Michael Jackson, R.I.P. (both the human and the zombie parody from Plants vs. Zombies).
News Blips:
PopCap games releases a new update for Plants vs. Zombies to alter the look of the "Thriller" zombie in order to avoid legal trouble. The Estate of Michael Jackson felt that the parody character in the game too closely resembled the late King of Pop, so rather than deal with litigation, PopCap simply gave the character a disco theme. Apparently, disco isn't dead -- it's undead. (rimshot!) [MTV Multiplayer]
London's High Court of Justice rules against Playables Limited, the makers of the R4 cards for the Nintendo DS, outlawing the sale, importing, and advertising of the devices in the U.K. Playables argued that the cards are intended for homebrewed software -- though more commonly, people use them for playing pirated Nintendo DS games. The court deemed the R4 to be illegal since to operate, it first bypasses the console's security systems. Hey, I got an idea for an exciting new video game: Nintendo vs. Pirates. It'll be like Super Smash Bros. meets Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. [MCV]
DJ Hero developer FreeStyle Games' creative director, Jamie Jackson, theorizes that their game might have helped spur the sale of actual DJ equipment. Though he couldn't say officially, Jackson told CVG that the marketing strategy at U.S. retailers of placing the DJ Hero game near actual DJ equipment -- much like some did with guitars and Guitar Hero -- might have helped out sales of the high-end electronics. It could also be due in part to the rise of hipsters in urban cities and their affinity for vinyl records. But until someone does a study, we'll never know for sure. [CVG]
Disney is acquiring social-game developer Playdom, Inc. for $563.2 million. Playdom is the fourth-largest developer of social-networking-based casual games (think Facebook and My Space), with its most popular games supposedly being Mobsters and Social City. I like that in Disney's quest to become one of the bigger (but not the biggest) gamemakers, it sticks to its guns and picks up the fourth-biggest social-game developer. [Reuters]
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