Ripples from FOX and Mass Effect

Apparently, the retail chain Target has taken notice of the negative and misleading reports by Fox News on Mass Effect and how it's a sex simulator. However, the only notice appears to be that Mass Effect involves sex.

Reports are coming in that Target has taken Mass Effect off its shelves and refuses to sell the game. This news comes at the same time as the official announcement that Mass Effect will be available on the PC.

It's ridiculous that Target is taking these steps. They obviously haven't paid attention to the aftermath. In fact, even Jack Thompson has gone on the record to say that the sex scenes in Mass Effect are very mild. If JACK THOMPSON isn't against a video game, how can anyone else be?

I'm in a Gaming Challenge

So the other day I was over at Rooster Teeth's website and stumbled across a gaming challenge set up by a member over there. I decided to join. It starts at midnight PST tonight, and the person with the most point gain in 30 days wins a year subscription to Gamefly.

I'm already at a disadvantage because out of 26 participants I have the second highest gamerscore right now(and I've already played most of the easy achievement early games).

For those who don't know, the gaming challenges are from Old Spice and 360voice.com. Members set them up and then invite people to compete. The corporate sponsors donate the prizes depending on how many people are involved.

The Great Console Drought

So, the other day, a strange thought entered my mind. I want a Wii. I played with them before and always thought "Someday maybe I'll pick one up." And that day is now. Except... I can't find one.

Now, I'm not saying they are impossible to find. I see them on eBay and online and Craigslist all the time. But they are rare in their natural environment - the store shelves.

I haven't spent as much time or effort on my Wii search as I did on my search for my first 360. I haven't called places, and I won't drive to a different state for the Wii.

But in my hours of stopping by different stores, I've also noticed some other interesting things. First off, stores are still selling the PS2 and Gamecube. They are readily available.

PS3s are also very common in the stores. I saw multiple PS3s in almost every store.

However, 360's are less common. In all my time, I never saw an Elite and I only once saw a Premium. I did see a number of 360 Arcades, though.

The manufacturers say they are not creating the console drought, but that consumers are actually buying them that quick. And honestly, I believe them.

I believe the drought is still from Christmas. People were promised a console or got extra money and promised themselves a console. And the missing Wii's are most likely
because of the Wii cards where you could buy a Wii rain check and be promised a Wii in January.

Most the Wiis I do see on stores' websites are available only in bundle packs, usually $400-500 bundles. I don't feel like paying double money just to get some more games, most of which I don't even want.

360 HD-DVD Drive Gets Price Cut

More news in the HD War that is video game related. Microsoft is cutting the price of their 360 HD-DVD player attachment by $50 making it a $129.99. So far this is only affecting North America.

I'm not sure if this will make a dent in the purchases of HD-DVD players because it has a limited market, the gaming market. No casual shopper looking for an HD-DVD player is going to buy a 360 plus the player just to watch movies. I was contemplating getting the unit when I bought my HDTV, but I decided to go with a standalone player because if I wanted to take my 360 over to a LAN party, then my family would still have a means to watch HD movies. Also I didn't like the fact that there was no HDMI input unless I bought a certain cable for my 360. It will be interesting to see the NPD numbers for this next month.

Install Makes PS3 Users Cry

So apparently, Devil May Cry 4 on the PS3 takes over 20 minutes to install. This, of course, is making PS3 users unhappy. Isn't that the great thing about consoles? No install times?

Rumor has it that the Xbox 360 version starts right up. Gamers are questioning this move. Is it the future of consoles or a fluke?

Mass Effect DLC Coming

Bioware isn't letting the (made-up) controversy about their "sex simulator" Mass Effect slow them down. The first downloadable content will be available starting March 10th for 400 Microsoft Points($5).

The new content is called "Bring Down the Sky." It is a new explorable world which features an extremist group of Batarians. Apparently, these Batarians have highjacked an asteroid and are trying to hit a colonized planet with it. (Don't tell Fox News about the new race. They'll just think it's someone else to have sex with.)

The new content adds about 90 minutes of gameplay and one Gamerscore achievement worth 50 points. I'm looking forward to it!

XYBA Podcast Ep 18

Andy, Jeff, and Josh come together for the 18th episode of the XYBA Podcast. We are trying a new format where we keep our podcast a little shorter. Let us know what you think. Be sure to leave us a review on iTunes and check out a machinima we are working on. Enjoy.

00:00 - Introductions
00:33 - Games We're Playing :|: Half-Life 2, Stuntman: Ignition, and Ghost Squad
13:36 - Gaming News :|: GTAIV in April, Little Big Planet in beta, Orange Box games for PC, EA announces Rockband for Wii, and some other gaming news
37:06 - Roundtable :|: The Child-Man debate
48:25 - Games We're Looking Forward to :|: Ninja Gaiden DS, GTA IV, Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, Army of Two, Star Wars: Force Unleashed, Fable 2, and Culdcept Saga
53:24 - Rant :|: Games with flashlights suck

Download XYBA Podcast Ep 18

Happy Birthday to Us!

It's a few days belated, but XYBA Podcast officially turned one year old on January 29th. In 2007, that was when our first podcast was posted onto this site. It's been a learning year, but overall, I think it's gone well. Read on to learn intricate things you never wanted to know.

Our Origins: The concept of XYBA is from Josh. He came up with the idea in like December 2006 and it took us a while to get together and record the first podcast. We played around with a number of names before choosing XYBA(enforced by Josh's creation of the logo which he kept showing us).

