GDC '08: Game devs terrified of sex
By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK
February 20, 2008 3:06 pm PT

Brenda Brathwaite implores game designers to put a bit more nookie in its titles, and for stores to stock naughty games. SAN FRANCISCO--Game developers are frightened of sex, claims the founder of the International Game Developers Association's Sex special interest group.

But Brenda Brathwaite isn't talking about nerds living in a basement who are too scared to approach a member of the fairer sex; she's talking about the lack of it in the actual games themselves. She told the audience at her "Hentai, Hardcore, and Hotties" talk at the Game Developer's Conference that "Developers are terrified of putting sex in games in case they get an AO rating, which is the kiss of death."

Part of this fear is justified, she admits, as even games that get an M for Mature rating are not stocked by the biggest chain stores. "Western sex games like Leisure Suit Larry and 7 Sins didn't sell," she sighed. "And they didn't sell because they couldn't get into Best Buy, Wal-Mart, or Target. If you can't get into those three stores, you're done."

Gaming's first lady of sex also bemoaned the ratings system as blocking the potential for serious, educational sex games. "For example, you can make a game about safe sex for teenagers, and it would automatically get an AO rating," she ranted. "There's absolutely no provision in the ratings system that says anything like, 'unless it's an educational title.'"

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GDC '08: Gears of War 2 rolls out in November
By Tom Magrino, GameSpot
February 20, 2008 11:46 am PT

[UPDATE] Sequel to Epic Games' high-octane third-person shooter gunning down the Xbox 360 for the holidays; first trailer inside! The fact that Epic Games is at work on a sequel to 2006's massive Xbox 360 hit Gears of War is one of the industry's worst-kept secrets.

Aside from being a logical business move--Gears has sold 4.5 million copies globally across the Xbox 360 and PC to date--Epic has been less than opaque about its intentions, even as far back as last year's Game Developers Conference when lead designer Clifford Bleszinski (aka Cliffy B) said that his company "intends to do a sequel." The question, then, has been when would Microsoft and Epic finally get around to making the announcement. True to rampant speculation, that reveal came today during Microsoft's keynote speech at the 2008 Game Developers Conference

After Epic founder Tim Sweeney and president Mike Capps left the stage with no mention of the shooter midway through Microsoft's presentation, the lights dimmed to close out the keynote...and a trailer for Gears of War 2 played. Cliffy B then stormed the stage, chainsaw rifle in hand, revealing the game would officially light up Microsoft's console exclusively this November.

No PC version of the game was mentioned, though Epic released an enhanced PC port of the sci-fi third-person shooter a year after its console counterpart.

Gamespot

GDC 08: Wii Fit's Interface Challenges
By Ray Barnholt
February 20, 2008

Putting two scales together is harder than it looks. When you look at Wii Fit's Balance Board, do you think it looks like it and the Wii were made for each other? Designer Takao Sawano does, but it took a while to reach that point. As the man in charge of producing the Balance Board, Sawano and his team found that making a game centered around your health took as much trial-and-error as any project at Nintendo. In a presentation at GDC, Sawano outlined the making of Wii Fit as how the Board and the game itself came to work in harmony.

It all started before the Wii was even finished, when producer Shigeru Miyamoto drew up a diagram of different "packs" of games that Nintendo could develop. Aside from the "Party Pack" (Wii Play) and "Sports Pack" (Wii Sports), there was the "Health Pack," which described features like calorite control and body management. Since Miyamoto had enjoyed keeping records of his weight and health progress, he thought it would make a good game. Sawano had to make sure it actually would.

Sawano's team inspected the innards of everyday bathroom scales, which are manufactured for cost-effectiveness. Adapting that for a game controller, though, left Sawano unsure if they could replicate that efficiency. When Miyamoto liked the direction the project was going, Sawano's worries of cost-effectiveness turned into a drive to simply make a good scale.

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PC Gaming Alliance debuts
By Tor Thorsen
February 20, 2008, 8:54 AM PST

SAN FRANCISCO--With consoles increasingly intruding on such hallowed ground as the real-time strategy genre, many PC gamers have adopted something of a siege mentality. This defensive attitude is also apparently afflicting hardware manufacturers and software publishers, a number of which on Monday announced the formation of the PC Gaming Alliance.

