Zynga's next big Facebook game is an improved version of FarmVille currently beta testing under the name Big Harvest, reports TechCrunch. Their source says the game is being tested out in the Phillippines.

Zynga replied to TechCrunch's inquiry with a standard no comment that neither confirmed nor denied the project. The game, according to screenshots spreading now on the web (above), looks to feature improved, three-dimensional graphics. TechCrunch described other gameplay changes, including turning harvested crops into livestock feed, and using products raised from the dairy to make food items.

TechCrunch points out it could be a risky bet, however, as the last time Zynga tried a sequel-Mafia Wars 2—it siphoned off the original's biggest-paying customers and didn't manage to hold on to them. FarmVille is the company's biggest moneymaker—by a country mile (zing!), so tinkering with its audience carries about as much risk as reward.

There are more details at the link, but no word on when this will roll out and bomb us all with Facebook requests.

Zynga's Next Cash Cow? FarmVille Sequel Spotted Under the Name 'Big Harvest' [TechCrunch]

Most everyone has taken a swing at Time magazine's blatantly desperate attempt to stay relevant for one more week. But there is a breed of satirist, known and feared for a cutting, cruel wit, that has yet to have its say: the video gamer.

So here we go. If it's good enough for Time's cover, it's good enough for the 'Shop Contest, but I've got to warn you, actual boob (i.e. exposed nipple; totally topless, you get the idea) is gonna get moderated and possibly punished. So will recognizable sex acts. So do not go there. But for more than two years you guys have been very good about not corrupting the purpose of the contest, so I don't expect any problems.

As for suggestions, well, this thing should 'shop itself.

Source Image: Time magazine's breastfeeding cover.

You know the rules: The 20 best will get rounded up and published at the end of next Saturday. Meantime, I and the rest of the starred commentariat will approve and promote as many as we can so folks can see them and pass judgment.

This is your no-frills step-by-step procedure to participation in the Kotaku 'Shop Contest.

1. Create your 'Shop.
2. Upload it to a free image hosting service. I suggest imgur. It's stupid simple. No account is necessary.
3. This is very important: You must use the URL of the image itself. In imgur, this is the second URL it gives you after you upload the image. It's under "Direct Link (email & IM)"
4. At the beginning of the comments roll, click "Start a New Thread"
5. To the right of your name, select "Image."
6. Paste the imgur URL in the image URL field. It's the field that says "Image URL."
7. You can add editorial commentary if you want, but then just hit submit and your image will load. If it doesn't, paste the image URL as a comment.
8. This is important: Keep your image size under 1 MB. It will not upload to comments if it is over that size. What's more, we're getting reports that if your 'Shop is more than 1000px tall (vertical), it won't upload. If you're getting the broken-image icon, try resizing to a smaller dimension.

Now, Gentlemen, start your 'shopping!

Pan1da7's adaptation of Bakery Ninja Kinect serves us breakfast in bed this Mother's Day. I hope everyone here has called his or hers to wish her a happy day or, better yet, said so in person. Good morning and welcome to Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves.

Want a piece of the TAYpic action atop this six-day-a-week post? Grab the base image here, provide a funny variation on it, and post it in the #TAYpics thread. Keep your image in a 16x9 ratio. The best ones will be featured in future installments of Talk Amongst Yourselves.

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week's best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic.

Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published May 9.—Read more of Nerf NOW!!
Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published May 7.—Read more of Awkward Zombie
Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik published May 7.—Read more of Penny Arcade
Manly Guys Doing Manly Things by Kelly Turnbull published May 7.—Read more of Manly Guys Doing Manly Things
Brawl In The Family by Matthew Taranto published May 7.—Read more of Brawl In The Family
Virtual Shackles by Jeremy Vinar and Mike Fahmie published May 9.—Read more of Virtual Shackles
Another Videogame Webcomic by Phil Chan and Joe Dunn published May 11.—Read more of Another Videogame Webcomic
ActionTrip by Borislav Grabovic and Ure Paul published May 7.—Read more of ActionTrip
Legacy Control by Javis Ray published May 7.—Read more of Legacy Control

The moving-violation misdaventures of a California man actually named Obiwan Kenobi formed the inspiration for our latest Kotaku 'Shop Contest. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than the 20 finalists inside, plus overall winner musica!

