(Posted by: Kyle)

Gizmodo reported today on a brand new iPhone found of all places in a bar in Redmond, WA. If this isn't a PR stunt by Apple (and we don't think it is, that's just not Apple's style) then someone is going to take the fire for this. Someone is going to have to walk into Steve Jobs' office and tell him how they got real drunk and lost the super secret prototype phone of the future and some schmuck found it and sold it as an exclusive story to Gizmodo. 

The phone seems legit. It even had a case around it that camouflaged it as a 3gs in case someone were to see it. Not only that, but Apple has asked for it back! 

Check out more photos after the break as well as a break down of the new hardware! 

(Posted by: Harrison)

Can and will video games be considered an piece of high art? That's the topic of debate among gamers and renowned film critic, Roger Ebert, who continues to be the industry's number one opponent against the medium being considered an art form. Ebert recently wrote about the subject on the Chicago Sun-Times website, which has sparked debate. The piece was a response to thatgamecompany president Kellee Santiago's TED talk at USC last summer (check it out if you want some history behind the debate). So far, Ebert doesn't slam Santiago's speech to the ground, but regardless of her points, he continues to state that games "can never be art."

Hit the jump to read the rest of Ebert's comments. 

(Posted by: Alex Deckard)

We appear to have a bit of an unofficial announcement regarding LittleBigPlanet 2.  It seems that European recording artist Ochre tweeted about his song “Infotain Me” getting licensed by Sony for use in the game.  While not officially announced, it has long been speculated that this game was in the works, and this Twitter announcement all but confirms it.  The question is, what sort of changes will they make in the sequel?  How close is it to completion?  Is Ochre just an attention whore?  Hopefully the last one isn’t true.  We need another LittleBigPlanet. 

(Posted by: Alex Deckard)

Hey, you know what’s fun?  Being able to play your game.  You know what sucks?  DRM software that prevents this because of faulty servers.  You know who doesn’t seem to care?  If you said “General Motors”, you’d probably be right, but more importantly, Ubisoft.  That’s right, even in the shadow of the “Assassins Creed II” fiasco, where gamers were unable to play their game due to a server error, not to mention the basic inability of non-connected players to play, Splinter Cell: Conviction creative director Max Béland defends the DRM used by Ubisoft. "We consider that protecting our PC games is vital to our business and will allow us to continue investing in the development of creative and innovative games on the PC platform." Béland explained in an interview with VG247.  That’s great, but what about the players?  The community is largely against this DRM, and they don’t seem to be warming up to it over time.  For now, it’s just a reality gamers will have to deal with.

(Posted by: Harrison)

They say that with the amount of content left over from Super Mario Galaxy, there was enough for a whole new title. With today's unveil of Mario's newest power-up from Nintendo Magazine UK, rest assured they left the best for the sequel. May we introduce, Cloud Mario. Yeah, make your Mega Man-inspired boss jokes here if you please. Aside from the recently revealed Rock Mario, Nintendo has been hush-hush about the new content in Mario Galaxy 2. The cloud power-up lets our hero create cloud steps, which he can then walk to reach platforms. Considering how the company has been secretive about the title's features, there could be more surprises. Cross your fingers for a Tanooki suit reboot.

(Posted by Kyle)

Here it is... the first peek at what Nintendo promises is a "rebirth" for the series. Looks a lot like Pokemon right? Some of these screens hint a new engine for the game though. It is speculated that the camera will zoom in and out because characters are different sizes on different screens. The battle screens show the two evolutions of the only new monster that his been announced so far; Zorua and Zoroark. This game looks a little prettier than the older games, but more than that will have to change to justify the term "rebirth." Hopefully we'll see a reworked story structure, deeper battle system, maybe even a little character development! 


What would you like to see in a new Pokemon game? Let us know in the comments. 

(Posted by: Kyle)

At the Tokyo Game Show last year, Sony announced its plans to implement a very Home-esque  platform for the PSP called Room. It would allow players to create avatars, decorate their virtual space and interact with friends via chat and blogs. Soon after TGS, Room went into a beta which concluded today. With the feedback gained from the beta, Sony has decided to cease development of the service. 

Sony said the information gained from the beta tests would be used to enrich the current PSN services. I wonder what happened? Was Room that poorly designed or was it just a bad idea to begin with? 

Let us know what you think in the comments. 

This week the guys talk a lot of yang about Justin Bieber, and discuss the ongoing dilemma with the previously-employed-by-Infinity Ward guys, Splinter Cell Conviction, Grand Theft Auto, Zombie Cronkite, Gears of War 3, the mysterious Halo MMO WoW killer, new macbook pros and much much more!

 Special Feature: "Anybody got a cigarette" by The Paperclips (Hint: it's at the end of the podcast) Check out this awesome band at http://www.myspace.com/thepaperclipsfour 

Stream it from the box at the bottom of the page or subscribe on iTunes here

(Posted by: Alex Deckard)

RUMOR-MONGERING TIME!  So get this: There have been rumors floating around that Google has been working on some sort of notebook sized touch screen computer that runs applications and has internet capabilities.  Y'know, an iPad, except without that whole "closed off" thing that Apple's in to.  That's right children, "The Big G" appeared to be working on an answer to the iPad.  However, recently, The New York Times got rid of all these rumors...by turning them in to facts!  Facts, while less fun then rumors, are far more reliable.  Yes, it seems that Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt was gabbing about it at a private party recently.  The only rumor that was really dispelled was that it would be running that hip new operating system, Chrome OS.  Tragically, we have to keep waiting for that, as the "gPad" (my name, not theirs) will be running Android.  They're currently doing testing on eBooks, magazines and "other media".  It might even do super-advanced things, like "supporting flash" and "having a USB port".  So stay tuned kids, this one could be fantastic.