• advertising

    Jocks Cede Role Model Status To Nerds

    Remember in the olden days when pro athletes and Olympians would grace our soft drink ads, urging us to guzzle the nutritionally barren sugar water in order to be a champion like them, cognitive dissonance be damned? Yea, if you listen to athletes now, you are old and laughable. The new (and far more appropriate!) face of Dr. Pepper is a 21-year-old kid who makes a quarter of a million bucks playing video games. Why I never! Lazy kids nowadays! There is simply no way not to sound like some parody of Dave Barry making "these kids!" jokes while writing about this development. But what you need to know is that if you have skills with a Wii controller, you better watch out for the geek paparazzi: More »

    9:53 AM on Wed Nov 19 2008
    By Hamilton Nolan
    1,978 views, 27 comments

    Most discussed Phyllis Nefler: Curses! Embedding disabled! WTF? Okay, so how about this instead: THE POWER CLAW. + Watch video more »

  • advertising

    Investment In Bullshit Ads Plummets

    When times were good and the economy was strong, you could sell companies any old kind of patently ridiculous ad. Did marketing savants really believe that spending wildly to place their brands inside "The Sims" was going to pay off in money that is made out of paper, and spendable here on Earth? It's doubtful. They just got caught up in the sheer newness of plastering their logo anywhere and everywhere, and then made up some bullshit about "branding" to explain the expense. Well that shit is over now, suckas! More »

    10:17 AM on Wed Oct 15 2008
    By Hamilton Nolan
    3,565 views, 25 comments

    Most discussed uninspired: With this news, the last remaining nerd advertising vehicle is online porn product placement. more »

  • MTV Games

    Viacom Company Mysteriously Cancels Party

    If you were planning on going to the awesome MTV Games party tomorrow night to preview AC/DC Live video game, we have some bad news: the Viacom company's PR firm says it's been postponed "Due to other scheduled events in the area." Other scheduled events like...rumored massive layoffs? Well that would certainly be one theoretical possibility. Click through for the sad cancellation notice. [UPDATE: And a statement from MTV Games]: More »

    2:45 PM on Tue Oct 14 2008
    By Hamilton Nolan
    3,908 views, 16 comments

    Most discussed blogissuchanuglyword: Maybe they just thought twice about throwing a party at Angels and Kings more »

  • Sadvertising

    Digital Baubles Alleviate Crushing Pain Of Modern Life

    Attention nerds: retailers are extremely interested in your imaginary nerd money. And they're coming into your nerd land to woo you! Specifically by purchasing all types of "dynamic in-game ads" in the new version of The Sims—a computer game featuring attractively rendered digital versions of nerds performing mundane tasks such as washing dishes and going to the grocery store, which are "fun" only in comparison to the sad isolation and anomie of the modern nerd's real life. Not only can you buy virtual Ikea furniture and H&M clothes in a pallid simulacrum of the American dream; now, you can play in a world free of the unrelenting pain of your everyday existence: More »

    10:17 AM on Tue Oct 7 2008
    By Hamilton Nolan
    1,647 views, 23 comments

    Most discussed katastic: Pfffft. When does the Sim masturbate into an old sock and cry? more »

  • espn

    Americans Only Understand Sports In Video Game Format

    ESPN is the USA's sports leader, sanctioned by God, the American Way, and Brett Favre. Males of a certain age (11-75) who don't watch the network risk placing themselves under serious suspicion of being candy ass pansy boy homos, NO HOMO. So you'd think that ESPN wouldn't have trouble drawing young viewers. But America's sports indoctrination machine is flagging because of the internet and the computers and the fatness! So ESPN has been forced to take drastic and, we daresay, un-American measures: More »

    9:33 AM on Fri Sep 5 2008
    By Hamilton Nolan
    4,875 views, 29 comments

    Most discussed MyCubeHas3Sides: Thank you for using a Jets player bustin' a move in the picture!I don't have cable, am in Chicago, and more »

