Mass Effect 3 update: Cupcakes for hungry kids, because Mass Effect

Just like any good ending, the saga of Mass Effect 3 took another twist today – and just like the conclusion of a saga as heroic as Bioware's, the new development is a pretty virtuous touch indeed. However, it won't really have any impact on how the actual game turns out, which is sort of what fans have been complaining about all along. Yes, this is about the cupcakes.

Above: Intentions be damned - the day this arrives on your desk is the day you know you're doing something right in life

Surely you remember back to the Mass Effect 3 Ending Controversy, Day 22 – when frustrated fans decided that the way to Bioware's heart was through the universal appeal of sugary baked-goods. Now the cupcakes have arrived at Bioware (story via Game Informer), looking every bit as tasty as they are ideologically cogent. However, “ultimately,” says Bioware's Chris Priestley, “[the gesture] was not done in the context of celebrating the work or accomplishment of the Mass Effect 3 team.” So said team don't get any cupcakes after all.

Instead, all 402 cakes have been donated to a local youth shelter, allowing kids who can't afford Mass Effect the chance to enjoy the choice between three functionally-identical things. So Bioware's feeding the hungry, which is heartwarming and great – but is the studio also saddling poor kids with the exact same dilemma fans accuse it of creating in the first place? And before you answer, how many delicious cupcakes have you given away to charity today?

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GAME not dead - jobs and stores saved as high street retailer finds buyer

The remaining 333 stores of almost dead high street retailer GAME have been bought, saving nearly 3,200 jobs in the process. The company was sold over the weekend to OpCapita, an investment firm which specialises in purchasing troubled retailers such as GAME.
It's not clear exactly how much OpCapita paid, although an unconfirmed figure of £1 has been quoted by a number of reports. As mad as it sounds, this could easily be true as OpCapita is essentially buying GAME's debt, which is worth upwards of £85 million. And it doesn't make much business sense to spend a lot of money on debt.
After entering administration last week, GAME immediately closed 277 of its outlets and the future looked bleak until OpCapita stepped in. It's believed the company has already spoken with suppliers to ensure new titles will be delivered to stores - it was the news big games from EA, Capcom and Nintendo wouldn't be sold in GAME that really signalled the retailer was in serious crisis.
Above: Sadly, it seems the stores that closed recently will remain closed
So, not completely GAME over after all. But this is surely the company's last chance and while making sure its shelves are stocked with new releases is undoubtedly a good place to start, OpCapita has a mammoth task transforming GAME into a money-making business that can survive against the ever growing threat of online retailers and supermarket giants. Good luck to them.

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