Hasta La Gadget!

After reaching the semi-finals for this year’s “Worst Company in America” poll by Consumerist, EA’s Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore published a blog post saying that the company “can do better” and “will do better.” However, that statement alone didn’t stop voters from picking EA as the Worst Company in America for the second year in a row.

Last year’s win from the game publisher was a surprise, but this year’s win was the exact opposite. It seems not only are gamers fed up with the ridiculous DRM restrictions that are put on EA games, but the SimCity fiasco certainly didn’t help the company win back customers. In fact, it only made things worse.

Electronic Arts beat out Bank of America in the final vote, taking nearly 78% of the votes during that final round. Electronic Arts also beat out companies like Ticketmaster, AT&T, Facebook, and Anheuser-Busch to become the most hated company in the US. We know that it’s a prize that EA doesn’t want, so hopefully they actually turn it around before next year’s poll goes live.

Consumerist notes that EA should stop treating its customers “like human piggy banks,” and that they shouldn’t “put out so many incomplete and/or broken games” with the intent of getting customers to “pay extra for what they should have received in the first place.” This marks the first time ever that a company has won a second “Golden Poo” award.

[via Consumerist]

EA named Worst Company in America second year in a row is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve known for some time now that a new Batman video game was going to make its way into 2013, and today we finally get to know about some more details on that front. Batman: Arkham Origins was revealed today, and it’ll be releasing on October 25 for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC. Howevever, Origins is a prequel to Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.

Game Informer announced the game by unveiling the cover to their May issue, which has Batman on the front decked out in his usual gear. The game is being developed by Warner Bros. Montreal, who will be taking over for Rocksteady Studios, who developed the last two Arkham games. Aside from the console version, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate will release on the same day for the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita.

The upcoming game’s plot includes eight of the world’s deadliest assassins all coming together in Gotham City on Christmas Eve to target Batman. The game takes place before both of the previous Arkham titles, and it will feature a “young, unrefined Batman,” who will encounter many supervillains for the first time. Deathstroke will be one of the villains in the game.

As for Blackgate, the game will be a “completely separate experience” from the console version, and the events in the game take place after the events in Origins. Armature Studio is developing the game, and it will be a 2.5-D Metroid-style exploration game, which could prove quite interesting.

[via Game Informer]

Batman: Arkham Origins revealed, arriving October 25 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Pokemon X and Y promise a lot of new changes coming to the Pokemon handheld series, but one of these new changes will bring a wave of nostalgia from the classic days of Pokemon. Nintendo and Game Freak have released a trailer and teasers for a new version of Mewtwo, name still pending (though some are dubbing it Newtwo and Mewthree). In the trailer, you see the new Mewtwo unleashing a barrage of various elemental skills onto its enemies.

The new version of Mewtwo was revealed on Pokemon Smash, a Japanese TV show, and is said to share many similar traits with Mewtwo. Unfortunately, the TV show didn’t expand on anything else about the new Pokemon, like how it was created, if it will be more darker than Mewtwo, and how players will be able to catch it. Nonetheless, this new variation of Mewtwo has many players excited and eager to play the games when they come out.

Pokemon X and Y have an anticipated October 2013 release date for the Nintendo 3DS. They completely revamp the Pokemon hand-held series by transforming the Pokemon universe into a 3D world. Of course, with each generation of Pokemon games comes another generation of new Pokemon. The three new starter Pokemon include Froakie (water-type), Chespin (grass-type), and Fennekin (fire-type). There will also be two new legendary pokemon. Xerneas, the blue legendary Pokemon, will represent Pokemon X, and Yveltal, the red legendary Pokemon, will represent Pokemon Y.

The games will launch worldwide at the same time, so that players from all around the globe can play and battle each other from the getgo. This way “Pokemon fans across the globe can discover the secrets of Pokemon games and can collect, battle, and trade with each other immediately,” says Pokemon Company’s CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara. The game is set to release in 6 months, so we can expect even more Pokemon to be teased in the future.

[via Neoseeker]

New Mewtwo revealed for Pokemon X and Y is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Electronic Arts has been taking a lot of heat lately, mostly over the recent SimCity fiasco that left many gamers unable to play the game, which led the company to the semi-final round of The Consumerist‘s “Worst Company in America” poll. However, EA isn’t taking all of its criticism lying down. Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore has addressed the poll and says that the company “can do better.”

Moore says that EA has made plenty of mistakes in the past, all of which are “100% legitimate.” However, he says that there are a few pieces of criticism that EA won’t let stand, including the claim that EA’s always-on internet connection feature is a DRM scheme, which Moore says “it’s not.” He also notes that free-to-play games are the preference with most gamers.

Moore also compares EA to popular sports teams, like the “Yankees, Lakers and Manchester United,” saying that “EA is one of those organizations that is defined by both a legacy of success, and a legion of critics.” In other words, with great power (and success), comes great responsibility, and EA certainly knows that.

Moore finishes up by saying that EA “is committed” to fixing their mistakes, and that the company “will do better.” With EA CEO John Riccitiello stepping down, will EA make some big changes to win the hearts over of gamers everywhere? It’s certainly possible, and Moore’s words seem promising that EA is dedicated to providing a better future for both them and the people who play their games.

EA responds to “Worst Company in America” poll is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back in January, Minecraft developer Mojang announced that total sales for Minecraft reached 15 million. However, we never got to see a breakdown of sales for each platform. Today, however, it’s been revealed that the PC version alone has now reached 10 million in sales, and the developer even teased a new feature coming to a future update.

Mojang’s lead designer and developer, Jens Bergensten, tweeted the sales announcement and also hinted at a possible new feature coming to the version 1.6 update. The image he links to for the hint is a picture of a horse, suggesting that the four-legged animal will be making its way inside the game at some point.

As for the Xbox Live Arcade version of the game, Mojang reported back in January that the console version reached 5 million in sales. However, we’re guessing that number has only grown since then. As for the mobile versions of the game, which are available on iOS and Android, no statistics have been released on that front.

Minecraft for PC was originally released as an alpha version in 2009, with the full version releasing in 2011. Since August of 2012, Mojang has managed to sell 3 million copies of Minecraft for PC, which is quite impressive for such a small game, but it’s popularity has been something of a triumph over the last couple of years.

Minecraft for PC surpasses 10m in sales is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.