;The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn't really work from that perspective,&quot; Whitten <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4350662/new-xbox-has-no-backwards-compatibilty" target="_blank">told <em>The Verge.</em></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4350662/new-xbox-has-no-backwards-compatibilty" target="_blank">Xbox One will not be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games</a> [The Verge]</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">xbox one</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">kotakucore</category><category domain="">next-gen</category><category domain="">backward compatibility</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 18:19:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509088037</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Steven Spielberg is Making a Halo TV Series for Xbox One]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/steven-spielberg-is-making-a-halo-tv-series-for-xbox-on-509078017</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe scrolling="no" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.viddler.com/embed/be5ffda/?f=1&amp;autoplay=false&amp;player=mini&amp;disablebranding=0" id="viddler-be5ffda"></iframe></span></p><p class="first-text"> Steven Spielberg will collaborate with 343 Industries on an exclusive Halo television series to be brought to Xbox One.</p>
<p>Last year, Halo published an acclaimed TV series, &quot;Forward Unto Dawn.&quot; Bungie, the series' original creators, have moved on to making another science-fiction game, <em>Destiny</em>, which is confirmed for Xbox One as well as PlayStation 4, and appeared at the latter console's unveiling, but did not appear at today's conference.</p>
<p>It would seem that 343 and Microsoft are going the TV series route, both to give some space between last year's <em>Halo 4</em> and the series' next release, and perhaps also not to compete directly with Bungie.</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">xbox one</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">kotakucore</category><category domain="">next-gen</category><category domain="">halo</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 17:47:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509078017</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Here is What Forza Will Look Like on Xbox One]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/here-is-what-forza-will-look-like-on-xbox-one-509077129</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" class="youtube" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r46D1lRpO1k?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;showinfo=0" id="youtube-r46D1lRpO1k"></iframe></span></p><p class="first-text"> With all that next-gen processing power, you didn't expect Xbox One to launch without a <em>Forza</em> title, did you? Here is <em>Forza Motorsport 5</em>, from Turn 10 Studios. It will be available at launch.</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">xbox one</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">kotakucore</category><category domain="">next-gen</category><category domain="">forza</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 17:43:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509077129</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[EA Sports and Xbox One to Have 'A Very Special Relationship']]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/fifa-madden-nba-live-and-ufc-will-all-launch-for-xbox-509074197</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" class="youtube" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JxE5MaKuCEc?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;showinfo=0" id="youtube-JxE5MaKuCEc"></iframe></span></p><p class="first-text"><em> FIFA, Madden, NBA Live</em> and <em>UFC</em> will all launch for Xbox One in the next year, Andrew Wilson, EA Sports' head, just said at the Xbox One event. They will be powered by the new EA Sports Ignite engine.</p>
<p>Ignite is &quot;new technology that allows players to make decisions with four times more calculations per second,&quot; it also supports &quot;ten times more animation detail.</p>
<p>&quot;Our games are now living worlds, with 3D crowds, dynamic sidelines, and a daily stream of new content that impacts the game you play.</p>
<p>Wilson also announced that the EA Sports/Xbox One partnership will deliver Xbox-One exclusive content in <em>FIFA's</em> popular Ultimate Team mode. </p>
<p>None of these four titles are exclusive to Xbox One. Both will come out on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">xbox one</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">kotakucore</category><category domain="">next-gen</category><category domain="">ea sports</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 17:30:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509074197</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Under The Hood Of The Xbox One]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/microsofts-marc-whitten-just-lifted-the-hood-on-the-xbo-509072559</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18odlq20qjehlpng/ku-xlarge.png" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p class="first-text">Microsoft's Marc Whitten just lifted the hood on the Xbox One's technical specifications. In short: 8 gigs of RAM, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi Direct, a Blu-Ray disc drive, 64-bit architecture and &quot;practically silent operation.&quot;</p>
<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe scrolling="no" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.viddler.com/embed/dffa9aa5/?f=1&amp;autoplay=false&amp;player=mini&amp;disablebranding=0" id="viddler-dffa9aa5"></iframe></span></p>
<p>Kinect 2.0 also gets a substantial upgrade. Whitten promised the integrated camera will have a wider field of view, and the sensor will be able to detect more joints, to include rotation of wrists and shoulders. &quot;When you are exercising it can read your heartbeat.&quot;</p>]]></description><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">xbox one</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">kotakucore</category><category domain="">next-gen</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 17:22:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509072559</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Watch Live TV with the Xbox One]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/watch-live-tv-with-the-xbox-one-509071028</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe scrolling="no" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.viddler.com/embed/d381d8e2/?f=1&amp;autoplay=false&amp;player=mini&amp;disablebranding=0" id="viddler-d381d8e2"></iframe></span></p>
