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It's official: for the third year in a row, the creators of the webcomic Penny Arcade will be hosting a benefit to support children who have to spend the holidays in a hospital ward. Called "Child's Play", this multi-pronged attempt to make Christmas a little brighter involves auctions, a charity benefit dinner, and donations through amazon.com, dstore, and paypal.

Conveniently, one could hit two birds with one stone by purchasing items on hospitals' wish lists by doing it through the CoN's link. (Though not quite in the league of sick kids, this website could use a little charity, too.)

Source: Penny Arcade

Not long ago the gaming world was shaken after being informed that the highly revered Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was to be drastically toned down for future shows, reducing itself to a mass digital gathering poised to take a far less expensive yet more "intimate" approach. Then, just earlier this week, a benefactor in charge of GamePro magazine and slews of trade shows the world over, the International Data Group (or IDG), declared that it had taken up the reigns to the newly dubbed "GamePro Expo," the Los Angeles-based successor to E3 scheduled for a mid-October opening in 2007 (which, contrary to several publications, will be open to the public); the expo's set to kick off at the LA Convention Center starting the 18th and will run through the 20th, with three-day tickets priced at around $100 apiece. Designed to more or less recreate a similar media impact as the former E3, it's indicated to GameSpot that the event's show floor is expected to be packed with various publishers, developers, platform holders, content delivery providers, and retailers.

Despite all this, another statement also proclaimed by GameSpot last week explained how IDG's latest title for the tamed exposition turned out to be rather short-lived; the benefactor last divulged a plan to come up with an alternative name for the previously labeled GamePro Expo sometime in the near future. This, as it happens, is where the fans come in.

The International Data Group is encouraging gamers to think creatively in order to come up with the superb final name for this new event: By using the "Named By Gamers" entry form, each participant is to submit his or her best name idea before the contest deadline of November 20th, 2006. Hoping to acquire a lavish group of submissions, entrants are permitted to enter as many times as desired. Prizes include two round-trip airline tickets to the rechristened show, local transportation and hotel accommodations, plus much more!

The winning name and entry will be announced November 21st, 2006.

For several months now, Western fans of the notorious and quirky Mother/EarthBound series of RPGs have been anxiously awaiting a diffinitive answer to one very agonizing question: Will Nintendo of America finally deliver the third installment to the franchise - only recently launched in Japan this past April - to North American GameBoy Advances? As far as localization is concerned, the official word suggests we shouldn't hold our breath.

Although lacking in great detail, NoA's localization manager Nate Bihldorff, as reported in an interview by Planet GameCube, explains what could perhaps be considered the nearest thing to a true conclusion: "I'm not working on Mother 3. I don't have all the writers under me, so there may be other people in discussions going on with it, but I wouldn't look forward to it in the immediate future, no. Sorry, I know! There's a big Mother fanbase, there is." Bihldorff further advises, "At least everyone can go back and play Melee to get your Ness on."

Certainly this all comes as little surprise to those familiar with Nintendo's track record attributed to handling the Mother series; even the GBA re-release of Mother and Mother 2 (EarthBound) was denied the slightest prospect toward a domestic launch. So does this mean we'll never again see a legally distributed Mother RPG within this hemisphere? If Nintendo of America, like Nate Bihldorff, has begun to contemplate the true depth of the game's fanbase, then the chances otherwise may in fact rise to more realistic proportions.

Source: EuroGamer

That's right, for the first time in over a year, Caves of Narshe is holding a contest. The exact nature of this contest won't be revealed until later this month. At the moment all I'll say is that it's only open to forum members (not staff members) and that your chances of winning will *probably* be higher if you've been frequenting these forums for some time.

In any case, the prizes will be Amazon.com gift certificates and the contest will be unveiled sometime around Thanksgiving (the USA's version), with the winner selected a week or two after the contest's announcement. Let the speculation begin!

The title says it all. In a press release issued yesterday, Capcom announced that Clover Studios, makers of Okami, God Hand, and the Viewtiful Joe series of games, will no longer be operational as of March of next year. In their statement, Capcom praises Clover Studios for achieving their goal of creating original and entertaining video games, but also states that it will serve Capcom better to use Clover Studio's funding and resources as part of the greater Capcom group and not as an independently-operating subsidiary. In a nutshell, Capcom loves Clover's games, but would rather absorb them back into Capcom and not have them spend so much money. It should be noted that the official dissolution of the development studio isn't official until March of next year, giving Clover time to still release any current unannounced projects that are under wraps.

Personally, this news saddens me. Viewtiful Joe and Okami are two of the most fun, original, and beautiful action games of this generation, and I have high hopes for God Hand. Hopefully, Capcom can still make good use of the enormous talent within Clover Studios after its disbanding, and we can see more great games in the tradition of Okami and Viewtiful Joe in the future.

Source: Capcom's Official Press release, found via digg.com

Square-Enix recently revealed their new DS title: It's a Wonderful World. It's being designed by Tetsuya Nomura, the mastermind of Kingdom Hearts and the chief designer of FF XIII: Versus of the Fabula Nova Crystalis project. It's a Wonderful World is set in modern Tokyo and stars two unassuming teenagers who are forced into a game run by demons threatening to permanently erase the duo if they don't succeed in the game.

On top of that, players can use the DS's two screens to simultaneously control both characters, who both possess psychic powers. In fact, the duo must read the minds of NPCs in order to obtain hints and clues as to what to do next in their deadly game.

Right now we know that It's a Wonderful World is scheduled for a 2007 release in Japan, with no word on a North American or European release at this time. Thanks to RPGamer for the news.

source: rpgamer.com