april-fools-2014
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Funcom yanks mankini costume from The Secret World
Players who logged in this week to The Secret World might have noticed that there was a new male costume option in the game store: a neon green mankini that covered very, very little. However, those who purchased said mankini discovered the costume gone today, as Funcom pulled the April Fools' Day outfits from characters' dressing rooms, refunded the points spent on them, and gave each previous owner a free mystery box. While there was no explanation as to why the outfit was removed, Funcom apologized for the handling of the joke on the forums: "You may or may not be aware, but the mankini was removed. Anyone that purchased the item has been refunded points and has received a mystery box for the inconvenience. However, if you had purchased points in order to buy the mankini, you can contact customer service for a refund of those points. We're terribly sorry for the trouble, folks. Our CS staff will be happy to help."
When executives apologize for April Fools potshots
EA Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore has tweeted a necessarily brief apology to Nintendo of America and its fans, distancing all parties from an unapproved, "unacceptable" and "stupid" joke that made the rounds earlier today. The handlers of an official Twitter account for Frostbite, the engine which powers many EA games like Battlefield 4, targeted Nintendo's Wii U console with now-deleted messages like, "our renderer is now optimized for Mario and Zelda" and "we have finally fixed and optimized our 'netcode'." The punchline, of course, is that Frostbite's current incarnation is not supported on Wii U, which is a step behind the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in terms of power. April Fools' Day is treated with contempt by many tech and gaming news outlets, and perhaps it's because the jovial nature of a pie in the face has been lost to the contemporary reality: console war jabs made from a Twitter account dedicated to a graphics engine. These comments are no more caustic than you might see on console forums, but those don't usually draw apologies from a COO. These are just awkward.
April Fool's Day inflates craniums throughout Guild Wars 2
When those embroiled in the eternal conflict known as Guild Wars 2 log into their favorite online roleplaying game on April 1, they'll notice something a bit odd about their characters - specifically, each inhabitant of the game will now feature a gigantic head. The momentary alteration has no effect on a player's stats, but as you can see in the Vine footage below the break, all Guild Wars 2 characters now resemble ambulatory bobblehead dolls. Developer ArenaNet justifies the change by saying, "If players like characters that have heads, logic dictates that they'll love characters with freakishly large heads, which is why we've added [200 percent] more cranium to all player characters!" Though there's no official word on when the noggins of Guild Wars 2 will return to their normal dimensions, we don't expect the change to last beyond 12AM on April 2. [Image: ArenaNet]
Arma 3 takes us all for a ride with Kart DLC [April Fools!]
The first official (and totally not real) bit of premium DLC for open-world shooter Arma 3 is kart racing. Arma 3 Karts includes (well, it would, if it existed) time-trial races and open-world kart battles, with seven versions of vehicles to choose from. "Since we're already in the zombie business with DayZ, we felt the next logical expansion would be to take on karting," (real) Creative Director Jay Crowe writes on the Bohemia Interactive blog. "Our sandbox could not be called complete without karts, and thus we set ourselves the goal to recreate this pure form of racing. Welcome to Arma 3's World of Karts: drive / overtake / win." Arma 3 Karts is due out in the second quarter of 2014 (no, it isn't). [Image: Bohemia Interactive]
Blizzard rings in April Fool's with faux fisticuffs, Flappy Bird spoof
Blizzard Entertainment has long had a reputation for its meticulously crafted April Fools' Day gags, and this year, instead of a sole punchline, the company is offering the willingly gullible a trio of faux announcements. For instance, it has been revealed that the next segment of the StarCraft 2 trilogy will be titled StarCraft 2: Herald of the Stars. In lieu of focusing entirely on strategic warfare, the real-time strategy game will instead explore the history and heartwarming minutiae surrounding the alien Protoss race. You'd expect new weapons and units, but the game will also offer new hairstyles, a dance editor and built-in Twitch audience interaction. Blizzard senior game producer Hony Tsu describes StarCraft 2: Herald of the Stars as "a hug for the soul." Hoping to make Diablo 3 more palatable to the average person, Blizzard is swiping a page from the Flappy Bird playbook to make Happy Reaper. "With a series of well-timed mouse clicks or finger taps, skillfully guide Malthael through a network of ancient Pandemonium ruins to collect human souls and obliterate all puny nephalem with your trusty Death Laser of Doom," reads Blizzard's official description. Rounding out today's gags is Blizzard Outcasts: Vengeance of the Vanquished, a fighting game starring the developer's most famous characters. While it won't be coming to consoles, the game will be available on PC, Mac and expensive, custom arcade cabinets. We urge you all to read Blizzard's full description, but if you've only got 47 seconds available, watch the above teaser. It tells you pretty much everything you'll need to know about this fake game. [Image: Blizzard]
Sega launches 'Rappy Bird' [April Fools!]
There's an element of cruelty to some of the most memorable April Fool's jokes, and Sega's prank this year is among the cruelest. Responding to years of Phantasy Star Online 2 localization requests from diehard fans, Sega has released Rappy Bird, an online clone of the mobile hit Flappy Bird starring Phantasy Star's iconic Rag Rappy character. Surely you remember Rappies -- they're those little bird guys that you slayed by the thousands in Phantasy Star Online. Rappy Bird itself is unremarkable, since it was obviously put together quickly and is too difficult to enjoy, but at least there's a 3D mode. Fans still hoping for a localized release of Phantasy Star Online 2 may want to keep an eye out for an upcoming English-language version hitting southeast Asian territories this year. The fact that Sega of America is acknowledging Phantasy Star after letting the series lie fallow for several years could be seen as a promising development, however. [Image: Sega]
Sony's super cereal [April Fools!]
It's been plainly obvious for ages that the Vita's in need of a power source that doesn't get in the way of mealtime. The newly unveiled Sony Power Food is the answer to the question that everyone's been asking. Remember, this method of powering up your Sony electronics only works with Sony Power Food. You shouldn't try to stick a Vita-connected USB adapter into a bowl of Crunchy Nut, for example. You definitely shouldn't go and do that right now. [Image: Sony]
Google partners with Pikachu in Google Maps: Pokemon Challenge [April Fools!]
Google wants to hire the very best. Like no one ever was. If you're a Pokémon master and can meet some extreme physical fitness requirements, you might have what it takes to survive the Pokémon Challenge, a fictional Google Maps-based job application that employs an augmented reality interface. The latest version of Google Maps for smartphones now includes a built-in Pokedex, so even those who aren't seeking employment with Google can capture nearby critters. Google is fond of video game-themed April Fools' jokes, having previously launched a faux 8-bit version of Google Maps in 2012. This year's prank is such a simple and engaging concept that you have to wonder why Nintendo hasn't attempted something similar -- and no, the stripped-down Pokémon Dream Radar doesn't count. Forcing players to scale real-world cliffs in order to capture rare Pokémon dovetails nicely with Nintendo's recently announced shift into the health sector, too. Get on it, Nintendo! [Video: Google]