<p class="first-text">As was anticipated, the new Xbox One will function as a set-top cable box, allowing users to switch between TV and gaming video by voice command.</p>
<p>In today's Xbox One reveal, the console was shown swapping between DVD/streaming video playback, the cable input, a video game, and its Internet functionalities.</p>
<p>A voice-activated television guide will support the feature. Xbox Guide, as it is called, allows a user to quickly navigate the guide by voice command, calling out titles of shows and channels. The guide also will keep track of a user's favorite programming, and shows trending elsewhere.</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">xbox one</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">kotakucore</category><category domain="">next-gen</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 17:15:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509071028</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Here's The View From The Xbox Reveal Event]]></title><link>http://kinja.com/heres-the-view-from-the-xbox-reveal-event-509060520</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe scrolling="no" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.viddler.com/embed/39d473fe/?f=1&amp;autoplay=false&amp;player=mini&amp;disablebranding=0" id="viddler-39d473fe"></iframe></span></p>
<p class="first-text">In T-minus, oh, 45 minutes, Microsoft pops the top on its next console. You may have heard reports of buses, badges and big tents over social media. Our editor-in-chief, Stephen Totilo sends back this look at where the big news is going down today.</p>
<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="480" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18odfixlyp1r7jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p>The big meeting hall tent Microsoft erected for this event.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="480" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18odfkksus39ojpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p>Another view of the tentbuilding, with media waiting to go inside.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="480" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18odfedudu7fnjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p>Satellite trucks on the Microsoft campus</p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="853" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18odfgsnmo7k0jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p>The entire Microsoft campus is decked out in Xbox signage and colors.</p>
<hr/>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">kotakucore</category><category domain="">next-gen</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 16:15:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509060520</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[With both the new UFC game and now NBA Live saying to expect news today, and FIFA already confirmed,]]></title><link>http://kinja.com/with-both-the-new-ufc-game-and-now-nba-live-saying-to-e-509030992</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="first-text">With both <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=529911380380056&amp;set=a.414109658626896.86751.402494049788457&amp;type=1&amp;theater" target="_blank">the new UFC game</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152825344790627&amp;set=a.291687220626.328319.231749955626&amp;type=1" target="_blank">now <em>NBA Live</em></a> saying to expect news today, and <a href="http://kotaku.com/the-next-xbox-will-be-revealed-tomorrow-heres-what-to-508929102" target="_blank"><em>FIFA</em> already confirmed</a><inset id="508929102"></inset>, signs point to EA Sports having some kind of ensemble appearance at the next Xbox event this afternoon.</p>]]></description><category domain="">ea sports</category><category domain="">durango</category><category domain="">xbox</category><category domain="">microsoft</category><category domain="">fifa</category><category domain="">ufc</category><category domain="">nba live</category><pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2013 15:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">509030992</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Splinter Cell: Blacklist Brings a Friend for Its Latest Trailer]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/splinter-cell-blacklist-brings-a-friend-for-its-latest-508929848</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe scrolling="no" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.viddler.com/embed/bb4cd530/?f=1&amp;autoplay=false&amp;player=mini&amp;disablebranding=0" id="viddler-bb4cd530"></iframe></span></p><p class="first-text"> Sam Fisher, meet Isaac Briggs. He's the co-op partner on loan from the CIA in <em>Splinter Cell: Blacklist</em> and judging by this trailer, he seems to play well with others. Well, others on his own team.</p>
<p>As the trailer says, there are four mission types playable on 14 different maps in split-screen co-op. <em>Splinter Cell: Blacklist</em> arrives Aug. 20.</p>]]></description><category domain="">splinter cell</category><category domain="">ubisoft</category><category domain="">pc</category><category domain="">ps3</category><category domain="">xbox 360</category><category domain="">splinter cell blacklist</category><pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 20:30:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508929848</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Keep Fans Happy—Or Break Their Hearts—as an NFL Owner in Madden 25]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/keep-the-fans-happy-or-break-their-hearts-as-an-nfl-own-508914667</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><span class="flex-video widescreen"><iframe mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" webkitAllowFullScreen="webkitAllowFullScreen" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" class="youtube" height="360" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TGCo5W62Oyc?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;showinfo=0" id="youtube-TGCo5W62Oyc"></iframe></span></p><p class="first-text"> If they can live with themselves, NFL fans will be able to do some truly sick and depraved things this year with the new <em>Madden</em> video game. Like charge fans $30 for a beer. Like buy out the Green Bay Packers. Like drive that franchise down to Mexico in the middle of the night, and abandon it there. </p>
