Anyone interested in getting a career in videogames, take note - the London Game Career Fair kicks off tomorrow, and over the next two days will be providing both young people and professionals keen on making the move into games with a chance to meet top employers and recruitment experts, and to hear presentations and put questions to speakers from many different parts of the industry.
The event is free, and it's open to anyone with an interest in working in games - it should be especially relevant to students, school leavers, and professionals from other industries who are thinking of making the leap over into the games industry, and either want to meet with employers to hand over CVs in person, or simply want to find out what kind of university courses or professional training they should be looking for.
The event, which is backed by GamesIndustry.biz and Gamasutra, takes place in the Cafe Royal on Regent Street, right next to Piccadilly Circus - just down the road from other London Games Week events such GDC London. It's open from 11am through to 7pm on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and many of the topics of the sessions and presentations are repeated on both days (all the exhibitors will be there on both days, too) to make it as convenient as possible for attendees.
Although pre-registration for the event is closed, registrations will be available on the door, and it's still absolutely free to get in. For more information, including the exhibitor list visit the London Game Career Fair website
Those of you who've poked Night Elves in filthy little grottos on RP servers (you and you...and you, yes I can tell just by looking at you) are not so innocent, says Dr Janet Hall, a Australian "specialist" in sexual and relationship difficulties.
"Is cybersex considered cheating? Yes," she says, emphatically. "As soon as secret, intimate, emotional or physical information is shared, it's cheating."
People who don't view it that way, says Dr Hall, need to "re-commit to their relationship and agree with boundaries that will be constructive and not sabotage their future". As with any bad habit, such as smoking and gambling, cybersex addicts, she believes, need a "structured plan to prevent the behaviour and overcome the need".
The quick slide from people who cyber to "addicts" is symptomatic of yet another sensationalist wad of "journalism". I am quote-happy this post, but come on.
Sometimes things aren't what they appear to be, and here's a case in point: the floor of his elevator car is painted to give the illusion that there's no floor at all. It's a trompe l'oeil that's realistic enough to convince the roadrunner that there is indeed a tunnel on the side of the mountain, not just a painting by Wile E. Coyote.
The artists sell the illusion really well, too, where there's even a sign warning you there's "work in progress." After a few people walk in, though, you'll be able to see the footprints, and the illusion might not be so convincing. But I'd still like to be the first one to step inside. Full-sized pics after the jump.
We all thought that Microsoft was asking for trouble when the company announced previously that it would be including all the versions of Windows Vista on a single DVD, setting the stage for those in the know to crack the disc and save themselves some cash by installing Ultimate when they likely bought (ok, probably pirated via BitTorrent) a Vista DVD. Well, Microsoft has fired the first salvo in this war on pirates -- according to The Associated Press, the Redmond crew will be taking "much harsher steps to curtail piracy" than in years past. First, the company will "deny access" to some of the "most anticipated features," including Windows Aero, the new GUI. Then, Vista will start issuing ransom demands (we're not kidding about this part), demanding that a legitimate copy be bought within 30 days, or else. What would such consequences entail? How about limiting Web access to an hour at a time? Further, what about not being able to open documents from the desktop or "run other programs such as Outlook e-mail software" ? However, the article goes on to say: "Microsoft said it won't stop a computer running pirated Vista software from working completely, and it will continue to deliver critical security updates." So for those of you keeping score, Microsoft wants to make using your computer as miserable as possible, while keeping it as "safe" as possible, ok? Now, if we were betting types, we'd guess that the odds are pretty favorable that this anti-piracy measure will be defeated just as fast as PlaysForSure was.
Web search leader Google Inc.'s (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) $1.65 billion deal to buy Web video-sharing site YouTube.com is part of a broader strategy to invest in the emerging online video market, a top executive said on Monday.
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt told investors and news reporters on a conference call following news of the deal that YouTube will be "one of many investments" Google plans to make in the video field.
Schmidt said that Google will run YouTube as an independent company but also preserve its own Google Video as a separate operation. He described YouTube as the "clear winner in networking and the social side of video" for the way the site encourages its users to share videos with their friends.
"We were very impressed and that's what led us to begin conversations with YouTube," Schmidt said.
David Drummond, Google's senior vice president of corporate development and general counsel, said the $1.65 billion acquisition price will be slightly dilutive to Google earnings for the remainder of this year and into 2007.
"There will be some slight dilution this year and next, but we think this is a good structure," Drummond said.
The deal was structured as an all-stock transaction to make it tax-free for YouTube shareholders and also cheaper for Google than paying out of its roughly $10 billion in cash horde, Drummond said.
In response to a Wall Street analyst's question, Schmidt declined to quantify this impact on earnings, reiterating the company's policy against commenting on its financial outlook.
The YouTube deal is expected to close in the current fourth quarter, Drummond said. "All necessary corporate approvals by both companies boards are complete," he said.
Hooked on retro-kitsch, boy? You'll likey this Illuminate Cube from Megahouse then. Now it's no coincidence that this cube bears more than a passing resemblance to his similarly colored and sized bro' Rubik since The House owns the rights to said wunderkind in Japan. Unfortunately, this cube doesn't move, unless you mean the colored lights which do their best to keep time with the beat off any 3.5-mm attached audio source. Sure, it has a tiny 27-mm cone speaker integrated as well, but with a power rating of just 125mW x 2ch, why bother. Available at the end of the month in Japan for ¥5,250 or right around $44.
The revamped Electronic Entertainment Expo will be held July 11-13, 2007 in Santa Monica, California, where a number of hotels and the Barker Hangar will host press conferences, smaller meetings, and gameplay demos, the Entertainment Software Association announced today.
In late July, the ESA stirred game developers, press, and gamers alike when it announced that E3 -- a massive yearly games convention which had become an institution in the industry -- would be overhauled. Rather than the boisterous, crowded, Vegas-like affair it had become, the ESA said it would now offer a significantly more intimate, invitation-only event. The new E3 focuses specifically on game developers, retailers, and the press.
Today's announcement is the first official word on where and when the new E3 will be held.
In addition to conferences and play time, the new E3 will offer a daily luncheon session with executives and analysts; time for evening parties; and events like the Serious Games showcase and "Into the Pixel" art exhibit.
The nearby Barker Hangar, where companies will set up games for hands-on demonstration, will accommodate display areas ranging from 100 to 400 square feet.
"By combining suite-based meetings with the software showcase in a controlled and business-like environment, we believe we will successfully fulfill our primary objective of giving high-level media the best of all worlds -- the chance to engage in highly personal, one-on-one dialogue with leading game company executives, as well as the chance to demo games on their own time and to check out offerings from both the best known and emerging game publishers and developers," said ESA president Douglas Lowenstein. "It will also provide an excellent opportunity for meetings with retailers, developers and other audiences."
Participating hotels are within walking distance of each other, and the ESA will provide shuttle service between hotels, the Barker Hangar, and off-site press conferences.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A high school freshman upset by the war in Iraq has been questioned by federal authorities after venting her frustration with President Bush last spring on her MySpace.com Web page.
Julia Wilson posted a picture of the president, scrawled "Kill Bush" across the top and drew a dagger stabbing his outstretched hand. She later replaced her page after learning in history class that such threats are a federal offense.
It was too late.
Federal authorities had found the page and placed the girl on their checklist.
The 14-year-old freshman was taken out of class Wednesday and questioned for about 15 minutes by two Secret Service agents. The incident has upset her parents, who said the agents should have included them.
The girl said the agents' questioning led her to tears and that she's not a dangerous person.
Julia Wilson.. what a loser! If you are american and you have a blog with bad comments about Bush, you will be arrested!
