Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier this month, Electronic Arts announced that it would be providing those affected by the SimCity server issues a free video game of their choice based on a short list of games that the publisher would release later on. Today, EA has listed the games that SimCity owners can grab for free, but choose wisely, since you can only pick one.

The list of games that you can choose from includes Battlefield 3, Bejeweled 3, Dead Space 3, Mass Effect 3, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Plants vs. Zombies, and SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition. A free copy of SimCity 4 seems mighty enticing, especially considering all the madness that we’ve seen with the newest installment.

NOTE: See our [EA Games tag hub] for more!

North American players will have access to pick their free game by the afternoon on March 20, and European players will be granted access a day later. Asia and South America will have access on March 22. The games will be available through EA’s Origin digital distributing service. You must register your copy of SimCity before you’ll be eligible for a free game.

Overall, you won’t get to pick any game you want, but EA has picked out a few gems here. However, we’re sort of baffled as to why they’ve included a couple of PopCap games in the list, especially when you can choose Battlefield 3 or even Mass Effect 3, but I suppose that those gamers who are yearning to defend their house from zombies have a chance to do so at no cost.

EA lists free games offered as apology for SimCity fiasco is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Like many of us, animator Kenna W. read about the Dad who hacked Donkey Kong so his daughter could play as Pauline and save Mario. The story reminded Kenna of how, as a kid, she was bummed out that she never got to play as Zelda in The Legend of Zelda. So she made her own wish come true.

Kenna made a custom patch that makes Zelda the hero of The Legend of Zelda. She then used that patch to edit a ROM of the game. Kenna used a sprite editor called Tile Layer Pro to animate and replace Link’s sprites with the Hylian princess’ sprites. Her boyfriend wrote a Python script that allowed her to change the color of Zelda’s dress as well as edit the text on the game’s opening and closing scrolls.

Finally, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Are you ready Zelda fans? Here it is, Kenna playing as Zelda!

This reminds me of the dad who hacked the text in Wind Waker for his daughter. Head to Kenna’s blog to find out more about her patch and how you can experience playing as Zelda as well.

[Kenna Draws Stuff via Kotaku]

Nintendo has announced that on March 24 it will be releasing a limited edition yellow Nintendo 3DS XL that features a cute outline of Pikachu on the back. The handset is being released the same day as the upcoming Pokemon video game for the 3DS, and Nintendo is offering a game for free to those who purchase both the special edition handset and the Pokemon game.

On March 24, Nintendo will also be releasing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, which it boasts as a game with a “deep and compelling story full of unexpected twists.” Gamers can choose to play as one of five different Pokemon through randomly generated Mystery Dungeons, where battles await and other pokemon can be recruited.

Says Nintendo, the Mystery Dungeons that are generated are “near infinite”, meaning players won’t be getting bored any time soon. In addition, entrances to new dungeons can be discovered via “everyday circular objects,” which the gamer will scan with the 3DS’s camera. It doesn’t specify what these everyday objects are, however. Only those with a 3DS will be able to play; it isn’t being offered on any other system.

The special edition 3DS will be available for $199.99 and will include a 4GB SD card. The Gates to Infinity game, meanwhile, will be priced at $34.99. Those who purchase both and register them will be given a download code for one of five free games: Super Mario 3D Land, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone, Star Fox 64 3D, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, and Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive!

[via Nintendo]

Nintendo 3DS XL Pikachu edition unveiled is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I’m not sure, but the reason why most early video games had coins or gems for currency was because of graphical limitations. It’s easier to present a recognizable coin than paper money. But if Link was real I’m sure he’d rather have these neat banknotes instead of Rupees. Especially if one of them has a drawing of him on it.

These lovely bills were made by deviantART member G33k1nd159153, who says that he makes stuff for fun and incidentally would like to “get paid to have that kind of fun someday.”

Well G33k1nd159153, perhaps your fake money will be your ticket to getting real money. Your link to the bank, so to speak. Sorry. Check out G33k1nd159153′s deviantART page to see the images in high resolution.

[via Sprite Stitch]

According to NPD Group, video game sales dropped 25-percent in February, with sales declining across the board: games, hardware, and accessories. This is despite two games that were launched last month by Sega and EA, and is representative of consumers’ shift from traditional gaming to mobile gaming via tablets and smartphones.

Hardware suffered the worst blow, decreasing 36-percent over last year, with a total of $244.2 million in sales. Software was next in line, falling 27-percent over last year to $369.9 million in sales; that represents sales for both gaming consoles and portable units. All in all, consumers are making about 50-percent of their overall game purchases via retail.

Overall, NPD Group says February video game sales came in at approximately $1.2 billion. While Sony and Nintendo tend to be tight-lipped over their console sales, Microsoft is more than happy to reveal its numbers. According to the company, it sold 302,000 Xbox 360 units, which represents a fairly significant drop over last year’s sales of 426,000.

Microsoft is responsible for a significant amount of gaming console sales, according to a statement from the company earlier today, representing about 41-percent of all latest-generation consoles being purchased. Meanwhile, Sony’s PlayStation 4 is slated for release this upcoming holiday season.

[via Bloomberg]

Video game sales dropped 25-percent in US last month is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.