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It seems that EA and DICE have, very quietly, been taking away official servers for the console versions of Battlefield 3. Worse still, it looks like they're replacing them with servers that fans have to pay for.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Battlefield fans could "rent" their own servers for $25-30 a month. Seemed like a good deal, especially when it lightened the load on the actual EA and DICE servers.

Yet searches now find that almost every server is one of these rented ones. Which is a problem, because the rules on these servers can be all over the place; those wanting a straight, official game are finding it tough. It's also an issue because it sure makes it look like EA and DICE are passing the cost of running this game onto consumers.

Pressed on Reddit as to why this is, DICE's Daniel Matros said "There is only so much physical space and digital space where you can have servers. The community requested [a rental program] and we delivered."

He did note later, though, that he would be taking the complaints back to DICE with him. Whatever that's worth.

UPDATE: An EA spokesperson tells us that DICE will "reserve a percentage of servers" for players who want DICE to host them. Full statement: " DICE is not shutting down servers. If DICE-managed servers appear unavailable, it is because they have been rented and customized by players. DICE will continue to add servers and will reserve a percentage of servers for players who prefer to connect through DICE-hosted servers.

"Custom Servers have always been extremely popular with Battlefield PC players. With Battlefield 3, we've introduced a Custom Servers program to console gamers. Response has been overwhelmingly positive. Custom Servers gives players the ability to tailor the settings and parameters of a given server, which directly affects gameplay. It also gives players more choice as they select which server and gameplay style they like best.

"As with any new innovation, there may be some confusion among players who are experiencing Custom Servers for the first time. We encourage players to use server filters and 'favorite' options to find the servers that best suit their play style. We have enormous respect for the Battlefield community and are listening to the feedback. It is our #1 priority to ensure all players are having the best possible play experience."

Official DICE servers disappear from Battlefield 3 [VentureBeat]

Spare me your criticisms. I hate FarmVille and its kin for the same reasons you do. Games like that are manipulative, reliant on spamming and barely constitute being called games at all.

And yet...what would happen if one came along dressed like Advance Wars? And actually had some gameplay to go with all the farming? That's the conundrum I now find myself in, because Battle Nations on the iPad does just that, and I cannot get enough of it.

There is "tending" to be done in this game. Just like in FarmVille, you have to build things, even literally farm things, and they sometimes take hours between clicks. Other things generate small amounts of money, and if you want more stuff, or stuff to come faster, then there's the option to pay real money for it.

So far so FarmVille, until you get to the key distinction: in FarmVille, this tedium is all there is. In Battle Nations, it's simply the support stage to some actual gameplay.

Being based around armies, and not animals, the goal of Battle Nations is to construct a base which can supply and fund your troops. Grow/build more stuff and you can recruit/build more units, which are sent into battle in a tactical system that anyone who's played a game like Final Fantasy Tactics will be right at home with.

What a difference it makes. The boring stuff suddenly has a purpose other than...just doing it, and while relatively simple, the unit variety both of your own forces and those of the bad guys (either AI or human) make most battles fresh and interesting.

Helping things is the fact the game has a great look to it, going the Advance Wars route of "military cute", and that surprisingly its roster of characters are well-written and even sometimes genuinely funny.

While I'm pretty sure I should still be slightly ashamed at playing this, given that under the window dressing and real battles it's still FarmVille, but I don't care. Battle Nations shows tht with a little extra thought, and work, that basic template can be turned into something genuinely enjoyable, not just painfully addictive.

The Dream Machine, one of the most interesting PC adventure games of the last few years, is out today on Steam. It'll be cheap. You should definitely get it. Unless you already got it, in which case, you'll get Steam keys for free. [The Dream Machine]

Using the magic of Photoshop and the wizardry of Garry's Mod, Ariel Flores has brought together some of video gaming's greatest heroes in the one team.

Calling it the "Vindication Series", it's got action, explosions and...Commander Shepard sticking his tongue down the back of Lightning's neck. Something I never thought I'd see, and now I've seen it, kind of wish I hadn't.

Vindication Series [DeviantArt, via Ian Brooks]

Dr. Grordbort is a character created by WETA's Greg Broadmore, a champion of Victorian Britain's struggles against the inhabitants of Mars. Beginning life as the avatar for a range of fancy toy guns, he's become something of a cult figure, partly for his awesome toy guns, partly because of his wonderful facial hair.

Sadly, for some reason or another, video game publishers are too cowardly to commission real games based on men with such powerful moustaches, so it's been left to fans to do the work.

Lord Cockswain in V for Venusians DM is a 2D platformer made by Gamefroot, a New Zealand-based company who used their own game creation suite to put this thing together.

Seeing as its built from a framework anyone can pick up and use, it's pretty good!

Lord Cockswain in V for Venusians DM [Gamefroot]

Brian Johnson makes replica video game weapons. Unlike other ones that just look nice, though, he goes the extra mile and has them functioning as actual NERF guns.

We showed you one of these last year, but man, the whole collection is so great I'm showing you a ton of them tonight.

Drawing from properties like Mass Effect, Fallout and even Warhammer, Johnson's modified and customised NERF guns are about as close as you're ever going to get to being Commander Shepard or some post-apocalyptic wanderer.

Unless you actually are a Commander Shepard. Like this guy was. In that case...carry on!

Johnson Arms [DeviantArt]

Inspired by the replay modes in EA's Skate series, friends Brandon and Darren decided to put the controllers down and go and make a real skate video just like it. So they did. This is it.

It's called Scorch & Wood, and all the shots you see were filmed at a minimum of 1500 frames per second, and will at times blow out to 6900 fps.

As someone who wasted too much of his earlier days watching skate videos, I think I'm going to kick back and watch this a few more times.

When I posted a clip from Sniper Elite V2 the other day, I was focused on one thing: killing Germans. So I shot for the head, and I shot for the heart. Both were poor choices.

Turns out I should have instead aimed a little lower. It's funnier that way.

WARNING: Video contains exploding balls. Potentially NSFW.

Do you own an Aqua Blue Nintendo? You might own a bit of history. Nintendo Japan's website reveals that the color will soon no longer be in production.

On the Nintendo site, it clearly states: "Scheduled to end production shortly" (近日生産終了予定). No reason was given yet, but online in Japan, people are speculating that it could be due to a lack of popularity. Maybe the recently launched Cobalt Blue 3DS impacted the Aqua Blue's sales.

When the Nintendo 3DS launched last year, it was initially available in two colors: Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black. Since then, the 3DS became available in six colors total—soon, make that just five.

Kotaku contacted Nintendo of America to see how this will impact Aqua Blue sales in the U.S. (I'd imagine it means they'll dry up!) and will update this post should the company comment.

アクアブルー生産終了ｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ [2ch]

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