KontrolFreek Blog

Lately I’ve been reading a ton of stories from top video game industry execs and other knowledgeable people predicting the end of consoles as we know them. According to many experts, this next generation of consoles by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony will be the last.

The basis for this prediction is that mobile gaming, Smart TV’s and streaming services like Gaikai will give consumers more options for getting their video game fixes more conveniently and for less money. I can clearly see the reason for the fear. As the streaming game services improve and integrate themselves with televisions that land in our living rooms; and as Android and Apple devices connect seamlessly to that same TV, where does the console fit in?

If you think about it, we have already seen what the Smartphone has done to dedicated devices like GPS’s, MP3 players, cameras and even wristwatches. Why wouldn’t gaming consoles suffer the same fate?

What do you think? Do you think the end is near? Or do you think that consoles will remain fixtures beneath our TV sets?

Tell me what you think via Twitter.

A dispute over pay and working conditions resulted in about 300 workers climbing to the roof of one of the buildings at Foxconn Technology Park in China early last week. The incident began when employees asked their bosses for a raise but were denied. Employees were told either to quit with compensation or to keep their jobs with no additional payment. Many employees took the former, but the company decided to terminate the agreement anyway and not pay the promised compensation. The workers protested the action by threatening to jump to their deaths.

The standoff eventually came to an end when the mayor of Wuhan showed up and literally talked the former employees off the ledge.

These particular employees were responsible for manufacturing parts for Xbox 360 consoles and production had actually come to a halt for several hours during the protest.

Microsoft had this to say:

"Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue," a spokesperson told the Huffington Post UK.

"We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge.

"Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy."

Foxconn factories in China were already under examination because of several suicides by employees in the past five years—actually forcing the company to install anti-suicide nets at some of their facilities. In addition to Xbox 360 components, Foxconn also manufactures products for Apple, Sony, Nintendo and many other Fortune 500 companies.

Hardcore Minecraft player and "coolest" guy in school, Roman DeNu unleashed this masterpiece a few days ago as a Christmas present to the world.  You may have seen this via Kotaku already but it's worth mentioning again here, since many of you can appreciate what a project of this magnitude in Minecraft entails.  Roman has recreated the entire over-world from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on this 512 by 512 by 104 block canvas.  He spent 109 hours creating the map and plans to continue the project by adding a complete reproduction of the Dark World and all of the buildings, caves and dungeons.

I'll let the awesomeness speak for itself:

Sometimes you don’t know about stuff until someone that does know stuff about stuff tells you about it.  I guess it's the nature of getting older and more intelligentier.

Yesterday, I found quite possibly the best 2D Super Mario Brothers game that has ever existed—and it’s free to download!  Super Mario Bros. X v.1.2 is a homebrew Mario game that takes all the best things about the 2D Mario games and packages them together for an experience that’s so good it has to have Nintendo pissed-off.

This newest version of Super Mario Bros. X features an exceptional co-op mode that seamlessly splits the screen.  So when the person you’re playing with decides to go all rogue-like and leave your ass behind, it won’t matter a bit.

The new version also features a level editor that works in real-time, so if you don’t like the obstacles ahead, you can just change them to better suit your mood.  All of your favorite power-ups, characters and music are here, too, so everything feels like it actually came from 1990 Nintendo.  This is not a cheap rip-off.  The people who created this game obviously love Mario and gave him the royal treatment here.

If you want to play it for yourself and see what I’m talking about, just click here!