The shock collapse of E3 has left many in the industry fearing for the impact its loss will have on the games sector – but Epic Games boss Mark Rein is convinced that Europe's Leipzig Games Convention will now replace the LA conference as the world's premiere gaming showcase.
Speaking to sister site Eurogamer TV in an exclusive interview to be broadcast next week, Rein, who attended the east German event to promote Xbox 360 action title Gears of War and PC shooter Unreal Tournament 2007, argued that GC's mix of consumer and trade visitors make it the natural successor to the fallen and flawed US stalwart.
“Leipzig illustrates exactly what was wrong with E3,” Rein insisted. “This is a great show, it's open to the public - I could never understand why they didn't open E3 to the public.
He continued: “I bet you if they had done that the way Leipzig does there would still be an E3 and it would be just as important and people would be happy about spending that money because more than 100,000 consumers will come through and touch and feel games they're actually gonna buy - you have a chance to sell millions of games here and also these people will tell their friends and news will get out and it won't just be reporters' opinions.”
A record 183,000 visitors attended last week's Games Convention, which was supported by the three platform holders as well as all major software publishers. Over 90 per cent of this year's 368 exhibitors have already confirmed there involvement in next year's event.
“This is a great show, all the big exhibitors are here, you have the business area here so you don't need to build a business area in the back of your trade show booth – you don't have to go three miles from the showfloor to sit and chat like this,” Rein added.
One criticism levelled at this year's event was that the bulk of the game demos on display were the same ones publishers had showed off at E3 back in May – the argument being that developers had not had sufficient time to prepare fresh code for public consumption. But Rein believes that by holding GC earlier in the summer, publishers would treat the convention as a focal point for premiering new games.
“I think this show will replace E3. Hopefully they'll move it a month or two earlier and this will be the show you build your public demo for,” he offered. “That's never going to go away. Developers who go, 'thank god, we don't have to build E3 demos anymore!' – excuse me?
“You still, at least once a year, have to sell your game to the press; we do it three or four times a year. There's always going to be an event you have to polish for so it might as well be one where the public gets to see your game too,” said Rein.
The outspoken US developer boss did, however, concede that Germany's draconian ratings system does present an ongoing problem for publishers of mature-content games.
“The only negative about it that I can think of, and this is more a Germany thing than it is of the show, is it's very hard to show mature games here because of the rules that they have,” he explained. “I did an interview and showed a trailer of UT and they had to kick everyone out who was under 18 and close a curtain around, just in case some child saw it – that's a little crazy.”
Mozilla released a second beta version of its upcoming Firefox 2.0 browser on Thursday. The release is targeted at developers and intended to generate more feedback while also incorporating a number of bug fixes contained in the Beta 1 version of the code, released in July.
Project deadlines for Firefox 2.0 continue to slip with the Beta 2 version of the code appearing a week later than an already delayed release date of 23 August.
Release Candidate 1 is now scheduled for 19 September and the final release date, penciled in for 24 October, now unspecified on Mozilla's development calendar.
Originally the browser was due to ship in August. As previously reported, developers need the extra time to iron out bugs in features such as an integrated spell checker.
Some features in the alpha version of the code won't make it in the final release. Functions such as an improved bookmark and history system have been axed, but may re-emerge within future versions of the browser.
Version 2.0 of the software will still feature a raft of new features including an anti-phishing tool (a must-have accessory that's in Opera 9 and will be included in IE 7), tightly-integrated search, and tabbed browsing.
The organisers of the Game Developers Conference Russia have announced its advisory board, which includes George Bain, developer support manager for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, and Serge Hascoet, chief creative officer at Ubisoft.
Also joining the board is Alex Marquez of technology investment firm Intel Capital and Kathy Schoback, vice president of content acquisition at AGEIA Technologies.
Homegrown talent present on the GDC Russia advisory board include representatives from Noviy Disk, Creat Studios, KranX Productions, Nival Interactive, Buka and 1C.
The Game Developers Conference Russia takes place in St. Petersburg on October 18th – 20th. Keynotes are yet to be announced.
Speaking at the BAFTA headquarters in London, Ubisoft MD Rob Cooper has predicted that the UK games industry will continue to flourish as new technologies lead to more innovation in development.
"More than ever, people are starting to wake up to the importance of videogames - culturally, artistically and economically," Cooper said.
"The games industry constantly invents and reinvents itself through the development of new technologies, and increasingly, more imaginative, inspired and innovative game content."
Cooper was speaking at an event to promote BAFTA's new videogames awards ceremony. The inaugural ceremony will be held on October 5 at London's Roundhouse.
"I've seen our industry grow from a tiny seed of niche entertainment to a global entertainment phenomenon that rivals the music and movie giants of the world/ And so it's fitting that our success is now recognised by such an esteemed British institution as BAFTA," Cooper continued.
"Gaming is a serious business - a modern art form that can only get bigger and bigger, and it's here to stay."
In a speech delivered at the BAFTA headquarters, ELSPA boss Paul Jackson has declared that videogames are set to make a "quantum leap" in terms of both profile and reputation.
Jackson, who is the chairman of BAFTA's games committee, said he believes the games industry is currently "in great shape", adding, "Games now make up a huge part of entertainment and spending across all age groups... The creative lines have blurred, and the synergies between the industries of games, film and television are now many."
According to Jackson, the UK games industry holds at its core "some of the greatest creative talent anywhere in the world".
"As an industry, we consistently excel. The connected society will only assist the creative process, and help us to take the opportunity for fun and entertainment, learning and personal enjoyment to new levels," he continued.
"With this comes an opportunity for games to make a quantum leap in profile and reputation - something that many of us, particularly at ELSPA, have been fighting to achieve for some time."
Jackson went on to discuss BAFTA's plans to host a new videogames awards ceremony on October 5. Around 300 judges from across the industry will decide on six nominations for each category, to be announced on September 12. There is no entry fee in a bid to ensure that any game can be entered for the awards.
"Games are now on a par with film and TV. I believe, through hard work and support, BAFTA offers an unprecedented opportunity to fundamentally change the way gaming is perceived worldwide," Jackson concluded.
Government minister Shaun Woodward has confirmed that the Government will continue to support the UK games industry, despite the criticisms received by some more controversial titles.
In a speech delivered at the BAFTA headquarters, Woodward, who is minister for creative industries and tourism, described the games industry as "one of our most important creative industries, and one at which the UK excels". He went on to observe that the UK is the world's third largest market for games, and the third largest producer of them.
However, Woodward continued, there are still problems to be overcome. "We should do a great deal to address some of the bad publicity which [games] sometimes in the past have received because of one or two games in the margins," he stated.
"I think it's terribly important that one or two things don't spoil the barrel for everybody else, because this is an exceptional industry with exceptional talent. It fulfills and plays an important role in our society, and a very constructive role in the lives of many young people, as well as middle-aged people like myself."
Woodward welcomed BAFTA's decision to host a new British Academy Video Games Awards ceremony, which is designed to reward artistic, creative and technical innovation within the industry. The inaugural awards ceremony will take place on October 5 at London's Roundhouse.
"I think it's absolutely right that BAFTA is doing this... We in Government certainly think it really matters to the UK, and certainly within the programme of creative industries within the UK," Woodward said.
