Curt Schilling may be forced to sell “Bloody Sock” due to 38 Studios bankruptcy

Curt Schilling lost his shirt when 38 Studios declared bankruptcy in June. Now, he might lose his sock too.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Schilling may be forced to sell the “Bloody Sock” he wore during the 2004 World Series to pay back a loan he took out to bankroll his failed game studio. The sock is currently on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and is viewed by many as a symbol of Boston’s 2004 World Series win, their first in 86 years. A sports collectibles expert consulted by the Globe estimated the sock would sell for $25,000 at auction.

In addition to the famous sock, Schilling has put a cap worn by Lou Gehrig, his collection of World War II memorabilia, and his stake in the StepStone Capital Partners equity firm up as collateral.

In the months since the closure of 38 Studios, EA has expressed an interest in creating a Kingdoms of Amalur sequel without Schilling and the game’s developer has reformed as Impossible Studios.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

MyAchievements “birthday gift” is literally 25 cents

When Microsoft revealed the MyAchievements program for Xbox Live Rewards members, they also revealed that members would receive a “birthday gift” worth 25 cents. Many assumed it would be an Avatar accessory like a party hat or something. Not quite.

Since my birthday is next week, Microsoft has given me my gift and it’s… drum roll please… 25 cents!

That’s right, Microsoft’s big birthday gift is 20 Microsoft Points, which will be deposited into my Xbox Live account on October 15. I’ve also been encouraged to “use it toward anything you wish in the Xbox Live Marketplace.” Gee, thanks Microsoft, you shouldn’t have.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

Assassin’s Creed III Season Pass takes on Tyranny of King Washington

Assassin’s Creed III is jumping on the Season Pass bandwagon with an alternate-alternate history of the American Revolution told in three downloadable parts.

“The Tyranny of King Washington” posits what the fledgling nation of America would be like if George Washington decided that a more royal reputation was in order for the office of the President after being elected in 1789. In addition to the three episodes of “King Washington,” the Assassin’s Creed team at Ubisoft will release new multiplayer content including “new maps and characters.”

The Season Pass will be available for $29.99 (or 2400 Microsoft Points) on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Wii U owners will also receive access to “The Tyranny of King Washington,” but the packs will have to be purchased separately.

“History is our playground – and AC teams have always loved playing with historical facts and their consequences as a way to better understand a time period,” said Sebastien Puel, Executive Producer at Ubisoft. “While Assassin’s Creed III concentrates on history as it happens, we wanted to take some liberties with this DLC and tell you how things ‘could have happened.'”

No timetable was announced for the Assassin’s Creed III DLC, but Season Pass owners will be able to download the DLC one week before the general public.

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Daily Scoop: October 4, 2012 – No deals, no shirts, no problem!

It’s another day of no deals, only this time, there aren’t any nice t-shirts, either. So I guess I’ll have to be creative and think of something else to tell you about. I can do that, right? Sure I can!

My pal Jake Vander Ende has a really cool Etsy store you should check out, called Spriteborne. He makes incredible, unique t-shirt designs using his love of video games, and adding in some stencils and bleach. I have been a huge fan of his shirts since I first met him at the Smithsonian exhibit on the art of video games. My favorite shirt has to be the Castle Crashers one, which is just too adorable.

That’s all I’ve got for today, unless you want to read about ant videos. Oh, and the Homestuck Kickstarter got funded today. Agents and exiles, rejoice!

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Happy Wars goes free-to-play on XBLA on October 12

The first free-to-play title on the Xbox Live Arcade, Happy Wars, will be available next Friday, October 12.

The 15-on-15 “cartoon combat” game features “madcap free-for-all battles” as players take their cute critter into battle against other Xbox Live Gold players. Players will be able to fight in open fields, seize castles, and unleash powerful magic as they fight for their piece of the happy kingdom.

And because Happy Wars is a free-to-play title, players will also be able to customize their character’s looks, outfits, and equipment with Happy Stars (the developer’s cute name for in-game collectibles) or purchase them with Happy Tickets (the developer’s cute name for real-world cash).

So you use your cash to fund your credit card which is used to buy Microsoft Points which is turned into Happy Tickets which you can exchange for a cute costume. Sounds perfectly straightforward to me.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Nintendo Download: Art Academy, Crosswords Plus, Cave Story, more

Nintendo is going big with this week’s Nintendo Download with seven titles are newly available to download today, and an eighth scheduled for release this Sunday, October 7.

This week’s two biggest additions are Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! and Crosswords Plus. The art tutor and the crossword puzzles collection are now available on the 3DS eShop… and in the same week the retail versions became available in stores. Not bad, Nintendo.

Purchasing either title through the 3DS eShop will also net you a downloadable copy of Donkey Kong: Original Edition, which features the never-before-seen-on-a-home-platform Cement Factory level.

There’s plenty of other new releases this week as well. So hit the jump for a full rundown of this week’s new Nintendo Downloads.

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Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition Adventure Update will include these additions, fixes, and changes

According to Microsoft, the “Adventure Update” for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition will be available “soon.” And while they refuse to give us an actual release date of the long-awaited patch, you can find a massive list of new additions to the game (Creative Mode! Survival Mode! New mobs!), bug fixes, and other changes.

And if you’d prefer to see the new features in action, Microsoft is hosting a special livestream tomorrow on their Twitch TV channel. But, and they couldn’t stress this enough, the update will NOT be available to download tomorrow.

Hit the jump for the complete list of patch notes.

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Cliff Bleszinski leaves Epic Games

The man known to many as “CliffyB” has left his post as Design Director of Epic Games, the company said today in a news post on their website. According to the announcement, Bleszinski is leaving Epic to “chart the next stage of his career,” whatever that may be.

Bleszinski is best known for his role in the creation of Gears of War, famously brandishing the trilogy’s “Lancer” weapons at more than one E3 Expo. But the developer also had a hand in Unreal Tournament (and its many sequels) and Jazz Jackrabbit.

“In 20 wonderful years with Epic, Cliff Bleszinski has grown into a true design luminary, and his contributions to the Unreal and Gears series have helped shape the game industry into what it is today. Cliff leaves Epic with our gratitude for his many contributions, and our wishes for continued success in the next chapter of his life,” said Tim Sweeney, Epic’s founder, CEO and Technical Director.

Apparently, the first step in that next chapter involved a viewing of Looper.

Posted in News |