Plenty of movie poster themes here. Toolsoldier (17) had the best of all of them, especially the great trick he pulled convincing the world that Yoda is 5'3". seivewright (14) got the animated .gif thing to work, and it's all oonce-oonce-oonce from there. pan1da7 had a few entries. This one, of a crazy old wizard looking appropriately guilty, was the best. Goldfuzzy (7) offers a brilliant adaptation of a television series.

freeasabird (4) continues the movie theme; maybe a little simple for the shop, but the concept made me chortle. I don't know where weeeeee01 (18) is going, but the eyeball swap that turned Han and Leia into flounder (and goatee swap that made Luke into a sex offender registrant) made me laugh out loud.

Is that Cole Phelps standing beside Uncle Owen in Gareth Halpin's shop? (5). xX_cringer8_Xx (20) gets in for superb 'Shop skills but he, like Halpin, should understand that this stuff is even funnier without the word balloon. Look, I speak from experience, I have a tendency to overtag my jokes when I perform standup. Just let the audience react and laugh.

My overall winner had to beat out Toolsoldier and Goldfuzzy but musica is clearly the top finalist, capturing both the spirit of the contest, the nature of the news inspiring it, and displaying best-in-class photoshop abilities. Round of applause for musica, and all of our finalists. Thanks again, everyone, we'll have a new contest subject tomorrow.

bmg_123
el_hefe
element
freeasabird
Gareth Halpin
Gavinge
Goldfuzzy
halfbeast
hampstasandwich
musica
pan1da7
ParamedicFoetus
sciteach
seivewright
Taliesin_Merlin
TheReno
toolsoldier
weeeeeee01
will0220
xX_cringer8_Xx

I had lunch with a friend and colleague on Thursday, a guy who has been to every E3—and before that he was going to the Consumer Electronics Show when it was the gaming industry's big expo. Absent some miracle hardware reveal, he thinks we could see the quietest and most depressing E3 ever this year. I hate to say it, but I have the same fear.

Look at the casualties. The biggest, of course, is THQ, which has no cash to spend on its usual garish presence in Los Angeles, which over the years has included a bikini car wash last year (pictured), giant mecha suits, and a platoon of conscripted Korean army troops. Not only is THQ not going to E3, it's not going to Gamescom in Germany, either. Nor is Nintendo. Nor, reports GamesIndustry International, is Sega.

E3 may get a ton of attention by virtue of being the biggest expo in North America, where a lot of the noisiest games press is based. But it's an industry-only affair. Gamescom is the real major on the series, bringing more than 275,000 attendees, as it welcomes press, industry, and consumer alike. If you're skipping that, you're skipping out on showing product directly to the customer, not through the filter of sore-footed, bleary-eyed, BO-emitting writers like me.

So much is up in the air right now. Growth seems to be in mobile gaming, Facebook games and free-to-play browser-based offerings, which aren't subjects treated with much seriousness by those who enjoy reading about video games with regularity. Distribution on the next console will almost assuredly be digital, meaning the traditional retail model that drives these expos is also lumbering toward the ivory graveyard. That's assuming console gaming maintains any kind of strength; the sales slump and contraction of product offerings there shows no signs of turning around.

It's easy to point to THQ and Sega's fiscal woes as the reason they're not going to the big parties this year. But then, neither is Blizzard, and Valve and Rockstar have been notoriously absent in past years when they don't have much to show, too. And they're reasonably healthy organizations. Depending on what isn't announced this year, we could be seeing the last hurrah for the traditional gaming expos. We could be seeing their last hurrah depending on what is revealed, too.