"It's absolutely central and at the heart, not only in terms of production values and creativity, but creating jobs and creating better lives for us all."
Famous TV personality was killed today in a freak accident off the coast of his native Australia. The crocodile hunter was impaled through the heart by a short-barbed sting ray. These creatures have not been classified as dangerous to humans until now. We should all take a moment of silence to remember Steve as he would want us to.
Description True Multi-media portable 3.0 inch TFT player
Display Area : Fashion outline, metal shell, 3.0 inch TFT screen
Functionality : Support game card, NES format Net download games, Digital video camera, DV function
Misc : Network movie playing, supporting ASF format MPEG4 or transmitting to ASF format by transmitting software
Audio Output : All audio format including MP3/WMA/ and WAV etc.
Image output : All the photos from digital camera, support EX1F2.1
Technology : Build-in Mic, A.V out - (NTSC/PAL), A.V in - A.V recording function
Languages : Multi languages (12-14 languages selections) set
Camera : Flash light and built-in camera
Battery Type : Built-in li. battery
Specification : Built-in two speaker, E-book, Game, Calendar and time display
Socket : SD card socket, expanding the storage space
MS reveals the dollar price of its new OS, calling it a 'major step' towards Nov release
Windows Vista is coming, oh yes it is, offering gamers the delights of DirectX 10, improved loading times and a whole bunch more - further details of which we'll be revealing shortly following our sit down with some of the head honchos behind the OS's games thrust at the recent Leipzig Games Convention.
However, the Redmond giant has today unveiled the details on what American gamers can expect to pay for its shiny new OS (they're suggested retail prices), with probably the most relevant being the Windows Vista Home Premium pack which is targeted towards gaming, multimedia and the internet and will set them back some $239 for the full package, or $159 for an upgrade from the Windows XP.
Naturally this US pricing might not directly equate to what us poor Euro slobs end up paying, but a quick trip to the currency converter tells us that's around 127 of our Great British quids. Call it £130 for cash guv!
Full details on the various packages are presented for your delectation below and, of course, we've put in a call to MS UK to get the goods on Euro pricing. We'll update you as soon as they get back to us.
Windows Vista Home Basic (Barebones, basic computing)
Full package: $199.00
Upgrade: $99.95
Windows Vista Home Premium (Gaming, multimedia, Internet)
Full package: $239.00
Upgrade: $159.00
Windows Vista Business (Small business-focused)
Full package: $299.00
Upgrade: $199.00
Windows Vista Ultimate (Business and home features combined)
Full package: $399.00
Upgrade: $259.00
Windows Vista Enterprise (Large business-focused)
Not for retail -- volume license customers only
DCEmu is a site with thousands of great members and excellent staff who mod the forums and also hundreds of coders who not only mod forums but also post releases etc.
But today with the agreement of the fellow admins at DCEmu we are to announce that Kaiser is now the new admin at DCEmu.
GameCity is beside itself with excitement in announcing the confirmation of game music legend Richard Jacques, who will performing an exclusive live set at GameCity this October. Performing principally on pianoforte, Jacques will be treating the audience to a series of specially arranged renditions, forming a retrospective of some of the most loved SEGA classics.
Following his appearance at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Richard is delighted to be back performing in the UK. He says, "I'm really excited to be appearing at GameCity and highlight the role of music in videogames. It's a rare event that makes game culture truly accessible to the public, but it's so important that it's done. I can't wait."
This unique concert event will take place at 2pm on Saturday 28th October, in the majestic setting of St Mary's Church in the Lace Market, Nottingham - which will be candle-lit for the event. Whilst the precise contents of the set-list must remain undisclosed, we are able to reveal that "Sonic the Hedgehog Medley", "Shenmue Improvisations" and "Outrun" WILL be being performed.
Phil Lamb, UK Product Manager at SEGA, commented: "Richard Jacques is a talented musician who has produced some fantastic music for SEGA over the years. Richard's many contributions have complimented the games perfectly and have really enhanced the experience for the players. Having most recently worked with us on some cracking remixes on the soundtrack for OutRun2, Richard has proved to be a real hit with SEGA fans everywhere."
In 2005, Jacques' game music was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl for "Video Games Live" to more than 11, 000 fans of video games and orchestral and choral music. Not only was Jacques' music selected for the world's largest video game music symphony concert, accompanied by cinematics on the big screen and laser light show, but given his expertise and knowledge of live orchestra Jacques was also invited to arrange and orchestrate the special retro Classic Arcade Medley featuring over 20 games from Pong to Donkey Kong including such classics as Dragon's Lair, Tetris, Frogger, Gauntlet, Space Invaders and Outrun. In addition, having scored games in the multi-million selling Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, Jacques was selected to arrange and orchestrate the Sonic medley, prompting high praise from Sonic creator Yuji Naka himself.
With the supporting bill yet to be disclosed, Jacques is already providing one of the hottest tickets for GameCity 2006.
For further information please contact:
Alison Beasley, Lincoln Beasley PR.T: +44 (0) 1608 645756 E: Alison@lincolnbeasley.co.uk M: +44 (0) 7966 449130
About Richard Jacques:
Classically trained with an extensive music repertoire in orchestral, jazz and contemporary music genres, Richard Jacques is a multiple award-winning composer of music for video games, film and television. He is internationally recognized as one of the A-list composers in the games industry, recently described by PLAY magazine as "One of the truly distinctive game music composers in the industry today," and is well versed in all platforms and genres from movie franchises to original IP titles. A proven leader in the field of modern game music Jacques was the first composer to be given a major budget for a live orchestra (Headhunter), the first to record a live orchestra for a PSP game (Pursuit Force), the first to have his game music featured in art galleries (Game On) and live concerts in Europe, Japan and North America, and the first western composer to have his game soundtracks released commercially in Japan as well as Europe and America. Continually in high demand from the world's top game studios, Richard Jacques is currently working on an announced Sony PS3 title and unannounced Sony PSP title, in addition to writing music for film trailers. For more information please visit www.richardjacques.com
About GameCity
GameCity is an independent, annual festival of interactive entertainment which takes place in Nottingham, UK.
A unique and wholly public facing platform, it provides a place for players, developers and the curious to come together across a city.
Mainly, it's about trying to find out what a videogame festival could be. www.gamecity.org
Eurocom, developer of titles based on Batman, Harry Potter and James Bond, has slated poor quality licensed titles that fail to take advantage of the source material.
As a developer that specialises in games based on licensed products, Eurocom is in a better position than most to comment on the state of the most-maligned practise in the industry.
“There are still too many rubbish licensed games that are obviously rushed and buggy, and don’t seem well designed to appeal to their target audience,” said Hugh Binns, co-founder of Eurocom, in an exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
Speaking of the pitfalls that face developers when working on a title based on licensed property, Binns added: “There are challenges with any license. There is often a limited amount of time due to a critical release date, which can be compounded by the number of dependencies around assets and reference delivery.”
“Approvals can also be challenging. There are generally many stakeholders involved with licenses and you have to take the time to fully understand everyone’s view and come up with a creative approach that makes for a great game whilst remaining faithful to the underlying IP,” he added.
However, Binns does believe that the overall quality of licensed product has improved.
“The standard of licensed games has steadily risen and many have a good mix of innovative features along with more familiar mechanics,” stated Binns.
