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Press Paws charity art show to break hearts, empty wallets, save pooches
On February 9, gaming/puppy enthusiasts Amelia Cantlay, Sakura Minamida, Amber Drsata and Laurie Ma, along with their team of volunteers, will attempt to save as many of man's best friends as possible through Press Paws, a gaming-themed charity art show for the benefit of What's Up Dog! LA.The event is scheduled to take place at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California, and will feature pieces from more than 50 artists, all of which focus on animals in gaming. Art sale and silent auction proceeds go to What's Up Dog! LA, which is why the event's organizers have launched an Indiegogo fundraiser to help cover the cost of printing posters, flyers, providing snacks at the event, etc. Their goal is a meager $3,000, and donations can be made here for those so inclined.
WRUP: Our favorite pets edition
I was just sitting down to write an intro for this week's WRUP, but then, oops, I seem to have been distracted by puppies. The puppies above are mine, because, well, I'm writing this post and it's my privilege to show off how gosh-darn adorable the little scamps are. (Of course, they're a couple of years older now -- less cute, and boy can they bark.) For this week's WRUP, we have the usual assortment of weekend plans as well as -- you guessed it -- puppies. Also kittens. And just for variety, a snake. %Gallery-91023%
Adorable new pet screens from Free Realms
Just when you think it couldn't possibly get any more awesomely cute, Free Realms breaks out with a bunch of screenshots of some of the pet friends you can get while playing through the game. While some are dressed to the nines like the dog in Indiana Jones type adventuring gear above, and the dog we've affectionately dubbed 'the pup Lebowski' (he really needs a rug, don't you think?), other preview screens we've gotten from the folks over at SOE just show off some interactions between the pets and their owners during play. Our gallery is set to burst from the sheer amount of adorable in there!With the option of going free-to-play, picking up an optional subscription for $4.99 - cheaper than its nearest subscription-optioned competitor, FusionFall, at $5.95 for one account - and so many different ways to play, Free Realms is definitely showing it's out to raise the bar in the family MMO space. Now, maybe if we can perfect our own version of adorably irresistable puppy-dog eyes, SOE will think we're cute, and send over some Free Realms beta keys for us! %Gallery-12980%
Guildwatch: Puppies can cause drama, too
This is Xander. You might think he's just a cute puppy, but no -- he's a drama-causing ball of AFK fury. A player in our drama section this week is the proud new owner of Xander, but the puppy caused so much AFK time for him that it rubbed his group the wrong way. Look in his eyes -- you can see he's got the power to split guilds and wipe groups at will!Lots more drama, downed news, and recruiting notices in this week's Guildwatch, which starts right after the break. Unfortunately, that's the only story that's puppy-related, but we've got lots of dead dragons and guild transfers. There's even a Blue appearance this week!
Magic 8-Ball says: 'Signs point to disturbing'
Even StarFox's furry-friendly backdrop couldn't hold a candle to Fortune Channel, Capcom and TakaraTomy's latest installment to the puppy-fashion Wantame series. Predicting the future with minigames certainly sounds interesting, but we would rather not have to dress up virtual dogs in provocative outfits during the process. The miniature daschund posing on the right is probably the second most unsettling image of a dolled-up animal that we've ever come across. If you want to see the most unsettling image -- and we're not kidding around here, your eyes may very well hop out of their sockets, scampering away at the mere sight of this one -- step past the post break.
Flickr Find: Microsoft Amnesty Bin for iPods
From the entry way at Zune headquarters, we bring you today's Flickr Find: the iPod Amnesty Bin. Yeah sure, it's probably "art" more than it's a real "amnesty bin"--but it says something that upon seeing this picture my heart skipped a beat. It's like seeing adorable puppies in a pound. I instinctively wanted to grab those poor sweet neglected iPods into my arms and give them a proper home. Someone ought to notify the association for the prevention of iPod cruelty. As one of the posters at the Flickr page points out, this makes you wonder exactly how many of these iPods were bought by the Zune team to seed the bin and make their point--to which I add, I wonder how quickly that bin is emptying as Zune employees wave goodbye for the day.
13.6 million Nintendogs are being neglected right now
Want to know the real reason why Nintendogs is one of the most "important" games? Because everybody has it. Nintendo is reporting that 13.6 million copies of the game have been sold worldwide. Compare that to Brain Age and its sequel, which sold a combined 12 million copies. We knew Nintendogs was massive, but we kind of didn't realize how massive. As we alluded to in the title, we wonder how many of those copies are still getting daily use.Another interesting tidbit from the financial report: Nintendo made 2.1 billion yen (about $17.5 million) last year from their non-video-game products, including playing cards. And before you ask, they probably did count Nintendogs as a video game.
Rabid dogs feast on innocent electronic devices
Perhaps it's unfair to cast the canine in the role of the profusely slobbering, devil-eyed villain, but the gruesome fate that befell one man's DS Lite (yes, worse than a hinge cracking) certainly makes it seem as if the dog didn't care much for man's best electronic friend. Whether it was jealousy brought on by a cute Nintendogs puppy or simply the realization that glossy white plastic looks extremely delicious, the dog's actions were luckily undone by a call to Nintendo and a $50 repair fee. A few months back, a poor PSP experienced a similar gnashing, having been caught in the drooling mouth of an overly playful puppy. It's a grisly sight and serves as a warning to all those that would leave their precious electronics within jaw's reach. We're curious -- how many of you have come home to realize that your pet has somehow destroyed a piece of your gaming collection? And how many of you wuv your pets regardless of how many times they've chewed on your copy of Dead to Rights?[Via DS Fanboy]Read - DS Lite chew toyRead - PSP chew toy [Thanks, Weasler!]
Nintendogs sales take flight in Europe
A central weakpoint in the people of Europe has now been exposed: They simply can't resist the charm of Nintendo's obscenely adorable polygonal puppies. Nintendogs has now sold 2 million copies over there, with no signs of slowing down. Nintendo attributes this massive success (which eclipses both Japan and North America) to the game's wide appeal that incorporates female gamers. Yes, they have those in Europe too.With the news out of the way, I should express my personal dislike for posting about Nintendogs. I got tired of the game quite a while ago, feeling that I didn't have enough time to properly take care of my puppy. Reminded of this by the news story, I quickly dismissed the urge to go play the game again. "Bah, I don't care about neglecting my dog. He's probably run away by now. I'm over that game." No sooner had I reached the end of the paragraph than I experienced the guilt, eating away at me like a termite infestation in a log cabin. "How could I be so cruel? I have to turn on my DS and check to see if little Gonzo is okay." Damn you, Nintendogs, for making me worry so about a cleverly disguised chunk of programming code!
