1. The Economics of Giving It Away

Chris Anderson - he of The Long Tail - on how the 'free' price-point is working out for online entrepreneurs. Thing is, it's crunch-time now that we're back in one of those pesky economic zones during which 'reputation' and 'traffic' are way less important than 'income' and 'profits'. Drop in an advertising depression, and the sound you get to hear is lots of noble dreams and half-assed projects being flushed down the khazi. Byeee.

2. Noel Gallagher is a Fool

Noel Gallagher is the dickhead's dickhead. Everything that comes out of this fool's mouth is a sheer joy for those of us who've been laughing at his moronic face and his infantile music for the past 15 years. He says "playing a guitar is not a f***ing video game" in reference to Guitar Hero. Because faux-snarling Mancunian guitar players, strumming exhausted mid-'60s melodies, deserve to be honored for their contribution to culture.
 

3. Star Trek Online Screenshots

Lovely. Just lovely.

4. Reviews Bias Against Killzone 2

Baddassgamer says some reviewers are showing "bias" against Killzone 2. The point is that mentioning what the game doesn't have (co-op) just isn't fair. And that the graphics are so darned good, that picking up on moments when they are less than stellar is downright sneaky. After a few hundred words of this tripe, our writer signs off with my fave line of the day. "I know it may seem like I care too much about reviews, but in all honesty I don't,." I'll go to bed tonight, still laughing at that.
 

5. More Killzone 2 Reviews Fun

Thanks to Cathode Tan for pointing out all the Killzone 2 reader reviews at IGN (70 at present); even though the game isn't out for weeks. As you'd expect, lots of 10s and 0s, a fair smattering of capital letters, insults and inanity. I dare you to read this stuff, and then resist the temptation to hang yourself from the garage shelving, with an inner tube.
 

6. Back to Intelligent Life

Challenging opinions over at Versus CluClu Land - on how games give players a sense of power, while so often ignoring the nature of power itself as a rich source of entertainment and narrative.

"This is why I admire games like Far Cry 2 so much: their narrative elements make the player feel uneasy about their thirst for power. Realizing that fun is at any rate indispensable, they decide to make power itself problematic. Far Cry 2 knows that it feels like a colonialist power trip, and it doesn't shy away from the unflattering aspects of murder; if you're paying attention it subtly leads you to some unsettling conclusions about the behavior it forces on you in the name of fun."

7. Clive Thompson on How More Info Leads to Less Knowledge

Not really a games link but, as a member of the human race, you'll find some use for this; especially if you work in an information business like marketing, story-telling or journalism. He writes about the dismal phenomena of ignorance driving out information, as special interests play to popular prejudices or simplistic thinking. Whatever you do, don't fall for the fantasy that the world will get better, as folks get smarter.

---Maybe the Internet itself has inherently agnotological side effects. People graze all day on information tailored to their existing worldview. And when bloggers or talking heads actually engage in debate, it often consists of pelting one another with mutually contradictory studies they've Googled: "Greenland's ice shield is melting 10 years ahead of schedule!" vs. "The sun is cooling down and Earth is getting colder!" ---

8. Butt Of Course

Kotaku found out why the Japanese packaging for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of X-Blades are different.

9. Hack to the Future

CrispyGamer takes a look back at all those 'Most Anticipated' features from one year ago and reveals that we game journalists are both unable to see the future, and unable to learn from the past.
 

10. Variety Doesn't Like Games Academy Awards

That guy at Variety says there are too many categories for the AIAS Awards. And he's absolutely right. The Awards should be trimmed to just ten. He also points out that the Academy's awards are doled out by an organization representing the game companies, which "doesn't make the best impression". Eh? As opposed to those other games awards doled out by companies (often with most of their business interests outside the game industry) trying to make money from the exercise?

Apparently the "motion picture academy may receive its funding in the same way, but somehow it keeps itself under control." Control?  That's not a word that comes to mind when I think of the Oscars, not least the insane amount of money spent in awards-based advertising. For the record, the movie academy dish out five fewer awards than its games counterpart.

But, yeah, he is right about all those bonkers categories. AIAS - please lose the genre-based awards and trim, trim, trim. Less is more. We need these awards - based on the votes of AIAS and IGDA members - to represent our industry.