I like Michael Pachter. I really do. I get Castleville requests from him all the time. Seriously, though, I do go to Pachter for comment occasionally in my sports columns, mostly because the deals cut in that genre are complex and often rely on a publisher partnering up with older businesses, and he understands those relationships much better than I do.

[Correction: Sunday, 11:03 a.m.] As it happens, he Facebook messaged me this morning to point out how stupidly I had misquoted him in the original version of this article. Pachter estimates gamers outnumber whiners 100 to 1. That might color how you read the rest of this article, whose original text follows.

But I have to wonder if Pachter—probably the most well known financial analyst to rank-and-file video gamers—is being deliberately ironic here. Because his complaining about whining sounds a little like whining about complaining.

But, stick with it, he does actually say the word "Wiineses."

Oh, and Mass Effect fans, don't feel left out. He gets to you at the 3:01 mark.

Pach-Attack: Whiners vs. Complainers [GameTrailers]

Have you heard that video is a big thing over at Gawker Media? It's true, we watch and post a lot of videos each week. Here are some of the best videos of week, culled from an array of Gawker Media sites.

Mom Who Posed With Boob in Preschooler's Mouth: ‘It's Not Right for Everybody'

Jamie Lynne Grumet, whose left breast achieved stardom this week by appearing on the cover of Time while inside her nearly four-year-old son's mouth, went on the Today Show to discuss the controversial cover. View »

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An Unassisted Triple Play Is So Easy A 6-Year-Old Can Do It

And to think, there's only been 15 of these in MLB history. Pffft. View »

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An amazing short film about a beetle with surreal chemical powers

This is The Eagleman Stag, a BAFTA-award-winning stop-motion animated short by director Mikey Please. It's about an entomologist who discovers a unique insect with an anatomy that can alter human consciousness in incredible ways. View »

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Brand New PlayStation Vita Game Gets a Crazy Short Teaser

Soul Sacrifice is an upcoming brand new PS Vita game, and details about it first hit last month. But today, Sony teased the game's upcoming reveal (full reveal, rather) on May 10. It clocks in at just over 36 seconds. View »

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An Amazing Vintage Video About the World's First Accurate Atomic Clock

This short video, made at the UK's National Physical Laboratory, proudly explains the science behind the world's first accurate atomic clock. It was designed by Louis Essen and built at the National Physical Laboratory in 1955, and the video is worth watching for the voice-over alone. View »

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Jon Hamm's Dating Advice to Teenage Girls: Everybody Farts

Jon Hamm recently took the hot seat in Rookie Mag's feature Ask a Grown Man to dispense dating advice to young girls. How does Rookie always score the best guests? The answer, I suspect, is Tavi. It always comes back to Tavi. View »

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Sexy Lady Disrupts Mexican Presidential Debate with Boobs, Butt

For reasons nobody can entirely explain, a provocatively dressed Playboy Playmate sashayed across the stage at last night's Mexican presidential debate, causing candidates to ogle openly and igniting some sort of nationwide sex riot, the AP reports. View »

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And Here's A Woman Stumbling Out Onto The Court During Tonight's Nuggets-Lakers Playoff Game [UPDATE]

We're used to our idiots on the field being male and at baseball games, but stereotypes be damned! We had a woman try to join the action in Denver tonight as the Nuggets and Lakers wound down the first half of their Game Four matchup. View »

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Giving Women the Vote Was a Huge Mistake, Says Fox News Dude

Here's a video of Jesse Lee Peterson, frequent Fox News guest and vocal Tea Party supporter, saying some really nutty stuff about how women are ruining everything. If you're like me and get great joy out of watching out-of-touch Neanderthals embarrass themselves, you'll love this video. View »

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Finally, A Good Look at Beyond Good & Evil 2's Detailed, Dirty Environments