He also added that games based on licensed products are liable to come out worse for wear after a brush with the specialist press.
“I do think many of the best licensed games are marked too low, especially by the hardcore press. It’s very difficult for a game based on a mass market license to achieve a score beyond the mid-to-high 70s,” he commented.
Jack Thompson ramped up his anti-Bully campaigning again this week, telling an interviewer on OUT-LAW Radio that "...America is becoming the land of the free and the home of the utterly depraved". This of course is great news for SPOnG's news team, as we clearly love writing these eyes-to-the-ceiling, news-that-writes itself updates on any new bits of hilarious nonsense that emanates from Thompson's scrambled mind.
The anti-videogaming campaigner's latest rant relates to last week's tragic school shooting in North Carolina. Thompson believes Alvaro Castillo, the troubled teenager responsible, was brought up in a 'culture' of violent games, having been a regular player of such games since he was eight years old.
"This youth Alvaro Castillo, you can go on the internet and see portions of his video which is a suicide note," said Thompson. "He's killed his father and he goes to his school and shoots up his school and he's talking at length about the violent entertainment he's been obsessed with since he was eight years of age and I now find from speaking with a family friend that some of the entertainment was violent video games.
"It's yet another example, you can add this to Columbine, Paducah, Jonesboro Arkansas, Wellsboro, I could go on for half an hour giving you the names of schools that sound like battlefields in World War II. We have reality being infected with virtual reality," Thompson continued, barely concealing his glee.
He told the interviewer that the situation in the US needs to be remedied by copying the laws surrounding the sale of games with adult content in Europe, noting that: "In the UK, you embody in your laws the notion that there is certain adult entertainment that shouldn't be sold to kids," he said. "No one is trying to ban it outright, but as it stands now, regardless of the rating that the game may get, anyone of any age will be able to buy it and that is just very dangerous. America has become the land of the free and the home of the utterly depraved."
The annoying thing is that SPOnG agrees with Thompson's basic objective - in that violent games should clearly not be sold to minors. However, we disagree with his scandal-mongering approach and his tendency to try to make political capital for himself by making use of these types of tragedies to further his campaign.
Going on to comment about the extensive gun ownership in the state of Florida, Thompson also said: "I live in Miami, I'm not giving up my gun because if somebody comes in my house I want to be able to kill him... Unfortunately, when you have a country that is awash in guns, you have got to do something about the stimuli to use those guns."
Well, it's been 5 years since that fateful day. Where the twin towers once stood, now only memories of tragedy and death remain. Plans for building a new tower in their place are underway. What are your opinions on 9/11? Feel free to express your feelings, but keep in mind the rules of this forum.
I'll start off with saying that 9/11 is a really hard day for me, mainly because it is my birthday. It's tough to try and celebrate when you are constantly surrounded by news of terror and governmental plots and death and war and all that. Well, what do you think?
New IP and familiar franchises have received multiple nominations for The British Academy Video Games Awards, to be held on October 5th.
Sony’s quirky PSP title Loco Roco and Ubisoft’s gritty war sim Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter received the most praise with eight nominations each.
We love Katamari has amassed six nominations, while new IP Guitar Hero has bagged five nominations, followed by Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training with three nominations and SingStar Rocks garnering two.
This year’s decision for the Academy to elevate games to an equal status alongside film and television has been praised by the industry, government and media, and the stage is firmly set for The British Academy Video Games Awards to become the industry and consumers’ benchmark of excellence,” said Paul Jackson, chairman of the BAFTA Games committee.
The full list of categories and nominations follows:
INNOVATION
Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old Is Your Brain? (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Electroplankton (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI))
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)
ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
Black (EA Games/Criterion Games)
Hitman: Blood Money (Eidos Interactive/Io Interactive)
LocoRoco (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE)/Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ))
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/(SCEI))
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)
CHARACTER
Agent 47 in Hitman: Blood Money (Eidos Interactive/Io Interactive)
Han Solo in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
LocoRoco in LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
Rogue in Rogue Trooper (Eidos/Interactive Rebellion)
STRATEGY
Age of Empires: The Age Of Kings (Nintendo/Majesco Entertainment)
Football Manager 2006 (Sega Europe/Sports Interactive)
Medieval II Total War (Sega Europe/The Creative Assembly)
Rise And Fall: Civilizations At War (Midway/ Stainless Steel)
Sid Meier's Civilization IV Warlords (2K Games/Firaxis Games)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
CASUAL & SOCIAL
Buzz!: The BIG Quiz (SCEE/Relentless Software)
Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old Is Your Brain? (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Electroplankton (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
SingStar Rocks! (SCEE/SCEE)
SCREENPLAY
24: The Game (SCEE/SCEE)
Psychonauts (THQ/Double Fine Productions & Majesco Entertainment)
Rogue Trooper (Eidos/Interactive Rebellion)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/ Bethesda Softworks)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
CHILDREN'S
Daxter (SCEE/Ready At Dawn)
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (VU Games/Vivendi Games)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo/Nintendo)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)
GAMEPLAY sponsored by Nokia N-Gage
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)
SIMULATION
C-130 Hercules (Just Flight/Captain Sim)
Championship Manager 2006 (Eidos Interactive/Beautiful Game)
Football Manager 2006 (Sega Europe/Sports Interactive)
Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (Take-Two Interactive/Rockstar San Diego)
The Movies (Feral Interactive/Lionhead Studios/Feral Interactive)
Trauma Center: Under The Knife (Nintendo/Nintendo)
MULTIPLAYER
2006 FIFA World Cup (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (EA Games/Digital Illusions)
Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach (Codemasters/Turbine Inc.)
Guild Wars Factions (NCsoft/ArenaNet)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
ACTION & ADVENTURE sponsored by PC World
Metroid Prime: Hunters (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/(SCEI))
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT sponsored by Skillset
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (EA Games/Digital Illusions)
Black (EA Games/Criterion Games)
Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts/Criterion Games)
Just Cause (Eidos Interactive/Avalanche Studios)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/(SCEI))
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
SPORTS
2006 FIFA World Cup (Electronic Arts/EA Canada)
Fight Night Round 3 (EA Sports/EA Chicago)
Football Manager 2006 (Sega Europe/Sports Interactive)
MotoGP '06 (THQ/Climax)
Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (Konami/Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCAT))
Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (Take-Two Interactive/Rockstar San Diego)
ORIGINAL SCORE
Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King (Square Enix/Level 5)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEE/(SCEI))
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games/Bethesda Softworks)
The Movies (Feral Interactive/ Lionhead Studios/ Feral Interactive)
Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
AUDIO
Black (EA Games/Criterion Games)
Electroplankton (Nintendo/Nintendo)
LocoRoco (SCEE/SCEJ)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment)
Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive/Crystal Dynamics)
We Love Katamari (Electronic Arts/Namco)
GAME sponsored by PC World
Black (EA Games/Criterion Games)
Dr Kawashima's BRAIN TRAINING: How Old Is Your Brain? (Nintendo/Nintendo)
Guitar Hero (Red Octane/Harmonix Music)
Hitman: Blood Money (Eidos Interactive/Io Interactive)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts/Traveller's Tales)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment
Thus far, only 16 customers can subscribe to 1Gbps services on a single optical fiber line. That is one of the main barriers to the commercial debut of the 1Gbps Internet,'' said Kim Byoung-hwi, an Official at the Taejon-based institute, about 200 kilometers south of Seoul.