<p>Yes, &quot;Owner mode,&quot; with all of the chortling, finger-tenting malevolence you care to bring to it, rejoins <em>Madden NFL 25</em>'s all-in-one career suite, now called &quot;Connected Franchise.&quot; The restored football tycoon role will add another layer of control and role-playing in how you represent and manipulate your club, and a different path to enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.</p>
<p>&quot;Being able to bring it back was a big deal for me,&quot; Mike Young, the game's creative director, told me. &quot;I was a big fan of that. I'd always take over the Arizona Cardinals, move them to Toronto, be the first Canadian Super Bowl Champion—then fire my coach and go hire a new one.&quot;</p>
<p>Owner-level decision-making—ticket prices, stadium renovations and the like—was absent in <em>Madden NFL 13</em> as it introduced the new &quot;Connected Careers&quot; package, which allowed players controlling an entire team as a coach, or those playing as an individual superstar, to participate in the same league. Team owner becomes the third career role one can assume—either through creating yourself or inhabiting the persona of one of the league's real-world bosses. Though not all 32 are yet confirmed to appear, Young expressed confidence that every franchise's honcho will be signed up by the time the game ships, including such names as New England's Robert Kraft, Atlanta's Arthur Blank, or Dallas' notorious Jerry Jones.</p>
<p>&quot;You'll see them in the game in 3D animations,&quot; Young said, in camera shots of the executive suite during the action. &quot;If you win the Super Bowl, you'll be up there on the podium, getting handed the Lombardi Trophy.&quot;</p>
<p>Playing as a franchise owner will involve more than just some cutscenes slapped over the total control of playcalling and personnel that the coach career path already has. Owners will be tasked with managing the franchise's image and profitability, will hire and fire staff, improve their stadium or build a new one, and will have to answer for fans' expectations of the team based on personnel ratings and how it performed in the previous year.</p>
<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18oa7jkdgwh21jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p>&quot;Fan happiness,&quot; a weekly temperature-taking that can deliver a boost to your bottom line, depends on what you're charging at the gate, what they pay for concessions (and what kind of concessions they get), whether the players are any good, and other factors. Winning, of course, cures most, if not all problems.</p>
<p>&quot;We looked at the Philadelphia Eagles 'Dream Team' scenario in 2011, for example,&quot; Young said, referring to the expectations the club faced—and failed— that year after signing a slew of high profile free agents in the preseason. &quot;With every loss, people were freaking out; with each win, the reaction was, yeah, we expect to win.&quot; A team with a similar makeup will deal with similar fan sentiment, Young said, coming in the form of weekly news conferences in which you must answer knife-twisting questions from the media.</p>
<p>&quot;We really wanted it to be choosing the lesser of two evils,&quot; Young said. &quot;We really want to make you sweat it, because the answers will also impact fan happiness.&quot;</p>
<p>For example, if your team starts 0-5, you can expect to make a statement of confidence, or no confidence, in the team's coach. Stick by him, and if the team continues to lose, fan happiness really plunges into the toilet. Throw him under the bus and fans will get restless, knowing that with a coaching change coming, the season may as well be written off.</p>
<p>I asked Young if &quot;fan happiness&quot; delivered any boost beyond financial gain to your franchise, and he said no. Players on a team with happy fans will not see attribute increases, nor is there any morale system with a good or bad knock-on effect coming from it. Fan happiness' impact is on your financial bottom line, which provides the money needed to put a successful product on the field. (Some players may be more valuable to you simply because they sell merchandise, despite their talent on the field.)</p>
<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18oa7icyu4uvxjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p>&quot;Say you have a 3-5 start with a 90 rated roster,&quot; Young said. 'That's a team with playoff expectations, and the media will ask if you still expect to go to the postseason. If you're the St. Louis Rams and you're 3-5 and you say you expect to go to the Super Bowl, then Skip Bayless will go into our Twitter feed and come out and say 'I never thought this team was a playoff team, what is he saying?'</p>
<p>&quot;But if you're the Baltimore Ravens in the same situation, and you say, 'Yeah, we're going to the postseason,' then you'll see people say, 'With this kind of roster, I'd expect him to say something like that. This team should be in the postseason.'&quot;</p>
<p>Keeping fans happy is what keeps money flowing to you to do all the owner-ly things you need to do to amass a &quot;Legacy Score&quot; that one day puts your bust in Canton. If your team still wins (or if you make it win) you can succeed, even if you go out of your way to alienate everyone—like charge New York concession prices in Jacksonville, hold  the franchise hostage as you negotiate stadium renovations, or even move it outright.</p>
<p>That's where playing as an owner intrigues me the most. In years past, if you moved the team, you were forced to rename it, remake their uniforms, and give it a nearly generic logo from a terrible clip-art package. Now you'll be given the option of keeping the team's name and colors (an extra knife in the back to the fans you left). Or, if you want to rebrand it, you'll be given a series of logos, uniforms and nickname choices that are designed with the sensibilities of the 17 potential relocation cities—Mexico City, Toronto, Dublin and London included—in mind.</p>
<p>&quot;Like Austin, Texas, one of the choices you get if you move there is the Bats, because there are a lot of bats that hang under a bridge down there,&quot; Young said. (You may not enter a wildcard nickname of your own making.) You'll be allowed to move your franchise once its home stadium falls under a certain score (a restriction that can be turned off, too.) Teams in newer stadia will have to wait longer before that becomes an option. Incidentally, if you play as the San Francisco 49ers, your first season will be in venerable Candlestick Park, and then you will move to the newly christened Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., meaning that venue will debut in <em>Madden NFL 25</em> a year before it will in real life.</p>
