Most business blunders are funny as long as you do not own that particular business, and to pour salt over the wounds, Fortune compiled a nice list of this year’s dumbest business decisions.  Most of the corporations that made it there are pretty famous, and are composed of some of the world’s top companies (or in some cases, countries).  On the gaming front, Sony leads the pack by making it twice into the list.

Sony and Insomniac Games’ use of Manchester Cathedral as a backdrop for one of the levels in Resistance: Fall of Man, allegedly without asking permission from the church officials beforehand made it into 63rd place on the list.  The decision caused some trouble for Sony as church officials protested against the game.  According to Bishop of Manchester Nigel McCulloch, “For a global manufacturer to re-create one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality and then encourage people to have gun battles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible.”  Sony was later forgiven by the church even though Sony did not repent.

Sony once again appears on 61st place of the list due to their use of a decapitated goat to promote God of War II.  Animal rights activists went bonkers over that stunt.  Not only was there a gruesome dead goat on the party, but guests were also invited to reach inside the dead goat’s still-warm body, while topless girls dipped grapes into guest’s mouths.  According to a spokesman of the International Fund for Animal Welfare: “We are always opposed to any senseless killing of an animal and this sounds like a gruesome death. We condemn Sony’s actions. It is stupid and completely unjustified.”  Sony later apologized saying: “We recognize that the use of a dead goat was in poor taste and fell below the high standards of conduct we set ourselves.”

Another gaming company made it into the list.  Atlus recalled all 150 of its arm wrestling cabinets from arcades across Japan after reports of the machine breaking arms of its players.  According to them, the move was a precaution and that the machine wasn’t really strong.  “Even women should be able to beat it,” said their spokesperson.

Pooch:  Really stupid aren’t they?  I wonder how in the world did these decisions get passed their management.  But in hindsight, they are really funny too.

[Source: CNN]

OH.MY.GOSH

No live action movie for Resident Evil this time (which in my opinion were not good Resident Evil movies). The trailer for it looks really yummy!

Without a doubt, it is shown that Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy are present in the movie. If they’re gonna work as a pair there, I swear I’ll watch this movie over and over again.

I sense this movie will be good as it seems that they’re picking up from where Leon Kennedy ended in the Resident Evil 4 game. This time, it’s “Seven years have passed since the Raccoon City incident.”

(Source: Gaming Today)

Earlier this week, Harmonix issued a statement blaming Activision for the incompatibility issues between Activision’s Les Paul Guitar Hero III controller for the PlayStation 3 and Rock Band.  According to Harmonix, Activision blocked the release of the patch that would have resolved the issue.  Now, Activision hit back, claiming that they are not to blame because its Harmonix and its parent company MTV Games/Viacom who are at fault.

According to Activision, the statement issued by Harmonix “paints a very misleading picture.”  To clarify the issue, they said that they offered Harmonix an agreement that would allow the use of Guitar Hero guitar controllers with Rock Band, and have remained open to discussions regarding the matter.  According to them, Harmonix and MTV Games/Viacom refused to discuss the agreement.

As of now, there is no information regarding the nature and content of the agreement mentioned by Activision.  Harmonix is yet to issue a statement in response to this as of press time.

Finally! For all those (us, rather) fans of Lara Croft, there’s news thats she’ll be raiding tombs in Southern Mexico! Woohoo!

Tomb Raider Underworld, Lara’s latest adventure, will take place after the story of Tomb Raider Legend. Though it’s unclear whether this game will fully carry the next-generation graphics, it seems that its developers are proud with their weather and lighting systems for the game.

Keeley Hawes will still do the voice acting of Lara Croft (She started doing so with Tomb Raider: Legend) and the game is expected to be released for the PS3, Xbox 360 and P.C. on 2008.

For more stories and screens on Lara’s newest game, visit Tomb Raider Chronicles.

W-h J: Lara Croft sure is busy all year round. I really hope to see her in a game fully carrying groundbreaking graphics. Can’t wait to play Lara on her debut on the next-gen console.

(Sources: 1up, Tomb Raider Chronicles, Play Magazine)

*Sniff* *sniff* Time flies so fast ain’t it m’boy?

I can still remember the good ol’ days which was only like yesterday. You started out battling Topman, Magnetman, Hardman, Sandman, Shadowman, etc. Then you fought on harder and came face to face with Armored Armadillo, Boomer Kuwanger, Storm Eagle, Slash Beastleo, and now…you’re a grown man.

Thanks for all the times we shared way back in the NES, SNES, PS, and up to now, you’re still giving us wonderful games. Indeed, you are worthy of becoming Capcom’s flag mascot. More power to you, blue hero!

Cheers!
The Sumodownload team

Oh btw, you might wanna visit his official site.  It seems like Capcom’s announcing something big.

(Sources: Gaming Today, Rockman official site)

“What’s your game?”

Apparently for the boy, it’s “My name is Hans Jorgen Olsen, and I…am a hunter.”

12 year-old Hans from Norway may look just like an ordinary, innocent little boy but looks can be deceiving. This man saved his little sister and himself from danger with the l33t skillz he learned from the popular MMO game, World of Warcraft.

Hans and his sister were in a woods near their home when they unknowingly entered the territory of a moose. Startled, the moose started to attack the kids. Endangered, Hans reacted quickly to this by the self-defense he knew: WoW skills.

Hans first used the “Taunt,” a skill used to distract enemies to attack you instead of other players. He effectively taunted the moose that attacked her sister first and got it’s attention to him. His sister successfully ran away but Han’s is still in trouble.