McDonalds Japan recently ran a contest giving away 10,000 MP3 players preloaded with 10 songs. However, the players were preloaded with QQpass malware - which transmits usernames, passwords, etc. off your computer. McDonalds set up a 24-hour hotline to troubleshoot the problem. Most conversations go something like this:
"Hi, welcome to McDonalds."
"My identity has been stolen because of your shitty MP3 player."
"Ok sir. Is our food unsafe for consumption?"
"Well...uhh...yeah, I guess."
"But that's why it's so tasty, no?"
"Sure, I guess."
"McDonalds also thought that unsafe music could be extra good, too...but if you're watching your credit line..."
"No, no, I'm not."
"Then would you like to try our new McSledgehammer. It's really, really bad for your computer."
"Sounds delicious!"
Why pay thousands for that temptation-quelling adaptive cruise control option, or dream about the forthcoming Siemens VDO electronic governor, when all you have to do is switch a few lanes while smashing the pedal to the metal? The Home Office has fessed up to a "massive flaw" in the costly (and abundant) SPECS speed monitoring / ticketing cameras, which allows drivers to avoid any legal repercussions by simply ending up in a different lane than the one they began in. The system takes the average speed between two points to calculate if a motorist has been speeding, and then snaps their photograph and sends them a very unwelcome ticket in the mail if they were; however, the cameras are only designed to analyze and penalize those who remain in the same lane throughout the speed-checking segment, opening up a very exploitable loophole. Government officials, along with the cameras' manufacturer (Speed Check Services), have resorted to begging with the public to not evade the presumably imminent £60 ($112) fine in order to maintain a "high level of safety" on the roadways, but it's not likely that pleading to deaf ears (and lead feet) will entice folks to willingly suffer a penalty this easy to avoid.
Enthusiastic developer Peter Molyneux has revealed how he thinks the games industry needs to innovate in order to grow - by creating games that make a player feel loved.
The Lionhead boss was addressing an audience of games industry peers in London last week, as part of EA lecture, 'The Industry Speaks: The Future of Entertainment'.
Speaking of the development of upcoming Xbox 360 title Fable 2, and its new features, Molyneux said: "The big feature is the emotions that I want to you to feel. And for me, that is where the revolution comes."
"We have felt the emotion of killing and maiming and the emotions of power. But we need more complex and interesting emotions. That is where real innovation is going to come from."
He said that online play has the potential to bring players together, and open gaming up to a much wider audience, provided it was possible to make players feel loved.
"The innovation that you, me and friends are playing a game together and we're experiencing male-bonding as we all cry over the same thing. That is my ultimate plan. One of the emotions I hope, if I do my job right, is the emotion of being loved. Not of you loving something, but something loving you," he said.
Arguing that true online gaming hasn't been established because current MMOGs aren't reaching a mainstream audience, Molyneux said: "There has not been an online game yet. Yes, there's World of Warcraft, and it's fantastic. I sat in my underpants until four in the morning playing that game for about six months and I realised I was one of the millions of people doing that. But that's not really innovation. That only works for geeks like me. My passion is to introduce everyone to what online games are."
As well as emotional goals, the designer also stated that games need to offer deep experiences that go beyond pleasing an established gaming audience.
"We need more compulsive concepts," he said. "We need less games about zombies and aliens, less games about huge guns, and that will help us reach out to more people. We need unbelievably deep games."
"If we build something and it looks real then it's got to behave real. No longer can we have adventure games where one book in a bookcase is readable."
"Even our physics engines that are around now, when you look at them in games, they're amazing. But they're only amazing to us. That's not good enough for other consumers. They need real physics, not game physics. The games industry has a huge way to go to reach this kind of resolution."
The Entertainment Software Association has announced that next year's E3 will take place in July, with a new name and new criteria for entry set to be introduced.
The E3 Media and Business Summit will run from July 11-13 in Santa Monica and, according to an ESA statement, will provide a platform for companies to "stage major press events, and to have intimate meetings in premier hotel suites and meeting rooms with media, retailers, developer partners and other audiences".
The hotels where these events and meetings take place will be within walking distance of each other, and there will be a shuttle bus to take attendees to major off-site conferences organised by the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
Each day a luncheon conference session will be presented by industry executives and analysts. A Serious Games showcase is also planned, and the ESA may incorporate an independent games showcase and hold the Into the Pixel event as part of E3.
Attendees will also be able to take a shuttle bus to the nearby Barker Hangar to see a software showcase. Display areas, which will be managed by the event organisers, will range from 100 to 400 square feet in size.
Entry to the event will be by invitation only, and booking is set to open within the next 30 days.
ESA president Doug Lowenstein pledged that the new E3 will be "more personal, efficient and focused," giving "the top stakeholders who make games, sell games and cover games streamlined access to the people and products they most need to see".
"The new E3 is first and foremost about getting business done. When we asked key audiences what they wanted in the new event, we heard that they wanted opportunities for high-level meetings in a business-like setting, to play games, network, and socialise, to see major company offerings while also preserving the sense of discovery that is so much a part of E3, and to hear substantive presentations on the most important issues and trends facing the industry," he continued.
"We believe the event we have shaped will fulfill all those needs... By combining suite-based meetings with the software showcase in a controlled and business-like environment, we believe we will successfully fulfill our primary objective of giving high-level media the best of all worlds - the chance to engage in highly personal, one-on-one dialogue with leading game company executives, as well as the chance to demo games on their own time and to check out offerings from both the best known and emerging game publishers and developers.
"It will also provide an excellent opportunity for meetings with retailers, developers and other audiences," Lowenstein concluded.
Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.
Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.
The human race would peak in the year 3000, he said - before a decline due to dependence on technology.
People would become choosier about their sexual partners, causing humanity to divide into sub-species, he added.
The descendants of the genetic upper class would be tall, slim, healthy, attractive, intelligent, and creative and a far cry from the "underclass" humans who would have evolved into dim-witted, ugly, squat goblin-like creatures.
Race 'ironed out'
But in the nearer future, humans will evolve in 1,000 years into giants between 6ft and 7ft tall, he predicts, while life-spans will have extended to 120 years, Dr Curry claims.
Physical appearance, driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility, will improve, he says, while men will exhibit symmetrical facial features, look athletic, and have squarer jaws, deeper voices and bigger penises.
Women, on the other hand, will develop lighter, smooth, hairless skin, large clear eyes, pert breasts, glossy hair, and even features, he adds. Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people.
However, Dr Curry warns, in 10,000 years time humans may have paid a genetic price for relying on technology.
Spoiled by gadgets designed to meet their every need, they could come to resemble domesticated animals.
Receding chins
Social skills, such as communicating and interacting with others, could be lost, along with emotions such as love, sympathy, trust and respect. People would become less able to care for others, or perform in teams.
Physically, they would start to appear more juvenile. Chins would recede, as a result of having to chew less on processed food.
There could also be health problems caused by reliance on medicine, resulting in weak immune systems. Preventing deaths would also help to preserve the genetic defects that cause cancer.
Further into the future, sexual selection - being choosy about one's partner - was likely to create more and more genetic inequality, said Dr Curry.
The logical outcome would be two sub-species, "gracile" and "robust" humans similar to the Eloi and Morlocks foretold by HG Wells in his 1895 novel The Time Machine.
"While science and technology have the potential to create an ideal habitat for humanity over the next millennium, there is a possibility of a monumental genetic hangover over the subsequent millennia due to an over-reliance on technology reducing our natural capacity to resist disease, or our evolved ability to get along with each other, said Dr Curry
He carried out the report for men's satellite TV channel Bravo.