<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18oa7kdytcvzmjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p>Once you're done running a team into the ground in a place like Birmingham, Ala., you can always retire your owner—as you could a player or coach last year—and pick up from that point with a new franchise in any other role. So after moving the Packers to Mexico, you could destroy Cleveland once more by sending the Browns to Houston (some markets, Houston and Chicago among them, support two-team scenarios) and then become a running back for either team if you're tired of scouting and negotiating stadium leases.</p>
<p>Connected Franchise will have other inclusions and restored features that benefit more than just the ownership class. Players of EA Sports' <em>NCAA Football</em> game will once again be able to import a draft class into <em>Madden</em>, a feature that went missing last year.  &quot;You won't see the stories about draft prospects in the Twitter feed,&quot; Young said, &quot;but you will still be able to go in and scout them and do everything else that you do with the draft in the off-season.&quot;</p>
<p>Full control of all 32 teams in an offline season also has been restored, Young said, a nod to dorm and living-room couch rivalries that went on hiatus in Connected Careers' debut last season. &quot;We're bringing back a lot of rituals we had,&quot; Young said. &quot;Guys who remember, 'Me and my friend, we played this league on the couch, I was the Browns and he was the Steelers.' On top of that, it's also for the control freaks. It's for the guys who want to play every game and then go edit the facemasks and the sock heights.</p>
<p>&quot;You can play the tycoon parts of the game, simply for the money aspects, and ignore or simulate the games; but if you want to scout the entire draft board, you can, too. It's your team,&quot; Young said. &quot;You can do whatever you want.&quot;</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">madden</category><category domain="">madden nfl 25</category><category domain="">ea sports</category><category domain="">sports</category><category domain="">sportaku</category><category domain="">ps3</category><category domain="">xbox 360</category><pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508914667</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I have no love for the Yankees, but I could sit down and eat a Thanksgiving dinner to video of Arman]]></title><link>http://deadspin.com/i-have-no-love-for-the-yankees-but-i-could-sit-down-an-508870921</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="first-text">I have no love for the Yankees, but I could sit down and eat a Thanksgiving dinner to video of Armando Benitez being beaten senseless.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 15:21:44 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508870921</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fuck! ]]></title><link>http://deadspin.com/fuck-thats-the-name-of-the-next-console-508782321</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="first-text">Fuck! <em>T</em><em>hat's </em>the name of the next console!</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 23:33:40 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508782321</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Wii U has Nothing to Offer a Sports Fan. Does It Even Matter Now?]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/the-wii-u-has-nothing-to-offer-a-sports-fan-does-it-ev-508774986</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o73vuoluatsjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p class="first-text">If it wasn't obvious at its launch in November, then this past week should have made it clear: The Wii U is functionally irrelevant to sports video games, and there is no reason for any sports fan to buy the console. The only question now is how much that will really matter to the fate of the machine.</p>
<p>Several intemperate, since-deleted tweets from an EA Sports software architect on Friday, <a href="http://kotaku.com/ea-sports-developer-calls-wii-u-crap-and-nintendo-wa-508481261">slamming the Wii U as &quot;crap,&quot;</a><inset id="508481261"></inset> and Nintendo as a console-maker with a self-centered, stone-age approach, may cause that guy a lot of trouble internally. I doubt he loses his job for it. Words are but the skin of thoughts, and he's worked with EA Sports for a very long time. For termination to be on the table, he'd have to be jeopardizing some productive and profitable working relationship with such candid and unauthorized remarks. If EA's own official and authorized statements preceding the outburst are any indication, then none exists. Alienating the Nintendo constituency, however sensitive it may be, is meaningless if you're not even making games for it to buy.</p>
<p>And Electronic Arts isn't. The world's largest maker and seller of sports video games straight up told <em>Kotaku</em> on Thursday it has not a thing in development for the Wii U. Then, <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-02-madden-nfl-25-the-latest-ea-game-to-skip-wii-u-what-now-for-fifa-14" target="_blank">to Eurogamer on Friday</a>, an official company statement blamed the &quot;disappointing&quot; sales performance of <em>FIFA 13</em> on the Wii U as the reason the series wouldn't make another version for the console. <em>Madden</em> was confirmed out a couple of weeks before that. Elsewhere, <em>NBA 2K14</em> remains &quot;TBA&quot; for its release in October, with <em>WWE 2K14</em> specifically named for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 only.</p>
<p>Despite the Wii's stepchild status in the core-gaming discussion for the past eight years, it still had a more meaningful presence in the sports genre in any year than its high-definition successor does in its debut, especially in the sports where its motion controller was naturally suited. Yes, EA Sports embarrassed itself with outsourced, de-rigeur ports of its team sports franchises like <em>Madden</em>—not to mention last year's scandalously retreaded <em>FIFA 13</em>, in some ways worse than what <em>MLB 2K13</em> attempted to pass off. Still, <em>Tiger Woods PGA Tour</em>'s Wii version was, through 2011, the critical winner against all other platforms; <em>Grand Slam Tennis</em>—remember that old thing?—had a solid Wii-only release in 2011 before it thudded on the core consoles in 2012. Today, if you want to play golf or tennis on the Wii U—not an unreasonable expectation given the Wii brand's whitebread family reputation—you have to do it with a used copy of <em>Wii Sports</em> or <em>Wii Sports Resort</em><a href="http://kotaku.com/ea-has-no-games-in-development-for-nintendos-wii-u-507588994">.</a><inset id="507588994"></inset></p>
