Gaming Blend Monthly Recap: June, 2012

Oh boy was June a barn busting boom box of explosives or what? We learned about a bunch of new games coming out for the Wii U, we had E3 come and go with a lot of controversy revolving around rape scenarios for Lara Croft and ultra-violence getting a spotlight from Warren Spector. June really did live up to being a lot bigger than I could have ever anticipated, for better or for worse. The real spotlight belongs to Blizzard who managed to not only trump anything important coming out of E3 with the launch of the Real-Money Auction House, but they also managed to get tangled up in a mess involving consumer advocacy groups from Korea, Germany and France, as well as end up on the wrong side of a lawsuit from internet cafe owners, and to top it all off have the FBI get involved with the Real-Money Auction House. That deserves a slow clap into a transitory standing ovation. Blizzard, stay classy. These stories and more in this June, 2012 Gaming Blend Monthly Recap.

June 3rd - June 9th: Ubisoft Dominates E3, Wii U Exclusives Shine, E3 Previews The first full week of June played host to the Electronic Entertainment Expo and with it came an outpouring of new game info and tons of media assets. Ubisoft stole the show with Assassin's Creed 3 and Watch Dogs with Nintendo revealing a few hard hitting tiles lined-up for the Wii U, including Pikmin 3, Mario Bros. U and another Ubisoft title, ZombiU. One of our correspondents also provides plenty of hands-on previews from games shown on the show floor. Be sure to check it out.

June 10th - June 16th: RMAH Launches, TimeSplitters 4, Blizzard's Legal Troubles A new campaign kicks into high gear to help promote TimeSplitters 4 and potentially get Crytek to make a new entry into the series. Blizzard also faces the first form of legal trouble from Korea, Germany and France, conveniently on the same week that the North American Real Money Auction House launches.

June 17 - June 23rd: Gamers Defeat EA, Australia Gets Mature, FTC Comes After Blizzard After reproaching EA for many months, all the negative press, all the player complaints result in a massive dropoff of Electronic Arts' stock. Hopefully this means a newer and better EA? Well, the FTC over in Korea cracked down on Blizzard during this week.

June 24th - June 30th: Mass Effect 3 Endings, Source Filmmaker, Final Fantasy XI Expansion The final recap of June ends on a somewhat positive note, depending on how you view positive in the world of interactive entertainment. After a lot of tooth and nail fighting, Mass Effect fans finally received the ending they deserved(?) as BioWare let loose the endings for the game during the week of June 30th. Valve also had a surprise for gamers as they officially unveiled something I never expected to see so soon: a Source Engine-powered movie maker. It's as awesome as it sounds and as of the publishing of this article is in beta; be sure to check it out. The last bit is from Square Enix who announces a brand new expansion pack for Final Fantasy XI.