The first body ever formed solely to promote the PC gaming industry, the PCGA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "driving coordinated marketing and promotion of PC gaming...and creating forums for member companies to cooperate on solutions to challenges facing the PC gaming industry, such as hardware requirements and antipiracy."

Said member companies include PC hardware manufacturers Acer-Gateway, Dell-Alienware, Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices. AMD also owns ATI, a leading manufacturer of PC graphics cards, whose chief rival, Nvidia, is also on the PCGA board along with PC game peripheral company Razer USA. Rounding out the list are game developer Epic Games and the biggest third-party publisher on the planet, Activision.

Ironically, the maker of one of the consoles being blamed for cutting into the PC's market share is also on the PCGA's board. After spending billions on launching and promoting the Xbox 360, Microsoft has joined the board as part of its reinvigorated PC gaming initiative, Games for Windows.

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Microsoft says end of HD DVD won't hurt Xbox 360
Feb 18, 2008 4:49:00 PM

Microsoft does not expect sales of its Xbox 360 game console to suffer if Toshiba discontinues HD DVD technology, Microsoft said in a statement on Monday. "We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace," the company said.

"We will wait until we hear from Toshiba before announcing any specific plans around the Xbox 360 HD DVD player." Xbox 360 supports a plug-in HD DVD accessory that allows customers to view high definition DVDs produced only with this Toshiba technology.

Toshiba sources said on Saturday that the company is preparing to exit the HD DVD business, thereby surrendering a two-year battle to control the format of next-generation DVDs. The Nikkei business daily has reported that Toshiba plans to make an announcement on Tuesday. Customers would be left to buy high-definition DVDs produced with Blu-ray, a technology controlled by Sony.

The Microsoft statement pledged that Xbox 360 customers would continue to be able to consume high-definition movies, television programs, and DVDs they already own. In January, a Microsoft executive said the company would be open to supporting Blu-ray technology for its Xbox 360 machine.

ZDNET News/REUTERS

US spooks see Sadville as potential terrorist paradiseBy Dan Goodin in San Francisco
February 7, 2008 22:26 GMT

US intelligence officials are growing increasingly wary of Second Life and other virtual worlds, which they say could soon become havens for terrorists, money-launderers and criminals engaged in corporate espionage.

The virtual "communities" offer many of the same amenities of the real world, including banks, multiple currencies, shopping malls and private buildings that can only be accessed with a password. At the same time, the companies operating these virtual wastelands typically don't log conversations between users or keep records of which avatars gather in particular locations.

"Unfortunately, what started out as a benign environment where people would congregate to share information or explore fantasy worlds is now offering the opportunity for religious/political extremists to recruit, rehearse, transfer money, and ultimately engage in information warfare or worse with impunity," according to a paper recently prepared by the government's new Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity.

It was reported here by The Washington Post. The CIA has already set up several virtual islands where training sessions and unclassified meetings are held. But the IARPA paper calls for more involvement, including tests by cyber warfare experts to gauge how virtual worlds could be used to against terrorists or enemies.

The Register
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Disney wants your child online: MMOs for tweens (and below)
By Ben Kuchera
February 06, 2008 - 11:48PM CT

Early-morning meetings at CES are nice. Your feet aren't quite falling off your legs, you're not yet suffering the intestinal distress from eating the crappy (but free) food in the press room, and it's easy to find your notes since your bag isn't yet cluttered with free flash drives.

At one of these early sessions, I got the chance to talk with the creative director of Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Joe Shochet, and the vice president of Disney Online's VR Studio, Mike Goslin, in Disney's suite in Las Vegas. "You know what an MMO is, right?" I'm asked. Yes, I know what an MMO is.

I've also seen friends fall victim to MMO addiction, and I know that the MMO scene is a wild and woolly place filled with gold farmers, scam artists, and sexual deviants. Okay, it's not that bad, but it's how the media spins the idea of online games. And there's a kernel of truth to some of this reporting; I'm not sure I would want my child playing one of these online time sinks.

