Report: The Ten Most Expensive Video Game Budgets Apparently Are… [Business]

As video games get bigger and bigger, video game budgets get bigger and bigger, too. But what’s games have the biggest budgets? The sticky part of video game budgets is that some developers will not confirm the actual budgets, and there is some speculation in these numbers. But here, according to website DigitalBattle.com, here are the hugest of the huge: 10. Killzone 2: US$45 million Most estimates put the budget at $45 million, but higher estimates put the budget at over €41 million or $56 million. 9. Final Fantasy XII: $48 million The game’s budget was $48 million — without marketing costs. As Digital Battle points out, there are rumors that Final Fantasy XIII had a 50 percent higher budget. 8. L.A. Noire: $50 million Tom Crago, the president of Game Developers’ Association of Australia, cited Noire as “one of the most expensive games in development today”. Developed in Australia, Noire has been given a massive budget. 7. APB: $50 million In development for five years now, the game officially has a budget of 50 million. 6. Halo 3: $55 million According to Digital Battle, the budget was in the neighborhood of $55 million, excluding the $200 million Microsoft spent on developing the game. 5. Metal Gear Solid 4: $60 million Digital Battle puts the budget at $60 million, which it says was shared between Konami and Sony. The game was in development for four years. 4. Too Human: $60 million plus Eons in development, platform and engine switching. Too Human was too expensive. 3. Shenmue: $70 million This Dreamcast game held the most expensive game budget record for almost ten years. 2. Gran Turismo: $80 million In development for over 5 years, the official budget was $60 million. In 2008. 1. Grand Theft Auto 4: $100 million Top 10 most expensive video games budgets ever [Digital Battle]

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Report: The Ten Most Expensive Video Game Budgets Apparently Are… [Business]

White Chili [Note]

To: Ash From: Crecente Re: I’m making white chili tonight, also known as Chicken Chili Verde. I haven’t made chili in a good year or so, which is weird because I love making and eating it. Typically I make a straight-forward Texas red chili. No beans, lots of meat. So this white should be interesting. Do you like chili? You must, you lived in Texas. My red has won awards… but only in the neighborhood. What you missed: Beyond Halo, Marathon, Myth, Oni, What’s Next For Bungie At Last, A Keyboard With A LOL Button Hitler Stares Into The Memeverse, Sees Himself Staring Back First Screens From Assassin’s Creed II’s Bonfire Of The Vanities More Xbox “Programming” Coming After Success of 1 vs. 100 PoP: The Forgotten Sands Taps The Wii’s “Full Graphical Capabilities” Chime Review: Tune In, Drop Out Halo: The Mega Bloks Toys Diablo III’s Female Barbarian Is Rather Well-Armored Mile Marker 23: Star Guard These Folks Made A Marshmallow-Firing Bazooka

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White Chili [Note]

White Chili [Note]

To: Ash From: Crecente Re: I’m making white chili tonight, also known as Chicken Chili Verde. I haven’t made chili in a good year or so, which is weird because I love making and eating it. Typically I make a straight-forward Texas red chili. No beans, lots of meat. So this white should be interesting. Do you like chili? You must, you lived in Texas. My red has won awards… but only in the neighborhood. What you missed: Beyond Halo, Marathon, Myth, Oni, What’s Next For Bungie At Last, A Keyboard With A LOL Button Hitler Stares Into The Memeverse, Sees Himself Staring Back First Screens From Assassin’s Creed II’s Bonfire Of The Vanities More Xbox “Programming” Coming After Success of 1 vs. 100 PoP: The Forgotten Sands Taps The Wii’s “Full Graphical Capabilities” Chime Review: Tune In, Drop Out Halo: The Mega Bloks Toys Diablo III’s Female Barbarian Is Rather Well-Armored Mile Marker 23: Star Guard These Folks Made A Marshmallow-Firing Bazooka

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White Chili [Note]

Stolen Video Games Help Catch a Predator [Whoops]

