HELP ME! I'm so insanely busy trying to prepare for PAX East that I'm pulling out my hair. Thankfully, I have, like, a metric ton of hair.
News Blips:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution release date and special edition confirmed. The heralded PC franchise will bring its stylized vision of the future to consoles and PC on August 23. The Augmented Edition will be available for $69.99 and will feature a D-cup's worth (get it? "augmented") of in-game upgrades and weapons. If you are more into the physical extras associated with a special edition, then how does a behind-the-scenes documentary, soundtrack, motion comic, animated story boards, and a 40-page art book sound?
Politicians call for education as compelling as video games. Learning is boring! You know what would make it kick ass instead? If students could get bonus points to shoot learning in the face. President Barack Obama and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty agree with me. Both men have recently stated that education could benefit from implementing technology, like video games, into the process. Pawlenty went so far as to name drop as an example of what this new system should look and feel like. At least he didn't suggest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, because that story is like listening to an 8-year old -- high on Jolt Cola -- trying to explain international politics. [GamePolitics]
PAX East badges of all varieties are sold out. Gabe and Tycho moved the East Coast version of their Penny Arcade Expo into a bigger venue, but they still managed to sell out the show. Now, it will just be you, me, and around 70,000 of our closest friends. This means that Penny Arcade won't be providing any on-site registration, so if you don't have a badge and still want to go, your best bet is probably eBay. Apparently, the fire marshall stepped in and said that the event will be packed as tight as the fire code will allow, which always makes me feel comfortable. Look, if a fire does break out, all I need you to do is to lay down and act as a buffer between me and the flames. The good of the Jeff outweighs the good of the you -- that's what I always say. (And don't forget our Bitmob meetup if you're going!)
Game service OpenFeint starts a $100 million fund to lure iOS devs to Android. I'm an Android guy. I have a soft spot for the platform, but I fully admit that the lack of iOS-comparable games is a source of disappointment. OpenFeint -- a score-tracking service available for Android -- decided to put $100 million on the table in order to facilitate the process of porting indie iOS games. Now that interested parties have thrown serious money at the problem we may finally have a reason to get excited. Seriously, can we get some Tilt to Live over here? I wouldn't hate on Civilization Revolution either. [AndroidCentral]
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