I woke up to an email from The White House this morning, responding to a pair of petitions set up by those opposingSOPA and PIPA. The email states that the Obama Administration isagainstboth bills, and that while piracy is a problem, it shouldn’t be fought in a way that threatens free speech. “Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small,” write Victoria Espinel, Aneesh Chopra, and Howard Schmidt....

Taking away digital copies will do that Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3Dprices are pretty insane right now,thanks to an eShop delisting(that might still be resolved eventually) andthe impending eShop shutdown. As DoubleXP points out, the confluence of events has led to a storm of sales for the 2012 3DS port,including “cart only” sales approaching $100. Through our own research, we found pre-owned case-included copies selling for roughly $130 in recent weeks, sometimes more....

here’s one day of PAX East goodness left! Capcom’s Seth Killian made a surprise visit withSuper Street Fighter IV, Dtoid New York rocked it at the karaoke bar,Two Worlds IIactually looks pretty good and the SFX 360 Gamers Gone Wild party rocked. Sunday is the last day for PAX East and our last community meetup. A lot of people are taking off today but the remainder of us left in Boston will be meeting up atJillian’s Bostonat around 8:00PM....

[Want to know how a developer handled the PC version of a multiplatform game? Check out the PC Port Report for the full scoop.] TheResident Evilfranchise boasts one of the worst PC ports of all time with its release ofResident Evil 4, but plenty of time has passed since then. The PC platform has become more prevalent, with some developers even developing for the PC first and porting the project over to consoles....

You know Crazy Dave, right? He’s that pan hat-wearing nut job fromPlants vs. Zombies. I didn’t think the guy could even form a proper thought, but here he is with an original Hip Hop track! Crazy Dave’s first single, “Wabby Wabbo,”available exclusively on iTunes. All the proceeds for this $0.99 track go a charity called Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian organization dedicated to tackling poverty and suffering in the world’s poorest countries....

Sounds familiar We got a brief look at the new Tribute Games joint,Curses ‘N Chaos, at PAX East. It’s a pared-down, arcade-like action game about two players cooperating to clear waves of foes before the timer hits zero. Super simple, but super fun all the same. And it’s hitting PC and PS Vita out of the gate when it releases in the fall, so there’s no need to beg for those ports....

First it was Miyamotowho claimedto be “flattered” by Microsoft’s innovative new Avatar system, and now Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime has hasalso sharedhis meaty appreciation for Microsoft’s shameless Wii tribute. “Copying is a way [of] flattering, so we’re very flattered,” stated the man whose beefburger fists can punch through walls and whose savory sweat is the talk of the town. Reggie also addressed DS redesign rumors, according to the translated interview with a Spanish Nintendo magazine....

[Update:It’s officially official! Announcement trailer isright here! As you can see, Leon and Chris are indeed both in it. Looks like actual zombies will also be present. “It’s Raccoon City all over again!”] Resident Evil 6is going to be announced tonight, but who needs official confirmation when we have GameStop to leak it for us? Promo stands were put out too early in one store, and they’ve revealed both the logo and the release date of November 20....

If you’re still tinkering withRetro City Rampage, developer Brian Provinciano has provideda world mapfor fans to print and take a look at, which includes every interior area in the game. He also provided acrazyupdate that I just can’t believe. You remember how WiiWare had this stupid system that required developers to hit a certain “threshold” before it paid out? Well apparentlyRetro City Rampagestillhasn’t hit that threshold as of this month! Brian notes plainly, “Unfortunately, the WiiWare version hasn’t done so well....

Remember a while agowhen we saidthat the controversial (and decidedly insane) Christian-themed RTSLeft Behind: Eternal Forceswould be sold in Walmart? The game’s publisher has today declared that scheme a success, selling well in that good ol’ fashioned hotbed of Christian greatness, the American South. “At the rate Walmart inventory is moving, they will be out of games before Christmas, unless they reorder,” beams CEO Troy Lyndon. “We started sending out letters of appeal to Texas-based church pastors on October 12th, and plan to reach more than 10,000 churches over a 10-week campaign through Christmas....

Sticky notes, now on Steam Valve is testing out some new features for its PC storefront and game client Steam, and there’s some cool features in there. Alongside some under-the-hood changes, the latest Steam Desktop Client beta adds a handy-dandy Notes app. The Notes app will let you jot down information about whatever you’re currently playing. ViaValve’s blogabout the feature, the Notes will allow for rich text formatting, multiple notes per game, and can be used offline....

The film is also out this week There’s a lot ofSonic-related things happening in the near future (most notably, the debut of the new film), and Sega wants to capitalize on it as much as possible. The publisher has announced a new initiative called “Sonic Station Live!” which can only be described as yet another Nintendo Direct-like effort. The first episode will debut on February 20 at 18:00 JST, which translates to 4AM ET earlier that same day....

Ganon is a crime lord People have been re-imagining game series for years, but now, a production company called Dayside TV has taken onZelda— as a…live action Hong Kong crime flick? Yep, Link is a cop (ex-cop, he resigns in the trailer,Lethal Weaponstyle), Ganon is a crime lord, and Zelda and Navi also seem to be in. Cheese aside the clip did its job — I’d actually give this a watch, especially given that it’s arriving directly on their YouTube channel tomorrow....