But Disney thinks virtual worlds are a good match for the kid demographic, and it has thrown significant resources behind the creation of online, kid-friendly places. The challenge is making a persistent online world that's both safe and compelling.

Ars Technica
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Engineer unlocks Wii's hidden potential
by Stephen Shankland
January 28, 2008 3:00 AM PST

I support the hardware hacking philosophy on principle, but most of the movement's labors have left me uninspired. That all changed when I started seeing the uses that Carnegie Mellon researcher Johnny Chung Lee has found for the Nintendo Wii's infrared remote control.

In a collection of videos, notable for their lucid explanations, the Ph.D. graduate student from CMU's Human-Computer Interaction Institute shows exactly how versatile the "Wiimote" system can be. Among the uses he convincingly demonstrates: a virtual-reality head-tracker; a virtual whiteboard on a wall, tabletop, and laptop screen; and a Minority Report-style arm-waving and finger-pointing multitouch user interface.

The Ninendo game device includes a bar-shaped device, ordinarily placed atop a TV screen, with two LEDs. It emits infrared light that the Wiimote can detect within a 45-degree field of view. Lee uses a computer to process data from those components and dramatically expand their utility. By attaching the sensor bar to his head and the Wiimote to a TV, he was able to construct a system that knows where his head is located.

That information is then fed into an algorithm that changes the perspective of an image on a monitor. The result is a very convincing 3D feel that looks like it would be a great fit for video games. The whiteboard application relies on use of a pen with an infrared LED in its tip. After a quick calibration--the subject of Lee's thesis--a computer can track where Lee is "drawing" on a wall, tabletop, and laptop screen.

CNET News
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Developer says Grand Theft Auto IV "virtually complete"
By Mark Raby
January 24, 2008 07:15

New York (NY) - Rockstar Games, the company behind the Grand Theft Auto series, the latest installment in the violent street life simulation franchise is just a few months away from being released. In an interview with Computer & Video Games, Rockstar confirmed that GTA IV is just "three/four months away from release" and that right now it is "virtually complete."

Additionally, the game developer noted that a lot has changed since the title's last preview.
"The game is in a very, very different place now. It's improved in virtually every single way imaginable," it said. An official release date announcement is expected by the middle of February. It is rumored that the game will launch on April 25, the last day of the fiscal quarter for Rockstar's parent company Take Two.

TG Daily

Nvidia’s Hybrid SLI May Not Be Suitable for Business Users, Serious Gamers
By Anton Shilov
January 23 2008, 06:39 PM

Despite of hype, Nvidia Corp.’s Hybrid SLI technology that can reduce power consumption of high-end multi-GPU systems as well as improve 3D graphics performance on entry-level computers with integrated graphics core (IGP) has several serious drawbacks that are likely to prevent the current implementation from going into systems of serious gamers or professionals.

Nvidia’s new Hybrid SLI technology has two modes that target different applications and usage models. The HybridPower mode switches off discrete graphics core or cores and uses only integrated graphics engine when high performance is not needed, thus, cutting power. The GeForce Boost mode make integrated graphics processor (IGP) assist discrete graphics processing unit (GPU) and boost performance when it is required. In both cases computer monitor has to be plugged to video output of mainboard’s IGP.

Apparently, the first implementation of Hybrid SLI technology not only does not support multi-monitor output capability, but also does not support dual-link DVI output, which means that such a system cannot support 30” high-end displays with resolution of 2560x1600.

Multi-monitor support is crucial for business and professional customers, who utilize two or sometimes even more displays to simultaneously access necessary information with their eyes without necessity to switch windows. In fact, multi-GPU SLI technology itself, designed strictly to boost graphics performance for gaming also does not feature multi-monitor capability, but since not many gamers require it, this was hardly a substantial disadvantage.

X-bit labs
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EVE Gets All Steamed Up
January 23, 2008 - 10:10 AM

MMO, EVE is bringing its army of virtual players to to Valve's Steam anti-piracy system. The game will be the first MMO to be delivered over the network, a fact which makes publisher Iceland outfit CCO "immensely excited and honored," apparently.

