It's a TV ad for Volvo trucks; a clever way to demonstrate the vehicles' precise computer-aided steering. [Video Link]

First off, I want to thank Amos Ahola for sending the idea for this comic. I got his email about a week ago and finally got around to doing something with it. I really appreciate it.

So this brings up an interesting idea. Would relationships be more likely to succeed if humans knew what they were getting into ahead of time or would people not even try and simply give up on any sort of long term relationships? I like to believe that by having that additional information upfront that people would be more inclined to make good choices, but come on… Seriously. This is humanity we’re talking about. We are living in the age of information and people are only getting stupider. Do you honestly think arming us with MORE information will make anything better? If anything, people will probably be even more apathetic and make even worse decisions. Yay humanity.

Think I’m wrong? Leave your comments below. I’d love to read your explanation why.

Bravely Default, collector’s edition hits Feb. 7 ⊟

Hey, we’re getting a collector’s edition for Bravely Default in North America! And the original version’s Japanese boxart for some reason.

BUY Nintendo 2DS and 3DS/XL consoles, upcoming games

Redditor DJDanaK got this photo of frozen McRibs in situ, marking confluence of pork futures and sandwich-making.

My buddy works at McDonald's and sent me this photo of raw McRib meat.

Good news, everyone*! If you're tired of being splashed (or splashing others) with your own urine, the Brigham Young University Splash Lab has done the research and produced a series of helpful tips that will enable you to potty without the spotty. Research at the Splash Lab is heavily based on imaging and this video will show you how easy it is to reduce splash-back with simple changes like peeing against a vertical, rather than horizontal, surface.

And by "everyone", I mean "people who pee into urinals".

I really don’t think that this animated GIF needs any more setup than it’s the Superman pose and these are various pop culture characters making it. So let’s run through this seventeen framed image to to see all the versions displayed. Enjoy the show…

Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy, Hamburglar from McDonaldland, Jubilee of the X-Men, Edward Scisssorhands from his self-titled movie, Steve Zissou from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Good Luck Bear from the Care Bears, Velma Dinkley from various incarnations of Scooby-Doo, Bizarro from Superman, Toad a.k.a. mushroom retainer from the Super Mario Bros. franchise, Russell, the young Wilderness Explorer, from Up, Robocop from his self-titled movie, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters, Prince from Katamari Damacy, Predator from various films in the Predator franchise, Pinocchio from his self-titled movie from Walt Disney, and lastly Mega Man from the Mega Man franchise.

There! Now I did all the hard work cataloging it so your don’t have to.

Injustice: Gods Among Us is finally heading to the PC via the Ultimate Edition, and there's a 20% off coupon available.

Read 20% Off Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate, Out Next Week for PC on Siliconera!

According to report by the Yomiuri Online and the Mainichi, child predators in Japan have been using the Nintendo 3DS' Swapnote service to make contact with their prey.

Read Report: Child Predators Used The Nintendo 3DS Swapnote Service In Japan on Siliconera!

Game of the Year editions… ugh. “Game of the Year” is an absolute. So if I go into a retail store, I should only see one game of the year. Just like you can only have one best friend, but you can have multiple closest friends. Why? Because best is also an absolute.

I know, I know. Different media outlets offer up their opinions of what is the “Game of the Year” and that’s how there are like two dozen different titles carrying said label. But how about we make it more like the Academy Awards and you have to also clearly display who gave you that award. For example, “Oscar Winning Best Picture…” or “Golden Globe Winning Best Picture…”, but the average consumer has no idea what a Kotaku or IGN is so it will mean absolutely nothing to them.

Ugh… I guess I don’t have a perfect answer for this, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t find the whole thing annoying.

When, not if (you know it’s only a matter of time before Square-Enix finally decides to milk this cash cow), Square-Enix finally decides to remakes Final Fantasy VII, do you think it will hold up to the test of time? Or will people finally realize that the nostalgia isn’t enough carry the most over-hyped title in the Final Fantasy repertoire… FINAL FANTASY VI FTW!

