Every week, Paul, Graham, Kathleen and I get together to write ENN. Over the week, each of us actually writes stories separately, then we get together on Fridays to choose what to use, what to revise, etc. Sometimes the stories we throw out aren’t very good; other times, they are too obscure for a wider audience. Even so, sometimes very good stories have to be thrown out because there is just not enough space for them in the episode. Here are several such stories from this week’s episode:

PSPgone

Instead of offering players their choice of free game when purchasing a PSP go, Sony will instead assign a game to them based on the age associated with their PSN ID. The company cited that actual choice might entice someone to buy a PSP Go, which could be quote: “creepy”.

Super Mario World Galaxy 2

Nintendo has revealed additional details about Super Mario Galaxy 2 to show how the game will be completely different from any Mario game before it. Primarily these innovations include the return of Yoshi and a power up that allows the player to inflate and float. When ask how this can be considered innovation, since both of these features existed in 1990’s Super Mario World, Nintendo executives directed the assembled press to look behind them and then threw a smoke bomb on the ground and escaped the the resulting confusion.

Can’t Stop the Bumrise

European hobo simulator Bumrise will soon make it’s way to North America. The game, which tasks players to rise to the top of the homeless food chain through theft, violence and other such endeavours, has already raised controversy in France over its questionable content. The International Game Developer’s Association has raised further concerns citing the game as a an all-too-real simulation of the present life of a game developer.

The One I Don’t Want

505 Games has announced a new title for Wii and DS based on the hit musical Grease. A rep for the company said that the Wii and DS audiences are a perfect fit for a musical with the actual lyrics “You know that ain’t no shit, we’ll be getting lots of tit, in greased lightning”.

or

In the game, as in the movie, the player controls Danny Zuko as he attempts to hide his burgeoning homosexuality by dating some prissy bitch he met during summer vacation.

Obligatory FFXIII Headline

In response to news that the installed size for Final Fantasy 13 would total 18GB for the 360 and 38GB for the PS3, Square Enix ÜberMench Imperial Hot said “We artificially inflated the install size to give players a greater sense of the game’s true value.”