Following his inflammatory and just-plain-wrong criticism of Mass Effect, "conservative" columnist Kevin McCullough has apologized "to the gaming universe." McCullough says he still finds the material he had umbrage with before offensive and that it should be kept out of the hands of children -- if parents and retailers are doing their jobs regarding the M-rated Mass Effect then McCullough will get his wish.

The next time some columnist wants to level criticism against a game it'd be nice if they at least play the game first, which McCullough admitted he had not done and only perused some clips of the Mass Effect sex scenes on the internet. Now that we've gotten that futile dream out of the way: Bring on the next nut job!

[Via GamePolitics]

We feel a little awkward pointing the way to a horribly researched criticism of Mass Effect by "conservative" blogger Kevin McCullough, but it's probably just about the most flat-out crazy thing you'll read all day. GamePolitics discovered the article entitled "The 'Sex-Box' Race for President" where McCullough just pulls out of the vacuum of space various criticisms against Mass Effect which are "pushing our next generation of young men through the gates of hell as fast as is humanly possible." McCullough's issues include, but are not limited to:

• Mass Effect is marketed to fifteen year old boys. That may be possible, but the game is rated M (17+).
• He says players engage in "the most realistic sex acts ever conceived." Sorry, but there are much better sex simulators.
• That players can customize an avatar's body and breast size -- that's just not true in the slightest.
• The piece de resistance: Players can "hump in every form, format, multiple, gender-oriented possibility they can think of." As we've gone over before, there's no love for our gay brothers in the game, sex is straight or between the ladies. Not to mention players can only have sex with a few characters -- it certainly isn't the Baskin-Robbins interstellar sex club of 31,000 flavors.
  

Those are McCullough's issues in just the first two paragraphs! Happy facepalming gentle readers.

[Via GamePolitics]

The American Medical Association will decide later this month whether "Internet/video game addiction" will be added to the Bible of crazy: The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The proposal comes in a 10-page document prepared by the AMA's Council on Science suggesting that video game addiction is similar to the pattern of behavior observed in pathological gambling.

Now remember, they aren't saying that all video game players are addicts. They're merely saying that video game addiction, like gambling addiction, does affect some members of the gaming population and they need help. The armchair psychologist might say that if you know well enough to eat, sleep, go to work/school, kiss your significant other and/or children goodnight, chances are you aren't an addict. Then again, you could just be in denial. After the AMA votes on the matter, it'll still be up to the American Psychiatric Association to decide whether it goes in the DSM. So, for those who think people dying in front of their computers playing games are crazy, this decision by the AMA at the end of the month would put that on the record.

An analyst at Bank of America believes for Sony to make up the ground they've lost this console generation they don't just need the expected $100 price cut, but a $200 price cut. The analyst who made these remarks to GameDaily.biz, Michael Savner, believes this is unlikely, but believes it is the way to recovery.

Savner says, "While Sony could cut the price by $150 - $200, we view that as less likely given that it is already losing approximately $200 per console at $599, based on our estimates ... Offsetting a potential price cut are decreasing production costs, which should improve significantly this year. We estimate that the loss per console could decline to about $50, assuming Sony does not cut its wholesale prices. Bottom line, we don't expect Sony to make up meaningful ground against the Wii this year."

So, according to Bank of America, Sony's gotta drop the price, take the loss, lose the year, and maybe they'll recover in the long run. But wait, there's more. Savner says that the success of the Wii is hurting the industry. That publishers have invested research and development in next-gen graphics and tech, so if the Wii is successful that money spent is useless. He also notes that Nintendo doesn't play very well with third party publishers so that'll hurt the entire industry. There's a lot of jargon in there, Savner simply could have laid it out in geek-speak we could understand: Save the PS3, save the industry.

GamerDeals shows off a pimped out redneck flat screen system that shows the wonders you can work in small spaces with just a little bit of ingenuity, some know-how, and a lot of muscle. This adheres to the old DIY adage, "If it don't fit, just give it a good shove."

The real question here though is ... what makes that house redneckish? Other than the guy who submitted it calling it redneck-style, it looks fairly decent to us, although we're not talking about the giant hole in the wall. Hopefully he didn't have to go through anything load-bearing.

[Thanks, Fargo]

Ezekiel Maxwell, a 17-year-old paranoid schizophrenic on "skunk cannabis," stabbed a woman to death because the "gangster voices" from Grand Theft Auto told him to do it. Although this incident is just being reported now as part of Britain's supposed "skunk cannabis" epidemic, the murder actually occurred last September.

Maxwell believed he was Carl Johnson from GTA: San Andreas when he committed the murder and believed the game was telling him to "stab a woman for seven days, it had to be a black Afro-Caribbean woman." The voices took over his thoughts and "made him do things." According to reports he was playing GTA and smoking skunk cannabis for months to the exclusion of everything else before the killing. Maxwell has since been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yesterday he was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

If you've been unable to score yourself a Wii yet, we'll give you the next best thing: a live video feed of someone playing the Wii for a week straight. Gamer Yoshi Madness will be playing the Wii using these guidelines:

• He will only be sleeping four hours a day (usually from 2:00AM until 6:00AM, he claims)
• He'll update the blog on his site every four hours
  
• He will only be leaving his room to a) use the bathroom (thank god -- although he goes on to say "if it's a deuce then it might take 15 minutes, classy) or b) if his dad needs something (parents and relatives might be over for Thanksgiving).

While this is pretty ambitious, it's also a bit over the edge ... one week straight with only four hours sleep a night? That's a recipe for insanity. Still, the feed is more informative than most in-game videos you'll find online, and it gives you some real insight. If you're wondering about a game you want to pick up for the Wii, watch the video for awhile and then make your decision. Heck, watch it all week and see if you can keep up.

Just be sure to allow yourself ample time for deucing.

[Thanks, BB]

Sex and games combine in a strange new direction: the creators of Consolevania are offering a prize to gamers willing to bare all (literally) for their new show. By sending in "erotic photographs or video clips of themselves in gaming situations, with www.consolevania.com written on their naked, willing flesh", one lucky winner will receive the (almost) famous coathanger microphone, pictured right.

A bizarre competition from a bizarre show. There's also a second series of videoGaiden on the way, in case there wasn't already enough Scottish gaming madness in the world.

[Via KG]