Firefox, the browser that hath taken back the Web, is inching closer to another release milestone, version 2.0. Release candidate 3, or RC3 for the nerds in the house, might well be the last release candidate before version 2.0 officially goes live. What are some of the features you can expect to enjoy (or hate) once you upgrade? I think a jump is in order.
So Firefox 2.0 brings several changes to the Web browser that open source built. Some of the ones you'll immediately notice include:
•New visual theme. Yup, the 'fox looks different all right. Hooray (?)
•Built-in inline spell check. Handled by an extension before, spell check is now bolted onto the Web browser.
•Tab enhancements. Each tab now has an "X" in the top right corner instead of the one "X" in the tab bar. New windows now automatically open in a new tab rather than a separate window.
•Session restore. So far, I've only seen this work after a crash, but basically Firefox remembers all the tabs and windows that were open when things go haywire.
•Better RSS handling. Now you can subscribe to your favorite RSS feeds using either Firefox's built-in reader, a Web service (like Bloglines) or a stand alone application.
Many on the Interweb claim that these enhancements are nothing more than feature creep at its finest. Any opinions on this?
SEGA and Sports Interactive have announced that the latest instalment in the Football Manager series is on sale from today after "certain retail outlets" chose not to stick to the official release date.
Football Manager 2007 was due to hit the shelves on Friday. But according to an official statement issued by the two companies, "The official street date for Football Manager 2007 on PC / Mac has been brought forward to Wednesday, October 18th."
The decision has been taken "as a result of certain retail outlets ignoring the official release date of October 20th".
The statement concludes: "SEGA and Sports Interactive have acted to ensure that Football Manager 2007 is available to all of our loyal fans. We are in the process of communicating this new date to all of our retail partners."
Eidos exec Ian Livingstone has told a House of Commons select committee that parents must take responsibility for what children play - and that there's no evidence violent games can change behaviour.
Livingstone was in attendance at an evidence session held by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee yesterday, along with ELSPA director general Paul Jackson.
One of the issues under discussion was "concern about the nastier aspects of violent games", as raised by Labour MP Mike Hall.
Livingstone told the committee, "Not all games are violent games; in fact, the minority of them are violent.
"If you look at a game like, for example, Grand Theft Auto, where you see a lot of negative press, it's rather like judging the whole of the games industry on that game - would you judge the whole of the film industry on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?"
On the question of age ratings, Jackson assured the committee that "the industry does take it seriously as an issue" - referring to the ELSPA-backed Ask About Games initiative, which is designed to offer advice to parents.
"It's just straightforward; inappropriate material should not be seen or used by underaged kids," he added.
Livingstone said Eidos also takes its responsibilities as a publisher "very sincerely; we try our best to educate people".
However, he continued, "From my awareness and knowledge, there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that playing games can actually affect how you behave in real life... As long as you've got mature people buying mature content, they should be able to act responsibly."
When asked what's considered an excessive amount of time to spend playing games, Livingstone replied: "Games are addictive in the sense that anything you enjoy doing, you want to do again. It's a question of balance and control... Parents have to take responsibility.
"You know, I'd probably play golf all day given the chance, but you have to have a balance," he concluded.
Independent developer Blitz Games has revealed it has established a new division to concentrate on creating games for digital download.
The division, Blitz Arcade, has received a boost after the publisher developed three Xbox 360 titles for fast food chain Burger King, invigorating the company and proving it was capable of turning around fast, high-quality concepts in record time.
"One of the things that the Burger King deal opened up was that at the time it came about we were also looking at electronic distribution of videogames. This is an absolute winner, for the public and the developers," revealed Philip Oliver, CEO of Blitz, speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz
"What we've done with the team that worked on the Burger King project is we've set up a new division called Blitz Arcade, and we intend to make lots of arcade games for direct download."
Discussing the differences between Xbox Live Arcade and Sony's PlayStation 3 equivalent, Oliver pointed to Sony's intentions of delivering higher quality content as the key difference, as it steers clear of republishing retro titles.
"It's a very similar system but Sony is going to put much bigger memory limits and footprints on its downloads. It is not going to go the retro route - in fact Sony says it wants its games to be around the same price, but to be higher quality," he revealed.
"From what we've seen so far, Sony have got less product, but it is higher quality than Xbox Live downloads. It's setting the entry barrier higher, which we don't have a problem with because we want to do high-end games," he added.
The firm, also responsible for licensed titles based on Reservoir Dogs, Spongebob Squarepants and American Idol, also reiterated its commitment to creating full-length titles for next-gen consoles, with new deals set to be announced very shortly.
"I personally really, really like the idea [of arcade titles]. If you look at my background this sort of model worked years ago and it should work again," said Oliver. "But we also like working on epic games too."
"The epic titles are very good from a prestige and profile point of view. The point is that we decided at Blitz that we want to actually diversify in several different directions hence the reason we do these divisions," he concluded.
Rupert Grint is best known as the redheaded Ron Weasley in the 'Harry Potter' movies. But he managed to take some time off from wizarding school to star alongside Laura Linney in the coming-of-age movie 'Driving Lessons,' in theaters this Friday. Grint plays a young boy trying to find relief from his overbearing mother (Linney).
AMNew York talked to Grint just before the movie opens.
So, how did you come to be involved with the film? Well, I was doing the fourth Harry Potter film and got sent the script. [The filming] was only going to be six weeks, so it was quite easy. I met with Jeremy [Brock, the writer/director] and he was really cool. It just sort of happened from there, really.
I know you were working on getting your own driving license, has that come to pass? Yeah. I passed on Saturday.
So how about your character. Is there anything in your personality that relates to him at all? Not really. There are a few sort of teenage things, like his actions around girls. They¹re quite awkward and strange, and I can generally relate to that.
Was this your first onscreen kiss? This was my first.
Was that something that was exciting or was it awkward? I was actually quite nervous about that, because it¹s quite a big step. It was really weird because you have the whole crew watching you. It makes you really self-conscious. But she [actress Michelle Duncan] was really cool. She¹s older, so it helped a little bit. Watching it back is the worst, especially with my family. They laughed their hearts out.
How was this film different from filming Harry Potter? There were no sets, for one. We filmed all around London. It was only six weeks and the budget was pretty small.
There¹s a scene in which you resist some wine because you say you¹re underage at 17. Just to clarify, what is the drinking age in the UK? Eighteen. You can pretty much do whatever you want at 18.
Are you getting used to all the screaming, fanatical Potter fans? A little bit, yeah. I¹ve been recognized a lot more recently. I don¹t know if it¹s something you get used to, it¹s really weird. They¹re always really nice so it¹s never a problem.
You were recently getting ready to film the Thestral scenes in the fifth Harry Potter movie. Have you finished those yet? Yeah, we did those the other day. It was really a good time because they had to make a mold, a specially made harness that goes under your legs, because in the film it has to be invisible. [The Thestral is a magical horse-like creature that is only visible to those who¹ve witnessed death.] They put you on this crane and lifted you up in the air. That¹s been my favorite scene so far.
And that was done on a green screen? Yeah. We¹re working on a lot of the final scenes now, the Dumbledore¹s Army stuff.
What¹s next for you? When does 'The Order of the Phoenix' wrap? We¹re finished the middle of November, I think.
And you get a break after that? Yeah. We don¹t start the next one until next summer, so there¹s quite a big break. I¹m going to try and do something else in-between.
I¹ve heard you¹re afraid of spiders, are there any in the new film? They were going to put in a scene where a spider comes down on my leg while I¹m hiding under a tree, and they were going to use a real spider. So they were doing tests with different spiders, letting them crawl on my leg. They ended up cutting it because I couldn¹t really deal with it.