``However, we have created technology taking advantage of various length frames of optical fiber, increasing the number 32 fold to 512 users per cable,'' Kim said.
Kim projected the cutting-edge technique would substantially raise the commercial viability of the 1Gbps landline connectivity, which he expects to start this year.
The throughput of 1Gbps is fast enough to let people download a high-definition movie file in seconds. This currently takes several minutes using a regular network.
The speed is also roughly 100 times faster than the current norm of the wired Internet _ around 10 megabits per second.
``We developed the technology through an alliance with a domestic network equipment maker, which aims to commercially launch the 1Gbps Internet services late this year,'' Kim said.
KIDS are depressed because they eat too much fast food, play too many computer games and school is too competitive.
More than 100 teachers, psychologists, children's authors and experts have today written a letter to curb the 'death of childhood'.
They are asking the government and parents to start talking about ways to improve children's development.
The group, which includes author Philip Pullman and children's laureate Jacqueline Wilson, say young brains cannot adapt to the effects of rapid technological and cultural change the way adults can.
The signatories say it is clear the mental health of many kids has been affected leading to the rise of drug use, violence and self-harm.
Research by professor Michael Shayer at King's College, London, shows that during cognitive tests 11-year-olds were on average between two and three years behind where they were 15 years ago.
The anxious authors write: "They still need what developing human beings have always needed, including real food (as opposed to processed 'junk'), real play (as opposed to sedentary, screen-based entertainment), first-hand experience of the world they live in, and regular interaction with the real-life, significant adults in their lives.
They also need time. In a fast-moving, hyper-competitive culture, today's children are expected to cope with an ever earlier start to formal schoolwork and an overly academic test-driven primary curriculum.
They are pushed by market forces to act and dress like mini-adults and exposed via the electronic media to material that would have been considered unsuitable for children even in the very recent past."
Jacqueline Wilson said: "We are not valuing childhood. I speak to children at book signings and they ask me how I go through the process of writing and I say, 'Oh you know, it's just like then you play imaginary games and you simply write it all down'.
All I get is blank faces. I don't think children use their imaginations anymore."
All booths and stands for Tiga's Content, Outsourcing and Middleware Market event, which is scheduled to take place as part of the London Games Festival, have sold out.
Exhibitors include development teams from UK, Canada, Korea and India, European middleware specialists, and outsourcing firms from around the globe.
"We have 30 publishing executives looking for new ideas and content from US, Japan and Europe - it's no small wonder we have sold all the stands and booths," said Fred Hasson, CEO of Tiga.
"We are now opening up the networking area to those who want to benefit from this serious business opportunity. And in the same venue there is a two day series of best practice seminars on financing, outsourcing and middleware - free to all," he added.
Speaking at these seminars will be representatives from Kuju, Babel Media, Blitz Games and Natural Motion, amongst others.
Five Nordic videogame companies have beaten 53 others to receive a share of an award worth DKK 2 million (268,170 Euro) from The Nordic Game Program.
The Norwegian Minister of Culture, Trond Giske, will present the award to the five company's during an official ceremony at the Nordic Game conference next week.
"The applicants were all of a very high creative standard, so it has been far from easy to whittle them down," said Erik Robertson, director of the Nordic Game Program.
"We agreed on five games in the end because we felt they fulfilled all the stipulations and promise to be extremely good and entertaining."
The scheme aims to bring distinctly Nordic qualities to videogames aimed at children and younger consumers. Applicants have to fulfil a number of criteria such as being of Nordic ownership and containing at least one Nordic language.
In an exclusive interviewwith GamesIndustry.biz, Nordic Game press officer Jacob Riis was keen to point to the continued success of the Nordic region.
"The Nordic game industry is growing in a number of directions. For a long time now the Nordic region has been among the largest consumers of computer and videogames, but these last years many things have happened in development, education and research," he said.
"Funding has been provided by the Nordic ministers of culture to strengthen the Nordic games industry, which Nordic Game 2006 is part of."
Nordic Game takes place on September 19th - 20th in Malmö.
In Philadelphia, a 25 year old man named Tyrone Spellman — who curiously goes by the name Anwar Salahuddin — punched his 17 month old daughter to death when she knocked over his console, causing him to disrupt the game.
According to the mother: "His confession was she pulled the cords in the game, the system is -- the box itself -- fell, and he was upset and then responsible for paying for the game, so he hit her in her face twice," Turman said, adding that Spellman also allegedly slung the child over a chair.
Spellman is being charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child and possessing an instrument of crime. No word if they mean his fist, the chair or the Xbox on that last charge.
As a last note of surreality, a note was apparently left on Spellman's door, saying not to judge him because he'd never hurt a child.
The Toronto Sun is one of a number of news outlets playing up the fact the Kimveer Gill, the shooter in a recent senseless attack at a school in Montreal, listed Super Columbine Massacre RPG as his favorite video game in a blog posting. At first glance, it seems like a natural connection -- a Columbine-style killer who was inspired by a game that lets you recreate the tragic events of the Columbine shootings. Yet while news outlets are quick to mention the game's scary name, or simply the fact that the killer "loved ... violent video games," no mainstream news source that I have seen actually looks at the game itself and why a disturbed, potential killer might be drawn to it.
More than the crass, exploitative murder simulator that you may expect from the name, Super Columbine Massacre RPG explores the motivations of the Columbine killers and the aftermath of their attacks using quotes and source material from those involved. The game does let you control Columbine killers Dylan Klebold and Matthew Harris, but doesn't come close to glorifying them or their actions. Rather, it shows the killers as confusing, troubled and deeply tragic figures.
Is this game the call to murder that the paper's are implying? Or is it a game that creator Danny Ledonne says "dares us into a realm of grey morality with nuanced perspectives of suffering, vengeance, horror, and reflection;" a game that Ian Bogost of Water Cooler Games called "brave, sophisticated and worthy of praise from those of us interested in video games with an agenda;" a game that a blogger at The Pale Writer called "one of the only psychological explorations of the Columbine killers ever completed."
The shootings in Montreal are obviously regrettable, but using the occasion to drag an important, intellectual, and well-made game doesn't do anyone any good.
After hearing it on the popular satyr TV show "The Colbert Report" (silent T's and no, he isnt really French) I learned that Steven Colbert may actually have won the recent Hungarian Bridge naming contest that has been oh so popular for the past few weeks. On the show a supposed US Ambassador of Hungary showed up to inform him that he had officially won.
This is either an amazing event or a brilliant hoax.
Apparently more information can be found at www.colbertnation.com , however at so many people seem to be viewing the site that I have not been able to view it myself.
You can view a less popular Colbert fan site in the link below, it gives some information on the ?victory? http://www.nofactzone.net/?p=252
The technology will also find its way into drives and players. When a user places a disc inside a player, the RFID reader will verify whether or not a disc has been copied or whether or not a movie is being played in the correct geographical location. Unfortunately, this also means that users will be unable to make home backups of discs and store away originals for safe keeping.
