Hasta La Gadget!

Slingshot lover and—let’s face it—borderline maniac (in the best way) Joerg Sprave definitely took things to one extreme when he created an enormous slingshot cannon that fired ridiculous chainsaw halberds. Not to be outdone, even by himself, he’s back at it with another ludicrous invention that goes with speed over size: a fully automatic slingshot mini gun. Really, what could top this? More »

As we enter February of 2013 we’re finding ourselves inundated with news about gun violence in the USA with special focus on school shootings and how this all relates to video games – and today one gun manufacturer has made one perfectly clear connection between the two. Not a connection between gun violence in the shooting of human beings and video games, or between this man’s firearms and the murder of innocent victims, but between his business and the video game industry. In one simple affirmation, Ralph Vaughn of Barrett Rifles has shown how cash flows from one to the other.

Speaking with Eurogamer about his lovely invention of the M82, various assault rifles, and sniper rifles alike, Barret made it clear that video games that feature firearms with brand names on them have to pay the creators of those firearms a cash sum. Just as it is with video games that show racing cars or shoes with the Adidas logo on them, cash must flow in one direction or the other. It’s much more rare that a simple no-cash agreement will appear between the makers of the video game and the company that holds the rights to the products used in said video game.

The fact that Barrett has worked with companies came first, “yes, we’ve worked with companies to send our sniper rifles into video games.” Simple enough, but which games are we talking about here? Pushed with this question from Eurogamer once again, Barrett said, “Which ones? Our license agreement prohibits us from mentioning a company by name. [but] you are welcome to check out the Call of Duty series.” The video you’re seeing below comes from Piston2x and shows the intense detail included in the Call of Duty series and – perhaps more importantly – how important the actual real-world gun is to those playing the game.

Also of from Eurogamer comes a quote from Martin Hollis, director and producer of the original most awesome multi-player shooter ever made, GoldenEye. He makes it clear that back when the game was released they were told they’d have to remove the names of the guns from the final product likely due to the amount of work they’d have had to do to get licenses back in that transitional time. “I assumed novelists and filmmakers have no compulsion to license”, he noted, “I was not pleased [we had to remove the real names] because it would decrease the realism, or at least the verisimilitude.” Such things are still considered in video games today.

What do you think, gamers, are you more apt to play a game in the guns have real-world names attached to them? And those of you who didn’t realize purchasing a video game could send cash to arms manufacturers – what’s your opinion of the situation now?

[Image via Cod4Source]

Fact: Gun manufacturers make money from SOME video games is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Joerg Sprave specializes in absurd slingshots with absurd ammunition, but now he’s reached what might be the pinnacle of abnormal ammo: chainsaw javelins. Where can you go from here? More »

Let’s say a criminal suspect is on the run, and as a police officer, you begin to chase them down. You then realize you can’t keep up with them, so you pull out a specially-made gun and fire a DNA tagging bullet at them. They’re non-lethal, but the pellets leave a mark on the suspect that lasts for weeks, and it can help authorities identify suspects the easy way.

British security company Selectamark has launched a new system, called the SelectaDNA High Velocity System, that will help police and military personnel easily identify possible criminal suspects. A DNA pellet weigh just one gram, and can be fired from up to 130 feet away. When the pellets hit a target, they leave an enduring biological mark on the subject that lasts for weeks.

It may sound like the pellet marks the suspect’s DNA, but that’s actually not the case. Instead, the pellet simply has a DNA nature to it that allows each pellet to leave a unique mark on suspects, different than that of traditional color markers that are used currently. The system is being launched today, but no word on when authorities will start utilizing them.

Selectamark says that these guns and pellets are great for out-of-control situations with large crowds where police officers would be endangering their own lives if they went in for arrests. Instead, officers can pull out their DNA guns and tag various suspects from a safe distance and arrest them later.

DNA tagging bullets mark criminal suspects for arrest is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Big Ivan, better known as Tsar Bomba, was 57 Megatons of Soviet might. That’s 1,400 times Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined and ten times the entire combined fire power expended in WWII. In one bomb. One explosion. And, incredibly, that’s only half of what it could have done. More »