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Portal 2 coming 2010
"It appears Valve has begun another ARG (Alternate Reality Game) similar to the one that led up to the release of the original Portal game. A recent Portal update unlocked a new achievement which has uncovered various hidden images and sounds containing references to the Portal and Half-Life universe. Many believe this to be part of the run-up to the announcement of Portal 2 and/or the next installment of the Half-Life series.
A thread on the Steam forums has already reached over 1 million views as people piece together the information. (Steampowered.com)
Based on clues from the ARG, some are speculating an announcement at the 2010 Game Developers Conference where Valve's co-founder Gabe Newell is to receive this year's Pioneer Award."
Over on the PC, The Sims and World of Warcraft franchises accounted for six of the ten spots. Twin behemoths Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard almost tied up the whole shebang, but Sega's historical strategy hit Empire: Total War snagged tenth.
1 PC The Sims 3 Electronic Arts 2 PC World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack Blizzard Entertainment (Activision Blizzard) 3 PC The Sims 2 Double Deluxe Electronic Arts 4 PC World of Warcraft: Battle Chest Blizzard Entertainment (Activision Blizzard) 5 PC Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Activision (Activision Blizzard) 6 PC World of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment (Activision Blizzard) 7 PC The Sims 3: World Adventures Expansion Pack Electronic Arts 8 PC Spore Electronic Arts 9 PC Dragon Age: Origins Electronic Arts 10 PC Empire: Total War Sega of America
Although the video game retail sector ended the year with a record-breaking performance in December, the year's overall total fell 8% compared to 2008.
The verdict is in: while Nintendo dominated the video game market in 2009, it missed out on the top spot.
Instead, it was the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 that sold the most, according to retail tracking firm NPD Group. Figures from the game's publisher indicate the blockbuster war shooter sold nearly 6 million copies in 2009, a feat that's all the more remarkable considering the game didn't release until well into November. Modern Warfare 2 was also the eighth best-selling game of the year, although on the PlayStation 3 rather than the Xbox.
Beyond that, the year belonged to Nintendo. Seven of the year's best sellers were Nintendo games -- six on the Wii, and one (Pokemon Platinum) on the DS. Aside from Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3: ODST was the only other non-Nintendo entry, charting at 9th place.
1 360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Activision Blizzard 2 Wii Sports Resort w/ WII Motion Plus Nintendo of America 3 Wii New Super Mario Bros. WII Nintendo of America 4 Wii WII Fit w/ Balance Board Nintendo of America 5 Wii WII Fit Plus Nintendo of America 6 Wii Mario Kart w/ Wheel Nintendo of America 7 Wii WII Play w/ Remote* Nintendo of America 8 PS3 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Activision Blizzard 9 360 Halo 3: ODST Microsoft 10 NDS Pokemon Platinum Version Nintendo of America
LOS OSOS, Calif. -- Gumby animator Art Clokey, whose bendable creation became a pop culture phenomenon through countless satires, toys and revivals, has died at age 89.
Caretaker Chrisanne Wollett Clokey says Clokey died Friday in Los Osos on California's Central Coast.
Clokey first molded Gumby for a surreal student project at the University of Southern California called "Gumbasia." That led to his making shorts for the "Howdy Doody Show" and several series through the years.
He said he based Gumby's swooping head on the hairdo of his father, who died when Clokey was nine.
Clokey also created the moralizing and often satirized claymation duo "Davey and Goliath."
Eddie Murphy brought a surge in Gumby's popularity in the 1980s with his send-up of the character on "Saturday Night Live" as a cigar-smoking primadonna.
Criminals can run, but they can't hide. Especially if they play World of Warcraft.
Just ask Alfred Hightower. Having successfully left the country to avoid being nabbed for dealing drugs, the fugitive figured he was home free. But thanks to his insistence on keeping up with his World of Warcraft habit, Hightower was tracked down by authorities and is now in custody, reports The Kokomo Perspective.
The saga begins in 2007, when Indiana's Howard County Sheriff's Department issued a warrant for Hightower's arrest on charges of dealing in multiple controlled substances. U.S. Marshals were unable to locate the suspect, although a tip placed him in Canada.
According to Howard County deputy Matt Roberson, authorities came upon the Warcraft connection during their investigation into Hightower's background.
“We received information that this guy was a regular player of an online game, which was referred to as ‘some warlock and witches’ game,” he told The Perspective. “None of that information was sound enough to pursue on its own, but putting everything we had together gave me enough evidence to send a subpoena to Blizzard Entertainment. I knew exactly what he was playing — World of Warcraft. I used to play it. It’s one of the largest online games in the world.”
Blizzard played ball, giving up Hightower's account history, IP address, screen name, billing address and preferred game server. One Google Earth search later, and Canadian authorities had apprehended Hightower in Ottowa, Ontario.
“You hear stories about you can’t get someone through the Internet,” said Roberson. “Guess what??You can. I just did. Here you are, playing World of Warcraft, and you never know who you’re playing with.”
Warcraft is just the latest ally in gaming's war against crime. Several weeks ago, police tracked down a New York thief by tracing his online gaming on a stolen Xbox.
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