<p>Even ice hockey, in 2010, was once a hot topic on the Wii. Three years ago, 2K Sports scrapped its <em>NHL 2K</em> series but stuck with its Wii edition because, despite being a standard-definition port of a team simulation, it still sold well with Canadian moms. That year, EA Sports decided to horn in on the turf with <em>NHL Slapsho</em>t, featuring a mini-hockey stick peripheral that I still love fooling with. At E3 2010, I asked a 2K Sports representative why they didn't try the same thing, given the explosion of cheap plastic peripherals on that console. &quot;Oh, we tried,&quot; he groaned. Nintendo just didn't dig their pitch. Along came EA Sports though, with clout and cash, and they got approval. Anecdotally, it speaks to the arbitrary success and failure awaiting third-party publishers, going back generations, on platforms built by Nintendo, for Nintendo.</p>
<p>Does any of this really matter? Nintendo may have done just fine, going back to the DS, with a platform suited only to one developer—itself. But even if cartoony sports offerings like EA's embarrassing All-Play series, or token &quot;core&quot; games like <em>The Conduit</em>, <em>Red Steel</em> or <em>Madworld</em>, were sales losers—as the EA Sports tweeter obstreperously, and correctly, reminded us—their presence nominally bootstrapped the Wii to a high-definition hardware generation in which it did not belong.</p>
<p>Now, two days before Microsoft unveils its next console, with EA and EA Sports removing its Nintendo commitment—and 2K Sports sure to follow—the Wii U does not even have that. If the Wii U wasn't faced with being a technological backwater after two years, it's looking at being a niche platform in its first. Sure, Sega—and God, after <em>Aliens: Colonial Marines</em>, what a desperate operation that must be right now—locked arms with Nintendo for <a href="http://kotaku.com/sonic-the-lost-world-the-next-sonic-game-will-launch-508189077">three exclusive <em>Sonic the Hedgehog</em> titles</a><inset id="508189077"></inset> on Wii U. That means a treacly minigame collection like <em>Mario &amp; Sonic at the Olympic Games</em> is the only licensed sports title, for the foreseeable future, on the Wii U.</p>
<p>I wish it did not come to this. Despite the tone of my remarks above, the only two pieces of gaming hardware I have bought, with my own money, on their day of release are the Wii U and the 3DS—and I recently upgraded to a 3DS XL. As I have written, if the Wii U GamePad was properly used, it could be a godsend in the sports genre—as a yardage book in <em>Tiger Woods PGA Tour; </em>as a recruiting notebook in <em>NCAA Football</em>; as a whiteboard on the sideline in <em>NBA 2K14</em>. Menu sludge is a plague to sports unlike any other genre, and Lord knows how it could help streamline storylines and matchmaking in <em>WWE</em>'s career modes.</p>
<p>Maybe this would work if Nintendo was the only<a href="http://kotaku.com/5968909/when-only-42-people-are-playing-madden-on-the-wii-u-its-not-a-sports-console">,</a><inset id="5968909"></inset> or the clearly dominant console maker<a href="http://kotaku.com/another-big-third-party-game-skips-the-wii-u-486727346">,</a><inset id="486727346"></inset> and games were developed for it and then ported to other hardware with the unique features stripped out<a href="http://kotaku.com/add-wwe-2k14-to-the-list-of-sports-video-games-with-no-506705310">.</a><inset id="506705310"></inset> Those days are gone forever<a href="http://kotaku.com/5949171/ea-sports-dodges-questions-it-recycled-fifa-on-the-wii">.</a><inset id="5949171"></inset> Console publishing today is like a series of high-class parties on the same night<a href="http://kotaku.com/5989636/major-league-baseball-2k1213-the-kotaku-review">.</a><inset id="5989636"></inset> Sure, you can have a strict dress code<a href="http://kotaku.com/5963081/madden-plants-the-flag-on-the-wii-u-but-doesnt-gain-much-ground">.</a><inset id="5963081"></inset> The B-list guests will be there if they they can wear the same outfit from another event. The A-list will be there if it's worth being seen.</p>
<p><small><em>Stick Jockey</em> is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Sundays.</small></p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">stick jockey</category><category domain="">wii u</category><category domain="">nintendo</category><category domain="">ea sports</category><category domain="">2k sports</category><category domain="">industry</category><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 22:30:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508774986</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[So, Call of Duty just teased this thing, which means we can look forward to a lot more about Ghosts ]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/so-call-of-duty-just-teased-this-thing-which-means-we-508755483</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="first-text">So, <em>Call of Duty</em> just <a href="https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/336206699037876225" target="_blank">teased this thing</a>, which means we can look forward to a lot more about <em>Ghosts</em> at the next Xbox's big shindig on Tuesday.</p>
<p class=""><iframe class="vine-embed loaded playing" src="https://vine.co/v/b9mjlbtxvgW/embed/simple" frameborder="0" width="600" height="600"></iframe></p>
<script type="text/javascript" async="" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>]]></description><category domain="">call of duty</category><category domain="">activision</category><category domain="">call of duty ghosts</category><category domain="">xbox 720</category><category domain="">durango</category><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 20:37:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508755483</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[You're hurting Tim's feelings.]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/youre-hurting-tims-feelings-508742528</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="first-text">You're hurting Tim's feelings.