Swedish trade group proposes sexism ratings for games
Sweden-based industry trade group Dataspelsbranchen is researching a new content rating system for video games based on promotion of gender equality. The proposed ratings system, inspired by the Bechdel test, will examine how in-game female characters are portrayed with regard to equality and diversity. The group recently received a 272,000...
Joystiq Deals: NES30 Bluetooth controller
Today, Joystiq Deals takes you back to the past with the NES30, a wireless controller for PCs and mobile devices modeled after Nintendo’s classic NES control pad. Featuring compatibility with iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac OS, the NES30 connects via a USB cable or a Bluetooth signal, ensuring hours of...
Joystiq Streams: A mile in Grand Theft Auto 5 PS4’s shoes
We knew it was coming. Of course it was coming. As soon as Rockstar said that Grand Theft Auto 5 would be coming exclusively to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013, the writing was on the wall. The very face of sandbox gaming would blow out the final days...
One round of Hearthstone, 784 cards drawn, 312,417 damage
Relying on the increased damage players receive when they run out of cards to draw and a few key, complex nuances of the Hearthstone rule set, card sharp HysteriA forces his opponent to draw a ludicrous number of cards while absorbing more than 15,000 times the damage necessary to...
Studio changes policy after dev threatens to kill Gabe Newell
In October, after discovering issues with his gameParanautical Activity on Steam, independent developer Mike Maulbeck published a series of angry tweets that concluded with, “I am going to kill gabe newell. He is going to die.” Newell is the founder of Valve, the company that runs Steam, the internet’s largest...
Crossing Souls: 80s RPG about friendship, death and adventure
Call 2014 the Year of the Souls: Titan Souls, Wayward Souls, Dark Souls 2 and now coming from Devolver Digital and Fourattic, Crossing Souls, an action-adventure RPG with hints of neon and 1980s nostalgia. Crossing Souls stars five friends who discover an ancient relic that allows them to interact with...
Ubisoft details third Assassin’s Creed: Unity patch
After Ubisoft issued a second patch for Assassin’s Creed: Unity late last week, the publisher gave a glimpse of the next update for the game, which is expected to fix more of its technical issues. The third update will be “larger in scope” compared to the previous two, patching bugs...
CoD: Advanced Warfare sees off big names to retain UK No. 1
It’s that time of year when big-name franchises chuck lengthily-titled entries onto shelves, and the games with the longest names prevail. This week, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare kept top spot in the UK charts, holding off the likes of Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Lego Batman...
Goat MMO Simulator will WoW fans for free later this week
If you’re a MMO player LFG – Looking For Goats – then you’re probably mad. You’re also exactly the kind of oddball who’ll be interested by Goat MMO Simulator, a free expansion for Goat Simulator that’s releasing on Steam this Thursday, November 20. Note the placement of MMO in the...