EA Respond To DRM Complaints

Electronic Arts have sent us a statement regarding their roundly-criticized Spore DRM policy.

In it, EA Games Label President Frank Gibeau states that the company assumed consumers would understand the need for DRM because "if games that take 1-4 years to develop are effectively stolen the day they launch, developers and publishers will simply stop investing in PC games" but concedes that a number of customers have strong objections and that EA need to adapt their policy to accommodate them.

Full details of the changes can be found after the jump, but it is worth noting that Gibeau does not address the concerns that many gamers have about the choice of SecuROM as Spore's copy protection in particular.

Ultimate Band on DS: Hannah Montana-less Good Times

I doubt many of you played Hannah Montana: Music Jam on DS and if you did, you probably wouldn’t admit to it here. But if you had, you would recognize the DS version of Ultimate Band right away because it’s pretty much the same game – sans Hannah Montana.

Your guitar/bass fills up both screens of the DS and notes appear as little icons that fall down along the strings from the top screen to the touch screen. When they get there, you have to tap them while pressing the D-pad button specified in the icon. This setup comes with a lefty variation that uses the X, Y, A and B buttons on the right. The drums are a little different this time around – they’ve been tilted on the screen so there’s more surface area for you to tap your stylus.

First Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Details

The new issue of Nintendo Power contains first official details on Rockstar Games' youth corrupting Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, reported to be a cel-shaded, M-rated 3D journey through Liberty City with an isometric view. According to NeoGAF poster botticus, Chinatown Wars looks to adopt GTA IV's use of a cell phone for portions of the game's UI, with a PDA controlling your "email, contacts, map, music player, GPS, [and] stat-tracking." Those stats can be uploaded via Wi-Fi to the Rockstar Social Club, supposedly, to keep obsessive-compulsive track of your in-game progress.

Gameplay-wise, Chinatown Wars will feature D-pad aiming and auto targeting via the R button, as well as "tasteful" mini-games — no lap dances? The arsenal is said to include a flamethrower and chain gun, and the wanted system looks to be modified to maybe shun GTA IV's "out of sight, out of mind" mechanic for one that requires the player to "disable police cars any way possible."

More details after the jump.

Tecmo And Koei To Have Concrete Plan In Two Months

After rejecting Square Enix's "friendly" takeover, Tecmo announced on September 4th that it was in talks to merge with game company Koei. In an official announcement, it was stated the aim to integrate management was in hopes of creating a "stable and secure environment" as well as respect each other's individuality. Tecmo has announced that on September 17th, a commission was formally set up to move forward with management integration talks. According to the Tecmo release:

A committee has been formed to oversee the business of the two newly-merged companies, comprised of the presidents of both companies (acting as joint-chairmen) as well as executive representatives and non-executive representatives of both companies. This integration will allow employees to demonstrate the full extent of their abilities, so as to best serve the company in the future. This committee is expected to produce a concrete integration scheme for unifying the two companies in the next two months.

The Best Damn Video Game Infomercial You'll Ever Not Walk Away From

Many years ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Todd Tuckey, owner of TNT Amusement, for a story I was working on about arcade machine ownership and restoration. The man is a font of information and a genuine arcade aficionado. He also makes a living restoring, storing and selling arcade and pinball machines.

Every time we talked over the years he would mention his infomercial. An hour long commercial for his place that was so packed with info, silly jokes and eyes on retro machines, that it had earned itself a cult following. Finally, one day I asked him how I could watch it and he said that it wasn't online. So I told him to send us a copy so we could host it.

The entire hour may not be for everyone, but if you like arcade gaming, you should probably watch a bit of it. Personally, I think it's awesome.

Win our Penny Arcade Expo Swag For Pennies A Day

Those of you who have been around on the site for awhile know that I am a cruel craftsman of contests. I like to include site scouring scavenger hunts, math problems, arcane historic knowledge in my quests for free swag.

But I'm also in the midst of planning trips to New York and Tokyo over the next few weeks, so I don't have time to be cruel. Instead, I'm going to allow you to be creative. We have, at Adam's house, a backpack of Penny Arcade Expo swag that need to get into the hands of a faithful reader but quick.

When I asked around in Kotaku Tower for ideas for a contest, Fahey was quick to come up with something equal parts diabolical and fun. Recreate a scene from a video game with pennies. I think he may have been joking, but I'm not. Make sure to include, when you snap your picture, something that says Kotaku on it in the image, so we know you're on the up and up.

Deadline is Sept. 26. Mail all entries to KotakuContestATGmailDOTcom with "PAX" in the subject line and the photo in the body. We'll announce the winner that Monday. Here's what you have a chance of winning:

Nintendo Responds to Trade Commission Investigation of Wii

Last night we reported that the U.S. International Trade Commission had agreed to fully investigate the claims made by Hillcrest Laboratories that the Nintendo Wii infringes on four patents they hold for motion-controlled devices.

While this doesn't signal decision on merit, it does mean that it's worth a judge's time to take a close look at it. If the Wii is found to violate Section 337 of the Tariff Act, the Wii can be withdrawn from sale in the U.S.

We contacted Nintendo for comment last night. Their rather straight-forward response just arrived: