For some reason, people seem to think is a reasonable question to ask, but I’m never sure what they’re expecting to hear in response. I almost always hear the question asked with thinly veiled praise for one and blatant contempt for the other or as if it’s only possible to buy one or the other but not both.

Hey, Battlefield 3. You’re aiming the wrong way….

A much more interesting question is, “Which game will sell more copies?” The answer is, without a doubt, Modern Warfare 3, and the reasons why explain exactly what makes the original question so pointless.

It’s no secret that Electronic Arts views Call of Duty as the franchise to beat when it comes to marketing its first-person shooters. CEO John Riccitiello and DICE Producer Patrick Liu often bring up the competition in interviews, but Riccitiello once went so far as to say that Battlefield 3 is designed to beat Modern Warfare 3. From everything we have seen, heard, and played, however, that statement appears to be an outright lie.

Call of Duty multiplayer is fast-paced and arcade-like with a focus on short, point-based matches set in small arenas. Likewise, Battlefield’s multiplayer is a slower, team-based experience that concerns building momentum in expanding warzones.

Looking past the similarities that come with being first-person military shooters in a modern setting, you’ll find that the two games are practically at opposite ends of the genre. If EA really did design Battlefield 3 to beat Modern Warfare 3, I have to wonder if any one on staff there ever played a Call of Duty game. The only way EA can hope to dethrone Call of Duty while continuing to make Battlefield games in the same vein they always have is for Activision and Call of Duty’s developers to drive the series into the ground themselves, leaving fate entirely in the latter’s hands.

EA staff have even said as much publicly. Corporate Communications Chief Jeff Brown said Call of Duty won’t be around in two to three years, implying Activision will allow the series to fail like it did with Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero. So, it appears what Riccitiello really meant is that Battlefield 3 is designed to simply be around so it can pick up the pieces when Call of Duty crumbles. Somehow, choosing to remain in second place and focusing on living longer than the gold medalist doesn’t sound like a plan that has the customer in mind.

Of course, Battlefield’s developer has already proven it doesn’t understand potential consumers. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding of the term ‘beta test’!” Liu said in an interview when asked why the Battlefield 3 beta didn’t feature vehicles. Maybe there are some people who truly don’t follow the game community enough to know what the purpose of a beta is, but Liu is sorely mistaken if he assumed gamers wouldn’t formulate opinions about the full game based on the single-level beta even when they knew it was only offered to help DICE test the game’s online multiplayer. If anything, a developer should understand that a beta represents more than just a simple demo to players. It’s a closer taste to the full game than they’ll get anywhere else as far as they’re concerned, even if that isn’t true.

In fact, Joystiq’s Arthur Gies said it appears the final version of Battlefield 3 has been tweaked significantly from what players experienced in the beta. He said weapons and damage feel different between the two. “It changes the dynamics of firefights, allowing for each side to take and hold positions, and making flanking and tactical coordination much more viable,” he said. “The increased player survivability also make vehicles in Battlefield 3 more fair than they would be with the beta’s damage models.” He likens what he believes to be the final build of the game to Bad Company 2. After playing the beta myself, I wrote off the game, but Gies’ comparison alone almost makes me want to reconsider.

So, where does offering a relatively deep yet misleading look at your game’s multiplayer weeks before its release fit in with EA’s goal of toppling Call of Duty? It doesn’t look like there is a plan to be number one other than hope and wait. Sure, Battlefield 3 will be a fine game, but it won’t have the audience Call of Duty does, and it never will if its creators continue to make the game they want to make rather than the game that people want more than Activision’s. EA should be content making a successful series they care about and not talk trash when their supposed Call of Duty killer plays nothing like the game they’re hoping to beat.

Being awesome? Reenacting your childhood? Both good answers, but if given only one word to describe it, I’d bet most people would say Mario is flying. And, of course, it’s that weird little raccoon tail that’s granting him the power of flight.

The image of Mario soaring through the air with a striped tail instantly conjures up fond memories of Super Mario Bros. 3 for loads of people, far more than some might expect. Nintendo is aware of the soft spot so many hold for the iconic power-up, and soon, a new (though much smaller) generation of would-be Mario fans will see the plumber sporting a tail in Super Mario 3D Land. Unfortunately, they’ll wonder how such a lame ability ever warranted so much hype.

That’s because Nintendo is woefully ignorant of why the tail won our hearts in the first place.

Now, what would you say Mario is doing in the Tanooki Suit at the end of this trailer?

Well, he attacks by spinning his tail like he did before, and he can flutter to slowly hover back to the ground too, but the trailer doesn’t show him flying. That’s because Mario can’t fly in Super Mario 3D Land.

Obviously, flight similar to that in Mario 3 wouldn’t work very well in a game like this, which is more akin to the Mario Galaxy games, but that didn’t deter Nintendo from using the power-up as the game’s biggest selling point before even a single screenshot was revealed. Nintendo shoehorned the tail into all 3D Land media from day one, beginning with the game’s title.

Even before it was Super Mario 3D Land, the tail was there, hinting at the most iconic image of what is arguably Mario’s greatest outing. Since then, Nintendo revealed that the tail is simply everywhere in the game. Bowser has a tail, Goombas have tails, Boos have tails…. Even Bullet Bills (the already flying bullets) have tails. I imagine it took a great deal of restraint for the staff at Nintendo to refrain from giving Paratroopas and Calamari tails as well.

It doesn’t end there, though. The plot also revolves around tails, or at least their source: Power Leaves. Apparently, a storm blows the leaves off a tree near Princess Peach’s castle and spreads them throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, justifying the sudden rash of raccoon tails throughout the game.

The leaves have even found their way into another game: Mario Kart 7. The latest entry in the popular racing series features new hang-glider and submarine segments where drivers soar above the race track and cruise beneath the waves. You’d be mistaken, however, if you assumed tails affected a driver’s flight. They simply allow players to spin and deflect incoming shells.

At the very least, Nintendo could have thrown the tail into 3D Land as an occasional but welcome bonus like the Red Star in Mario Galaxy, which granted players a full minute of blissful flight. Instead, 3D Land‘s gameplay appears to be at odds with its own marketing. The former attempts to bridge the classic 2D approach of New Super Mario Bros. with the eclectic 3D approach of Galaxy, while the latter attempts to appeal to our nostalgia in a very shallow way. Nintendo should have designed the game completely around what makes the tail so special in the first place if they wanted to win over its fans as it’s obviously not confident 3D Land will sell very well on its own merit.

Fans of traditional Mario won’t be fooled by these imposter tails, especially with all the media Nintendo has put out demonstrating just how little they understand of the the power-up’s appeal. 3D Land will only sell to those who would have bought any Mario game (granted they own a 3DS) rather than those who buy the classically inspired 2D variants in such numbers that shelves are devoid of Nintendo consoles for weeks on end. Sure, that’s still a fair amount of people, but with 3DS in the situation that it’s in, I imagine it will take more than marketing gimmicks for even Mario to save Nintendo’s hide.

A video game developer is promoting an upcoming product by making a donation to charity based on the number of people who officially “like” the game on Facebook.

Hudson will donate 10 cents to Child’s Play Charity for every person who “likes” Lost In Shadow on Facebook and will up the donation to one dollar for anyone who changes his or her Facebook profile picture to one depicting a shadow.

Morgan Haro, marketing specialist at Hudson, said the event, called “Shadows To Light,” reflects the theme of the game, which revolves around the shadow of a boy climbing a mystical tower.

“The journey is all about overcoming hardships and the barriers that prevent you from reaching your goal,” Harrow said. “Child’s Play is a charity that sees hundreds of thousands of young children in a similar journey, only grounded in reality.”

Haro said her personal goal is to get 10,000 “likes” by the event’s September 7 deadline.

“At the very least, this would enable us to donate $1,000 to Child’s Play,” Haro said. “However that’s not factoring in how many of those 10,000 would have changed their profile picture to a shadow. Hopefully, we’ll see a good amount of those.”

Hudson will count the “likes” and profile pictures on September 7 to determine the amount of its donation. Lost In Shadow comes out in North America January 4, 2011.

Mafia II tells the story of a Sicilian gangster's rise in the 1940s and '50s.

UNICO National, “the largest Italian service organization in the USA”, voiced its disapproval of Take-Two Interactive’s upcoming video game Mafia II, which places players in the role of a Sicilian gangster as he rises through the ranks of an Italian crime syndicate in the 1940s and ’50s.

Andre’ DiMino, UNICO National president, said Mafia II perpetuates the stereotype of all Italians and Italian-Americans as being connected to organized crime, a stereotype he said is based on a small percentage of truth when compared to the prevalence of other ethnic groups involved in organized crime.“The promos and story lines go into great detail about the characters coming here from Sicily and joining with other Italians in bloody, murderous crimes and nefarious activities as their only pursuits,” DiMino said. “Although the negative stereotyping is being disclaimed by Take Two, and its misguided devotees, as a ‘period piece’ or somehow, laughably, an ‘historical account’, that belies the fact that in that period, and with historical reference, the infinitesimally small percentage of Italian Americans in organized crime were second to more powerful and murderous criminals from other ethnic groups.”

DiMino said the stereotype has been blown out of proportion by society despite the percentages.

“In all cases, it is the small percentage of Italians involved in crime during this period that are ubiquitous in the media and entertainment industry,” DiMino said. “This, as is evident, has welded that negative perception into the collective consciousness.”

To accurately portray the efforts of Italians and Italian-Americans, DiMino said the media and entertainment industry should focus on the areas in which larger percentages of the ethnic group participated.