Were they using tarantulas? Yeah, baby tarantulas. They¹re horrible.
We wished we had a camera on our recent visit to the set of “Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix.”
Huddled together in a huge open space of the 200-plus acre Leavesden Studios, about an hour’s ride by bus from London, were figures that at first glance looked like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and their “Order of Phoenix” cast mates: Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright and Evana Lynch. But they were not. They were the stand-ins of the young actors and actresses but it was quite a sight. These substitutes, who stand in for the actors before filming for technical purposes (like during the lighting set-up), were of course chosen for having the same skin tone, hair color, height and build as the actual cast. So it was like seeing a set of clones while the real Daniel and company were filming a scene inside a set structure. As usual, taking pictures on the set was strictly forbidden so it was too bad that we couldn’t capture for posterity this set of stand-ins who were dressed exactly the way the real actors were. Rupert’s substitute had the flaming red hair, too. Incidentally, director David Yates is such a perfectionist that he did so many takes of one scene involving Harry and his “Dumbledore’s Army.” By the day’s end, we could recite all the lines in this scene -- and in the voices of the cast.
We saw the Great Hall again but this time it was set for a breakfast scene to be filmed the following day. So the seemingly endless rows of tables were set with plates and real cutlery -- not ordinary ones, mind you but gold-plated spoons, forks and knives. We imagined how much a spoon from one of the tables could fetch on eBay. Speaking of cutlery, we had lunch with the cast and crew at the commissary so on our way in, we saw Rupert and said hi to him as he ate just like one of the guys.
What was different on our second “Harry Potter” set visit was that we finally got to talk to Katie Leung, whose Cho Chang role was coveted by many girls from around the world, including Chinese-Filipinas who sent letters, photos and audition tapes to the producers. “I feel that I’m very lucky to be chosen out of so many girls,” the Scottish-Chinese Katie told us. She gets to kiss Daniel in this fifth film adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s phenomenally successful series of books. “Yes, Daniel is a very good kisser,” Katie confirmed when asked. “Yeah, I really enjoyed it (the kiss).” We’ll write more in the future about our interviews with Katie, Daniel (who confirmed that he will do a nude scene in “Equus” when he makes his West End debut next year), Rupert, Evana (as Luna Lovegood, she is the new girl in this movie; like Katie, she won the role over thousands of girls) and others. Other cast newcomers include Imelda Staunton (her Dolores Umbridge’s fondness for pink inspired the motif of our set visit tent), Helena Bonham Carter and George Harris.
Were you wondering what Bob Iger's going to do during his second year as Disney's new CEO? How he's ever going to top that $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios? Jim Hill has some news that's sure to intrigue all of you HP & LOTR fans out there
So what's the verdict on Bob Iger's first year as the new head of the Walt Disney Company? Judging by various press reports that I've read over the past two weeks, most people seem to think that Bob's done a pretty good job so far.
Oh, sure. There are those (myself included) who think that the Walt Disney Company paid way too much for Pixar. And there's still an awful lot of upheaval going on at Disney Feature Animation (Where just last week, it was revealed that there will be significant staff cuts once production of "Meet the Robinsons" is completed) as well as Walt Disney Imagineering (Where it's recently been rumored that several members of senior management will soon be shown the door).
But overall, the general feeling these days seems to be that the Mouse House is getting its house in order. And a lot of the credit for both Disney's rising stock price as well as the rising morale levels among Disney employees has to be given to Bob Iger.
Soooo ... Having had such a positive impact on the corporation during his first year on the job, what's Bob going to do now to top that? Well, to be honest, Iger's looking to borrow a page from Michael Eisner's old playbook.
To explain: How many people remember how exciting it was back in the mid-1980s when -- thanks to Eisner's Hollywood connections -- many of Tinseltown's top talents were suddenly willing to work with the Mouse? We're talking about people like Steven Spielberg (Who used his considerable clout to finally get "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" made) and George Lucas (Who lent both his "Star Wars" characters as well as his technical expertise to WDI in order to make "Star Tours" happen).
Unfortunately, Steven & George were eventually put off by Michael's overly-aggressive management style. Which is why Spielberg & Lucas both basically stopped doing business with Mickey by the mid-1990s. But -- for a brief while there -- it was a very exciting time to be a Disney fan. The very idea that George Lucas & Steven Spielberg -- the modern masters of film fantasy -- were both working with the studio as well as Imagineering in order to create brand-new films and theme park rides ... It just boggled the mind.
Well, now it's October of 2006. And while Spielberg & Lucas are still in the game, many other masters of fantasy have come on the scene in the past two decades. People who've created compelling new characters that have connected with audiences around the globe.
And Iger? He's anxious to start doing business with people like this. So that Bob can prove to the world that -- once again -- the Walt Disney Company is a place where top talents work together to creat the very best in family entertainment.
Toward that end, Disney officials very quietly began talks with J.K. Rowling, the acclaimed author of the "Harry Potter" series. And after months of negotiations, Rowling finally signed a letter of intent. Which then awarded the Walt Disney Company the right to begin preliminary development of a theme park-related project featuring the Harry Potter characters.
Now please note that we're only talking about just a letter of intent here. Which -- according to investorsworld.com -- is:
A letter from one company to another acknowledging a willingness and ability to do business ... A letter of intent is not a contract and cannot be enforced, it is just a document stating serious intent to carry out certain business activities.
And given Ms. Rowling's reputation for being one tough negotiator (Case in point: When Warner Bros. was getting ready to produce the very first "Harry Potter" film, the studio insisted that at least one actor in the cast be a "name." To be specific, Warners wanted Robin Williams for the role of Hagrid. But J.K. absolutely refused to allow the studio to cast this Academy-award winning comedian as Hogwart's big-hearted gamekeeper. And given that one of the terms of the sale of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" movie rights was that the author had final approval over the film's cast ... Well, that's how Robbie Coltrane wound up filling Hagrid's over-sized boots) ... Just because Disney now has a letter of intent with J.K. Rowling doesn't mean that you should plan on queuing up for "Harry Potter: The Ride" anytime soon.
Mind you, Disney's still hoping that negotiations can be completed in time for the company to be able to formally announce its arrangement with Rowling between July 7, 2007 (I.E. When the seventh & final Harry Potter book will be released to stores) and July 13, 2007 (When the movie version of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is released to theaters). When the world is expected to be in the grips of unprecedented Harry Potter mania.
Still, given how protective J.K. can be about her characters ... Disney knows better than to count on their "Harry Potter" letter of intent being turned into a really-for-real full-blown contract. Which is why senior company officials decided to put together a contingency plan. One that would still allow the Mouse to be in business with a modern master of fantasy should Rowling actually decide to pull the plug on Disney's theme park deal.
"And which other modern master of fantasy are we talking about?," you ask. Well, how many of you caught that story last week about how the Walt Disney Company has been in discussions with Peter Jackson and the Weta Workshop? You know, the folks responsible for the smash hit "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy?
Th press reports will tell you that the real reason that Mouse House officials have been meeting with Jackson is because Disney is interested in using Weta's artists to create new animated films for the studio. But given that Walt Disney Pictures is actually planning on scaling back on the number of feature length cartoons that it will be releasing each year (With the hope that this artificial scarcity will then translate into renewed audiences' interest in new Disney animated films) ... Well, that cover story doesn't hold much water then, does it?
So what other reason might Disney officials have for meeting with Peter Jackson? Perhaps to gain access to Weta's extensive design library for a yet-to-be-announced "LOTR" -based project?
