Wii Features

Gaming hardware creators have to stop playing it safe. So many of the common, mainstream videogame controllers released over the years are just watered-down, vanilla versions of the supreme greatness they really could be. They don’t inflict pain, get you high, cause intense public shame, stimulate your erogenous zones, or let you get your freak on in other ways. Fortunately, we found some that do. ...

The characters and environments of the gaming world are so colourful and exciting, it’s little wonder they inspire many of us to pick up our crayons and coloured pencils and have a go at recreating them – or even reimagining them – ourselves. The numbers of drawings we've seen of your favourite characters just goes to show how popular it’s become to take the game art world into your own hands. ...

We’re on to you. We’ve noticed you casting a roving eye over recent announcements of price cuts, seen you ogle the unveiling of lithe younger models. Yes, even you, 360 fanboy, the one who said the PS3 had no games. We caught you looking longingly at LittleBigPlanet’s Sackboy, imagining the things you would do to him if only you could get him online. ...

We suspect it’s very difficult to work in game advertising. Videogames are a scary new artistic medium, and as such, not everyone knows how to market them – even to their target demographic. More than with anything else, videogame ad-makers love to target their audience with sex and sexy imagery, but that’s nothing surprising – advertisers have been using gender dynamics to sell products on TV since the folgers coffee days. ...

For millions of MMO players, there was no love lost. In fact, last July’s widespread report, that the Chinese government had banned gold farming, was met with giddy rapture.

For years, gold farmers had been the worker ants in games like World of Warcraft and EverQuest, trading virtual loot for real-world profit. ...

Over the years we've enjoyed steering some of the animal kingdom's most awesome specimens through some pretty awesome games. Banjo the bear. Donkey Kong the ape. Amaterasu the wolf. We've loved them all. But it's not always nature's most magnificent beasts that game makers deem suitable for the role of hero. Some creatures that have made the jump from wildlife to virtual life are little more than food chain filler. And this is those pathetic ...

Given the current state of the economy, and the vigor with which store are going after what’s left of your dollar, we’re going to go ahead and declare this post-Thanksgiving Shopstravaganza of November 27th, 2009… The Blackest Friday. Retailers are well aware of your finiancial plight, and are dropping the prices on games so fresh off the press the cellophane is still melty. ...

Machines metamorphosed into marvellous mutations. ...

Whether you’re looking for electronics, hardware, anime, games, or anything remotely geeky, you’ll find it in Akihabara, a bustling shopping district in Tokyo, Japan. Located just north of Tokyo Station, Akihabara is really three towns in one. It’s a haven for tech hobbyists, a paradise for anime fans and gamers, and a popular tourist destination. ...

To be called a 'fanboy' is one of the worst insults in gaming. It suggests a misguided person characterised by an irrational devotion to a piece of software or soulless mega-corporation. A person incapable of intelligent thought. A person that is a despised twat.

But wait. Let's cut them some slack for a moment and think what purpose fanboys actually serve (beyond being a dumping ground for derision). We fancied a bit of a challenge, ...