The number would actually be 255 since counting begins at 0, but this would still make 255 the 265th number. The author knew all of this, but as the following rebuttal shows there was no way to please everyone. Funny comic, though.

New Mercenary Kings trailer ⊟

If I end up buying a PlayStation 4 this winter, it will be because of Tribute Games’ run’n gun here. It’s more likely, though, that I’ll grab the final version (there’s an Early Access build you can buy/try now) that releases for Steam/PC. Whatever, the point is that Mercenary Kings will be mine.

BUY Mercenary Kings early access, upcoming games

Allison Schrager proposes that America should end Daylight Savings and consolidate its timezones into just two -- the Eastern zone goes back, Central/Mountain do nothing, and Pacific goes forward. She makes a persuasive argument that the nation already conducts its business on coastal time, and cites the safety and coordination costs of losing sleep, de-synchronizing with the rest of the world, and generally suffering from confusion and disorientation from a system designed in 1883.

It sounds radical, but it really isn’t. The purpose of uniform time measures is coordination. How we measure time has always evolved with the needs of commerce. According to Time and Date, a Norwegian Newsletter dedicated to time zone information, America started using four time zones in 1883. Before that, each city had its own time standard based on its calculation of apparent solar time (when the sun is directly over-head at noon) using sundials. That led to more than 300 different American time zones. This made operations very difficult for the telegraph and burgeoning railroad industry. Railroads operated with 100 different time zones before America moved to four, which was consistent with Britain’s push for a global time standard. The following year, at the International Meridian Conference, it was decided that the entire world could coordinate time keeping based on the British Prime Meridian (except for France, which claimed the Prime Median ran through Paris until 1911). There are now 24 (or 25, depending on your existential view of the international date line) time zones, each taking about 15 degrees of longitude.

Now the world has evolved further—we are even more integrated and mobile, suggesting we’d benefit from fewer, more stable time zones. Why stick with a system designed for commerce in 1883? In reality, America already functions on fewer than four time zones. I spent the last three years commuting between New York and Austin, living on both Eastern and Central time. I found that in Austin, everyone did things at the same times they do them in New York, despite the difference in time zone. People got to work at 8 am instead of 9 am, restaurants were packed at 6 pm instead of 7 pm, and even the TV schedule was an hour earlier. But for the last three years I lived in a state of constant confusion, I rarely knew the time and was perpetually an hour late or early. And for what purpose? If everyone functions an hour earlier anyway, in part to coordinate with other parts of the country, the different time zones lose meaning and are reduced to an arbitrary inconvenience. Research based on time use surveys found American’s schedules are determined by television more than daylight. That suggests in effect, Americans already live on two time zones.

Daylight Saving Time Is Terrible: Here's a Simple Plan to Fix It [Allison Schrager/The Atlantic]

(via /.)

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Andrea Peterson reports in the Washington Post that one of Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn's big policy initiatives has been expanding the quality and quantity of high-speed Internet access throughout the city. However incumbent providers, particularly Comcast, have invested heavily in defeating McGinn in the mayoral election. While Comcast denies there is any connection between McGinn's broadband policies and their donations, the company has given thousands of dollars to PACs that have, in turn, given heavily to anti-McGinn groups. One of McGinn's core promises in the 2009 campaign was to 'develop a city-wide broadband system.' The mayor considered creating a citywide broadband system as a public utility, like water or electricity. But aides say that would have been too expensive, so the mayor settled on public-private partnerships using city-owned dark fiber. This dark fiber was laid down starting in 1995, and the mayor's office now says there are some 535 miles of it, only a fraction of which is being used. In June, the partnership, called Gigabit Squared, announced pricing for its Seattle service: $45 dollars a month for 100 Mbps service or $80 a month for 1 Gbps service plus a one-time installation cost of $350 that will be waived for customers signing a one-year contract. For comparison, Comcast, one of the primary Internet providers in the area, offers 105 Mbps service in the area for $114.99 a month, according to their website. If Comcast is indeed attempting to sway the election, it would fall in line with a larger pattern of telecom interests lobbying against municipal efforts to create their own municipal broadband systems or leveraging city-owner fiber resources to create more competition for incumbent providers. Peterson writes, '...if Comcast's donations help Murray defeat McGinn, it will send a powerful message to mayors in other American cities considering initiatives to increase broadband competition.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

