Blog

Who, or what, is Toadette?

On our Now Playing livestream earlier this week, fellow GameSpot Editor Peter Brown and I tackled one of the unsolved mysteries of the Mario Universe: What is up with the Toads? Do they have a gender? How does the race survive?

During an interview last week discussing upcoming puzzle platformer Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, producer Koichi Hayashida offered some illumination on differentiating between male and female Toads. Toadette is the most visible female Toad, so would that make her akin to Smurfette in being the only prominant female of her kind? There are other female Toads, as seen in the Super Mario Super Show cartoon and games like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

As it were, Nintendo never really settled on a specific gender for the Toads, according to Hayashida. Toads are a genderless race that take on gendered characteristics. He also clarified that Toad and Toadette are not romantically involved.

“This is maybe a little bit of a strange story, but we never really went out of our way to decide on the sex of these characters, even though they have somewhat gendered appearances,” Hayashida said. “But I think what I can say is that Toadette and Toad are not siblings — perhaps it would be more accurate to say they are adventure pals. And that’s certainly true here [in Captain Toad].”

So if a Toad — a sentient anthropomorphic toadstool mushroom – eats one of Mario World’s popular and versatile mushrooms to become bigger or gain an extra life… is it cannibalism? While Toads may be mushroom-like, it’s unclear just how closely related to mushrooms they are.

Hayashida clarified that Toads are not mushrooms at all, but the resemblance and nomenclature is too uncanny not to wonder. “This particular riddle might stay unsolved,” Hayashida said. “That’s one of the great mysteries of the Mario universe.”

We didn’t get into the specifics of Toad reproduction, but that’s a topic for another day.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Powered by WPeMatico

The World of Warcraft subreddit has returned to operation after its top moderator took it down for a short period over the weekend in protest of server issues affecting the MMO following the release of the Warlords of Draenor expansion last week.

The moderator, nitesmoke, elected to set the page to private until he was able to log into the game, which was taking some time due to server strain resulting in long log-in queues. As you might expect, taking the subreddit down didn’t go over too well with some of the page’s fans, who said nitesmoke was being childish and spiteful, according to a report from Polygon.

“Nitesmoke made a mistake. It was a big one” — aphoenix

The WoW subreddit has now returned, though under the leadership of a new moderator who goes by aphoenix.

“Nitesmoke made a mistake. It was a big one,” aphoniex wrote. “I’m going to simply ask that you stop trying to get back at him. It’s over; he’s not on the moderation team here. Nobody here is on board with how he handled the situation. We will not handle the situation in the same way. Nitesmoke has apologized (to me, and through me, to you), and I apologize as well.”

“I’m not trying to sweep anything under the rug; I’m trying to put out the right message,” aphoenix added. “I think the right message right now is ‘Things got messed up. We understand that. Nitesmoke made a mistake. We’re working at setting things right.’”

Warlords of Draenor, released last Wednesday, is WoW’s fifth expansion. Among other things, it raises the MMO’s level cap to 100 and introduces many new zones and other fresh content. For more, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage of Warlords of Draenor.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Powered by WPeMatico

Here’s something for Halo fans to do while they wait for Microsoft to fix Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s matchmaking issues. TriForce has revealed a pair of Halo 2: Anniversary Plasma Rifle replicas, which are available for preorder from the company’s website today, though they aren’t cheap.

To secure the red “Brute” model you see above, you’ll need to pay a $162.50 non-refundable deposit of the total $650 price. A blue version is available for $600 with a required deposit of $150.

Both are described as “full scale” replicas, measuring 24.5″ tall and weighing 15 pounds. They are hand-painted and finished, and even feature working LED effects. Only 150 of the red units will be made, while TriForce will create 500 of the blue version.

TriForce is also behind the $750, 35-pound Evolve statue series.

The Master Chief Collection was released last week on Xbox One. Problems with the game’s matchmaking immediately came to light, with many users reporting long wait times to find matches. Developer 343 Industries is aware of the trouble, and is working on a fix, which should be deployed on Wednesday, November 19.

Check out the image gallery below for a closer look at the Halo 2 Anniversary replica plasma rifles.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Powered by WPeMatico

The next update for indie hit Goat Simulator, which its developer describes as the “world’s dumbest game,” will transform the title into a massively multiplayer online game. Swedish developer Coffee Stain Studios announced the news in a trailer on Monday, which you can watch above.

Update 1.2, which is called Goat MMO Simulator, will be released as a free expansion through Steam this Thursday, November 20. It doesn’t sound like the update is also hitting the mobile versions.

The MMO expansion for Goat Simulator is being released as a thank you to fans who bought the game, Coffee Stain said in a statement today. Goat Simulator is Coffee Stain’s most successful game to date, with over 1.1 million copies sold on PC and 500,000 on mobile.

“Once you try out our new expansion, you guys will sh*t so many bricks that it’ll trigger a new real-estate bubble,” Coffee Stain game designer and PR manager Armin Ibrisagic said.

As you can see in the video above, Goat MMO Simulator riffs on Blizzard Entertainment’s genre-defining World of Warcraft, even featuring a level cap of 101, one beyond WoW’s current max level. The game is a humorous take on the genre, of course, featuring characters including “Dumbledore the Grey” and five different playable classes, one of which is a microwave with legs.

Goat MMO Simulator has “dozens” of quests, but don’t expect a lot of content. “Prolly not tons of content tho, but don’t hate be cool,” Coffee Stain says. There are, however, dinosaurs and mermaids for some reason.

CEO Anton Westbergh added: “If anyone from Blizzard Legal is reading this then please don’t sue, be cool.”

See more of Goat MMO Simulator in the image gallery below.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Powered by WPeMatico

Human Element, the first game from former Call of Duty developer Robert Bowling, is changing business models. The survival game has dropped free-to-play in favor of a paid, premium experience.

Bowling, who heads up Los Angeles-based studio Robotoki, explained in a new interview that the company has ended its publishing deal with free-to-play behemoth Nexon. As a result, Robotoki laid off a number of staff, though it is unclear how deep the cuts were.

“As the game evolved we realized that the elements that make Human Element the most fun would be hindered by keeping it a free-to-play experience,” Bowling told Gamasutra. “Therefore, we made the decision to switch to a premium experience for our players; which also meant that working with the premier publisher in free-to-play was no longer the best partnership fit for the game we were creating.”

Bowling worked at Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward from 2006-2012 as the studio’s “creative strategist,” contributing to huge games like 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He quit in March 2012, and established Robotoki later that year.

Though Nexon is out for Human Element, Bowling said Robotoki has already lined up a new publishing partner for the game, and expects to make a formal announcement in December. The game is aiming to launch in November 2015 on PC.

Nexon might have lost Human Element, but the publisher still has the next games from the creators of Rise of Nations and Gears of War.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Powered by WPeMatico

The once gamer-focused TV network G4 will soon be no more. A statement from parent company NBCUniversal Cable and obtained by IGN explains that the network will officially go offline on November 30. This marks the conclusion of more than two years of uncertainty regarding the network’s future.

G4 has not aired any new original programming in quite some time. Though the network is perhaps best known for programs such as X-Play and Attack of the Show!, it most recently aired only re-runs of shows like Cops, Lost, and Ninja Warrior, as well as some movies.

Changes at G4 first came to light in September 2012, when it was announced that X-Play and Attack of the Show would be canceled as the network sought to change directions. G4 was at one time planned to stay “as is” with no new content, but this is no longer the case.

Did you ever watch G4’s original shows? What are some of your favorite memories? Let us know in the comments below!

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Powered by WPeMatico