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 19:34:35 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508742528</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Deathstroke is a playable character in Batman: Arkham Origins, according to this preorder offer (of ]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/deathstroke-is-a-playable-character-in-batman-arkham-o-508737920</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="293" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o6k2oyjfrj4png/ku-xlarge.png" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p class="first-text">Deathstroke is a playable character in <em>Batman: Arkham Origins</em>, according to this preorder offer (of course) from Amazon. <a data-amazontag="kotakuamzn-20" data-amazonasin="" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/computer-video-games-hardware-accessories/b/?tag=kotakuamzn-20&amp;ascsubtag=[type|link[postId|508737920&amp;node=468642">Click this link</a> and then on the <em>Arkham Origins</em> box in lower right to see it. [<a href="http://theslanted.com/2013/05/5221/deathstroke-to-be-a-playable-character-in-batman-arkham-origins-with-dlc/#.UZkiACtbWxe" target="_blank">via TheSlanted</a>]</p>]]></description><category domain="">batman arkham origins</category><category domain="">preorder</category><category domain="">dlc</category><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508737920</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hideous Freak's gonna need a judge's permission for his next start across state lines.]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/hideous-freaks-gonna-need-a-judges-permission-for-his-n-508735152</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="first-text">Hideous Freak's gonna need a judge's permission for his next start across state lines.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 18:46:10 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508735152</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Police Blotter: His Face Fought the Law and the Law Won]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/police-blotter-his-face-fought-the-law-and-the-law-won-508728797</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18nod4lijai1pjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p>
<p class="first-text"><em>Crime is a constant feature of video games writing. Somewhere, someone is doing something illicit with them—<a href="http://bit.ly/a0FfTJ" target="_blank">sometimes comically stupid</a>, but also potentially tragic. Games and consoles are currency, objects of dispute, sometimes even weapons themselves. </em>Kotaku<em>'s Police Blotter is here to round up the latest in games crime.</em></p>
<p class="has-media media-300"><img height="169" width="300" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o6dq95m3925jpg/ku-medium.jpg" class="transform-ku-medium"/></p>
<h2>Faces of Resisting Arrest</h2>
<p>WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—A guy whose head looks like someone chose the randomize feature in <em>MLB 13 The Show</em>'s player-creation menu is in jail after burglarizing his cousin's apartment, <a href="http://www.wpbf.com/news/south-florida/Palm-Beach-County-News/doyle-washburn-jr-arrested-after-stealing-cousins-playstation-2-police-say/-/8815578/19911550/-/87ybynz/-/index.html" target="_blank">reports WPBF-TV</a>. Deputies say Florida Man Doyle Washburn Jr. (pictured) relieved his cousin of a PlayStation 2 and attempted to crawl out of a bedroom window with the merchandise, valued at $25 in GameStop store credit if it has the component video cables. He had &quot;what appeared to be cords in his pants,&quot; says WPBF, so, good, then. Washburn resisted arrest, said deputies, and that required a <s>beating</s> &quot;hobbling,&quot; and a visit to the hospital for an X-ray. While there, Washburn tried to run away, but a deputy <s>beat on him some more</s> &quot;tackled him against the wall.&quot; New Photo GameFace, right here.</p>
<h2>Kill/Death Ratio Doesn't Mean What You Think, Lady</h2>
<p>SLOUGH, England—Some kids bring home a nasty note from their teacher. A 15-year-old at a special education school in England brought home cops in body armor and a search warrant, after his teacher mistook conversation about <em>Call of Duty</em> for a plot to buy a firearm. Though the matter has been cleared up, his mother is none too happy, reports <em>The Daily Telegraph</em> of London (in its print edition yesterday). The school's head teacher justified the reaction, though. &quot;Although there was no weapon, if we hadn't taken action and there had been, the consequences could have been devastating.&quot;</p>
<h2>Don't Fake Burglary, Robble Robble</h2>
<p>HOPATCONG, N.J.—A 33-year-old man faked a break-in at his own house in order to pay a debt, police say. <a href="http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2013/05/man_faked_burglary_stole_girlf.html" target="_blank">NJ.com reports</a> Christopher Kelly, 33, reported he'd been burgled of a Timex watch, several Wii games, and, uh, $2,600 of his girlfriend's cash. Police thought it odd that security video at a nearby store didn't show anyone in the area around the time of the burglary, that drawers in the bedroom were left open but otherwise untouched, and, oh yeah, an adult was sleeping upstairs during the time of the burglary and heard nothing. Kelly's girlfriend thought he was at work at the time but it turns out he had been fired about a month before. She later recorded him admitting he faked the whole thing to pay someone back. </p>
<h2>These Aren't the Victims You're Looking For</h2>
<p>GREENVILLE, N.C.—Cops in this eastern North Carolina city say a couple of burglars busted down the wrong door but still cleaned out the residence of its liquifiable consumer electronics. Police say four men &quot;were looking for something specific,&quot; <a href="http://www.wnct.com/story/22280574/greenville-police-investigating-overnight-armed-robbery" target="_blank">according to WNCT-TV</a> and forced their way into the apartment before realizing they were in the wrong place. They took a TV, mobile phones and &quot;an Xbox gaming console.&quot; </p>
<h2>School Days, School Days, Dear Old Torrented SDKs</h2>
<p>MIDDLESBROUGH, England—Johnathan Waring, a student at Teesside University faces a potential prison sentence of 10 years after pleading guilty to distributing the PlayStation 3's software development kit over the Internet, which he had obtained through the games development course he was taking at the time. &quot;The court heard that his actions could have cost Sony millions of pounds worth of damage to its system,&quot; <a href="http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2013/05/16/redcar-student-guilty-in-computer-games-case-84229-33339426/" target="_blank">reports the Evening Gazette</a>, in that the SDK could show others how to defeat antipiracy measures. The offense occurred sometime in November or December 2011. </p>
<h2>Just Say No to Copyright Infringement</h2>
<p>WINNIPEG—Cops raided a head shop here not necessarily because it was selling weed, but because its bongs infringed on a bunch of copyrights, among them Angry Birds and Nintendo characters, and that sends a real bad message to kids. This might have been a creative way to crack down on on a paraphernalia dealer, but it didn't put him out of business. &quot;The Joint&quot; has slyly rebranded itself as &quot;The Joint: Tobacconist and Glass Gallery&quot; and is back open for business on St. Mary's Road for 'Peggers with need for natural or homeopathic medicine supplies. [<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/05/17/mb-joint-head-shop-tobacconist-winnipeg.html" target="_blank">CBC News</a>]</p>