“If there is truly to be historical perspective, where are the stories about the extremely high relative percentage of Italian Americans who fought for this country in World War II and those that have contributed so much to this world and this country?” DiMino asked. “You just don’t see or hear about that at all.”

DiMino wrote a letter to Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick expressing his disapproval of Mafia II‘s stereotypes and requested the game’s release be delayed so the offensive material could be removed. Zelnick responded publicly with a press release.

“Mafia II tells a compelling story about organized crime in America — a subject that for decades has been featured in movies, television shows and novels,” Zelnick said. “Neither UNICO nor any other organization purporting to represent Italian-Americans has seen or played Mafia II.”

DiMino said his organization’s knowledge of the game comes from “video promos, ‘walk-throughs’, gameplay accounts and reviews on You Tube and other available sources.” A demo of the game is also available on Xbox Live and Playstation Network.

“At Take-Two, we balance our right to free expression with what we believe is a thoughtful and responsible approach to creating and marketing our products,” Zelnick said. “Mafia II is M-rated in accordance with our industry’s strict standards. It is specifically not targeted toward young people.”

DiMino said a significant number of young people will still play the game despite the mature rating.

“Unfortunately, although Zelnick can hide behind the ‘M’ rating on this disgraceful game, we all know that millions of teens and pre-teens will be engrossed with playing Mafia II,” DiMino said. “Consequently, we abhor the potential of a new generation being catalyzed into automatically associating Italian Americans with the disgusting thugs and violent bums who inhabit Mafia II.  It is just not fair or acceptable!”

Zelnick concluded his letter by saying his fully supports Take-Two’s teams and products.

“We will only release a title that meets our standards: as art, as entertainment and as a socially responsible product,” he said. “We aim to distinguish creative and compelling story telling that advances artistic expression from subject matter that gratuitously exploits or glorifies violence or stereotypes. I fully and completely stand behind our creative teams and products, including Mafia II.”

DiMino said Zelnick’s response is “ludicrous, self-serving pablum.”

“He ‘fully and completely’ stands behind his creative team and ‘socially responsible’ products?” DiMino asked. “Is he referring to Grand Theft Auto, Bully, Manhunt and now Mafia II? Perhaps he is the one living in a video game!”

Mafia II is only one source of media UNICO National has spoken out against for its portrayal of Italians.

“For many, many years, UNICO has consistently and repeatedly fought negative stereotyping and defamation,” DiMino said. “This has included protests against The Sopranos, Shark Tales, stereotypical advertisements, TV series, and many other media items.”

DiMino said he does not deny Italians and Italian-Americans have been involved in organized crime but believes the media should stop exaggerating the stereotype and start treating the ethnic group more fairly.

“To punctuate this point, can you name one show on TV that has ever portrayed Italian Americans in a positive light?” DiMino asked. “What we are seeking is fairness.”

An athlete measures his balance with Wii Fit.

The Washington Post’s Steve Yanda reported on the way some colleges are using Nintendo’s Wii Fit game and balance board to determine the status of athletes recovering from concussions by using the game’s balance exercises as a reference point for progress.

“The athletes love it because what we’ve done is we’ve incorporated this fun game that they’re playing at home into their rehab system,” said Tamerah Hunt, director of research at the Ohio State Sports Concussion Program. “But they’re also enjoying it at a time when they’re injured or at a time when their spirits are down, and they have to come into the athletic training room every day and they have to get all this treatment . . . and it’s kind of a reaction of, ‘Oh, this is fun.’ “

Read the full article in The Washington Post.

Most of the development team working on the game, from left: Arne Thomas Nilsen, (Programmer and Media Analyst), Petter Mordt (Executive Programmer), Siril Grude (Pedagogical Designer and Media Analyst), Atle Lokken (Head of Department, NettOp), and Karsten Tillerli (Production Manager, web based nursing project)

NettOp, the web-based study unit of the University of Stavanger in Norway, is developing a video game to assist nursing students in learning to prepare proper drug dosages for patients.

According to university officials, nursing students must master proper drug dosage to pass an exam before receiving certification, but the subject often proves difficult for a significant portion of students. A single miscalculation results in failure.

“At the University of Stavanger, the students have three goes at handing in an exam paper without mistakes. The last few years the percentage of fails has been between 36 and 39 both for the first and second attempt.”

Atle Løkken, director of NettOp, said he believes the problem stems from most nursing students joining the program without being prepared for the complex calculations required within the profession.

“We don’t have much scientific verification, but we believe a major reason is that the students that want to be a nurse primarily are interested in and expect the human and social aspect of the profession and are not prepared for the math and science that indeed also come with it.”

Løkken said renowned American psychologist Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory, the idea that there are a variety of intelligences that don’t necessarily trump one another, may account for why some nursing students struggle with the math of drug dosages.