A Delaware man is looking at some time in the slammer for failing to register himself as a sex offender, and he would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling video games. The games, or his alleged desire to steal and then pawn them. Cops say Patrick Monceaux, 35, stole some video games out of a car in his neighborhood and resold them to a local store. Their investigation of that theft turned up Monceaux in the sex offender registry, for statutory rape back in 1998 – but not his current address. When I’m hiding from the law I generally try not to do things that would make the po-po interested in my whereabouts. But maybe they roll differently up in the 302. What really sucks for Monceaux is that stealing and selling the games resulted in 24 counts – all of them misdemeanor. Failing to register as a sex offender, however, is a felony. So his next address might be the can. Happily ever after: The police were able to return the games to their rightful owner. Seaford Man Arrested for Theft, Failure to Re-Register as a Sex Offender [WBOC-TV via Hot Blooded Gaming ]

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Stolen Video Games Help Catch a Predator [Whoops]

This is Why Animals Need to Talk [Night Note]

To: Luke From: Owen Re: Two Big Santa Differences This week in Oregon, it got down to hideously cold temperatures, like 16 degrees. There’s a stray cat in the neighborhood who comes snorfling around looking for food and I usually give her some, but with it so cold out, I took a great deal of pity on her and brought her inside. And then I figured, let’s go ahead, get her vaccinated, get her fixed, the whole deal. If I couldn’t keep her (my current cat hates her own species), the poor thing will be much more adoptable if she’s been spayed and has shots. So we’re sitting there in the examining room and the tech remarks that the cat is of a very healthy weight, looks clean, etc., and decides to check for a scar. Sure enough, after shaving her belly, there it is. Now, I don’t think I have someone else’s cat. I’ve seen her around since at least October, and other neighbors have put out food, too. I think this was a fix-and-dump, which I guess is only half as evil as the usual abandonment. But I can only imagine what this cat might have said, in the waiting room, if it could speak a language. Bungie Donation Points to Halo: Reach Multiplayer in May [Update] Team Fortress 2 Craftily Crafts Crafting Update Halo: Reach Trailer Dates Multiplayer Beta for Spring VGAs Offer First Look At Medal Of Honor, Arkham Asylum 2 & More Making Room for Baby Means Saying Goodbye to Old Friends Not the Bottom of the Ninth, but a Big At-Bat Coming for MLB 2K10 Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ .

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This is Why Animals Need to Talk [Night Note]

What You Call C3PO And R2-D2 When You Don’t Know Star Wars [Note]

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Belated Halloween Long rough weekend with brief and traumatic baby scare, but the tyke seems fine now. Went to the doctor and hasn’t had any further breathing issues. Doctor said it was something we should keep an eye on because it could happen again… Halloween was great — the kids in the neighborhood went trick or treating, which is the first time I’ve ever seen it in Japan. I do think the holiday is getting bigger and bigger each year. Hey, candy and cosplaying, that’s an easy sell for Japan. There were some bright spots, too! Like, when Mrs. Bashcraft asked me why Yoda and the other “monsters” in Star Wars were on the same “team” and out to “kill” Luke Skywalker. She’s never seen Star Wars! But I can tell you right now: That plot like is far more interesting than any of the newer films Lucas made… She started asking me about the robots, the gold one and the one who “looks like a garbage bin”. She’s heard their names, but didn’t know what they were really. During the course of the conversation, she came up with a laundry list of names she thought were correct, but sadly are not. For C3PO: C2AL, CPR, CUP, CPU, CPA2, C3O3, C323, CCO2 and CO2. For R2-D2 APC, APL, AP-AM, AM-PM, AL2 and A2-B2. Yes, in my wife’s head, Star Wars is about a small green monster who teams up with other monsters to take on the humans who are friends with the robots CUP and AM-PM. Awesome. What you missed last night Here Are Some More King of Fighters Promo Images TF2’s Mann Co. Responds to Its Customers Once More Microsoft Starts Xbox LIVE Pilot Program The Bayonetta That Could Have Been… Heroes’ Hiro On Relationships, Filtered Through Chrono Trigger

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What You Call C3PO And R2-D2 When You Don’t Know Star Wars [Note]

The Sims 3 offers a mixed bag of new and old

There are many different Sims players out there buying this game from years of playing The Sims 2, and I think some of them will be impressed with The Sims 3, while others disappointed.

