You all may have noticed lately the onslaught of things like Online Passes, On-Disc DLC, and DLC that have been announced and made before release. Many of you may be under the impression the publisher/developers are just being greedy and trying to squeeze out every penny from you. What you don’t know is the inner-workings behind the scenes. The publishers are losing money this gen due to higher cost of development, and lower economies. They also have long standing arrangements with stores like GameStop where if a game flops they will buy back the product at full price or eat the cost and make zero money back if the store decides to price cut it down to move inventory. Read More...

Today it was announced that Zachary Levi will be hosting the 2011 Video Game Awards on Spike TV. Before you click away from this article and roll your eyes, let's take a look at the VGAs and this press release in particular before you pre-judge the fledgling award show. I decided to do this analysis in hopes that Spike TV is trying to legitimize the show and the process. First off, Zachary Levi is a nice, safe choice for host. He's moderately popular with the mainstream (Chuck, Tangled) and he has geek cred (Halo voiceover and Internet presence). Read More...

Greetings fellow gamers! If I could have a brief minute, I would like to tell you about myself. My name is Bryan Ray, frequently referred to as King Xanadu, and I will be writing for Aggrogamer over the next several months. (Perhaps years? I like the thought.) I play mostly XBox 360 though I do have a Steam account for my dated laptop (It's old enough to have a “supports Windows Vista” sticker on it) but I don’t use it as much as I’d like. I love music, a lot. So much that I am currently attending college for it. Read More...

After enough snow to last Mike for years to come, the Aggrocast is back with Episode Sixty. We discuss the epic amounts of snow thrown Mike's way, the Super Bowl and it's lousy selection of commercials. We jump into what we've been playing. Mike discusses finishing Mass Effect, while Binh discusses his current play through and Star Trek Online. Brian and Binh discuss their experiences with MAG. Bargain Binh brings us J-RPG Goodness for under $20, Brian shows off Turtle Power as he brings us On The DL, and Mike never says die with his Netflix Picks. Read More...

Sorry for the delay folks, but the last two episodes of the Aggrocast are up and we hope you guys are eager to listen.Episode Fifty Three: Delays - Due to reasons beyond our control, this episode got extremely delayed. We cover what we've been playing to include Modern Warfare 2, Lord of the Rings Online, and more. We bring you our latest choices in the Bargain Binh, On the DL and Netflix Picks.Episode Fifty Four: 2010 Preview - We discuss the games we've been playing to include the Bayonetta and End of Eternity Demos, Spirit Tracks, Little Big Planet PSP, and Modern Warfare 2. Read More...

Nintendo did it, Microsoft did it, now Sony has joined the ranks of content distributors via Amazon.com. Yes that's right, now you can head online to your friendly neighborhood Amazon.com and download anything from Sackboy costumes to full blown PSPGo Games. No longer will you suffer the oppression of sales tax, some locations not so lucky. I'm looking at you New York. I have just recently become addicted to the powers of the seductive Amazon, and have currently bought a metric-fuck-ton of books/equipment/bowling shoes, but now it looks like PSN titles and PSPGo titles will be added to my list. Read More...

Since its inception in 2005, Video Games Live has been entertaining crowds across the globe.  With its epic scores, great energy and audience participation, VGL promotes the gaming industry in an extremely positive way.  Created by famous video game composers Jack Wall and Tommy Tallarico, the concert series’ agenda of solidifying game music as an art form and the games industry as a positive force are present and spotlighted but are carefully swaddled by the fun, excitement and showmanship.  The first show, in the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, had over 11,000 people and was instantly a phenomenon.  As the first few years have passed, the show has slowly made its way down to smaller cities and venues. Read More...

A new study seems to show that there is no relationship between violent videogames and real-life aggression. From ScienceDaily: Writing May 14 in the International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, Patrick Kierkegaard of the University of Essex, England, suggests that there is scant scientific evidence that video games are anything but harmless and that they do not lead to real world aggression. Moreover, his research shows that previous work is biased towards the opposite conclusion. Read More...