GAME CASA .NET

Pre-order Dawn of War 2 expansion, get Saints Row 2 for free–Joystiq

There’s no getting around it — THQ really, really wants you to play all of its games. After recently revealing that the code included in copies of Darksiders is redeemable for a free copy of Red Faction: Guerrilla, the publisher today announced that those buying the upcoming Dawn of War IIexpansion Chaos Rising will also snag a free PC copy of Saints Row 2.

That means slapping down your 30 buckaroos at GameStop or Best Buy (or your digital buckaroos at GameTap, Steam or Metaboli) nets you two games — one of which we are assured allows you tospray human feces on anything nearby. If that isn’t enough of a selling point, what is, you monster?

StarCraft 2 PC Beta client is now live–Joystiq

Quick, stop reading this post and head on over to Battle.net to grab the PC beta client for StarCraft 2! (It appears the Mac client is not available yet). Of course, you must have previously volunteered for the beta at Blizzard’s site, so if this sentence is news to you, then … sorry. You’re what scientists call out of luck.

The client weighs in at 1.64GB and will take a while to download, so have a crossword handy. See you out there!

Update: Blizzard has revealed the minimum system requirements for the beta. Check ‘em out past the break.

PC Minimum Requirements:
Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1/Windows 7
2.2 Ghz Pentium IV or equivalent AMD Athlon processor
1 GB system RAM/1.5 GB for Vista and Windows 7
128 MB NVidia GeForce 6600 GT/ATI Radeon 9800 PRO video card
1024×768 minimum display resolution
4 GB free hard space (Beta)
Broadband connection

EA loses $82 million in fiscal Q3 2010, revenue down 25%–Joystiq

Right off the bat, you should know this: for EA, losing $82 million in the third quarter of a fiscal year is an enormous improvement. Compared to the same period last year (“Q3″ for EA is October 1 – December 31), the company lost 559 million fewer actual physical dollars. Yes, really. Now that we’ve told you that, we should also note that the publisher pulled in 24.85 percent less revenue year over year (down to $1.243 billion in Q3 2010 from $1.654 billion in Q3 2009). That said, Playfish had “two of the top ten Facebook games” for the quarter! Good thing EA spent $300 million on those folks, eh?

Okay, okay, real talk: the company also points out that it was the “#1 packaged goods publisher in North America and Europe” for its entire fiscal year. CEO John Riccitiello even notes that Mass Effect 2 is “the first blockbuster of 2010.” And hey, with 2 million units already shipped, we tend to agree.

Psychonauts only costs $2 until Thursday on Steam–Joystiq

Stand up. Walk over to your couch, and remove its cushions. Stick your hand into the exposed crevasses of your sofa, taking care not to lose any fingers in any reclining mechanisms which may be hiding within your chair. Dig out eight quarters, or twenty dimes, or forty nickels, or two-hundred pennies, or any combination of these denominations which add up to 200 cents.

Deposit your recently excavated horde in your bank account, or the bank account of a trusted friend or relative. Access Steam, and use these funds to purchase Psychonauts, which, until tomorrow, only costs 200 cents. Download the game, and play it. When you get a free moment, return the cushions to your couch, so it can collect more funds for the next time Steam slashes the price on one of our favorite games ever.

New Years Eve Only: 50% off Battlefield 1943–Joystiq

Update: It’s your lucky day, folks! Battlefield 1943 is on sale for 560 ($7), not 600 as EA originally tweeted.

Concluding its streak of daily deals during the holiday season, the Xbox Live version of Battlefield 1943 will be on sale for 50% off, tomorrow. EA’s official Battlefield 1943 Twitter account revealed that the New Years Eve sale (and final daily deal on the Marketplace) would slash the popular shooter’s price to 600 ($7.50 USD), for one day only. read more…