Well ... Let's just say that -- should J.K. Rowling opt not to take her current arrangement with the Mouse beyond the letter-of-intent phase -- Mickey now has a hobbit up his sleeve.
Anyway ... If you were wondering what Bob Iger was going to top last year's landmark deal to acquire Pixar Animation Studios ... Well, now you know.
Last week, we had the opportunity to speak with Julie Walters and Jeremy Brock about their new film, Driving Lessons. Because of some scheduling and his shooting schedule, Rupert Grint was unable to make it then.
But fear not, Rupert flew in from the Harry Potter set in London to speak with JewReview.net about his first starring role in Driving Lessons. We spoke about working with his Potter co-star, Julie and playing a character based on the life of writer/director, Jeremy.
In Driving Lessons, Rupert plays a young man who starts working for a former actress; he’s then torn between staying by her side or being confined to his house with his over-protective mother (Laura Linney).
Then, we got to talking about The Order of the Phoenix. He told us about how the Weasley’s are much more involved in this film. And he even mentioned the return of Chris Columbus as director to the series for the 6th and 7th film.
Check out our exclusive video interview with Rupert Grint:
The latest magical location shoot took place over several (4) days and nights at a wonderful location used previously by the Harry Potter team at Black Park in Buckinghamshire. The set was not a stones throw away from another major part of film history, Pinewood studios, where some greatest British films have been made in the past...
Utter amazement at the sheer scale of the Production was on everyone's minds as we made our way through the huge forest location. Security, transport, special effects, costume, wardrobe to name but a few of the departments involved; When added to the rest of the crew's there then simply thousands of people were required to make the scenes happen in this magical location.
I want to jump straight in and tell you all about the Thestral carriages but ill have to refrain and get to that later, they are so magical even whilst stationary.
Our first day on set (Wed 4th Oct) saw many of the main actors coming and going throughout the day along with the many extra's and studio crew busying themselves to be prepared for shooting the very last scene in the film. Quite a moving moment (for me anyway) to know this was the last chance of seeing our favourite three hero's together 'on screen' and how the film would end, but like professionals all the actors took it in their stride.
Harry is talking to Ron and Hermione as the trio and a ton of students with their Magical pets, Owls, rats and many other creatures are walking towards Hogsmeade station after leaving Hogwarts for the last time this term. We couldn't hear the dialogue but managed to catch a little of that which was read out to some of the extra's who all looked happy as they were 'going home'. The trio were relatively happy too, Hermione seemed to find what Harry said cute or funny from the expression that she gave. The Thestral carriages, 6 in all formed the perfect backdrop in the wooded area.
From what we saw and were told, this was indeed the last scene, as after this, scene, the film will do a fade to black. The End.
Saturday 7th Oct daytime shoot was also to capture the same scene but utilized Harry, Ron and Hermione's doubles which again featured the Students walking the last few steps to the Station, all ready to leave the Magical World after one hell of a rough and long term, even if you were Harry returning to the Dursley's you could perhaps be excused some peace and quiet. As technology advances, so too does the talent of the FX and design departments on the HP productions. The Thestral carriages are absolutely gorgeous and were parked in the background (of course CGI departments will get to work on these scenes also) after bringing the students safely to the station, for the purposes of filming quad bikes were used to pull them around and not Thestral's sadly. Like all of you we just cant wait to actually get to see the Thestral's especially now as we heard whispers the plans for them are 'out of this world' which just added to the excitement. As we know Thestral's are visible ONLY to those who have witnessed death, but many of the actors experienced being lifted up into the air back at the studio as was recently explained by Rupert Grint in a recent interview.. Our Thursday and Friday night shoots were out of this world! same setting, same people but the whole place took on a wonderfully eerie atmosphere. Smoke machines, the Hogwarts Express, lighting and fantastic action were the order of the day. Some of the Props spotted to be used were just absolutely awesome and can be read below so to the costumes and attention to detail. As always everyone was in great spirits to make another few scenes perfect.
'Potter Plotter' Daily Prophet, the Quibbler, tons of students luggage and many, many more Props were used in these scenes which were great to see. First scene of the night, but not of the movie, Harry is the only one who can see the Thestral's, Luna (looking fabulous in some really cool earrings???) and a great 'Butterbeer bottle top' necklace tells him not to worry as she can too. Nearly all the main cast were filming these scenes, Slytherins, Neville, Cho among them right up to another scene of Harry asleep in the carriage on the Express in which his head tilts mirroring Voldermort's. Quite how or what this means we don't know but a great deal of care and attention was taken both inside and outside the train until finally we get to see Harry's face through the window as the train moves off to reveal Hogwarts....
A wonderful journey, a wonderful experience and when finally 2007 marks the release of the Order of the Phoenix the most memorable film to date is to be anticipated and expected... thanks WB!!
Industry predictions that Google may have bought itself a whole heap of copyright trouble when it recently acquired YouTube for a modest $1.65bn, appear to be coming true as media companies worldwide move to protect their assets from illicit online dissemination.
According to Reuters, the Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers - which represents 23 media companies including TV networks and movie distributors - has successfully lobbied for the removal of 29,549 files from the website.
The Society added it would ask YouTube "to set up screening and other measures to block postings of unauthorised files". It also rather hopefully requested users "not to post video clips in violation of copyright laws".
In the US, meanwhile, a veritable phalanx of media outfits are currently "co-ordinating their negotiations" with YouTube. As we noted earlier this week, YouTube has to date avoided such unwelcome attention, "because with zero revenues it hasn't been worth pursuing".
Google, on the other hand, is absolutely loaded - as its Q3 earnings statement shows - and is therefore worth pursuing.
Scientists are boldly going where only fiction has gone before -- to develop a Cloak of Invisibility. It isn't quite ready to hide a Romulan space ship from Capt. James T. Kirk or to disguise Harry Potter, but it is a significant start and could show the way to more sophisticated designs.
Duke University, Reuters
The "metamaterial" cloak deflects microwave beams so they flow around a "hidden" object inside with little distortion, making it appear almost as if nothing were there at all.
In this first successful experiment, researchers from the United States and England were able to cloak a copper cylinder.
It's like a mirage, where heat causes the bending of light rays and cloaks the road ahead behind an image of the sky.
"We have built an artificial mirage that can hide something from would-be observers in any direction," said cloak designer David Schurig, a research associate in Duke University's electrical and computer engineering department.
For their first attempt, the researchers designed a cloak that prevents microwaves from detecting objects. Like light and radar waves, microwaves usually bounce off objects, making them visible to instruments and creating a shadow that can be detected.
Cloaking used special materials to deflect radar or light or other waves around an object, like water flowing around a smooth rock in a stream. It differs from stealth technology, which does not make an aircraft invisible but reduces the cross-section available to radar, making it hard to track.
The new work points the way for an improved version that could hide people and objects from visible light.
Conceptually, the chance of adapting the concept to visible light is good, Schurig said in a telephone interview. But, he added, "From an engineering point of view it is very challenging."
The cloaking of a cylinder from microwaves comes just five months after Schurig and colleagues published their theory that it should be possible. Their work is reported in a paper in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
"We did this work very quickly ... and that led to a cloak that is not optimal," said co-author David R. Smith, also of Duke. "We know how to make a much better one."
The first working cloak was in only two dimensions and did cast a small shadow, Smith said. The next step is to go for three dimensions and to eliminate any shadow.
Viewers can see things because objects scatter the light that strikes them, reflecting some of it back to the eye.
"The cloak reduces both an object's reflection and its shadow, either of which would enable its detection," Smith said.