It's been a virtual flood of leaks and glimpses this week for Beyond Good & Evil 2. There've been comments about tech requirements and a screenshot of the sequel's gameworld. Now, a video flythrough of the environmental design has popped up. View »

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Easily the most insane animal footage ever caught on an undersea camera

If you thought those submersible videos of swordfish and sperm whales were something special, here's something right out of The Abyss. View »

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Maurice Sendak Reflects on Life and Death

Here's a clip from the 2009 HBO documentary Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak in which the recently deceased and eternally beloved children's author reflects on the beauty and importance of life and death. View »

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Now Bryce Harper Has Started Stealing Home

As if the young man needed to do even more audacious things, Nationals rookie sensation Bryce Harper stole home during a Cole Hamels pickoff attempt in the first inning of tonight's game against the Phillies. Some balls this guy has! (That is just an assumption that as a professional baseball player he possesses many baseballs.) View »

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Why You Should Watch and Record Video in 720p Instead of 1080i

Despite the many technological advancements we've had over the past few years, interlaced video seems to have stuck around. Interlaced is the "i" in 1080i and the reason it's not quite as good as 720p. It's in your cable, your televisions, and your camcorder View »

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The World's Best Commute Starts With A Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Meet Patrick Long, factory-backed Porsche driver in the America Le Mans Series. Here is his daily commute, around Alabama's Barber Motorsports Park, in his personal 911 GT3 RS 4.0. Because you didn't envy him enough already. View »

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Jon Stewart Weighs In On President Obama's Same Sex Marriage Comments

Earlier today, President Obama stated that he believes that same sex couples should be able to marry. On tonight's Daily Show, Jon Stewart weighed in on those comments and the reaction to them. He also had some harsh words for North Carolina and the state's new stringent anti-marriage equality law. View »

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Clint Dempsey's 50th Premiership Goal Was Fittingly Beautiful

Clint Dempsey's outstanding run of form this season continued this morning as he opened the scoring of today's Fulham-Sunderland match with a fantastic free kick goal, his 50th in the English Premier League. View »

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Here is an oddball news item, but it's legit. WWE NXT, a kind of talent-search/reality show featuring wrestlers looking to become the circuit's next new star, will now be taped at Full Sail University of Winter Park, Fla. Full Sail is recognizable to many video gamers as one of the main universities teaching game design in the U.S.

Full Sail just announced the series is coming to the school. The first event there will be on Thursday. WWE superstar Triple H will be on hand, and Alberto Del Rio will challenge Sheamus (pictured above being photographed by a 3DS) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Also, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth face Epico and Primo for the tag team belts. So they're not screwing around with this kickoff.

WWE NXT pulled its talent pool from Florida Championship Wrestling, a development territory for the league. So that explains the Florida connection, but how this ended up at Full Sail is beyond me. WWE NXT appeared on SyFy in 2010 but was moved off the schedule to make room for WWE SmackDown. NXT has been syndicated since then; it also airs via webcast.

Maybe I'm the only one keeping score every time this is noted, but Max Payne 3 is the latest game to say fuck no, we're not using Games For Windows Live. A tweet Wednesday from Rockstar, as noticed by PC Gamer, says it straight up.

Being not a PC gamer or a Windows user, I only know there are 226,000 results for searching the phrases (both with quotation marks around them) "games for windows live" and "piece of shit." While not a J.D. Power survey of customer satisfaction, it's one indicator that the five-year-old service is not and never has been well liked. I've never read anything complimentary about it.

"GFWL," which sounds like an Internet abbreviation for Go Fuck With Leather or something, "is unpopular, difficult to use, inconvenient, and can be very annoying for many users," says a petition now at 22,271 signatures, demanding that Dark Souls not use it when the game releases on PC. I want to know more—and that's a serious question.

Perhaps I should have posed this during Anger Management yesterday evening, but consider this your open thread to unload on Games For Windows Live. Why is it still around? Does anyone get anything out of it?