Ritek's chief executive officer Gordon Yeh said "this technology holds the potential to protect the intellectual property of music companies, film studios and gaming and software developers worldwide." Apparently, a new RFID equipped DVD drive will perform the security check by hardware, and not require system drivers or specialized software. The intent is to prevent users from creating software to circumvent the RFID mechanism. The online enthusiast community however, has been successfully modifying driver firmware for a number of years.
Game On - the much-lauded exhibition charting the history of videogames and their effect on popular culture - is to return in updated form, this time around at The Science Museum in London.
The mark two version of Game On (which premiered at The Barbican in 2002) will run between 21 October 2006 and 25 February 2007, with tickets priced at £8.50 for adults and £6.50 for children/concessions (for booking details, click here).
One new addition to the exhibition will be a visual timeline of videogaming history, created by Nottingham artist Jon Burgerman, who is renowned for his distinctive street-art style. The exhibition, as before, will feature the PDP-1 - the computer which ran the first game, Space War - and a 1971 Computer Space arcade machine.
The exhibition will be supported by a programme of debates and speakers sessions, plus investigations into the science behind videogames and how players interact with them.
Video Games Live is coming to London in November, organisers AEG Live have announced, with tickets on sale now.
VGL, better known to those in the States, is a concert celebrating game music throughout the ages - covering everything from Pong and Duck Hunt to Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy.
The first UK show is taking place on 25th November at the Hammersmith Apollo, with tickets on sale now for GBP 25 plus a booking fee. You can snaffle them up by phoning 0870 405 0448 or going to www.aeglive.co.uk.
The event will see a live orchestra and choir recreating a huge range of game music. Mario, Zelda, Halo, Warcraft, Myst, Castlevania, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic, OutRun, Tomb Raider - the list goes on and on and on.
There'll also be exclusive video footage with the musical arrangements, cinema surround sound and interactive segments - not to mention some playable games, prizes to win, and the chance to meet some of the designers and composers.
For the moment the event's only taking place in London, but with 11,000 people having gone to the one in the US last year, it's safe to bet that organisers AEG will keep it going if it proves a success here.
Almost 13 million units of pirated computer software, CDs, and DVDs have been destroyed since a 100-day anti-piracy campaign was initiated by the Chinese authorities.
From unlicensed factories to street vendors, police have begun to seize assets, materials and fake products in the nations' largest clampdown of counterfeit intellectual property, reports the Xinhua News Agency.
Police and copyright officers have so far closed down 8,907 shops and street vendors, 481 publishing companies and 942 illegal websites.
Chinese vice premier Wu Yi met with US ambassadors earlier this month to commit to combat piracy and protect the rights and interests of intellectual property owners.
When a friend was returning from maternity leave a few years ago, video game professional Shannon Loftis made a point of sending her a lengthy e-mail spelling out the things she had learned upon coming back to work after the birth of her own son. Later, the friend asked if she could pass it on to another friend who had just had a baby. Loftis said yes.
Nearly four years after that, as Loftis was finishing up maternity leave after the birth of her second child, the very same e-mail--detailing strategies for handling the many demands of family and the office--found its way into her inbox.
Loftis' story was emblematic of the issues that all video game professionals, but perhaps women more than men, deal with as they navigate the realities of a profession that requires long hours and doesn't do much to help employees manage their dual--home and work--lives.
That's why at least 150 people gathered here, at Microsoft's RedWest facility, for Women in Games International's one-day conference, "The Balancing Act: Game Industry Careers and Quality of Life."
Over the course of several hours, a keynote address, two panels, and several workshops, those in attendance discussed how to keep happy while working in an industry famous for the stresses under which it puts its workers.
The event was seen by some as a replacement for the Women in Games conference that last year was held in conjunction with the Austin Games Conference. This year's AGC, held earlier this month, did not host a women's event.
Befitting the interest that so many women have in learning how to tackle these issues, the ratio of men to women at the event--usually at game industry confabs there are at least 10 men for every woman--was turned on its head. If 10 percent to 12 percent of the industry's professionals are women, it seemed as if all of them were on hand here Saturday.
The day started with a keynote address by Bonnie Ross, director of production for Microsoft Game Studios publishing. She addressed the issue of some of the differences she'd seen over the years in how men and women deal with the fragile work-life balance, something that has come to the forefront of industry human resources issues recently, especially after well-publicized complaints and lawsuits by employees of Electronic Arts.
"Women's long-term quality-of-life issues are different than men's," Ross said. "Many of us will slow down and stall our careers to affect this balance. Men have a slow curve upward toward the pinnacle of (professional) expertise. Women will take a couple of dips."
As a result, she said, many women's video game careers never reach their full potential, and some end up leaving for other work. Thus, she said, it is imperative that the video game industry work harder to come up with ways to address women's needs. Part of the solution, she said, is finding ways to bring more women into the industry in the first place. And that starts with intentionally promoting diversity.
"A more diverse environment is also a comfortable workplace for diverse people," Ross said. "So hopefully, they want to stay longer."
Part of making that happen, she urged the audience, begins with having women in the industry learn that they need to do a better job of networking, both for their own advancement and that of female friends and peers.
At the same time, said Paula Fellbaum, director of human resources for game publisher THQ's Relic Entertainment division, women may well force the industry to come up with new ways to handle the delicate balance between work and life.
"Women demand a better work-life balance," Fellbaum said. "As more women are coming into the industry, (they) are forcing that change and saying, 'Look, we can do this smarter and better. We don't have to work harder. We can work smarter.'"
Gano Haine, vice president of product development for LimeLife, agreed. She said it's hard to imagine a video game industry without the occasional crunch period, but she suggested that women may be better at coming up with ways--such as treating the management of life at work for themselves and coworkers as they would do at home for their families--to handle such pressured periods.
Further, Haine said, women are better than men at saying no to the kinds of demands put on video game employees. But that doesn't always mean they get their way.
"The difficulty in this industry is staying around long enough to make that 'no' stick," Haine said.
That's an important element to effecting larger change in the industry, said Lisa Waits, head of Nokia's Snap Mobile division, but one at which women may not be particularly good.
"Unless you have some longevity, it's really tough to get into executive positions," Waits said. "(Women) as a whole do not do a good job of articulating our career ambitions and promoting ourselves."
Regardless, it's important for women to establish boundaries of what they will and will not put up with, several panelists said Saturday, something that's more important for women than men because of the realities of the difficulties of bearing children and maintaining a career.
Loftis recalled how, after giving birth to her first son, she had gone on a long business trip to England. After seven days, she said, she missed her son so much that her arms hurt any time she thought of him.
Afterward, she continued, she committed to never going on business trips longer than seven days.
Shari Graner Ray, an author who writes often about the issues women in the industry face, told a story about how she had been in Austin for her wedding when her chief executive called to tell her he had laid off a third of her employees.
She said she considered calling off the wedding and going back to New Mexico to deal with the fallout from the layoffs but decided in the end to continue with the wedding. Saturday, the audience broke out in applause upon hearing Ray's story.
All in all, Saturday's event was more informative than definitive. Much of the content had more to do with general work-life balance issues than those specific to women. But for some of those who attended, getting the chance to be alongside so many female industry professionals made the conference well worth attending.
"It's great to be involved in such a supportive and constructive environment," said Cheryl Platz, a producer for Amaze Entertainment in nearby Kirkland, Washington. "People (here) want to fix things...It's really important that we talk about how to fix the industry as a whole."
