Speaking to NowGamer, 4A Games Chief Technical Officer Oles Shishkovtsov, shared his very blatant thoughts about Nintendo's newest console by stating, "'The Wii U has a horrible, slow CPU". Fellow 4A games employee Huw Benyon echoed the same response saying that they had hoped to work something out with the console, but the impact on the overall quality "wasn't worth pursuing".

The Wii U debuted here in North America on November 18th and so far it has been met with mostly negative reviews including reports of lag issues, a huge day one update that had potential to damage the Wii U if the download is interrupted, and poor graphic output.

I wonder what this means?!

The 3DS bundle comes with a Flame Red 3DS and a copy of Super Mario Bros 3D Land. The bundle will be available at gaming retailers on Black Friday for $169.99. Keep in mind that this 3DS Bundle is limited edition, so happy hunting!

via Engadget

PS Vita

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• Assassin's Creed III: Liberation Bundle with a limited edition crystal white Wi-Fi PS Vita, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, and 4 GB memory card - $199.99
  
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• Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassied Bundle with a crystal black Wi-Fi PS Vita, Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified, and a 4 GB memory card- $199.99
  
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• Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Bundle with a crystal black Wi-Fi PS Vita and Lego Batman2: DC Super Heroes - $199.99
  
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Playstation 3

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• Ultimate PS3 Bundle that includes a 250 GB model, 30 Day Playstation Plus trial, Uncharted Dual Pack, and the Infamous Collection - $199.99
  
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Sony announced that there will also be prices cuts on the Dual Shock 3 wireless controllers.

via Playstation Blog

Walmart

• Special Edition Glossy White 4 GB Xbox 360 console, controller, Skylanders, and an exclusive Skylanders figurine - $149.99
  

Best Buy, Fred Myers', Newegg, and Fry's

• Xbox 360 250 GB console with Skyrim and Forza 4: Essentials Edition - $199.99
  

Target, Sam's Club, Meijer, Kmart, and Microsoft Stores

• Xbox 360 4 GB console with Kinect, Kinect Adventures, and Kinect Disneyland Adventures - $199.99
  

GameStop

• Xbox 360 250 GB console with Black Ops 2 - $249.99
  

Radio Shack

• Xbox 360 4 GB console with a wired headset - $169.99
  

Toys R Us

• Xbox 360 4 GB console with a $50 gift card - $179.99
  

Target and Amazon

• At Target; buy a copy of Halo 4 and receive a $20 gift card
  
• At Amazon; buy a copy of Halo 4 and receive a $20 gift card and a $10 Amazon Instant Video Credit.
  

Major Nelson is also reporting that there will be first party deals on Dance Central 3, Kinect Sports: Ultimate, Fable: The Journey, and Forza Horizon. Each of these games will be receiving a 40% discount except for Forza Horizon which will see a discount of 33%.

This week you can pickup the Playstation 3 Ultimate Bundle beginning at $259.99. This bundle comes with your choice of PS3 model, one PS3 Dual Shock Controller, and one game; all of your choosing!

On the Xbox 360 side of the platforms, Walmart is offering the Xbox 360 Ultimate Bundle with the same idea as the Playstation 3 Ultimate Bundle, however it is a bit cheaper. Prices start at $229.99 and you get to choose your console that comes with a controller, one additional controller, and one game.

For the younger gamer on your list, Walmart is also running a Nintendo 3DS Starter Bundle with your choice of Nintendo 3DS in different colors, one 3DS case, and one 3DS game. The price for that bundle starts at $179.99.

Major Nelson tweeted

Gangnam Style will be joining a growing library of dance songs that include hits from the 70's, 80's, 90's, and today.

A user on the Ubisoft Uplay forum posted a thread asking if Far Cry 3 will be having dedicated servers and Community Manager MSV-Vextor responded with a big firm no.

Far Cry 3 is set to launch across the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on November 29th and the 30th overseas and on December 4th here in North America.

via Ubisoft Forum Thread

The glitch which seems to be centering around gamers that try to take advantage of the Playstation Plus extended free trial membership is allowing users to download trial versions of games, however it is recognizing you as purchasing the full game. Imagine your excitement as you are playing your new "free" game for about an hour and a notification pops up stating that you need to purchase the full game. There are also reported issues of users downloading the trail versions of games and wanting to purchase the full version, however the Playstation store does not allow it.

What is Sony saying about the matter? So far, nothing.

via Gamer Podunk

The deals ranging from video games to accessories for all platforms are only good on each day leading up to the holy grail of all shopping days, Black Friday.