  • grand theft auto

    Murder Confirms Every Bad Stereotype About Video Games

    This is an absolute nightmare scenario for video game manufacturers, who must now be thanking their Pagan gods that it didn't happen in the US: a teenager in Bangkok murdered a taxi cab driver in an attempt to reenact a scene from Grand Theft Auto. As a result, the distributor has halted sales of the game throughout all of Thailand, which is a wise PR move despite being (objectively) an overreaction. The details of the crime seem to confirm the worst fears of all anti-video game crusaders: a good kid led astray, and willing to do anything to get his fix of violence: More »

    12:56 PM on Tue Aug 5 2008
    By Hamilton Nolan
    4,460 views, 93 comments

    Latest by Werrick: Hamilton! Seriously, man! What's wrong with you?! The "video games made me do it!" defense is almost as old and tired more »

  • gaming

    Beer Pong Video Game Predictably Nixed

    JV Games was all set to release Beer Pong for the Nintendo Wii as part of its new Frat Party Games series (forthcoming titles include It's Not Gay, It's Tradition and Honor Council Testimony: Age of Consent Edition). Then the killjoy parents got involved, saying it's not right encouraging underage drinking, even in the virtual world. So now the thing's called Pong Toss, which, according to Time, will feature "pixelated cups of water." Use your Xbox to draft a pixelated transfer application. As it turns out, however, water as an alternative chug resource has also caused problems on university campuses: More »

    5:17 PM on Thu Jul 31 2008
    By Michael Weiss
    3,185 views, 31 comments

    Latest by bigredgambler: @tunamelt: I know it happened at my alma mater around 5+ years ago. Sad. more »

  • grand theft auto

    A Free Helicopter Tour Of Liberty City

    If you didn't have the 500 or so free hours necessary to explore the virtual architecture of the NYC doppelganger "Liberty City" in the latest version of Grand Theft Auto, here's the quickest way to do it: by helicopter. After the jump, a video of a virtual helicopter tour of the artfully rendered version of Manhattan—you can see the Chrysler's building spire from above. At the end, the chopper's passenger ends up in the river: More »

    11:10 AM on Tue Jul 22 2008
    By Hamilton Nolan
    1,724 views, 11 comments

    Latest by The Girl Also Blogs: ...and lived! more »

  • progress

    It's Come To This: A Gossip Girl Video Game

    An intriguing little tidbit has just crossed our desk: news of a Gossip Girl video game! Now it's just a rumor at present but it sounds promising. I mean it makes perfect sense. New York-set teen soap Gossip Girl's viewer base, gay men and the girls who quietly pine for them, perfectly syncs up with the typical video game demographic. (Uhm... because boys who play video games are scared of gay men and girls?) What will one do while playing the GG video game? Well, other than lying on one's stomach in the den, kicking one's feet in the air, and absentmindedly twirling one's finger in the controller's cord, one will "explore the hippest social hot spots of New York City and attend the most fashionable parties." Oh my! That sounds just like the show. Read a full description of the ruuuuumored video game after the jump. More »

    9:22 AM on Thu Jun 19 2008
    By Richard
    2,641 views, 30 comments

    Latest by Meeg: @dingledongle: Level 1 (Stars Hollow) make your way through the throngs of irritatingly quirky townies to do battle with village more »

  • video games

    New Video Game About Designing Video Games Is Probably A Sign That No One Will Ever Again Play Outside

    Ever play Railroad Tycoon or SimCity? There was fun in building a toy and playing god, but the games also tapped into an experience that seemed more real and physical than the computer they were played on. But in MMORPG Tycoon, you're building a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It's recursive! It's (ugh) meta! And it's a small part of the trend toward video games going meta. More »

    2:14 PM on Mon Jun 16 2008
    By Nick Douglas
    3,284 views, 14 comments

    Latest by PattyCake: Gawker is my MMORPG. I send tips, scoring 20 points when they turn into posts. When someone replies to my more »