It’s going to be quite the month for PlayStation fans. PS4 is almost here, and it’s going to be mega awesome when I fire mine up for the first time and already have two free games to play. Yep, both Resogun, the intense and beautiful shoot ‘em up from Housemarque(the amazing people behind Super Stardust) and Contrast, a unique 2D/3D puzzler platformer with a stunning art style will be available in the Instant Game Collection for PlayStation Plus members on November 15th.

Of course, we have plenty of other great games to keep you busy until then, like Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, which is an expanded and enhanced version of Capcom’s original IP Dragon’s Dogma. There’s a new area to explore, a fast-travel system and plenty of new quests and weapons to keep you busy. Later on this month we’ll add ibb & obb, a 2-player co-op puzzler and Binary Domain, a third-person squad shooter. PS Vita owners can look forward to two amazing action-adventure titles: the classic Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath and the ever-epic Soul Sacrifice.

These games will hit the Instant Game Collection at various times throughout the month, so check back with us every Monday morning to see all the benefits of your membership.

Click here for a list of the latest PlayStation Plus content

November PlayStation Plus Preview

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3)

Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $39.99
An epitaph speaks of another’s demise…A mysterious island known as Bitterblack Isle appears off the coast of Gransys. Its depths have claimed the lives of many Arisen their voices still haunt the labyrinth that lies deep beneath its surface–a labyrinth ripe with secrets waiting to be discovered. The time to take up arms has come once again. Delve into the isle’s depths and uncover its dark secret!

Ibb & obb (PS3)

Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $9.99
ibb & obb is a two player cooperative game set in a puzzle filled world where gravity goes both up and down. You can only succeed by working closely together. Find a friend for some true local cooperative couch fun or match up online. Fall up and jump down through 15 levels filled with double gravity puzzles and discover the 8 hidden worlds that will test your new non-Newtonian skills to the maximum.

Resogun (PS4)

Free for PS Plus members
RESOGUN is an intense fast-paced shoot em’ up developed exclusively for the PS4 system. Unleash a diverse array of devastating weapons including lasers, missiles, overdrive, and nova-bombs to blast hordes of enemies and rescue the last survivors from distant galactic colonies that are under ruthless attack from an evil alien invasion force.

Contrast (PS4)

Free for PS Plus members
Contrast is a 2D/3D puzzle/platformer, set in a 1920′s vaudevillian, film noir dreamscape, full of cabaret, illusion and performance. You play as Dawn, the imaginary friend of a little girl, Didi, and you have the power to shift from the 3D world into a 2D shadowscape, by becoming your shadow. As Didi’s imaginary best friend, you must use your shadow shifting abilities to solve complex puzzles, in order to help Didi investigate the secrets that lie behind her troubled family.

Binary Domain (PS3)

Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $19.99
Created by Toshihiro Nagoshi, the man behind some of SEGA’s most well-known video game franchises including the critically acclaimed Yakuza series, Binary Domain puts players in the middle of a fast paced and intense battle for humanity in a robot-filled 2080 Tokyo. Fighting through the derelict lower levels of the city, players control an international peace-keeping squad that soon starts to question their surroundings and the choices they make. Are the robots becoming more human, or are humans becoming more like machines?

Oddworld: Strangers Wrath (PS Vita)

Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $14.99
In the dusty, undeveloped wastelands of Western Mudos, cantankerous townsfolk find their settlements besieged by belligerent outlaws. Along comes Stranger, a tall, dark and enigmatic bounty hunter with a mission to capture troublemakers and scoundrels and return them to civilized townships for incarceration.

Soul Sacrifice (PS Vita)

Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $35.99
Prepare yourself for a brutal combat experience where every decision made will have consequential results. Take on the role of a slave who is about to be sacrificed stumbles upon a forbidden book that allows its readers to relive battles between sorcerers and monsters of the past. In order to use the magic during fierce battles, the player must be willing to make a sacrifice – ranging from personal belongings, a limb, or even a life.

