Happy (belated) birthday, Dreamcast!

Eleven years ago yesterday, Sega's Dreamcast hit the streets in the U.S. In celebration of that fact, I created the following doodle:

Now, please excuse me while I play a few games of ChuChu Rocket! and Space Channel 5.

Buy: Sega Dreamcast

Oh, Microsoft ...

Earlier this year, Microsoft updated its Xbox Live code of conduct policy to allow gamers to use sexual orientation identifiers like lesbian, gay, bi and transgender in their Gamertags and profiles--an about-face that prompted many LGBT gamers to conclude that the days of being banned for calling themselves "THCxGaymer" (or something similar) were behind them.

Unfortunately, those days are still ahead for LGBT gamers--if recent reports that 26-year-old Josh Moore was booted from the service for mentioning in his profile that he lives in Fort Gay, W.V., are any indication.

The strangest part of this peculiar story: According to the Associated Press, when Fort Gay's mayor, David Thompson, got involved he was told by someone at Microsoft that "the veracity of the city's name didn't matter, and that the word 'gay' was inappropriate regardless."

Although Stephen Toulouse, program manager for policy and enforcement on Xbox Live, acknowledges that the suspension was a mistake, he has yet to say how his team at the Redmond, Wash.-based company will avoid such mistakes in the future.

See also: 'Microsoft still hemming and hawing over gay gamertags on Xbox Live' and 'The Advocate: Microsoft Tries to Mend Rift With Gaymers'

Coming soon to a DS near yours truly: Jam with the Band

I've had my eye on Jam with the Band--the European version of Nintendo's Daigasso! Band Brothers DX--for some time now, but I've held off on buying the DS-based music game because of the high cost of importing it.

That changed yesterday afternoon when I discovered that UK-based retailer sendit.com--which thankfully ships to the US--is selling the game for a mere £4.89 (about $7.50). (Even better: Shipping added just $4 to the total.)

Should the game reach my doorstep in a reasonable amount of time and in the promised condition, I'll probably turn to sendit.com later in the year when I buy Last Window: The Secret of Cape West and Professor Layton and the Lost Future.

Buy: Jam with the Band

Pixelchu

Artist Maré Odomo recently answered--via his Flickr photostream--the all-important question: What would a Pikachu look like in pixelated form?

Although I'm hardly the world's biggest Pokémon fan, Odomo's drawing makes me wish someone would whip up an 8-bit de-make of one of the series' earlier entries.

See also: 'A little more Maré love'

'Fat Ash'

I came across the following image while perusing the "score designs" section of threadless.com a few minutes ago. (Yes, I'm sometimes strange like that.)

Unfortunately, scoring for the design--humorously titled "Fat Ash"--ended some time ago. (Even worse: Its final average score was just 2.17 out of 5, which means its unlikely to be printed.)

If you're itching to score a few still-in-the-running designs, check out the Donkey Kong-inspired "Barrel Ride Down the Falls" and the, er, Princess Peach-inspired "Everything is Peachy."