The Dreamcast is the best video game system ever made. There, I said it. I'll take on anyone who disagrees in a barfight or walk-off. I'm not fucking around.

So with that in mind, you can now appreciate the pain I feel when finally (though it's been a long time coming), Sega pulled the plug on GD-ROM development, ending all official production for the Dreamcast. While the units are able to run software with self-booting code on normal CD-R media, this console could have, should have been Sega's saving grace, but because of the fucked launch on both side of the Pacific and Sega of America having its head in its ass for all time, it was never meant to be.

That said, it brought a glimmer of hope to my eye when I read this article: good consoles never die, they just go to homebrew heaven. I mean, the Jaguar and the 3DO? If they're still kicking, then the Dreamcast is still only just beginning to stretch its legs!

A recent study links violent video games with emotional arousal and decreased logical judgment. So that's all fine and well (and, as a scientist, makes sense to me given the hyper-realistic nature of most current 1st person shooters), but I can't wait for Liberman and Clinton to start using this study the wrong way to beat the wrong issue to death. Violent videogames carry ratings. Ratings help parents choose correctly for their kids, and designate which games are and are not to be sold to minors and teens by retailers. In short, the videogame folks are making and rating the games correctly, and the undeniable problem is that parents aren't giving a shit (only allowance money), and retailers aren't enforcing sales rules (cause they want the allowance money!).

The violence is even back-spreading from video games to TV :P

Elsewhere, my all-time favorite console, the Dreamcast is still alive and kicking in a new and strange iteration. Even though I've got my little Sega baby in working condition, picking up one of these suckers sure is tempting. There's even new games still being released for it from time to time...

And lastly, check out this Wiitard, waiting in line. Kinda sad, kinda hilarious.