Amazon also announced their lightening deals for this week. Thanksgiving Day's Lightening Day deals are looking to be your best option if you are interested in saving money on purchasing console bundles for the gamer in your life this holiday season. The Xbox 360 4GB with Kinect Holiday Bundle that includes the family friendly Kinect Adventures and Kinect Disneyland will be cut down to $199.99 compared to $299.99. Not to be sold short, the Playstation 3 will be featuring a PS3 250 GB Black Friday Bundle 2012 for $199.99 which includes The Infamous Collection and the Uncharted Dual Pack. Keep in mind that these Lightening Day deals will only last during a certain time frame on each day.

via Amazon Black Friday Deals Week and Amazon Lightening Deals

Siliconera is reporting that Activision is already recording voice overs for the 2013 release of the next Call of Duty which will continue the Modern Warfare story if you want to call it that after Modern Warfare 3. Supposedly there is also a flashback with the now dead "Soap" MacTavish. Anybody remember his death scene? Most un-climatic piece of story telling I have ever seen for someone that is considering a main character.

If you care at all and are still reading this, then you should also know that some of the lines for the codename character "Ben Burke" have also been released; "Goliath, this is Sentinel Zero One! We have enemy armor at the gate, hundred meters north of our position! Requesting close-air grid mark three-one-six!"

Sounds thrilling doesn't it? Of course Activision has not confirmed anything, so this will remain a rumor until otherwise told.

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• Wreckateer - FREE!
  
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• Castle Crashers - 50% off
  
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• Battlefield 1943 - 50% off
  
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• Fruit Ninja Kinect - 50% off
  
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• Geometry Wars Retro Evolved - 50% off
  
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• Bastion - 50% off
  
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• Peggle - 50% off
  
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• Full House Poker - 50% off
  
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Joining in on the celebration is Major Nelson who will be giving away 10 free One Year Gold subscriptions to Xbox Live every hour beginning at 11 am est. Make sure you are following @MajorNelson on Twitter. Send him your favorite XBL memory or game experience with #XboxLiveis10. Also being given away are limited edition Tenth Anniversary consoles. To enter, download the Xbox Live is 10 Gamerpic.

via Major Nelson

Gamers have been reporting repeated issues of freezing in both single player and multiplayer modes and also not being able to connect to a server when trying to play online. Activision has released a statement over Twitter stating that they are actively working on a fix to the growing number of complaints.

So far there have been no reports of these issues with the Xbox 360 or PC versions of the game.

via Call of Duty Black Ops Forum

Houser made the statement during an interview with The New York Times when asked about the three character story line.

"Just at the conceptual level, the idea was three separate stories that you play in one game. he next bit was, let's not have the stories intersect once or twice but have them completely interwoven. It felt like it was going to be a real narrative strength: you get to play the protagonist and the antagonist in the same story."

Houser also said that Americans do not understand British culture from the 70's and 80's and that the GTA series has always been a British take on Americana.

"I don't think anyone in America really understands what growing up in Britain in the '70s and '80s was like. Eighty percent of the television was American. Every movie you saw was American. Even though there are all these great British pop stars, 95 percent of them sing in American accents, and they all sing in an American idiom. So there was a great love of America, and maybe some junior-partner resentments for it,

But it's a very different relationship compared to America's contemporary relationship with Britain, where a few small things are cherry-picked and told how wonderful they are.

My brother and I have a certain perspective as people from London who then moved to New York. But the guys in Scotland at our Rockstar North studio, they have a different perspective, as people who never lived here. And then Lazlow Jones, who writes a lot of the satire with me, is a good ol' boy from Oklahoma. The games have always been, in some ways, a British response to Americana, rather than America. But it's not just that."

via NYT.

Results of the Original Poll

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• Master Chief and Clayton Carmine - 33.33%
  
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• Gordon Freeman and John Marston - 33.33%
  
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• Commander Shepard and Maya the Siren - 8.33%
  
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• Alyx Vance and Lara Croft - 8.33%
  
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• Ezio Auditore and Prince of Persia - 8.33%
  
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• Ryu Hayabusa and Dante - 0%
  
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The second poll ended in a landslide with Gordon Freeman and his running mate John Marston taking 77.78% of the vote, while Master Chief and his running mate Clayton Carmine only received 22.22% of the votes.

Here is what Gamercide members said about the election:

PaNfOoT - Come on people, would THE "Free Man" steer us in the wrong direction?

Kevnvek - ....science and traditional western values would make an interesting mix.

Dateranoth - Both Freeman and Marston have not only dealt with politics. They have both dealt with doomsday scenarios. Then again so have the other two. But Master Chief would be useless without Cortana.

sedington86 - An man with old west values as vp...and a scientist for president. Good good. Oh, and he never speaks. Perfect.

PeeKnuckle - I voted Freeman and Marston. Science applied to traditional Western values compelled me to.

http://youtu.be/GO376G4tbGM

Halo 4 releases to eager hands on November 6th.

Yesterday, Mojang released the long awaited "Adventure" update for the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft.

