SLAYERS, SLAYERS EVERYWHERE:
One of the more intriguing bits of video game news to come out last week was the announcement that an MMO set in the Buffyverse is in the works. The downside? This means a Firefly MMO coming from the same people is being shelved.

Wait, there was a Firefly MMO in the works? Yeah, that's the LA Weekly's reason for expressing cynicism about our chances of actually getting to play slayer.

The Buffy cast, as we last saw them.

While I see more MMO potential in Buffy than Firefly ("Another mission where we have to take the long route to avoid the authorities and barely make any profit?") I'm really having a hard time imagining it ... or rather, I'm having a hard time imagining how one would translate the Buffyverse into a variety of balanced character classes. This one will be interesting to watch ... that is, if we actually get news of how the game is developing, something we didn't get with that Firefly MMO.

APPARENTLY IT TAKES DECADES FOR A CAMP CLASSIC TO MAKE IT OVERSEAS:
Here's some exciting and surprising news for gaymers who appreciate the obscure and campy. This week, Cho Aniki (long pegged as the gayest videogame of all time) became officially available to American customers for the first time thanks to the Wii's Virtual Console. In light of the recent discussion on how the iPhone could revolutionize gay gaming, I wonder if there's a similar potential in outlets like WiiWare (where another gay-inclusive game, Eternity's Child, debuted) and the Virtual Console, which lessens the financial risks that might make a publisher wary. It'll be interesting to see if it sells well enough for more Cho Aniki games to hit the Virtual Console.

Cho Aniki

Deep down, tho, I'm hoping that this makes that final Eternal Champions game a possibility. (The original EC is a WiiWare title.) Sure, it wasn't a great fighting game, but Shadow Yamato is one of my favorite fighting game characters: gotta love a corporate spy who managed to remain covert despite dressing as The Huntress instead of working a cute business-casual number.

Eternal Champions' Shadow Yamato

ROCKIN' MOVE ON HIS PART:
The original rock & roll rhythm game, Guitar Hero is getting a new edition, Guitar Hero: World Tour soon and the new version boasts plenty of real life stars as playable characters, including:

One of Guitar Hero: World Tour's playable characters

Hey, cool, it's Neil Patrick Harris in video game form! No, wait, I've just been handed a note telling me that's not Neil Patrick Harris, that's actually Sting you can play as in the game. I guess I'll go back to hoping that I'll be able to play as Keith Strickland in some rhythm game:

The B-52s' Keith Strickland: Still dreamy

Excuse to post a picture of Strickland aside, wouldn't The B-52s be awesome in a Guitar Hero game? I know you can download a few B-52's tracks into Rock Band, but wouldn't it be neat to have them as playable characters?

After the break: What other gay sites are saying about Ultimate X-Men...

There's been a lot of static around here lately about comics publishing giant Marvel's handling of gay themes and issues. If you checked out the recent mainpage editorial about outspoken (vitriolic?) anti-gay author Orson Scott Card, you may be disappointed to learn that in addition to their adapting his novel Ender's Game as a comic book series, the publisher put the writer in charge of the recent Ultimate Iron Man miniseries.

Additionally, recent developments in both the Ultimate X-Men (with gay characters Northstar and Colossus) and Young Avengers (with gay superheroes Hulking and Wiccan) series have gay comics fans appalled and at the treatment of the few gay characters that comics have to offer.

One reader points out that Marvel has generally had a fairly gay-friendly past, so perhaps bringing these points to their attention would do some good. If you'd care to contact them, here's the information. To contact the Ultimate editors directly, here's their email. And here's Editor in Chief Joe Quesada's Myspace page.