I do a lot of News Blips about Minecraft. I can’t tell if that's because the community surrounding it is more active or more interesting.

News Blips:

Minecraft developer Mojang puts Limited Edition Xperia Play up for auction on eBay. Sony Ericsson’s “PlayStation phone” hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, but maybe that’s a good thing -- I’m afraid of fire. When a product doesn’t perform well it’s often a good idea to couple it with something that does. In this case, that means Minecraft. The world-building game is already being optimized for the Android device, and now Mojang is selling their Minecraft-themed Xperia Play to the highest bidder. Visually it’s an odd mashup, but I’m sure the Earth is home to at least one Mojang superfan that will cherish this phone. At the time of this post, the auction has reached $1,325. [Engadget]

Pre-order Battlefield 3 on EA’s Origin service and get a free game. After pre-ordering the newest Battlefield on the digital-download service, an Ars Technica reader reportedly received the following email: “As a special thank you for pre-ordering Battlefield 3 early at Origin, we’re offering you a bonus PC digital download game. Please apply the code below at the shopping cart to redeem one PC Digital version of one of our recommended shooter titles: Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, or Medal of Honor. The price will be reduced to $0 after applying the code at your shopping cart. Hurry -- this offer is only good for the month of August, and is exclusive to Origin customers only. See below for more details.”

I have my reservations about Origin. After all, Steam has treated me right for so long, and EA’s previous attempts to digitally woo me have only broken my heart...but Valve is just so safe. I need a bad boy/multinational corporation. Deep down I want to stay loyal, but it’s so hard when EA keeps shaking its ample free games in my face. I mean...I’m only human!

Trials Evolution will be playable at PAX Prime. We often hear about games that start on Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network but don’t really come into their own until they are available on the PC. Trials HD is an example of the opposite. RedLynx’s Trials 2: Second Edition was already a great game, but it wasn’t until it had XBLA’s online infrastructure that it truly flourished. Now, the development team is priming the next game in the series, and players will try it out at the upcoming Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. I can only imagine that the digital broken bones will number in the millions before the end of the event.

Fading rock star Noel Gallagher passes the buck when he claims that "brutal video games" are responsible for the senseless U.K. riots. I find that odd considering every violent run-in I’ve ever had with a fancy chap from jolly ol’ England resulted from me insulting Gallagher’s band Oasis. I dare you to go into any pub in London and say, "Who the eff is Oasis?" I hope you enjoy knife wounds. "I don’t care what other people say: Brutal TV and brutal video games are a reason for this pointless violence," Gallagher told Yahoo! Entertainment. While I understand that guitar players are nature’s most important and beautiful people, does that make anything they ever say worth reading? No.

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