<p><em>Lots of strange things happen in the pages of your local newspaper or on the 6 o'clock news. If you see something, say something. <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">To me, that is</a>. I'd like to write it up. Remember: You need not reveal your identity.</em></p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">crime</category><category domain="">police blotter</category><category domain="">florida</category><category domain="">canada</category><category domain="">winnipeg</category><category domain="">north carolina</category><category domain="">new jersey</category><category domain="">england</category><category domain="">burglary</category><category domain="">robbery</category><category domain="">call of duty</category><category domain="">piracy</category><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 18:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508728797</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Horrid Friday the 13th NES Game Gets This Special Edition Figurine]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/horrid-friday-the-13th-nes-game-gets-this-special-editi-508713746</link><description><![CDATA[<p class=" class=&quot;has-media media-640&quot; first-text"><em><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o64z3y1goskjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Friday the 13th</em>, the 1989 game, is widely considered to be one of the worst video games of all time, certainly one of the worst ever made for the NES. So of course it rates a special edition figurine—Jason Vorhees in the strange purple getup he wore for the final, deeply unsatisfying boss battle.</p>
<p><em>Figures.com</em> <a href="http://www.figures.com/forums/news/30382-first-look-necas-friday-13th-jason-comic-con-exclusive.html" target="_blank">has all the details</a>, plus two much larger-size, full-body presentations of the figurine. It's a Comic-Con exclusive by NECA and will be available at the company's booth in San Diego. <em>Figures.com</em> adds that its packaging will replicate the hideous box cover LJN chose for the game, too. Oh, it's $25.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.figures.com/forums/news/30382-first-look-necas-friday-13th-jason-comic-con-exclusive.html" target="_blank">First Look: NECA's Friday the 13th Jason Comic-Con</a> [Figures.com via <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-17-weird-purple-jason-vorhees-from-1989-nes-game-friday-the-13th-is-back" target="_blank"><em>Eurogamer</em></a>]</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">toys</category><category domain="">nes</category><category domain="">nostalgia</category><category domain="">friday the 13th</category><category domain="">neca</category><category domain="">comic-con</category><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508713746</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pretty soon we're going to have a .01 BAC and a roadside sharia court to chop off your hands. ]]></title><link>http://gawker.com/pretty-soon-were-going-to-have-a-01-bac-and-a-roadside-508714986</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="first-text">Pretty soon we're going to have a .01 BAC and a roadside sharia court to chop off your hands. It's the easiest, no-lose legislation in the world to pass.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 16:32:41 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508714986</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Kotaku 'Shop Contest: Roboshop]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/kotaku-shop-contest-roboshop-508709849</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o62hjxh7s3tjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p class="first-text">Next week we should have plenty of absurd things and derpfaces coming out of the Next Xbox reveal, so it's premature to parody that right now. We need a more timeless exploitable, something like—oh, yeah, this bigass statue of Robocop. Here we go.</p>
<p>The statue, remember, was a Kickstarter initiative to place a tribute to Detroit's greatest protector in the city of Detroit, whether the hell Detroit likes it or not. It doesn't really matter that the thing is unfinished, it's Robocop, go to town.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Source Image: <a href="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18nlggm6ux4qnjpg/original.jpg" target="_blank">Bigass Robocop statue</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While most of you are smart enough to figure out how to upload images, here are some simple steps to take for those less familiar with the practice.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>1. Create your 'Shop and save it to your desktop.</p>
<p>2. Go to the bottom of this post <a href="http://i.imgur.com/0Iy5lTR.png" target="_blank">and click &quot;Discuss.&quot;</a></p>
<p>3. This brings up a comment window. Click <a href="http://i.imgur.com/bZPj3xP.png" target="_blank">the icon that looks like a picture.</a></p>
<p>4. This brings up <a href="http://i.imgur.com/rPV8VSd.png" target="_blank">another window called &quot;Insert Image.&quot;</a> Click &quot;Choose file&quot; if you're uploading your 'shop from your desktop</p>
<p>5. Alternatively, you can upload the 'Shop to a free image hosting service. <a href="http://imgur.com/" target="_blank">I suggest imgur</a>. Then paste the image's URL into the field that says &quot;Image URL.&quot; Note: this must be the URL of the image itself, not the page where it is displayed. That means the URL ends in .jpg, .gif, .png, whatever.</p>
<p>6. Add editorial commentary and hit submit and your image will load. If it doesn't, upload the image to imgur and paste the image URL as a comment. I promise I will look at it.</p>