The cloak is made of metamaterials, which are mixtures of metal and circuit board materials such as ceramic, Teflon or fiber composite.
In an ideal situation, the cloak and the item it is hiding would be invisible. An observer would see whatever is beyond them, with no evidence the cloaked item exists.
"Since we do not have a perfect cloak at this point, there is some reflection and some shadow, meaning that the background would still be visible just darkened somewhat. ... We now just need to improve the performance of cloaking structures."
In a very speculative application, he added, "one could imagine 'cloaking' acoustic waves, so as to shield a region from vibration or seismic activity."
Natalia M. Litchinitser, a researcher at the University of Michigan department of electrical engineering and computer science who was not part of the research team, said the ideas raised by the work "represent a first step toward the development of functional materials for a wide spectrum of civil and military applications."
Joining Schurig and Smith in the project were researchers at Imperial College in London and SensorMetrix, a materials and technology company in San Diego.
The research was supported by the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program and the United Kingdom Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
All Harry Potter fans know that wizards are banned from meddling in the lives of ordinary people - or Muggles as they are called in JK Rowling's books.
But that golden rule appears to have been broken with the closure of a busy London Underground station.
Westminster Tube station was closed on Sunday to allow shooting for a yet-to-be-released instalment of the young wizard's big screen adventures.
It is likely the location was being used for filming of Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, the fifth film in the series due for release next year.
In the book Harry, accompanied by Arthur Weasley, uses the Underground to attend a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic.
Rowling describes how the young wizard - played by Daniel Radcliffe in the films - is whisked into central London by a Tube full of grumpy commuters.
Unfortunately, tourists and other passengers arriving at Westminster station, which lies opposite Big Ben, were not allowed a peek at the filming.
Instead they were asked to find alternative routes for their journey, and none were offered broomsticks.
A Transport for London spokeswoman said: "Planned closures are timed to cause minimum disruption to passengers and commercial requests such as this are subject to an agreed fee.
"There has been advanced publicity in the area to warn passengers of any potential disruption to their journey."
Daniel Radcliffe, the 17-year-old star of the “Harry Potter” movies sat down on the set of the fifth film, “Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix” with NEWSWEEK for a wide-ranging discussion on acting, fame, friendship, dating, and why he’s decided to make his stage debut—naked, no less—in the Tony-winning play, “Equus.” Radcliffe aced his final exams this summer, and just prior to this interview, had gone with his friends to Britain’s huge live music event, the Reading Festival, which features bands such as Blink 182, Linkin Park and Dirty Sanchez. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: When you go to places like the Reading Festival, do you have to worry about being recognized?
Daniel Radcliffe: It’s not so much being recognized. The only thing you have to worry about is press. But we pretty well got away with it. There was only one photo of me [that was published] with some headline about the hat I was wearing. [Laughs.] Yeah, some really important news. Groundbreaking stuff. So, no, people recognizing you is not really an issue. In fact, one of the best moments of the festival for me was on the first day: My friends and I walked out of this tent, and there was this guy passed out on the floor. He woke up, just momentarily, went, [in slurry, drunk voice] “It’s Harry Potter!” and collapsed again. [Laughs]
I’ve seen crowds go crazy over you, though. Girls screaming. What’s that like?
I don’t really experience it on a daily basis because I’m here most days, where everyone knows me. I suppose visitors to the set sometimes will be slightly awestruck, and that’s odd for me because I know myself, and I know there’s really nothing to be awestruck about. So the premieres are very odd because you get out of the car and there are hundreds of people screaming your name. To you, your name doesn’t really mean anything. It’s just a noun, like “table” or something, so when suddenly people are chanting it, it’s the strangest, strangest feeling. But it’s also incredibly gratifying because you work on a film for a year and suddenly all these people come out, basically, to thank you. So it’s great.
Do you date?
I do, yes, but not at the moment.
Do you have to worry that girls want to go out with you just because you’re famous?
It’s always a worry, yeah, but I’ve got pretty good instincts for people. Normally, the people who are not genuine are the ones who say, “You know I’m not just being your friend because you’re Harry Potter, right?” And it’s like, “Uh, fine, but if that’s the case, why do you need to say that?”
British people are Europe's worst energy wasters, with bad habits such as leaving appliances on stand-by likely to waste £11bn by 2010, a study claims.
If current levels of wastage continue, an extra 43m tonnes of carbon dioxide will be pumped into the atmosphere in that time, it added.
Leaving mobile phone chargers plugged in and lights on were among the most common energy-wasting habits.
The Energy Saving Trust surveyed 5,000 people in five countries for the study.
Figures in the Habits of a Lifetime report, commissioned to mark the start of Energy Saving Week, said 71% of UK consumers admit to leaving stand-by buttons on once a week.
Meanwhile, 65% of UK consumers leave chargers on once a week and 63% forget to switch the lights off when leaving the room.
ENERGY WASTERS LEAGUE
1. UK
2. Italy
3. France
4. Spain
5. Germany
Source: Energy Saving Trust
The comparison with German consumers, who top the energy efficiency league, reveals major differences.
Britons leave chargers on three times as much as Germans, they leave stand-by buttons on twice as much and forget to switch off lights four times as much.
Almost half (48%) of Britons admit to using the car for short journeys rather than public transport, walking or cycling.
The Spanish were said to be the next most efficient users of energy after Germany, followed by France and Italy.
Gender gap
Philip Sellwood, EST chief executive, said: "As a result of this research, we are calling on the nation to undertake a series of daily habit-changing actions during energy saving week.
As a result of this research, we are calling on the nation to undertake a series of daily habit-changing actions during Energy Saving Week
Philip Sellwood, EST chief executive
"It is clear from the study we can't band everyone as 'a consumer'. The aim will be to galvanise the nation into breaking their energy habits one by one."
Within the UK, a number of interesting statistics emerged concerning age and gender.
Both men and women admitted around 32 energy wasting actions per week although 20% of males felt no guilt compared with 9% of the opposite sex.
Mild guilt
The survey found 27% of those aged 65 and over felt no guilt about the energy they use and its impact on the local environment.
According to interviews with their parents, 72% of children aged 16 and under regularly leave the lights on and almost two-thirds always leave computers, TVs and stereos on standby.
However, about a quarter of 18 to 24-year-olds do feel moderately guilty about the impact their energy use has on the environment.
More than half of those surveyed (57%) said they would support the government introducing "environmental health" warnings on products which are not energy efficient while 49% believe more advice on energy efficiency should be available.
A new version of the Firefox browser for the web 2.0 age is to make its debut on 24 October.
Built in to the updated software is anti-phishing technology, to prevent fraud, as well as built-in spell checking and a search engine manager.
It is released less than a week after Microsoft unveiled Internet Explorer 7.
The Mozilla Corporation, which oversees the development of Firefox, says more than one million people helped refine the final release.
Firefox 2 is released at 1700 PST (0100 BST).
User testing
The first version of Firefox was released in November 2004 and since then has steadily been chipping away at the dominance of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser.
Now it is believed to enjoy a 12-15% market share of the net browsing market globally. But, said Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering at Mozilla, in some nations the share is far higher.
Mr Schroepfer said that there were about 12 big improvements in Firefox 2.0 along with thousands of minor tweaks and bug fixes.
Big changes include a phishing finder that alerts people when they stray on to a site that tries to trick them into handing over login details for a bank or other valuable service.
Another change was a spell checker that keeps an eye on every bit of text typed in almost any Firefox browser box be it in a web-based e-mail program or an add-on that lets people post blog updates directly.
Firefox 2.0 also has an improved session restoration system that will let users resurrect tabbed webpages they accidentally closed or will re-start a net session at the point before a crash.