Create-A-Sim Players: 4/5
If you have an juiced up computer, the graphics are amazing. The customization you can give a sim is also very rewarding; you can now color customize the different parts of a sim’s outfit with virtually any color, and the pattern system they’ve created only increases the amount of customization you can give a sim’s clothing. A sim’s hair coloration is now broken up into four parts, all of which can be set to any color you wish. The only disadvantage I found is that there doesn’t seem to be as many ways to customize the face as there had been in Sims 2; there are some new, different ways though.

Want to know what other people think about The Sims 3? Read More Sims 3 Reviews

House Building Players: 5/5
Because of the new pattern system in the game, building houses now has a new level of customization, making it easier to customize a house’s color and texture to your liking. Another nice thing is that furniture can now be placed at angles, so you no longer have to worry about awkward placement of objects near angled walls. Just keep in mind that since this is the first game, with no expansions made yet, there is a limited amount of furniture you can use. Also, if you’re only interested in building houses, its not as easy as simply clicking on the lot you wish to build, once the game starts; you actually need to be playing your saved household and then exit your household for “Edit Town,” where you can then select a lot to build on.

Neighborhood Building Players: 1/5
If you were big on building neighborhoods in Sims 2, you’re going to very, very disappointed. You can no longer make your own neighborhoods; you are stuck with customizing Sunset Valley (the only neighborhood that comes with the game) or downloading another neighborhood from The Sims 3 website. There are no pre-made empty neighborhoods you can create and then customize and populate. Needless to say, there is no compatibility with SimCity 4 neighborhoods either. You’re stuck with Sunset Valley, and that’s that.

Movie/Story Players: 5/5
If you’re into making movies or stories there doesn’t seem to be big difference between Sims 2. Photo capture now seems to be similar to what the “Print Screen” button does on your keyboard. The quality is exactly what you see on the screen, and the size of the image is as big as your resolution for the game. Video capture options seem almost identical to Sims 2. And like Sims 2, the controls are still difficult to deal with if you’re trying to make smooth transitions. Also, there is no in-game Storytelling option anymore, storytelling is mostly focused online at The Sims 3 website, where there are some neat tools you can use for editing.

Single Family Players: 4/5
If you liked only playing one household in Sims 2 (like if you were into the Legacy Challenge) Sims 3 makes it even more interesting and more realistic with the fact that the entire neighborhood ages around your sim; no more childhood friends always being children, even when your sims have become adults; no more grandchildren out-aging their grandparents because they happen to be on different lots. And not only that, but you can now explore the rest of the world, expanding the possibilities for your sims.

Multi-Family/God Players: 2/5
If you liked jumping between many different houses and creating a complex story between many different households, you may be in for a big disappointment with Sims 3. You’ve ultimately been demoted from being god. You can no longer save individual households for later. Once you leave a household the sims there become NPCs (characters for the computer to control) and continue on their own lives and own story without your help. This may sound odd but Sims 3 is more of a game, and less of a device to tell a huge complex story.

The Sims 2 Console Players: 5/5
For people who loved The Sims 2 for PlayStation 2, X-Box, and GameCube, The Sims 3 plays very similar to those. In fact, The Sims 3 seems like a souped up version of the console Sims 2. For people who hated The Sims 2 console games, well . . . you may not like how The Sims 3 plays.

You’re liking of The Sims 3 is really going to depend on what you did and enjoyed in The Sims 2. And sadly, I have to say this game isn’t for everyone who loved The Sims 2.

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