AU News Wrap, August 4 - What Happened Today

Over the past nine hours I have sweated, toiled, and occasionally ducked out to pat dogs and goof off. Here are the results.

Lots of good things happened today, but I am already erasing the memory of them. That way I can waste even more time tomorrow writing out duplicate articles and deleting them at the last minute, cursing the specificity of search engines, and drowning my sorrows in strong tea.

Well, that and I have a roast in the oven - it smells delicious and I strongly desire to go poke it with a fork rather than sit here making up words for you. Sorry.

Further catch up on the past 24 hours through Johnny and Steph's wrap ups, or wait just a bit for Pat's Bulletcast. VG247: You Have No Excuses For Not Knowing Everything All The Time.

• Epic: PC gaming not in trouble, "just different"
  This happens every hardware cycle, really, but give it ten years or so.
• Xbox Live goons just one percent of community
  "Some of them can actually write in 'l33t,' (pronounced 'leet') a hacker pidgin language," the journalist writes of the Live Enforcement team. Amazing.
• Origin's ToS allow for inactive account deletion
  Most ToS contracts boil down to "we can beat you up and you have to pay us for it". They never, ever enforce them.
• Microsoft plans on monthly XBLA Kinect releases
  Microsoft did neglect the core with Kinect, because the core likes to buy games, and Kinect has, what, six?
• Treyarch talks multiplayer map design
  Initiate troll comment subroutine ID "Treyarch don't know how to design maps", tag "hurh hurh".
• Humble Indie Bundle 3 expanded to include previous titles
  If I hold out another week, maybe I can get all three bundles! Expect that price to rise, though.
• Red Faction: Armageddon's Path to War DLC trailered
  How can any game with a farting unicorn fail? Sadness.
• Prey 2 developer commentary trailer series continues
  This trailer commentary thing is getting pretty common.
• Warner Bros registers Scribblenauts Remix domain
  I'd like another Scribblenauts game! Maybe on a third go they can solve the terrible AI.
• Iwata denies smartphone gaming biting Nintendo's market share
  Oh dear. Hear no evil, see no evil?
• Infraworld trademark reignites hope for shelved Quantic Dream project
  Quantic Dream could be building an amusement park for all we know. It's like trying to solve Cluedo with a Monopoly board.
• Rumour - Team Bondi to join Dr D Studios
  I'm not sure about this one. Apply salt. It could just be office gossip.
• Rise of Nightmares trailer turns up the kitsch
  Strongly considering a Kinect now.
• Konami reports small jump in earnings during Q1
  I had to look at both charts and tables before carefully ignoring them.
• The Sims Social gets new dev diary
  Now you can employ your slightly scary virtual world obsessions to connect with real people! Thanks, Johnny.
• HAWP’s Anthony Burch takes reigns on Borderlands 2′s “ambitiously crafted story”
  Nathan stole my lead on this one. Apparently the Reverend Anthony is higher up the food chain than HAWP leads us to believe.
• Thursday Shorts – funding, investment, and startups edition
  Money, money, money and other favourite topics of Abba.

Please don't ask any difficult questions about today's image.