Other changes include improvements to the web feed, search engine and add-ons manager.
The project to create Firefox 2.0 kicked off in June 2006, said Mr Schroepfer and the software was released once the work was finished. It was mere coincidence that the work was done so close to the release of IE 7, he said.
"We really didn't target a specific date," said Mr Schroepfer.
He said the browser had been developed with the demands for a rich web 2.0 age in mind.
As an open source software project, the development of Firefox is led by the non-profit Mozilla Corporation but most of the development work is done by keen volunteers.
"We live and die by whether each individual wants to download and run it," said Mr Schroepfer.
Many have contributed to the project by customising the software for their own language, said Mr Schroepfer. At launch the software will be available in 36 languages, by contrast IE 7 was available only in English.
Many users also create add-ons for the browser which add all kinds of functions that people see a need for. There were now more than 1,900 add-ons for Firefox, said Mr Schroepfer, which made it possible to keep the core software slim.
Families and tourists in a London park were left shocked when a pelican picked up and swallowed a pigeon.
The unusual wildlife spectacle in St James's Park was caught on camera by photographer Cathal McNaughton.
He said the Eastern White pelican had the unfortunate pigeon in its beak for more than 20 minutes before swallowing it whole.
An RSPB spokesman said: "It is almost unheard of for a pelican to eat a bird. Their diet should be strictly fish."
Mr McNaughton, from the Press Association, said: "The pelican was on the towpath preening itself, and there were a lot of tourists watching it.
"Then the bird got up and strolled along until it reached one of the pigeons, which it just grabbed in its beak.
"There was a bit of a struggle for about 20 minutes, with all these people watching. The pelican only opened its mouth a couple of times.
"Then it managed to get the pigeon to go head first down its throat. It was kicking and flapping the whole way down."
There are currently five pelicans living near Duck Island in St James's Park - four Eastern Whites and one Louisiana Brown.
Pelicans were introduced into the park during King Charles II's reign as a gift from the Russian ambassador.
The Game Developers Conference is set to return to San Francisco next year, with representatives from all areas of the industry including SCEE, Microsoft, Epic Games, Havok, Rare, Vicarious Visions, Sony Online Entertainment, Factor 5 and Volition some of the first to sign up.
The next-generation of console gaming is represented with Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski discussing the design of Gears of War for Xbox 360, while Factor 5's Mark Teare will talk about upcoming PlayStation 3 title Lair.
Other highlights include a session entitled 'PC Gaming in the Age of Connected Consoles' with contributions from Microsoft's David Edery, acclaimed designer Warren Spector, Soren Johnson of Firaxis and Epic's Michael Capps.
Non-gaming companies present include DC Comics, with vice president Jim Lee discussing licensee relationships with SoE's John Blakely ahead of the release of an MMO based on the DC universe, while Microsoft and SCEE will collaborate on a practical 'Audio Boot Camp'.
GDC 07 is still to announce keynote speakers and other lectures. The event takes place on March 5th to the 9th at the Moscone Convention Centre in San Francisco, and is expected to attract more than 12,500 industry professionals, and around 1000 members of the press.
The event organisers recently announced plans to expand the event in the wake of the downsizing of the annual E3 show, and will now incorporate the Independent Games Summit amongst other changes.
Running at just over 30 minutes, this edition features discussion and analysis of the latest stories to hit the headlines - from the downsized E3 and the controversy over Bully to Sony's recently unveiled plans for the PS3's online service.
You can hear excerpts from our recent interview with UK Xbox boss Neil Thompson, and we also talk to Microsoft Game Studios's David Leuhmann and Phil Spencer. In addition, there's a round-up of the latest features to appear on GamesIndustry.biz.
You can listen to the podcast via your PC or any portable music player. It's available directly via our RSS feed - which offers automatic updates of new episodes - or just download the MP3 directly.
The GamesIndustry.biz podcast is sponsored by recruitment specialists Special Move. The podcast is written and presented by GI.biz editor Ellie Gibson, deputy editor Matt Martin and producer Rob Fahey.
The organisers of the Leipzig Games Convention have confirmed the dates for next year's event, and announced plans to launch a new convention in Asia.
Next year's GCDC will take place from August 22 - 26 at the same venue - the Leipzig Messe. More than 180,000 visitors from 17 countries attended last year's show, and organisers Leipzig Messe International are expecting another healthy turnout this time around.
In addition, LMI has announced that it is teaming up with CEMS to launch the Games Convention Asia. The event is scheduled to take place at the SUNTEC Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
More than 200 exhibitors are expected to occupy 25,000 square metres of space, and 105,000 visitors are set to attend - including 5000 from the games industry. GCA will be held from September 7 - 9 next year.
Earlier this month, Hal Halpin, founder of the Entertainment Merchants Association, a game retail advocacy group, announced the formation of the Entertainment Consumer Association. Designed as the consumer counterpart to the retail association, the ECA seeks to advocate for games consumers, publish news, and provide educational and community services.
To that end, the ECA today announced it has acquired popular news site GamePolitics, a chief source of news related to politics and gaming. Halpin hopes to combine his advocacy experience with the expertise of GamePolitics founder Dennis McCauley, who will continue as the site's political editor.
"We're excited to have Dennis and GamePolitics on board as both compliment the ECAs objectives and provide great value to our members," said Halpin. "Like most gamers who care deeply about their rights and the government's intervention in games I have been a fan of both Dennis and GamePolitics for some time."
"As far as content, readers shouldn't expect to see any difference in GP's daily features," McCauley wrote on GamePolitics today. "I'll be staying on as GamePolitics editor, and we'll have the same in-depth coverage of legislative, political and cultural issues that you've come to expect from GamePolitics."
In addition, the ECA is partnering with NCsoft to support the publisher's PlaySmart program, which provides safety and security advice for online gamers. The two companies will create a PlaySmart web page, and PlaySmart tip cards will be distributed at ECA-sponsored conferences and events.
HBO has opened a contest where you could win tickets to the Order of the Phoenix US premiere next July, including $500 in spending money and transport plus accommodation. To enter, click here and fill out the form. Please note that this sweepstake is only open to US citizens.
The fourth Potter film has received two nominations, Best Feature Film and Bafta Kids' Vote, in this year's children's Bafta Awards. The awards ceremony will take place on November 26th in London.
Spanky's Quest (the main character is a monkey )
Sticky Balls
Awesome Possum Kicks Dr. Machino's Butt!
Ninja Hamster
Booby Kids
Tongue of the Fatman
Nuts & Milk
The top two browsing programs of net users got a big update this month as Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) and Mozilla unleashed Firefox 2.0. Here we take a quick spin through some of the features to be seen in the new versions.
Microsoft's IE7 program is the beefier of the two browsers with the download package weighing in at 14.8 megabytes (MB). By contrast Firefox is a svelte 5.4MB. However, neither should tax a broadband connection.
Differences start to show up once the software is downloaded. Once it is done installing, IE7 demands a re-start before you can use it. Firefox installs without that need. It's a minor difference and a minor inconvenience for those that choose Internet Explorer.
Both take about the same amount of time to install and get started-up but once they are running more subtle differences start to become apparent.
At first glance Firefox 2.0 looks more familiar as its main page layout hardly differs from earlier versions.
But IE7 does look changed because, for a start, the grey menu bar is hidden. It can be resurrected by hitting the "alt" key but you might be surprised by how much you need to call on it when you can't find it.
Hidden information
With IE7 Microsoft has brought tabs to its browser but both deal with them in slightly different ways.
With IE7 a blank tab is always available but with Firefox the new tab only appears, and takes up some screen space, when you open one up.