The features in the update include "Creative" mode which features an unlimited supply of blocks and allows the player to create the world that they want without the restraints of stop and go mining. New terrain, enemies, sprinting ability, villages and other inhabited areas, and also new in game items.

A complete list of the new content and fixes can be found over at the Minecraft Xbox 360 wiki.

Microsoft issued a statement regarding the perma-bans after Halo 4 related content began showing up around the internet.

"We have seen the reports of 'Halo 4' content being propped on the Web and are working closely with our security teams and law enforcement to address the situation,"

For those of you choosing not to act like a bunch of jackasses, Halo 4 releases in a few weeks. November 6th to be exact.

via Gaming Blend

The offending portrait features a painted tree and the words "Allah is beautiful" and "He loves beauty" inscribed around the frame of the portrait which happens to be situated above a toilet.

Activision released a statement apologizing for the image and said that they are working on an update to remove the wording from the map.

We apologise to anyone who found this image offensive. Please be assured we were unaware of this issue and that there was no intent to offend. We are working as quickly as possible to remove this image and any other similar ones we may find from our various game libraries.

"We are urgently working to release a Title Update to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 3. We are also working to remove the texture from Modern Warfare 2 through a separate Title Update. Until the TU is ready, we have removed the Favela multiplayer map from online rotation.

"Activision and our development studios are respectful of diverse cultures and religious beliefs, and sensitive to concerns raised by its loyal game players. We thank our fans for bringing this to our attention."

via Eurogamer

The judge sentenced Ricky Roys; age 20, Andrew Brown; age 42, and Helen Cooke; age 19 to only 23 years in jail and said that the "alcohol fueled crime" was "sadistic" in nature that the disturbed individuals clearly had intent on the killing the 44 year old victim who suffered more than 104 cuts and different injuries on his body. The trio who appeared in court compared the murder to the Resident Evil series as they attempted to defend themselves on the stand. Upon hearing of their defense, the British media took to the "comparison" like flies buzzing around the anus of a cow who is preparing to shat in an open field.

Apparently, I must have missed the gameplay somewhere in the survival/horror series where you violate someone with a pool cue, boil them in water, and carve their face up like it was a jack-o-lantern. Can the British media please show me where those scenes take place? I didn't think so.

via Crave Online

On September 11th, Sony launched a lawsuit against Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek Inc. Actor Jerry Lambert who plays Sony's fake executive Kevin Butler in television commercials is the president of the one of the companies featured in the lawsuit; Wildcat Creek Inc. Sony is claiming that Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek Inc. are both in breach of contract over the Kevin Butler character who Sony believes is being used in another form of advertisement for Bridgestone tires. Keep in mind that the tire brand is not using Lambert's actual Kevin Butler character, but rather just the actor in a series of promotional ads for Bridgestone.

http://youtu.be/C_X3mVnuB10

Speaking to GamesBeat, Sony issued a statement regarding their lawsuit.

"Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a lawsuit against Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek, Inc. on September 11. The claims are based on violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship. We invested significant resources in bringing the Kevin Butler character to life and he’s become an iconic personality directly associated with PlayStation products over the years. Use of the Kevin Butler character to sell products other than those from PlayStation misappropriates Sony’s intellectual property, creates confusion in the market, and causes damage to Sony."

What do you think Gamercide? Is Sony's lawsuit justified by the actor appearing in other ads for a tire company or has Sony lost their minds and need to find something better to do with their time?

via GamesBeat

"In 20 wonderful years with Epic, Cliff Bleszinski has grown into a true design luminary, and his contributions to the ‘Unreal’ and ‘Gears’ series have helped shape the game industry into what it is today. Cliff leaves Epic with our gratitude for his many contributions, and our wishes for continued success in the next chapter of his life!”

Bleszinksi has released his since released his own statement stating, "I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and outside of my sabbatical last year, I have been going non-stop. I literally grew up in this business, as Mike likes to say. And now that I’m grown up, it’s time for a much needed break.

I will miss the projects, the playtests, the debates, and most importantly, the people. Epic only hires the best of the best, and it has been a joy working with each and every one of you on a daily basis, whether you were hired weeks ago or decades ago. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with a variety of disciplines, from code to art to marketing and PR – it’s been one big, rewarding learning experience. I’m confident that each project that is being built, whether at Epic, Chair, PCF, or Impossible will be top notch and will please gamers and critics alike."

No word on what or if any effect this will have on the upcoming entry into the Gears of War series, GOW: Judgement.

via Epic

Nintendo confirmed the news to Famitsu which was later translated by NeoGaf user Cheesmeister3k who translates gaming events in Japan on Twitter; "That can be played on the Wii U is restricted by a region-lock feature; software not sold in the same region cannot be played".

This should really come as no surprise considering that the Wii and 3DS are also region locked.