News Blips: Mass Effect 2 SDTV Issues, Xbox V1 Live Logs Off, Vinyl Fantasy 7 Removed, and More

Maybe BioWare should just send out magnifying glasses to gamers who're having difficulty reading the text in Mass Effect 2 on their standard-definition TVs.Â

News Blips:

Mass Effect 2 screen

BioWare doesn't have a fix for the small-text issues some Mass Effect 2 players are encountering on their SDTVs. Company rep Michael Gamble wrote on the developer'sÂ official forum that despite looking for potential solutions, they ultimately cannot resolve it through an update. Gamble added that they've "taken note of this issue and will take it into consideration as [they] plan future games in the Mass Effect franchise." Come on, people -- is it really that difficult to just scrap up $900 for a decent-sized HDTV? [PCWorld]

As of April 15, Microsoft plans to discontinue online support for the original Xbox and all of its games playable on the 360. In a letter to Xbox Live members, Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten noted that "this isn't a decision we made lightly" but that it's necessary in order to continue to evolve the service to maximize the potential of the Xbox 360. Members are eligible for a prorated refund, but Whitten encourages them to check their messages and e-mail in the near future for "more details and opportunities." [1UP]

Mashup artist Team Teamwork recently took down his latest audio creation, Vinyl Fantasy 7, from the website Bandcamp.com. Team Teamwork, aka Tim Jacques, said that heÂ receivedÂ a cease-and-desist order, but he's not quite sure from whom, as Bandcamp merely forwarded the info to him. Jacques maintains that even if he isn't distributing the album, it should still be floating around the Internet somewhere. Don't be surprised if you find someone selling VF7 bootleg tapes the next time you're at the local swap meet. [Wired]

Oberon Media plans to launch Tetris TV for Dish Network. The service, at $2.99 a month, would allow subscribers to play Tetris on their Dish Network-enabled TVs using the remote control, and the plan is for it to even include tournaments and leaderboards. Too bad this wasn't available back in the early '90s when it could've saved kids all over the world from Grandma stealing their Game Boys.

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Robert Frantz Jr.

February 05, 2010

I think the point is we shouldn't NEED to scrap up $900 just to read text.

Omar Ather

lol, Team Teamwork doesn't own the rights to any of the pieces to the music in any of those songs, he shouldn't be charging money for it, obviously he's getting a cease and desist. It's like the grey album (Jay-Z/Beatles) it'll be up on torrents and stuff, just not for dollars.

Salvador Viesca

I take it I can't refund Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, seeing as how I only got it for the multiplayer the second time around... O well, it's not like I didn't get use out of it.

Jonathan Sutyak

February 08, 2010

I do find the text in ME2 to be too small, and I do get annoyed when I'm told I should be able to afford a good TV. Sure, I'd like a HDTV but I'm in no position to spend money on any kind of TV. I do wonder how much better games look on a HDTV; I've not had the opportunity to play games or watch movies or even see more than a few minutes of television on one. I'm behind the times :(

Joshua Henderson

February 10, 2010

I'm not trying to be a douche and I'm not sure if you guys complaining about HDTVs will see this buuuuut... come on! LCD TVs have come down to an affordable price. You can get a nice Samsung 32" LCD for under $400 now. If you can put aside $20 to $30 a week for 4 months then you could buy one of these. I know times are hard but I believe that is a reasonable thing to accomplish.