If you’ve got feedback on PlayStation Plus make sure you take the poll above as well as leave a comment below. To chat about all things PlayStation, including this update, you can head over to the PlayStation Community Forums. You’ll also find other topics you can contribute to, or start your own discussion.

Resident Evil 5 is now Capcom’s best-selling game of all time. The game has sold over 6.5 million units across Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Read Resident Evil 5 Is Capcom’s Best-Selling Game Ever on Siliconera!

Zelda 3DS XL out in North America Nov. 22 ⊟

It’s official, no longer the domain of leaked GameStop sale circulars. Nintendo of America will release that amazing The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds 3DS XL bundle on November 22 for $219.99. It includes a download of the game.

If past 3DS XL bundles are any indication, this thing might become hard to find very quickly!

PREORDER The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, upcoming games

EDF! EDF! EDF! Just shouting out this simple phrase brings back fond memories of Earth Defense Force 2017, and now I’m pumped to share more details about the launch of Earth Defense Force 2025 in February of next year. In particular, what fans can expect from some of the upcoming weapon packs that will be available via pre-order or DLC.

We’ve been on tour with Earth Defense Force 2025 for the last few months, showing off all its awesome features at events like E3, PAX Prime, and New York Comic-Con. Fans continuously ask us if the DLC from Japan will be available in North America and Europe. And I can proudly say “yes!” We’ll make sure all content from Japan makes it over here at some point, and we’ll have more details on all of that in the near future.

In the meantime, we’re pleased to announce that customers at GameStop can start pre-ordering Earth Defense Force 2025 tomorrow, and will receive a special Weapons Pack for free.

Available exclusively to customers at GameStop is the Air Raider Weapons Pack, featuring:

• Pure Decoy Launcher (Setsu) — a weapon that distracts the enemy by discharging a large balloon that takes the shape of an attractive female, but the enemies will meet their fate when the balloon unexpectedly self destructs, destroying everything in its vicinity.
• The BMO3 Vegalta Gold — a limited edition, gold-coated model that will reflect radar waves and has a combat burner to throw flames. Players will also be able to take flight for short periods of time with it equipped.

We have plans to include additional Weapons Packs that will be available via pre-order or DLC, and will include the packs below. We’ll be sure to have more details on where exactly to find these packs, soon!

The Fencer Weapons Pack

• Ifrit — A cannon that launches rockets that will separate and disperse over the sea. Each rocket is equipped with multiple incendiary bombs that will ignite upon contact, causing massive damage.
• Blood Storm — A powerful cannon that will separate midair and rain down on the enemy’s head and inflict damage on an entire area.

The Wing Diver Weapons Pack

• Reflectron Laser — A special laser that fires in two directions and can even shoot through narrow passageways. It’s an effective weapon with giant insects, as it can maximize range without obstruction.
• Gleipnir — This super weapon silently discharges balls of energy with the ability to launch continuous attacks. Only Wing Divers can use this weapon, as it requires the Psionic Link.

The Ranger Weapons Pack

• Volatile Napalm — A military grade discharge device that sets everything ablaze and damages the target and surrounding areas.
• Pure Decoy Launcher (Mian) — a weapon that distracts the enemy by discharging a large balloon that takes the shape of an attractive female, but the enemies will meet their fate when the balloon unexpectedly self destructs, destroying everything in its vicinity.

Earth Defense Force 2025 will be available in February 2014, and we have fun plans leading up to the launch. Earth Defense Force 2025 stays true to what you liked most about Earth Defense Force 2017, but now features more than 700 weapons, dozens more missions, four-player online multiplayer (for the first time on console), high-powered vehicles, and numerous upgrades that you’ll need to see to believe.

Come on over to our Facebook, as we have a great community of fans that share wonderful ideas, and we plan to do some cool reveals on there in the future. I can’t wait to share more about EDF with all of you on PlayStation.Blog as we get closer to launch.

Thanks!