We’ve cemented the news in a new midweek slot so for the latest gossip and banter for the gaming world you can now find it in this spot every week for as long as the internet lasts or the Zombies get us!
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Japan needs babies!
(Our Editor demands more Chun Li babies!)
As some of our readers may or may not already know; the population of Japan is shrinking. In fact, Japan has the fastest greying population in the world and the lowest birthrates. There are thought to be many reasons for this, whether they be true or not, and one of them is corporate Japan. Today Namco Bandai is looking to change this with very, very generous bonuses.
The company will give employees of either gender a bonus of ¥200,000, the equivalent of roughly 1,850, for their first and second new children. For the third, they would be granted ¥2 million. That’s almost 20,000, simply for having a third child while working for them.
The company is also creating a ‘Kids Room’ at it’s headquarters for its employee’s children, thus dealing with the problem of childcare too. The room is to be staffed with trained childcare professionals and will be filled with toys produced by the company. As far as incentives go, these are looking pretty good.
Out with the old in with the new 360!
Game and Gamestation, two of the biggest games retailers in Europe, have stopped selling older models of the Xbox 360 console. The company, Gamestation being owned by Game, have stated this is due to a focus on new hardware.
Sources within Gamestation, however, told Eurogamer that the ‘high failure rate’ of these older models was the reason.
“As of Saturday 3rd September we will not be selling Pre-owned Xbox 360 Cores, Arcades and 20GB non HDMIs. This is due to the high failure rate of the console and the difficulty and cost of repairing them.”
“We will continue to trade these consoles in but they will need to be sent back to the DC as a regular faulty return where they will exit the business.”
Most of us can recall the infamous ‘Red Ring of Death’ saga that resulted in Microsoft extending the warranty of these older models up to three years back in 2007. The company stated at the time that an ‘unacceptable’ number of repairs had to be made and that they had more than $1 Billion put aside to deal with the issue.
Alls fair in love and Modern Warfare….3?
Alongside the eagerly anticipated launch of Modern Warfare 3, Activision is bringing you a new social network and stat tracking service that will be largely free to use. But there’s going to be an elite, premium membership. Here’s why you might be interested in investing in it;
The price placed on this ‘premium membership’ at the Call of Duty XP gathering was $50 US Dollars. That’s cheaper than purchasing map packs as they are released – something premium members will receive monthly for the year. The company claims that premium members will receive every piece of downloadable content as soon as it becomes available. They will also be able to take part in daily competitions that will allow them to win prizes of all kinds, such as iPads for example. The company has also stated that such competitions will not only be limited to ‘the pros’, as they intend to have competitions for everyone of various skill levels. This is but a taste of the many perks to those who invest in it. It will also work alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Those who plan to buy the game may want to purchase the ‘Hardened Edition’, as it will include a year’s premium Elite membership, Activision confirmed. Call of Duty Elite will launch on the 8th of November alongside the release of Modern Warfare 3.
LoL…No Mac!
After almost a year of beta testing, Riot Games has decided to cancel Mac OS support for League of Legends. In a statement Riot claims that this decision is due to the fact that their “current approach regarding the Mac platform won’t guarantee the quality and frequent updates we deliver today on the PC.”
While this is the end of the Mac beta, this doesn’t mean the company has ruled out the possibility of A Mac version in the future. “We are committed to building a solution that will work on the Mac in the long run,” Riot said, “but it will take some time.” Those of you who might have been beta testers who purchased anything in the League of Legends store have the option of receiving a full refund or simply keeping your account and continue to play on a PC. They will also receive a code for the Champions Pack, one that must be redeemed before Tuesday the 13th of September.
Assasinate…for Free on the PS3
In preparation for the launch of Ubisoft’s eagerly anticipated next installation to the Assassin’s Creed series, the publisher is running a multiplayer beta for the game, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations this week. However, this beta is exclusive to ‘Playstation Plus’ members and ‘Playstation 3 Uplay’ members. Tough luck for any Xbox 360 fans of the game, it seems.
Multiplayer in the newest installation to the series looks to be very much the same as the one prior to it, though has a number of expected new modes and maps. More information can be found on the official website.
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is set to be released on November 15th.