According to EA's Montreal's vice president and general manager Alain Tascan, speaking this morning at the Nordic Game convention in Malmö, Sweden, over half the publisher's total revenues this year will be taken from outside the traditional global games industry stronghold of the USA.
"This year, more than 50 per cent of our revenue is coming from outside North America," said Tascan. "Exporting to 'outside' is very, very important, and a big part of your business."
He illustrated the point by pointing towards explosive network technology usage in China, where more than 260 million internet users now exist, and claimed Scandinavia will be among one of the global development hotspots in the next 10 years.
"We're very actively looking for partners in Scandinavia," he said. "We believe the quality of the entertainment here is incredible."
Tascan said the centres for game development in the next decade will include San Francisco, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Montreal, Orlando, the UK, Scandinavia, Bangalore, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai.
The creation of the "perfect storm" of game development, according to Tascan, needs education, hi-tech infrastructure, a young and energetic population, a competitive cost of living, a culturally active environment and a "totally supportive" government.
"And when I say totally supportive, the government of Quebec gives us 40 per cent of all salaries," said Tascan. "If we give someone 100, they give us back 40."
The Game Developers Conference is to take the torch once help by E3, and become the largest trade exhibition for the worldwide gaming community.
The size of the show floor is to be more than doubled for the event in order to incorporate the growth of attendees, due to take place at the Moscone Convention Centre in San Francisco next March.
"As GDC enters its 20th year, it emerges as the event with the largest gravitational pull of any other game industry-only event," said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC.
"While it remains our primary goal to serve the game development community and ensure that the session-based half of GDC remains unchanged, we also believe it is time to dramatically upgrade the range of expo opportunities."
"The result of our expansion is that GDC becomes the natural choice for all companies in the game industry ecosystem to exhibit and conduct business," added Moledina.
The new show floor will be built around a core of existing GDC expo suites and a networking lounge, surrounded by company's ranging from publishers and developers to mobile games firms, peripheral manufacturers, outsourcing specialists and international consortia.
Booth spaces, expo suites and meeting rooms will be available for vendors, while the new Game Demo Theatre will showcase upcoming games from developers and publishers.
Reassurance that the GDC will not forget its roots is evidenced by organisers offering dedicated networking and reception events for developers, publishers, serious game companies, mobile developers and East-West collaborations.
For 2007 the GDC will also add a casual/independent reception and a dedicated Independent Games Conference to compliment the Independent Games Festival taking place as a part of the Game Developers Conference.
High Street specialist GAME has acquired Australian videogame retailer The Games Wizards for AUD $3.8 million (2.2 million euro).
Based in Sydney and with 14 company-owned stores and eight franchises across the continent, The Games Wizards has been operating for over ten years.
"The acquisition of The Games Wizards provides the group with an established business and a low cost entry to this important market," said Martin Long, chief executive of the Game Group.
"The specialist video games retail sector is already well established and in terms of software revenue Australasia is larger than Spain, Italy, Benelux and the Nordic region".
"Australia is an attractive games market with good growth dynamics and offers the potential to develop our international business further alongside our existing growth plans," he added.
The Games Wizards reported sales of AUD $19.7 million (11.7 million euro) in the financial year ending June 30th 2006, with losses of AUD $1.6 million (952,000 euro).
If you're reading this, you're likely a heavy gamer. I'm not calling you fat. But according to the NPD Group, who just did a study amongst 16,670 participants, there's a 45% chance you are between the ages of six and seventeen. In other words, someone I really shouldn't be saying '****' around.
The study, whose sample is comprised of 16,670 participants between ages six and 44, found that 45 percent of the study's "heavy gamer" segment and nearly one-third of its "avid console gamer" segment (the largest group in the study) were between the youthful ages of six and 17. The findings contradict the wide belief that the most committed gamers fall in the coveted 18- to 34-year-old male demographic...
Other highlights of the NPD's segmentation study include the finding that 21 percent of the heavy gamer segment is made up of females. In addition, the entire heavy gamer segment makes up a mere 3 percent of the overall gaming population.
Overall, it looks like the dominance of the 18 to 34 year old gamer is just a myth. In fact, heavy gamers only account for 3% of gamers overall. Might want to consider that next time you fake sick from junior high to write another obscenity-laced thesis on why the Playstation 3 is going to totally RULE.
This fall, US Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is facing a tough election to hang on to his seat. Now, it appears the junior Senator from Pennsylvania may lose the support of gamers wary of federal intervention.
US Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Santorum recently issued a press release announcing that the Senate has approved the Children Media Research and Advancement Act (CAMRA). If made law, the act, which is cosponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Hillary Clinton (D-NY), will task the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with examining "the impact of electronic media on children."
The study will focus on the psychological effect of video games on American teenagers. It was passed at the end of last week at the same time the games press was dominated by news of the Nintendo Wii's price, release date, and multimedia functionality.
"As the father of six children, I am very pleased that the CAMRA Act has passed the Senate," Santorum said in a statement. "This legislation will authorize new research that will provide a better understanding of the power of media--both positive and negative--on our nation's youth. Parents and policymakers will be able to use this information to make healthy and productive choices for our children."
The CAMRA act was first introduced in May 2004, nearly a year prior to the so-called "Hot Coffee" Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sex-minigame scandal. A revised version was resubmitted to the Senate in 2005. It must still be passed by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives to become law.
Politicians in up-and-coming Scandinavia fail to mince words as grants flow freely at Swedish event.
Erik Robertson, organiser of government funded organisation Nordic Game, has issued a stark warning to British politicians of an ostensible refusal to support the British games development industry with grants.
"I would say that if the British government and politicians in Britain keep refusing to support their industry – as it is, as I understand it, the third in the world in terms of size – from the Nordic perspective: good idea."
Robertson was speaking after a presentation by Norwegian minister for culture and church affairs, Trond Giske, at the Nordic Game event in Malmö, Sweden.
"I'll be careful giving advice to politicians in other countries, but I can say what our objectives are towards this industry," Giske added.
"I view it as a cultural industry, as a media branch. This is something people develop their impressional skills, their ability to see the world in different angles and ways, and I think it's very important that we have ways of telling stories from our own culture also in this industry as in movies."
"Of course, we could fill cinemas with British or American movies, but we want to have our own stories as well. Our children should have access to computer games based on the Nordic story-telling traditions," said the minister.
During his presentation, Giske handed out several grants to Nordic developers, including 600,000 Swedish krowns (65,200 Euro) to Guppyworks for "The Snow Queen and the Magic Mirror", 400,000 Swedish krowns (43,400 Euro) to Skalden Studios for "Blablobben Doggo og det Gronne Monsteret" and 500,000 Denmark Kroner (67,000 Euro) to Sub-level X Entertainment for "Nord".
Giske also detailed how government funding in the Nordic region will achieve Nordic Game's goal of giving children access to games which feature Nordic characters and storytelling and raise the profile of Scandinavian development through events such as E3 in Los Angeles and Games Convention in Leipzig.
The approach of supporting the games development business through government funding in the rest of Europe has become a bone of contention in the UK among those increasingly desperately seeking employment and training grants from politicians.
Giske pointed at the size difference of the two territories as a possible reason for a refusal to budge from the British Labour government.
