According to the story, “PR executive” Kathryn Kirton “siphoned off £18,963 to pay for her engagement party, hen party and designer shopping sprees.” £18,963 amounts to just over $29,000.

A “PR consultant” named Jamie Kaye also stood accused of stealing money. Ultimately, both Kirton and Kaye pled guilty to the charges, with Kaye himself responsible for another £5,000 stolen (or about $7,600).

Both Kirton and Kaye were given suspended sentences, so neither were given actual prison time. “Both [Kirton and Kaye] pleaded guilty to one count of fraud,” according to the Daily Mail’s story.” – IGN

Where there’s lots of money, there is greed and it’s shocking but somehow not surprising to see something like this. It says nothing about the game, but more of the problems with society as we are now. Living in the shadow of the fairytale world of celebrities and other insanely rich people making our lives always seem sub par. People now will do whatever it takes to have a better feeling in life, including resorting to theft.

On top of that, near the end of the article it also says “In addition to “Ratchet & Clank,” Blockade is also producing “Heavenly Sword,” a CG-animated film that will be distributed direct-to-homevideo.”

Wow! A Heavenly Sword CG movie sounds pretty sweet! Think they’ll do justice on this game to movie adaptations or will they flop in comparison to the entertainment the games produced?

A joint project by Capcom and Chinese media group Tencent, Monster Hunter Online will be free-to-play and contain monsters from the entire history of the series, including the Japanese-only PC game Monster Hunter Frontier. There’s also a beast that requires 24 players to take down and even battles that take place while riding motorized water crafts! Unfortunately, it’s for China only.   Now confirmed by Crytek for International release! Details below! *sigh* seriously…wtf

Below is the quote from Cryteks website where in a press release they announced Monster Hunter Online as an “international” release for fans “worldwide”. The press release has now been made private and can no longer be viewed and Siliconera is reporting they spoke with Capcom and Capcom has said there are no plans to release the game outside of China.

From Crytek Press Release 

“Crytek’s groundbreaking CryENGINE^® technology is being used to create Monster Hunter Online; a major new collaboration between Tencent Games and Capcom that will see the popular Monster Hunter series released internationally on Windows platforms for the first time.

As a PC-exclusive installment in the hit Monster Hunter franchise, Monster Hunter Online will give millions of new players the chance to experience the Japanese phenomenon. The MMORPG will contain Monster Hunter’s trademark blend of vast environments, awe-inspiring fantasy creatures and in-depth customization options.

“The Monster Hunter games are known for immersing players in breathtaking worlds where great gameplay and spectacular sights go hand in hand,” said Areil Cai, Director of Business Development – CryENGINE. “CryENGINE 3 is the perfect fit for the series, and will ensure Tencent Games and Capcom are well equipped to make Monster Hunter Online the groundbreaking MMORPG experience fans worldwide are eagerly anticipating.”

MASS CONFUSION! and so now idk what to believe but it’s not looking good. For whatever reason, Crytek believed it would be an international release, around the same time Capcom says it’s not, and now Cryteks press release is gone…seriously considering boycotting Capcom at this point.

I can sleep good tonight

You can now slap a big ass sign on my forehead that says “HYPED!”

This same patch will also remove online multiplayer region restrictions and allow U.S. and European players to play with each other.

Capcom announced this morning that the patch will be released on April 16th.

“As we’ve announced previously, we’ve got a team working on an in-game LFG tool to be released later in 2013″ said Guild Wars Director Colin Johanson on the official forums.

Is this too little too late? Or just in time to help bring more players into Guild Wars 2? We’ve had a LFG website for sometime now and of course most didn’t have a problem to begin with if they had a good guild or some friends. Is this a step in the right direction for Guild Wars 2?

According to an article from TheVerge, “Microsoft will introduce a feature that lets its next-generation console take over a TV and set-top box in a similar way to Google TV. We understand that the next Xbox will require an online connection to use the entertainment services, allowing them to be always-on for streaming and access to TV signals.

The functionality will work by taking a cable box signal and passing it through to the Xbox via HDMI, allowing Microsoft’s console to overlay a UI and features on top of an existing TV channel or set-top box. We’re told that this is a key part of the next-generation Xbox and that it will go a step further than Google’s TV implementation thanks to Microsoft’s partnerships with content providers. Extended support for various cable services will be rolled out gradually, but the basic functionality will be available at launch.”

I also watched an interview with an “expert” on the gaming industry and said that this is what Sony was waiting for, to hear what Microsoft was going to do in regards to media besides gaming and that’s why they focused almost entirely on presentation of games in their recent unveiling of the PS4.

I can’t really give an opinion on this since I personally don’t watch TV at all. But what about you guys? How does it sound to have a sort of all in one machine giving you Games, Movies and TV access?