The Members: Josh - Probably the "leader." He came up with the concept, set up the website, records the podcasts and usually sets the dates and times for the podcast. Owns a 360, DS and PC.

Andy - Me. I'm awesome. I do the most blogging and sometimes fight with readers. I also supply some of the hardware. Owns a 360, PC, PS1, Xbox and Mac.

Charlie - A regular on the podcast who is pretty balanced. Owns a 360, Wii and PS3.

Grant - A not-so-often contributer to the podcast. Grant's busy being newly wed. Grant also made our theme song. Owns a PC.

Eric - An on and off podcaster. Doesn't really like podcasting. Was our resident Wii Fanboy. Owns a Wii, DS and PS3. Used to own a 360.

The above are the original five, but we have other people too:

Jeff - Jeff is becoming a regular podcast member. Owns a Wii, 360, PS3, PC and DS(I think).

Santana - Santana contributes to the podcast every once in a great while. Doesn't actually own any gaming systems but plays my 360.

Brian - Brian used to guest on the podcast back before he got hired by Blizzard and moved away.

Sam - We picked Sam to take over as our resident Wii Fanboy blogger because Eric doesn't like blogging either. He posted one story to the blog and never returned. Shame on you, Sam. Owns a Wii.

Marco - Marco guested on a podcast once. Marco does 3D animations and works on some Xbox Live Arcade games. He owns... I don't know, a Mac or something. And I don't remember what, but something Marco said made our listeners mad.

Jeff K - Jeff also guested on the podcast. He helped us with some sound issues. I don't know what he owns.

Sean and Nick - Sean and Nick guested once when they were visiting from Illinois for work. They are both PC gamers.

February Game Releases

February! Valentine’s Day. Love is in the air. Is it love of new game releases? Read on to find out…

 

DS Titles

February 2
• Paws and Claws Pet Resort
• Zoo Tycoon 2
February 5
• Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles
• My Horse and Me
• Puppy Palace
• Real Soccer 2008
• The Spiderwick Chronicles
February 10
• Professor Layton & The Curious Village
February 12
• Dungeon Explorer
February 15
• Suzuki Superbikes
February 18
• FIFA Street 3
February 19
• Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
• Spitfire Heroes: Tales Royal Air Force
February 25
• Bratz: Super Babyz
February 26
• Brain Assist
• Bubble Bobble Double Shot
• Disney Friends
• Homie Rollerz
• Petz Wild Animals Tigerz

PC Titles

February 4
• Sins of a Solar Empire
February 5
• 20 Questions
• Dance! Online
• First Battalion Gold
• Forgotten Riddles: The Mayan Princess
• Medieval II Total War: Gold Pack
• Merv Griffin’s Crosswords
• Spaceforce Captains
• The Spiderwick Chronicles
February 12
• Abra Academy
• Conflict: Denied Ops
• My Horse and Me
• Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate
• Pirateville
• Powerboat GT
February 13
• Carrier Strike Force
February 15
• The Experiment
February 19
• The Club
• The Guild Universe
February 25
• Frontlines: Fuel of War
February 26
• Arma Gold
• Lost: Via Domus
• The Sims 2 Free Time
• Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

PS2 Titles

February 5
• Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore
• Nobunaga’s Ambition: Rise to Power
• The Spiderwick Chronicles
• Twisted Metal: Head On
February 11
• Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Mermaids
• Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue
February 12
• Jumper

PS3

February 5
• Devil May Cry 4
February 12
• Conflict: Denied Ops
February 18
• FIFA Street 3
February 19
• The Club
February 26
• Lost Planet Extreme Condition
• Lost: Via Domus
• Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

PSP

February 5
• Downstream Panic!
February 12
• Chessmaster
• Dungeon Explorer: Warrior of the Ancient Arts
• Wipeout Pulse
February 18
• Need for Speed: Pro Street
February 26
• Blokus Portable: Steamboat Championship
• Patapon
• World Championship Cards

Wii

February 1
• Bomberman Land
February 5
• Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore
• My Horse and Me
• The Spiderwick Chronicles
February 11
• Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue
February 12
• Balloon Pop
• Jumper
• London Taxi: Rush Hour
February 18
• MX vs ATV: Untamed
February 19
• Pimp My Ride
February 25
• Agatha Christie: Then There Were None
• Destroy All Humans Big Willy Unleashed
• Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
February 26
• Bass Fishing
• Kidz Sports: International Soccer
• WWII Aces

Xbox 360

February 5
• Culdcept Saga
• Devil May Cry 4
• Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore
• The Spiderwick Chronicles
February 12
• Conflict: Denied Ops
• Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
• Jumper
• Lost Odyssey
February 18
• FIFA Street 3
February 19
• The Club
• Dynasty Warriors 6
• History Channel: Battle for the Pacific
February 25
• Frontlines: Fuel of War
February 26
• Lost: Via Domus
• Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

Halo 3 Big Team Battle Now Ranked

Starting this week, Big Team Battle on Halo 3 moves from a social game to a ranked game. So now you can earn more ranking when playing the eight vs. eight game.

I like this move because I'm a big fan of Big Team Battle. I really enjoy the level Sandtrap. Of course, we'll see if this move changes my enjoyment since it seems that most people who play social matches are garbage compared to those in ranked games. So maybe now I'll start getting my ass handed to me and not like it so much.