"You have to take into consideration that the UK is 60 million people," said Giske. "Totally in the Nordic countries we are around 24 million people. It's a much smaller market and we have smaller language areas, so there might be a different need for support in our countries than there is in Britain."
Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision, has revealed that the company is "laser-focused" with the intension to exploit its franchises to drive growth over the next ten years.
He also highlighted the importance of becoming the leading publisher on the Xbox 360 and launching new intellectual property into the market.
"We have a huge competitive advantage owning and controlling some of the world's most valuable franchises in the videogame industry," said Kotick speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference.
Kotick revealed intentions of "taking those franchises that we own and control, annualising them, increasing their penetration and their interest to consumers every single year."
"Tony Hawk is an example of a franchise that we've managed to exploit, with over nine separate versions of the game," said Kotick.
"This year will be no exception as we launch Tony Hawk's Project 8 to an older demographic, and for the first time we'll be launching a product - Downhill Jam - which will be orientated towards the six to eleven year-old consumer."
As Activision continues to challenge the annual franchise market dominated by EA, Kotick also highlighted the company's success in establishing a strong early presence on the next-generation, with Call of Duty 2 for Xbox 360.
"Most importantly, for the first time we are the leading publisher on the next-generation consoles," he said
"We had the number one Xbox 360 title on launch and we continue to have one of the top-selling titles - it's the number one attach rate product on the Xbox 360. So we've had great success early on in launching new products for the next-generation."
New properties that the company intends to exploit include recent signings Transformers and James Bond, the latter of which holds stronger international appeal than it does in the US.
"We have developed a real expertise in taking proven franchises, particularly those that are tied to movie launches, and making sure that we get the maximum benefit from the movie launch. These will be no exception," said Kotick.
Following the news that hit music game Guitar Hero will be make the leap to other formats, Kotick revealed possible plans to exploit opportunities including music downloads, to take advantage of a growing genre.
"The music genre is growing very quickly. Guitar Hero is a great IP. The long term opportunities here include all sorts of product extensions - music downloads that are very high-margin opportunities - and you can expect next calendar year, launches of Guitar Hero on every significant new format."
"This is an exciting product that we believe offers a lot of opportunities for margin expansion," he added. "We now have the best record of introducing new intellectual property of any company in the videogame industry."
Brenda Brathwaite knows good game sex. The founder and chair of the International Game Developers Association Sex Special Interest Group and lead designer on Playboy: The Mansion organized the Sex in Video Games Conference this summer and schooled GameHead's Geoff Keighly on some classic sexually themed games. Now, Brathwaite has unleashed a 300-page text book on the subject, titled, appropriately enough, Sex in Video Games.
This book is long, thick and certainly knows what it's doing. From the history of sex, positive inclusion and censorship, to emergent sex and sex across cultures, it's a comprehensive reference of some of the more social aspects of our tech-heavy industry.
Certainly one of the most interesting chapters in the book is the 20-page chronology and analysis of the Hot Coffee incident. The book covers everything from the initial discovery to the modest investigation and finally the full-blown media circus with interviews with the original hot coffee modder Patrick Wildenborg and MIT Prof. Henry Jenkins.
It is great to see an academic textbook showing it all off regarding this taboo subject. After all, as Brathwaite says, "games are not just for kids."
EA and DTI to supply content to airlines worldwide
Electronic Arts has signed a deal to provide gaming content for in-flight entertainment systems to DTI Software's airline partners.
The Sims will lead the charge, along with a range of titles from Pogo.com including Poppit!, Word Whomp, Phlinx, Tri-Peaks Solitaire and Harvest Mania.
"We are delighted to partner with DTI Software and bring some of our most popular games to in-flight entertainment," said Jon Niermann, president of EA Asia.
"Now, travellers can enjoy the world of EA when they are in their living room or above the clouds," he added.
"The Sims and Pogo.com are two of the most recognised brands in the games world," said Louis Bélanger-Martin, DTI Software executive VP.
"We are very enthusiastic about bringing the EA brand to in-flight passengers."
DTI Software provides in-flight entertainment systems for 62 airline partners, supplying the user interface software, games and infotainment applications.
It currently has a portfolio of around 90 titles under licence from companies such as Buena Vista Games and Celador.
We'll jump at the chance to show a picture or three of a babe in a bra, and this one is an extraordinary example, a $1.89 million gold number decorated with handfuls of diamonds.
It can't be comfortable; look at how it's digging into her. Miss, I'm on a humanitarian mission—here, let me help you out of that.
Apart from LCD TV's and other gizmos Panasonic even makes toilet seats in Japan and here is their latest offering the DL-GWN range of advanced toilet seats. The seat has a sensor and upon detecting presence lights up and illuminiates a bulls eye in the water. The main use of the light is after a night of heavy partying and so those middle night breaks where if you get a smelly toilet if you go haywire. The light also warms the seat and helps in cleaning the seat. In Japan the water used for washing and bathing is recycled for flushing. The water is boiled and used to clean the seat automatically after use.
In fact, the study found that by increasing the sample, "only 15.8% of the movement in game unit sales ... can be explained by movements in game ratings," a figure down from its original 17.3% from the sample of 275 games.
To help try and trap for other factors that might explain the findings, the authors looked specifically at franchise correlation, including sequels and new franchises, and selected data from other consoles, in all cases failing to find sufficient direct score to sales matches outside extreme isolated cases.
In conclusion, the authors state, "a theory (that game ratings matter) that fails under scrutiny is accepted as conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is wrong. And we have not even addressed the causation argument – that a higher rating causes a game to sell better.
Last year, analysts firm DFC Intelligence predicted that sales from software would hit $26 billion by 2008. Today, the firm is throwing all things gaming--software, hardware, online revenue--into its latest forecast that looks at the business even further down the line. DFC prognosticates that the gaming industry will be worth $44 billion by 2011, up from an estimated $29 million last year.
The majority of the dough is obviously set to come from Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360, and Nintendo's Wii, but DFC analyst David Cole still thinks the next-gen crown is up for grabs.
"Uncertainty is truly the keyword going forward," said Cole. "Three solid video game systems are competing for market share and it will probably be two to three years before a true leader is determined."
Cole believes that software sales from the three platforms will account for about a third of worldwide sales in the industry, with no platform singled out as a clear leader like the PlayStation 2 was in the current-gen war. He also believes that the competition between the three competing consoles, a burgeoning portable sector, and the rising popularity of online games "is the key to success" for the industry.
Future Publishing has confirmed it is to sell or close a number of titles in its portfolio, but all games titles are currently safe.
"We are exploring options to sell titles, but none are from the games portfolio," confirmed a spokesperson for the company.
Managing director Robert Price sent an email to all staff this afternoon detailing reasons for the refocus.
"Against a backdrop of challenging market conditions currently faced by all publishers, we simply cannot afford to invest on all fronts, so these changes enable us to support our core print businesses and our planned areas of expansion mid-term, particularly online," he said.
"A number of magazines will be sold or closed," said Price. Titles singled out include DJ, Total Mobile, Digital Camera Shopper and Home Entertainment Week.
Future publishes a range of videogame magazines, including Edge, GamesMaster, Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine and PC Gamer.
