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Earlier today, we posted a story about Ubisoft’s Martin Edmonsondefending “always on” DRM as a necessity.Just Causedeveloper Avalanche, however, seems to have the opposite opinion — arguing that developers need to stop moaning about piracy and look for solutions that offer consumers more incentives. “If a DRM system constantly needs to be defended, something must be wrong,” founder Christofer Sundberg told Edge. “As a developer you will never win over any fans if you constantly let everyone know how much it costs to develop a game and how much money you lose....

What a fun way to start the day. Have you been keeping up withCall of Duty: Black Ops‘ Annihilation map pack? It comes out tomorrow on Xbox 360, so you might want to look into it. I didn’t much care for theprevious trailer, which was rather safe overall and even a little bland in spots. This trailer, however, is a step in the right direction. It’s for the zombie portion of Annihilation, Shangri-La....

One of my personal favorite games from last year,Borderlands, have now joined the ranks of the elite (or, at least, most commercially successful) titles in branded value packaging. In other words, you can now pick up the game as anXbox 360 Platinum Hitor aPlayStation 3 Greatest Hit. Should you? That’s a tricky question to answer. A “Game of the Year” edition including the title’s four DLC packs is set for release on October 24th for $60, which would be a savings of ten smackers if you were to purchase each of the packs separately at their individual asking price of $10....

The recentannouncementthat Microsoft will be discontinuing support of all original Xbox games over LIVE has resulted in many sad cries of pain and anguish, as our ability to play older games online is ripped from us like a lollipop ripped from a toddler’s firm grasp. Based upon the numbers, it should beHalo 2fans who are most upset, as it is still the top played Xbox game on LIVE. It’s not just gamers though — Bungie itself seems downright distraught over the issue....

Ha! Who am I kidding? I’ll play it! I’ll play any of the Mama games they make. The Cooking Mama Corporation (great name!) has trademarked “Camping Mama.” Cue theMama made me pitch a tentjokes. Siliconerareminds that the holders of the Mama IP did the same thing withBabysitting Mama back in 2009, and that we saw its announcement right before E3 that year. No, this one sounds pretty solid, just as almost any pastime would if you put it in front of the Mama name....

Forget yen. Capcom wants dollars and euros instead. They’ve set a new sales goal, hoping to shift most of their sales to the West. According toGamesIndustry.biz, Capcom has sold 53 percent of all its games in Japan up until now. This new shift in focus would have them selling 50 percent to North America and another 30 percent to Europe, leaving the other 20 percent for Japan. “We will continue to pursue further growth overseas while implementing aggressive measures such as strengthening the sales capabilities of our overseas subsidiaries and improving our product line-up targeting the overseas market,” noted Capcom in its annual report....

Last weekend, Hamza and I went to Las Vegas. Then, the next day, we wound up in Phoenix, Arizona. The reason? Because videogames. More specifically, Activision wanted us to take a look atNASCAR: The Game 2011. But that wasn’t all. They also wanted us to play around with real stock cars and watch a NASCAR race in person. And it was all so exciting, we decided to make a video about it....

If you didn’t know already,Child’s Playis a charity organized by the fine gents behind web comicPenny Arcade back in 2003. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins created it help the kids of the Seattle Children’s Hospital, but it also served to show that gamers are generally good people. Now in its fifth year, the charity has grown to benefit hospitals in over 25 states and five countries, and new partners are being added constantly....

Yes!Cladun X2is coming to the PlayStation Network in the US and Europe! We had the sequel toCladunon ourmost wanted games of 2011and it’s out this Summer. The sequel follows a new group of heroes as they speed through a new version of Arcanus Cella. There will be plenty of Ran-geons, New-geons and the new Tri-geon dungeons to explore and you’re able to battle through the game with a friend too....

It’s been a long time coming, butRed Faction: Guerrillais rapidly approaching its retail debut (June 2 for 360 and PS3). It’s not very often that I am able stay hyped for a game for more than a year, as I usually lose interest right near the end, but there’s just something about this damned game that I can’t put my finger on. It’s … fun. Yep, it’s f**king fun; that must be it....

When I went to visit Rare’s Studio and check outViva Piñata: Pocket Paradisefor the DS, one couldn’t help but consider the future of the franchise.VPis an incredibly original and inventive IP, one that most definitely deserves a long future, but I realized there was a crucial flaw in the game — Rare can only continue the series for as long as they can think of animal/candy wordplay. Or can they?...

You gotta love the companies that offer free versions of their game engines. Expanding who can get into development on this scale is only a good thing for the industry. Next in line to offer something like this could be Crytek — think of all the foliage! Talking with Develop, CEO Cevat Yerli spoke of a free engine beyond the scope of the currently-offered CryEngine 2 editor and its reputation as primarily being a tool for modders....

Crytek has admitted that the PC version ofCrysis 2may have been a misstep thanks to the focus on console development. “Crysis 1‘s intention was, if I were to play it three years later, it looks great. And it does, actually, it fulfilled that. But it made it difficult for entry-level players,” Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli told Gamasutra. “So withCrysis 2, we took a different direction, and it backfired a little bit....