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Gaming Roundup 9/9/08: Dreamcastin'

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If you play vidoegames, there's something wrong with you.

No, no, not in the "And your face is dumb and those pants do, indeed, have people mistaking you for a land-walrus" sense; I mean that you're genuinely dissatisfied with some aspect of your life. At the very basest level, you're bored. Life, at the clock tick during which you choose to plop down with a controller, just isn't giving you the pulse-pounding rush you desire. That's a problem, and gaming is your escape.

Thus, we walk right into the term "escapism." The moment you hit the power button and leave a game world's towering doors swinging wide in your wake, your mid-level job, your annoying roommate, and your walrus-pants are all left pounding their fists on the other side.

But that's where our paths diverge.

For instance, my mind wanders when its juices aren't crashing toward one coherent goal. To properly leave my world behind, I need another established world to focus on. I need a game that'll pour so many thoughts into my mind that all of my real world baggage gets crowded out.

However, you might be different. You might enjoy sitting back, relaxing, and turning off all but your basest inhibitory functions. You might be a Nintendo fan. After all, who really wants to think after a tough day in the office?

So, when you're bitter, sore and nursing a severe case of the Mondays, which games help you escape? Do you kick back with something simple and fluffy, or do you absorb yourself in more complex fare?

Well, either way, today's Roundup is nearly guaranteed to slump your tensely hunched shoulders. Unless you're emotionally invested in the well-being of Ensemble Studios, Fallout 3's global censorship, or your inability to ever play Portal 2 as a result of the world's untimely end, this Roundup is like slipping into a steamy bath.

Take a dip after the break.     

Fallout 3 Censorship Goes Global

Wonder how Bethesda will rationalize all of that "research" now?

“An issue was raised concerning references to real world, proscribed drugs in the game, and we subsequently removed those references and replaced them with fictional names. To avoid confusion among people in different territories, we decided to make those substitutions in all versions of the game, in all territories,” Bethesda VP Pete Hines told Edge.

"We want to make sure folks understand that the Australian version of Fallout 3 is identical to both the UK and North American versions in every way, on every platform."

Movies and literature can mention them; why can't we? Easy, because we're afraid of a little controversy. I don't care if it's just a simple name-change. Bethesda dropped the ball, and -- in the process -- put a nice, round dent in my respect for their vision.

GameStop: No “end in sight” for Wii shortages

“I’ve never seen this type of demand before. I know they’re making more, but we’re still short like everybody else. I think we’ll have a continued shortage this Christmas,” GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo told GameDaily.

“I don’t see a near-term end in sight for Wii shortages, not unless they really ramp up supply. I think they’ve ramped it up 20 percent or so, but Nintendo is fairly cautious by nature. They ramped it up 20 and it’s still evaporating.”

Supply, demand, and Wii: The three sides of economics.

Are any of you still scouring your local game stores for a Wii?

Rumor: Ensemble to close after Halo Wars

Ensemble, the pulsating brain behind Age of Empires, as well as upcoming RTS-turned-FPS-turned-RTS-again Halo Wars, may be limbering up for its final dance. Multiple sources have apparently notified Shacknews that the 13 year-old development studio will shutter its doors after Halo Wars goes gold.

As of now, Microsoft and Ensemble have yet to comment, but things aren't looking good.

iPod Touch pitched by Apple as “best portable device for gaming”

When: Today
What: See the headline
Where: Apple's "Let's Rock" event in Bizarro Fantasy Land, San Francisco.

Who is the Gamer’s Candidate?

Registered apathetics, maybe this will change your mind.

Terrible news: Gordon Freeman spotted near Large Hadron Collider

Wait, why do we like this guy again?

COMMENTS
avatarNo Wii's this Christmas

No Wii's this Christmas either?   Great!  I think my wife and daugter are gonna kick me out of the house if they don't get one this year...

(like they need any more reasons, right?)

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avatarhuh?

Not sure where you're at, but I see them all the time at Best Buy.  They usually have at least a few.  They may still be scarce in the relative sense, but it hasn't been that hard to find one for a while now.

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avatarself-proclaimed Nintendo fan-girl

and I've purchased my Wii a looooong time ago. It pays to know someone working in retail :)

I also have my SNES, N64, GBA, and DS, but sadly no NES.

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