Research firm DFC Intelligence released a game-industry brief providing its lay of the land heading into the PlayStation 3 and Wii launches this November, and the organization is abstaining from backing any particular horse in the race. The brief is titled "Win, Place, or Show: Does it Really Matter," and it suggests that there are more important considerations than who is going to sell the most consoles this year.
"The console hardware battle is a marathon, not a sprint, and will be played out over the next three years," the firm said. "It is unlikely that this holiday season will reveal any major surprises that would cause us to make a major market reassessment."
DFC has been vocal in the past about its opinion that Sony's pricing of the PS3 has left the door open for Microsoft and Nintendo to claim plenty of market share at the electronics giant's expense. To stay in the hunt, DFC thinks Sony needs to keep the PlayStation 2 market active to postpone consumers from making the leap to the next-generation systems and to make the PS3's price competitive by late 2007. One move the firm applauded was Sony's announcement that it would include an HDMI port in both versions of the PS3 hardware, noting that it should cut down on confusion and keep the cheaper bundle from being perceived as a "crippled" version of the system.
"Another key point is that under all scenarios the new game systems from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are all viable platforms," the brief said. "In the past generation there was one platform, the PS2, that far outclassed the field. Going forward we do not see a scenario where any platform has that kind of dominance over the next five years. Even under the worst case scenario, Microsoft and Nintendo do better with the Xbox 360 and the Wii than they did with the Xbox and GameCube."
And while the differences in the three main hardware platforms will make porting games a challenge for developers, DFC believes those unique qualities each platform possesses may spur the industry's growth in the coming generation.
"Increasingly consumers own multiple platforms on which they play games," the brief said. "There are many opportunities to reach a growing consumer base. Unfortunately the market is also getting substantially more competitive and the pitfalls are growing just as fast. Even the largest companies risk becoming overextended as they try to be all things, to all people, in all places."
If variety is the spice of life, the US PC Charts are one of the blandest dishes on the planet. For the past two years, the top slot in the chart has almost always been occupied by World of Warcraft, the Sims 2, or one of the various Sims 2 expansions. During the week of September 3-9, the add-on The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff enjoyed its second stay at number one after dethroning WOW, which had spent much of the prior month in the pole position.
However, the monotony changed during the week of September 10-16, according to the most recent sales rankings released by the NPD Group. That seven-day stretch saw both Electronic Arts' Paris Hilton-worthy-accessory expansion pack and Blizzard Entertainment's social-life-gutting massively multiplayer online role-playing game bested by a newcomer. LucasArts' block-toy/sci-fi-film crossover Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy proved to be quite the retail force in the days after its September 12 release, becoming the first game to debut at number one since Madden NFL 07's brief stint at the top in August.
The week also saw another game do well during its first week on the market. The regular edition of THQ and Relic's Company of Heroes premiered in a solid third place, wedged in between Glamour Life Stuff and WOW, while the special Collector's Edition of the game landed in sixth place, just below The Sims 2. Despite some problems with SLI graphics-card compatibility (which has since been patched), the World War II real-time strategy title has earned sparkling reviews from numerous outlets, including GameSpot.
Besides the omnipresent WOW, Blizzard had a second game in the top 10 during the week--the Warcraft III Battle Chest compilation, which landed in seventh place. That was ahead of THQ's film-inspired minigame compilation Cars Radiator Springs Adventures (eighth), EA's Sim City 4 Deluxe (ninth), and The Sims 2 Open for Business (10th).
Five titles dropped out of the top 10 during the week of September 10-16: Star Wars: Empire at War, Civilization IV: Warlords, Half-Life 2: Episode One, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Gold bundle.
It took more than 20 years for desktop processors to go from single-core to dual-core. Now, Intel is preparing to release its first desktop quad-core processor after introducing its first dual-core desktop CPU in April 2005. Intel executives this week announced that it will begin shipping the first quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processors this November. Intel did not announce pricing details, but new Extreme Edition processors have traditionally shipped at the $999 price point.
The Core 2 Extreme, codenamed "Kentsfield," will incorporate two dual-core chips on a single package for a total of four processing cores and 8MB of L2 cache memory. The Core 2 Extreme QX6700's 2.66GHz clock speed makes it slightly slower than the current Conroe-based 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme Processor. That means that the faster dual-core processor will likely outperform its quad-core sibling in applications that haven't been optimized for multiple processor cores, but the quad-core should perform better in newer multithreaded applications designed for multicore processors.
Remedy Entertainment's upcoming action thriller game, Alan Wake, can take advantage of quad-core processors by devoting separate program threads such as physics, game action, environment, and sound processing to each core.
Comparison systems provided by Intel showed the Core 2 Extreme quad-core chip scoring 8910 compared to the dual-core Core 2 Extreme's 8286 in the popular 3D gaming benchmark 3DMark06. However, the default 3DMark06 test is primarily a video card benchmark, and the close scores better represent the performance of the systems' matching GeForce 7950 GX2 video cards. The quad-core processor had a much wider lead over the dual-core version in 3DMark's specialized CPU test, where the quad-core scored 3903 to the dual-core's 2497.
Rival processor manufacturer AMD is preparing to release its own "4x4" quad-core platform later this year, but AMD's hardware will use dual-socket motherboards and dual-core CPUs to get up to four cores. AMD will follow up with single-chip quad-core CPUs in 2007.
The quad-core Core 2 Extreme processor will be compatible with most existing 965 and 975 LGA775 motherboards but may require a BIOS update. The Core 2 Extreme QX6700 will be the only Intel quad-core CPU available this November. Mainstream Core 2 Quad processors are scheduled to arrive in the first quarter of 2007.
This Thanko FMP3 watch lets you play MP3s from your wrist and it has an FM radio, too. Choose between 512MB or 1GB of flash memory and wear your music on your sleeve, or thereabouts.
Although it's certainly not the first MP3 watch (even Thanko itself has a voice-recording MP3 watch among a few others), it would be so much nicer with a Bluetooth transmitter along with a pair of wireless earphones. Pricing is €113 and €148, or somewhere between $143 and a $187 depending on storage.
Our good Gawker buddies over at the Consumerist, while remaining total assholes, did manage to spot a fascinating gamer-related story in between all their kvetching about exploding laptop batteries and fruit-flavored Cheerios: at least one Gamestop out there is knowingly selling counterfeit Nintendogames.
The complaint comes via Curmudgeon Gamer, who tried to buy a copy of Aria of Sorrow second-hand from a local Gamespot. He quickly spotted it was a counterfeit and schooled the loquacious pimple behind the counter about how you spot a fake cartridge.
Me: First key was the label. That one doesn't look like the one I own. Then when I looked at the contacts, I didn't see the word "Nintendo" on the circuit board. Look here at Game A. [I hand him Game A, pointing at circuit board]
Dude: Whoa. [he takes Aria of Sorrow from me] You're right, it doesn't say "Nintendo". That's cool.
Me: Yeah. If you peel the price sticker off, you can probably tell the back of the cartridge is slightly different. And if you take the case apart you'll see a nasty cheap battery and a blop of black epoxy or something over the main chip.
Dude: Whoa. Learned something tonight! [he hands back Game A, puts Aria of Sorrow back in case] As long as it's just between you and me, no problem, right? [he closes case]
Well, now it's between you, Curmudgeon Gamer and 200,000 Kotaku readers. But we'll be quiet, won't we, guys?