“In Gardner’s theory, we may expect the nursing students to be predominantly more ‘visually’ and ‘socially intelligent’ than ‘mathematically,’” Løkken said. “This does not mean that ‘visually’ and ‘socially intelligent’ people can’t solve mathematical problems, it simply means that ‘socially intelligent’ individuals approach mathematical problems differently from how math is normally taught in academia by ‘mathematically intelligent’ instructors.”

Gardner also inspired Løkken and his team to use a video game to assist nursing students who struggle with the math.

“Referring to Howard Gardner again, he pointed out already in 1996 that ‘New media work may enable ordinary students to gain an understanding that may have been accessible only in the extraordinary classroom in years past,’” Løkken said. “Video games embrace most of the [best properties] in computing and network technologies [today] and are unique compared to other means of communication and teaching.”

Løkken said video games offer numerous advantages when combined with education.

“[They introduce a method of teaching] appealing to a larger group of students than traditional education and a safe environment to training otherwise not available.” Løkken said. “A video game gives us a visual interface to mathematical problems, giving us a methodology and a tool that appeals to students that may be more ‘visually intelligent’ than ‘mathematically.’”

With a limited budget and the goal of educating students, Løkken said he and his team were inspired by Nintendo’s philosophy to focus on effective game mechanics rather than impressive visuals for their game’s interface.

“Graphically, the interface will be 2D, which is sufficient to all we need to convey at this point,” Løkken said. “The main task of the interface is to visually present the concepts of the relationship between weight, volume, liquid, dissolutions etc.”

Løkken said he expects the game to be completed for this fall so he and his team can begin gauging its effectiveness with students. The team plans to use its findings to develop an extended version of the game next year.

“The intention is to develop a game to also deal with the treatment and distribution of medicines,” Løkken said. “The idea is to make the game train all stages from the point the nurses receive the prescription to the selection of the right drug in the medication room, preparation of the medication in the prescribed dosage, and the distribution of the medication to the patient and also the effects of the medication on the patient, including the fatal cases.”

He said the game will attempt to simulate realistic situations and settings.

“It will be scenarios where we will add external distractions and time restrictions often found in the hospitals and health institutions that easily may lead to short cuts and eventually fatal errors,” Løkken said. “The idea is simply to make the whole game more real.”

He said this type of training is only practical with the use of video games.

“It is not possible or, for practical reasons, feasible to do this safely in any other way,” he said. “Students do of course handle drugs while in practice, but we have seen examples of serious errors during their practical training. Thus the game will simply reduce the risk.”

Rich Taylor, senior vice president for communications and industry affairs at the ESA, said the increase is a sign of the expanding role video games play in society.

“While computer and video games have been a source of entertainment for decades, our society is increasingly recognizing the broader uses of games and their positive impact. Whether it is in healthcare, education, business or government, schools across the country see the value of games and are training their students to meet the demand.”

For a full list of the schools offering computer and video game-related degrees, read the full press release on the ESA’s website.

Fox & Friends’ Clayton Morris interviews Gold Star Mother Karen Meredith about her reaction to Electronic Arts’ upcoming Medal of Honor, which takes place in modern day Afghanistan and allows players to assume the role of Taliban soldiers.

Michael Cera 'levels up' as Scott Pilgrim in one of the film's many game references.

NPR’s Linda Holmes reported on the way several movie reviewers criticized the target audience of “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” in their negative critiques of the film.

After referring to the first part of the movie as a “dork-pandering assault,” The Boston Phoenix reviewer goes on to say that Michael Cera’s performance is “irritating” in part because of “the non-stop Pavlovian laugh track provided by the audience at the screening I attended.” (As far as I know, that’s a first: “You made the audience laugh, you irritating actor in a comedy, and that’s what’s wrong with you.”)

The review in the St. Petersburg Times begins, “First of all, I’m not a video gamer. I have discovered more appealing ways to not have a life.”

The New York Observer sniffs that the film is “clearly directed at an audience with generational ADD.”

Here’s one from Philadelphia Weekly: “Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World is Fan Service: The Movie, an insular, punishingly alienating experience preaching only to the faithful, devoted hearts of arrested 12-year-old boys. It’s singularly fixated on video games and shallow visions of women as one-dimensional objects to be either obtained or discarded and offers no possible point of entry to anybody over the age of 30.”

Read the full article to see how Holmes combats these assertions as a fan of the film despite not fitting into any of the above reviewers’ categories.

Also read Dennis Scimeca’s take on the reviews as well as their greater implications in his article on Bitmob.

Viewers can now watch Moral Kombat, a 2007 documentary concerning the history and impact of video game violence, for free on Hulu.

The documentary features a variety of panelists (including game designers, scientists, college professors, politicians, children experts, military personnel, etc.) speaking for and against video games.