Editor - I (Molotov Cupcake) was given the opportunity via Popzara to interview Jack Thompson regarding recent events. I am reprinting the interview in its entirety here to see that the information is spread throughout the internet! You can find it below. My questions are in bold, and Jack’s answers are beneath them.

Love him or hate him, the industry’s most controversial figure returns to Popzara for his second exclusive interview, as Jack Thompson once again takes the hot seat for another round of grilling and thrilling. We welcome Jack back to discuss the recent passing and subsequent veto of Utah’s House Bill 353, as well as his recent letter to President Obama for a total ban of all violent video games. Ever-passionate and fired up about keeping the “killer games” out of the hands of youngsters everywhere, Jack’s crusade is far from over.

It’s been nearly two years since our first chat, and you can bet there’s no shortage of things to talk about. So better tuck in the children and leave your preconceived notions at the door, as this is definitely one sit-down you don’t want to miss!

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A rumor had been circulating about whether or not Sony would announce a PS3 or PS2 price drop today. While Sony continues to deny any decrease in the PS3’s MSRP, they announced on their official blog today that starting April 1, the Playstation 2 will be available for $99.99 (The PS2 will also drop to €99 but stay at £90).

According to John Koller, the Direct of Hardware Marketing for Sony and publisher of the blog post, the decision came after PS2’s recent milestone of selling 50 million units: “With this new price, we intend to introduce a new generation of consumers – some of whom weren’t even alive when the system was first introduced in 2000 – to the immense entertainment value offered by PlayStation 2.”

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Have you ever dreamed of having HD graphics AND motion control? Until recently, this was only a dream. However, at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), a magical new device was unveiled: the Gametrak Freedom Controller, which, like the Wiimote, is motion sensitive and will be available for use on the PS3 and 360. Squeeballs (think Wii Sports), also announced at GDC, will be a new 360 game using the Freedom Controller: motion has officially come to the Xbox.

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With only a few days left before the new Nintendo DSi handheld hits stores in the US and Europe, I thought I’d answer the burning question: should you upgrade to the newest version of the DS?

Because the decision is ultimately a subjective one, I thought I would summarize the pros and cons of the DSi and the DS Lite to help you make your decision, if you haven’t already.

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When it comes to subjective experiences, expectations can mean everything. Resident Evil 5 proves this axiom in an interesting way, because it breaks from its roots quite thoroughly. Yes, there are zombies, and no, you cannot run and shoot. But the game is hardly survival horror, and in that respect it has more in common with Gears of War than it does its prequel. By what standard is such a game judged?

What Resident Evil 5 aims to be, fundamentally and surprisingly, is a co-op experience.

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Professor Layton and the Curious Village has been one of the most successful DS games to date. It integrates fun, varied puzzles with an interesting mysterious adventure, and couples that with beautiful art.

While Japan has had several sequels, the U.S. and Europe have had to sit peacefully with only the original title. Professor Layton (as a series) will eventually have two trilogies; Japan already has the first complete trilogy, and the first game of the second (entitled The Devil’s Flute). However, it was recently announced that the second two games in the first trilogy will be coming to the US and Europe soon.

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If you love rhythm games, I guarantee you will become addicted to “Rhythm Tengoku Gold”, (known as “Rhythm Heaven” outside of Japan), when it hits the US on April 5.

I attempted to play an imported Japanese version, but it proved to be difficult after a certain point since I couldn’t read the directions to any of the mini games. However, the games that I did manage to get through were extremely addicting and incredibly enjoyable.

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It’s official (read the EA announcement here), and it’s made the release delay worth the wait. EA Games announced they will be releasing the Sims 3 without Digital Rights Management (DRM) software, including SecuRom, a program that has not only caused a lot of controversy, but has also gotten the company tangled in several lawsuits. Instead, protection will be similar to previous Sims titles, in which you must enter a serial code included with your purchase. Additionally, you will have to play the game with the CD inserted into your computer, but you will be able to install the program on any computer as long as you have the serial code.

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Are you swagless? Sitting at home and reading news posts about GDC instead of actually being there? We understand. That’s why Spawn Kill is announcing our first contest where we are giving away a free gift to all our favorite couch-goers. In correspondence with our recent review for the first ever Call of Duty: World at War map pack, we want to share the love with you, too so we are giving away an Xbox LIVE Marketplace code of the new map pack.

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Call of Duty: World at War has been going strong since its release. Though many were skeptical at first of its ability to match Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in terms of fun or longevity, it’s proved itself time and time again. It’s even scored a new map pack on its own merits - its very first one, and the first Call of Duty map pack since the Variety pack released for Modern Warfare. After spending some time with the first Call of Duty: World at War map pack, I was pleasantly surprised. Proving that Treyarch’s entry into the series wasn’t just another pretty face, these maps are an impressive addition to the game’s explosive inventory.

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The original Fable had produced enough innovative attributes to gain a large enough fanbase to be able to lie down and give birth to Fable II last year. In turn, Fable II has touched our soft spots yet again, and Lionhead Studios has yet again decided to provide us with a bouncing baby pack of DLC content for Xbox 360’s Fable II, Knothole Island. It is a fully explorable new area and definitely worth the trip there, as well as a great reason to venture back into Albion.

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Nintendo has recently made an announcement at San Francisco’s Game Developer Conference 2009 that a new Legend of Zelda title is being made for the Nintendo DS. The game has been named The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, and looks to be modeled in the style of the their previous DS title Phantom Hourglass. An address by Satoru Iwata states that Nintendo is looking to push this title for a release later this year.

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Games are looking and playing good these days – real good. The gap between pre-render and real-time graphics continues to shrink. More stories in more games are becoming increasingly nuanced and engaging. Online connectivity is growing. Winter 2008 saw the release of no less than a dozen games that could be successfully described as masterpieces of their genre. We have not even mentioned the burgeoning success story that is the independent game developer. The result is nothing short of a market crowded with fierce competition. What, then, does it take to succeed in this generation? Is it solid 30 FPS, a beautiful game world, and intuitive controls: a competent game? Or does competency alone no longer cut it?

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Bethesda Softwork’s recently-released Fallout 3 DLC entitled “The Pitt” has been pulled off of Xbox Live shortly after being released just last night. Bethesda had received reports that there were glitches within the content that caused problems such as clear objects and walls, freezing, random exclamation marks and other miscellaneous errors.

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Just to let our heavy-pocketed Xbox 360 readers out there, the marketplace will be providing you with new additions to some of your favorite Xbox LIVE titles, Gears of War 2 and Halo 3, particularly, the map packs you’ve been waiting (or not waiting) for! Finally something to unload those Microsoft Points on, a bunch of… maps. Again. For Gears of War, you will be able to achievement-whore yourself over a steaming batch of 250 achievement points (9 different achievements) for 800 MS Points. This pack, titled “Snowblind”, will include four maps: Grindyard, Under Hill, Courtyard, and Fuel Depot; all of which are themed in an icy-like environment, for all you cold-blooded killers out there. It will be available to my fellow gear-grinders on Tuesday, March 31st.

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