But not trouble enough for this high-level hunter.

(Heck, I tamed Twizzles here.  What can a moose do to ME?!)

When the moose was about to get him, he immediately pulled “feign death,” a skill used by hunters to fake their deaths to make their enemies leave them alone. And good job! Just like in the MMO, the moose lost it’s interest in the “dead” Hans and left him alone.

After the moose left, the boy immediately ran back to his home to join his sister. Both were unscathed, safe and sound.

W-h J: Unbelievable! Even professional rescuers would have a hard time battling a moose if it’s on rage mode. Congratulations to both kids for being safe and sound and cheers to the fellow gamer Hans for bringing out the best in games.

Yeah, I’m looking at you game critic extremists. Imagine what would’ve happened if he was just at level 29.

(Sources: Gaming Today, Switched, Internode Games Network)

Sadly, we have another shooter. But this time, it’s definitely not related to video games.

The reason we’re posting it in a game site? It’s because it’s the opposite this time.

Matthew Murray, a 24-year-old resident of Arapahoe County, was deprived of human freedom such as the freedom of music he listens to, shows he watches, and he can’t even play games. His mom even had a TV technician remove the tuner from their TV so that it can only play DVDs and other media that are reliant through the AV jacks. Internet was also fed in his mind as a tool of Satan that could leave a teen possesed upon seeing a naked body.

Everything in his life was so filtered he’d be beaten by even the slightest hint of him playing games or buying DVDs. As reported by All Spin Zone, a site that compiled Murray’s postings on the internet:

Yeah Diamond girl[person being talked with], when I was a teenager my mother would do a pat down to check for music, DVDs and video games whenever I came out of an electronics store like Best Buy or Circuit City. I’d still obtain things anyways, it was like getting drugs from a drug dealer, EVERYTHING had to be done in secret. lol

I remember getting thrown around the room and hit while getting interrogated about whether or not I had video games and DVDs… I remember having to listen to everything in secret, at very low volume levels or with headphones, whether it was video games, TV, DVDs, or music/radio.

Murray, being a member of alt.suicide.com, a site where people who’re at the verge of commiting suicide can talk with each other before commiting it, posted a lot messages and is quite touchy when it comes to religious conversations. (I suggest reading the compliation presented by All Spin Zone to get a glimpse of Murray’s character, life experiences and a load of absurdities that was fed into his mind that probably led him to what he did.)

In the end, Murray rebelled by killing 4 people and wounded several more in a shooting spree at the New Life Church campus in Colorado Springs. He carried with him rifles, handguns, and 1,000 rounds of ammo.

W-h J: Clearly, this isn’t an issue of video games and if any critics will say so, then they’re just like all the bad lawyers out there.

Though what he did was completely wrong, he can’t be wholly blamed. It’s fine if the parents filtered his stuff but not to the point that he’s getting a beating and being brainwashed by trash facts. Also, taking his freedom away on listening to the music he wants, browsing the internet, watching TV and playing games was way inhumane. Anyone would go insane if these things were restricted to anyone who likes this stuff. Unless of course the family is poor and can’t afford these, it’s a different story. But I don’t think that applies to this case.

Bad parenting and Brainwashing. Nuff said.

(Sources: GamePolitics, The Denver Post, All Spin Zone)

A statement from Harmonix has stated that a patch enabling support for the Les Paul on the PS3 has been submitted to and approved by Sony, but Activision is apparently blocking the release.  Now the biggest question regarding this is WHY????

As of press time, there is no answer yet.  According to Harmonix:

Two weeks ago, Harmonix created a software patch for the Sony PlayStation 3 version of Rock Band that allowed for guitar compatibility and support for third party peripherals, including enabling use of Activision’s Guitar Hero III controller with Rock Band. The compatibility patch was submitted, approved and had been scheduled for release by Sony on Tuesday, December 4. Unfortunately, Activision objected to the release of the compatibility patch. The patch remains with Sony, but we have been told that it will unfortunately not be released due to Activision’s continued objection.

As is the case with the Microsoft Xbox 360, we believe that Sony PlayStation 3 users should be able to use the peripheral of their choice with Rock Band. We sincerely hope that Activision will reverse its decision and allow release of the compatibility patch and further, that Activision will allow Guitar Hero III to support Rock Band guitar controllers as well. We welcome all third party developers who wish to support our controllers and will provide any required support in order for them to do so.

We believe that when consumers have choice, everyone wins. Harmonix and MTV Games hope that Activision and others in the industry will also adopt this philosophy.

This is one of those instances where fierce industry competition may be doing more harm than good.  I sure hope that more light will be shed on this matter soon.  As of now, Activision and RedOctane is yet to comment regarding this.  Stay tuned for more on this saga.

Yesterday, we featured an irony between Gov. Schwarzenneger’s past and present. The present Schwarzenegger now fights violent video games whereas the past Schwarzenegger starred in numerous violent films.

The irony became clearer when the movie Conan, where the governor played the lead role, is being made into a video game.

Now it has a video. Check it out for yourselves here.

W-h J: As I’ve said yesterday, being an actor in the past and a politician in the present is way too different.  This is not a different matter if before, a politician in his high school days was a big bully and the head of a gang but is now head of the nation’s security. 

(Source: GamePolitics)

My name is Jean-Claude Van Damme, and I…am a mage.

Jean-Claude Van Damme is known for his action films and tough guys doing commericals like these are priceless.  Just look at his actions during the entire ad.  LOL! XD