IE7 has a neat feature that lets you see thumbnails of all of the tabs you have open at any one time, letting you leap to the one you need with a click.
However, it seems to take a moment longer than Firefox 2.0 to close tabs when you are done with them.
Opening up quite a few webpages in each browser shows up another quirk. Firefox 2.0 seems to do a better job of using the text that webpages use to describe themselves.
Often in IE7, the only information you get about a webpage you have open but hidden on the bottom taskbar is "http://" - the rest of the title is obscured.
Again, a minor difference and a minor niggle.
Searching a webpage is still more elegant in Firefox 2.0 than IE7.
Calling up the search function in Firefox prompts the appearance of a text box tied to the bottom of the page and typing your search term in that takes you to the first appearance of that word or phrase on the page - provided it is there, of course.
In IE searching calls up a floating box in which you have to type your text and then click or hit a key to find the term or phrase.
Feeding frenzy
One of the very useful inclusions in Firefox 2.0 is a live spell checker that watches over your metaphorical shoulder as you type text into any field on any webpage. It is possible to add a similar function to IE7 but only via an add-on.
Firefox logo, Mozilla Foundation
Firefox browser for web 2.0
It will be interesting to see how many people download and install it.
When it comes to RSS - the system that feeds updates of webpages to those interested - Firefox 2.0 does a slightly better job of making it easy to subscribe to new feeds.
With only a click it was possible to add a feed to popular blog-following sites such as Bloglines. With IE7 another add-on is needed to do the same.
Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 also benefit from thousands of plug-ins, or add-ons - that can be installed to add more functionality to the browser.
These range from RSS readers to Instant Messaging clients, Voice over IP programs, and mini iTunes controls - all accessed from inside the web browser page.
Finally, both IE7 and Firefox 2.0 have introduced systems that warn users when they are about to visit a site that is known to be used by phishing gangs. These pages are made to look like that of a bank to trick people into handing over confidential information.
Firefox handles this by updating a locally held list of known phishing sites every time you use the browser.
Microsoft's IE7 checks in via the web to make sure a site is safe to visit. In the short tests run by the BBC news website, IE7 occasionally took longer to load a page as it carried out a check to see if it was a phishing site.
Despite these minor differences, Firefox 2.0 and IE7 are now broadly comparable - something that could not be said of IE6 and Firefox. But it will be up to users to choose which one best meets their needs.
If you can't be arsed reading all that, basicly Firefox is a a little bit better in many of the new features, and over all just a little bit better. But MS have reduced the gap with compared to IE 6 vs Firefox 1/1.5.
The Sierra Retailer of the Year has just been announced as GAME, the retail chain of big purple letters and, er, games and stuff that we recently revealed will be exclusively selling Activision's Xbox current-gen titles. So there!
The Sonopress Publisher of the Year was one of the most hotly contested Golden Joystick awards and it went right to the wire.
Who else? The gong went to mighty publisher Electronic Arts. EA has a list of hits longer than our pet donkey's and we've lost count of the number of times the publisher's titles have struck number one in the UK charts this year.
We've seen criminals use technology in their favor, but this is one of those cases where it works against them. An 18-year old kid in Wales had his friends film him as he swiped a pair of glasses off a charity worker on the street. He then posted the video on YouTube and got busted by the cops, which let him get away with a "caution." We woulda fried him and posted that on YouTube.
The world cannot afford to wait before tackling climate change, the UK prime minister has warned.
A report by economist Sir Nicholas Stern suggests that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%.
But taking action now would cost just 1% of global gross domestic product, the 700-page study says.
Tony Blair said the Stern Review showed the scientific evidence of global warming was "overwhelming" and its consequences "disastrous".
The report said that rich countries must shoulder most of the responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions.
And chancellor Gordon Brown promised the UK would lead the international response to tackle climate change......
A summery of the report:
TEMPERATURE
# Carbon emissions have already pushed up global temperatures by half a degree Celsius
# If no action is taken on emissions, there is more than a 75% chance of global temperatures rising between two and three degrees Celsius over the next 50 years
# There is a 50% chance that average global temperatures could rise by five degrees Celsius
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
# Melting glaciers will increase flood risk
# Crop yields will decline, particularly in Africa
# Rising sea levels could leave 200 million people permanently displaced
# Up to 40% of species could face extinction
# Increased examples of extreme weather patterns
ECONOMIC IMPACT
# Extreme weather could reduce global gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 1%
# A two to three degrees Celsius rise in temperatures could reduce global economic output by 3%
# If temperatures rise by five degrees Celsius, up to 10% of global output could be lost. The poorest countries would lose more than 10% of their output.
# In the worst case scenario global consumption per head would fall 20%
# To stabilise at manageable levels, emissions would need to stabilise in the next 20 years and fall between 1% and 3% after that. This would cost 1% of GDP.
Investment specialist Silverstar has acquired London-based videogames publisher Empire Interactive in a deal worth an estimated GBP 4.75 million.
Under the terms of the deal, stockholders will receive GBP 0.07 in cash for each Empire share - a rise of 36 per cent over the GBP 0.051 per share they were worth when the markets closed on Friday.
Stockholders may opt for an earn-out alternative in respect of all their Empire shares, earning GBP 0.049 cash per share, GBP 0.051 in loan notes and earn-out rights of a variable amount up to GBP 0.118. Empire management who will continue as directors once the deal is complete must accept this option.
According to an official statement, Empire's independent directors believe the offer is "fair and reasonable" and unanimously recommend shareholders to accept either the cash or earn-out offers.
"Given the difficult trading conditions in the games publishing industry and the increasingly uncertain financial condition of the company, the independent directors believe the offer represents the bestcourse of action available for the Empire business, its employees and all of its shareholders," said Empire's non-executive chairman, Sir Rodney Walker.
Silverstar CEO Clive Kabatznik added: "This is a landmark transaction for Silverstar as Empire had approximately £26.5 million in revenue for the 15 months ended 31 March 2006. The acquisition will provide consistent revenue growth over the next few quarters.
"We look forward to working with the Empire management team to aggressively grow their business, both organically and through future acquisitions. We remain determined to create greater value for our shareholders. This acquisition is a main component of our long-term strategic plan."
Silverstar Holdings specialises in investing in games companies that stand to benefit from the economies of scale possible with the Internet and emergence of new technologies. It already owns developer and publisher Strategy First, plus a stake in Magnolia Broadband.
The Empire acquisition deal is expected to complete late next month.
Nottingham's inaugural Game City has been hailed a success, with organiser Iain Simons revealing the event will return in 2007.
"We're totally delighted with the first Game City festival and have received some great feedback from both audiences and presenters," said Simons, speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz.
"There seems to be a real appetite for something different in videogame culture - and we hope we're offering something special. We've been really lucky to have had fantastic support and are looking to build on it in '07," he added.
The festival successfully mixed the cultural, technical, educational and entertaining to deliver an event praised by industry figures in attendance.
"I've been to GDC and E3 – and this is fun," said Lorne Lanning, president of Oddworld Inhabitants, who used his Vision Statement at the event to unveil his latest movie and videogame project.
"It seems like there's the possibility of it to become similar to something like the Sundance Film Festival, it's intimate and enlightening," he added.
Events included practical workshops, developer discussions, screenings, performances and debates.
"All credit to Iain, because he's taken an idea and simply decided to do it. And it's worked," said Dave Doak, boss of Free Radical Design.
Alex Evans, co-founder of Ragdoll Kung Fu developer Media Molecule added: "It's definitely got the feeling of an event where you can just turn up, rather than have to pay out a large amount. It's grea