<p>7. I'm not sure if we still have file size restrictions under Kinja but it's probably a good idea to keep your image size under 1 MB. This is especially true for animated .gifs. If you're still having trouble uploading the image, try to keep its longest dimension (horizontal or vertical) under 1000 pixels.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Alright! Have at it. Thanks very much for your participation.</p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">kotaku shop contest</category><category domain="">photoshop</category><category domain="">robocop</category><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 16:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508709849</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Much obliged. ]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/much-obliged-ill-add-that-to-the-post-508710165</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="first-text">Much obliged. I'll add that to the post.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 15:57:53 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508710165</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Just in time for Mega Man 5's release on the 3DS Virtual Console, Capcom's offering the game's sound]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/just-in-time-for-mega-man-5s-release-on-the-3ds-virtual-508702032</link><description><![CDATA[<p class=" class=&quot;has-media media-640&quot; first-text"><a href="http://shop.capcom.com/store/capcomus/en_US/pd/ThemeID.1944700/productID.281373700/Mega-Man-5-Official-Soundtrack.html?resid=UZjm4goBAlgAAEfJ1RAAAAAu&amp;rests=1368975074539" target="_blank"><img height="454" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5xedwa3ecqjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></a>Just in time for <em>Mega Man 5</em>'s release on the 3DS Virtual Console, Capcom's offering the game's soundtrack (57 songs in all) <a href="http://shop.capcom.com/store/capcomus/en_US/pd/ThemeID.1944700/productID.281373700/Mega-Man-5-Official-Soundtrack.html?resid=UZjm4goBAlgAAEfJ1RAAAAAu&amp;rests=1368975074539" target="_blank">on the Capcom store.</a></p>]]></description><category domain="">mega man</category><category domain="">capcom</category><category domain="">mega man 5</category><category domain="">video game music</category><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 15:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508702032</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Comics: The Eyes Have It]]></title><link>http://kotaku.com/sunday-comics-the-eyes-have-it-508680405</link><description><![CDATA[<p class="has-media media-640"><img height="360" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5k2boi1hngjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/></p><p class="first-text">Welcome to <em>Kotaku</em>'s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><strong><img height="1118" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5ka5tv46wsjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Brawl In The Family</strong> by Matthew Taranto. Published May 14. <a href="http://www.brawlinthefamily.com/" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Brawl In The Family</em></a></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><strong><img height="321" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5kb7bhco7gjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Penny Arcade</strong> by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published May 17. <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Penny Arcade</em></a></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><strong><img height="992" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5kbyxx1r70png/ku-xlarge.png" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Awkward Zombie</strong> by Katie Tiedrich. Published May 13. <a href="http://www.awkwardzombie.com/" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Awkward Zombie</em></a></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><strong><img height="531" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5kcqk8or6vjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Manly Guys Doing Manly Things</strong> by Kelly Turnbull. Published May 16. <a href="http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archive-2" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Manly Guys Doing Manly Things</em></a></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><strong><img height="274" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5kdk5vkr28png/ku-xlarge.png" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Nerf NOW!!</strong> by Josué Pereira. Published May 15. <a href="http://nerfnow.com/archives" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Nerf NOW!!</em></a></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-300"><strong><img height="400" width="300" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5ke7u72chejpg/ku-medium.jpg" class="transform-ku-medium"/>Brentalfloss the Comic</strong> by Brent Black, Andrew Dobson and Dan Roth. Published May 16. <a href="http://www.brentalflossthecomic.com/archive.php" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Brentalfloss the Comic</em></a></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><strong><img height="334" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5kevig651mjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Virtual Shackles</strong> by Jeremy Vinar and Mike Fahmie. <em>Published May 13. <a href="http://www.virtualshackles.com/" target="_blank">Read more of Virtual Shackles</a></em></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><strong><img height="527" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5kff8ye7cxjpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Another Videogame Webcomic</strong> by Phil Chan and Joe Dunn. Published May 17. <a href="http://digitalpimponline.com/strips.php?title=avw" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Another Videogame Webcomic</em></a></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-300"><strong><img height="446" width="300" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o5kg8ug0honpng/ku-medium.png" class="transform-ku-medium"/>Corpse Run</strong> by Alex Di Stasi. Published May 16. <a href="http://corpseruncomics.com/archives/" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Corpse Run</em></a></p>
<hr/>
<p class="has-media media-640"><em><strong><img height="274" width="640" src="http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18o6udaxgq7a4jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg" class="transform-ku-xlarge"/>Nerd Rage</strong> </em>by Andy Kluthe. Published May 17. <a href="http://www.nerdragecomic.com/archive.php" target="_blank"><em>Read more of Nerd Rage</em></a></p>
<p><small>To contact the author of this post, write to <a href="mailto:owen@kotaku.com">owen@kotaku.com</a> or find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/owengood" target="_blank">@owengood</a>.</small></p>]]></description><category domain="">funnies</category><category domain="">sunday comics</category><category domain="">comics</category><category domain="">humor</category><category domain="">webcomics</category><pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">508680405</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Owen Good]]></dc:creator></item></channel></rss>