To "celebrate" the launch gamers already signed to Steam's will be able to faff about in the virtual EVE universe for 21-days for free. By which time they'll be hooked, the cunning chaps at Valve have worked out.

The Inquirer

White Playstation 3 coming to the US
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DateTime

Foster City (CA) - The first new colored version of the PS3 is headed to North America, according to a filing with the FCC. The "ceramic white" Playstation 3 came out in Japan last November, but recently uncovered documents from the Federal Communications Commission show that it is slated for a stateside launch as well.

Sony had requested a short-term confidentiality of the files "to avoid premature release of sensitive information prior to marketing or release of the product to the public." So far the only official versions of the PS3 have been "piano black", the same color of the first PSP. The white PS3 in Japan has a 40 GB hard drive and retails for the same price as the black 40 GB unit there. A price and release date have not yet been set for the US version of the system.

TG Daily

NPD Fallout: Did UT3 Find a Home on PS3?
By Patrick Klepek
January 18, 2008

Gears of War sold in the millions, but that didn't translate to similarly spectacular sales of Epic Games' next title, Unreal Tournament III. Of course, there could be a few of reasons for that -- for example, the sheer amount of multiplayer shooters this holiday season could simply be too much of a good thing and PC owners may not actually care about Gears of War.

Either way, it resulted in Epic and Midway seeing only 86,633 units of UT3 on PC moving by the end of November. There are fewer complications on the PlayStation 3, where UT3 landed just a few weeks before Christmas. Midway had advised the media and shareholders the title could slip into early 2008, but Epic cranked away, putting the game on shelves by December 11. While technically before Christmas, by that date, most consumers have either purchased or printed out shopping lists for what they need to pick up in time for the holidays -- would UT3 have time to make an impact?

It certainly made a bigger impact than its PC counterpart, anyway. The NPD Group tells us UT3 sold 113,000 copies on PS3 in December. That's just under what Uncharted: Drake's Fortune managed in November (117,000) and above Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction's numbers in October (74,500).

1UP contacted Epic Games VP Mark Rein for comment, but we've yet to hear back. We're curious, though, whether the more encouraging sales on PS3 will shift Epic's focus away from the struggling PC SKU. Responding to user questions in a blog for Guardian Unlimited, Rein brushed away concerns about the PC version's sales.

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1UP

Xbox 360 hits 300k mark down under
By Randolph Ramsay, GameSpot AU
January 21, 2008 5:07 am PT

More than 300,000 Xbox 360s now sold in Australia; Halo 3 top-selling title for 2007. Microsoft has unveiled the latest update on how its next-generation console is faring in Australia. According to Microsoft, 306,000 Xbox 360s have now been sold in Australia, with more than two million games also sold since the console's launch in March, 2006.

Unfortunately, Microsoft did not provide a specific console sales figure just for the calendar year of 2007. However, going from previously published figures from industry tracker GfK Australia for the second and third quarters of 2007, as well as a GameSpot AU interview with top Australian Xbox exec David McLean back at the end of March last year, it seems that as many as 160,000 Xbox 360s were sold in Australia in 2007 (and up to 80,000 in the final quarter of the year alone). By comparison, Sony's PlayStation 3 has sold 155,000 units down under since its release in March, 2007. Nintendo is yet to officially release its latest console sales figures for Australia.

Microsoft can also lay claim to having the highest-selling console game for all of 2007 in Australia, thanks to Halo 3. The latest adventures of the Master Chief sold 120,000 copies locally, which means roughly one in three 360 owners own a copy of Halo 3. The other top-sellers in the 360 library for 2007 were Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Gears of War and Forza Motorsport 2.

Gamespot

Video game industry seeks political clout
January 14, 2008, 9:55 PM PST

Capitalizing on its improved respectability, the video game industry intends to establish a political action committee to donate money to game-friendly politicians and candidates.

Michael D. Gallagher, chief executive of the Entertainment Software Association, the industry's lobbying arm in Washington, said last week that the group's board approved the PAC's creation last fall and that the committee would be up and running by the end of March. The association represents major game publishers including the Walt Disney , Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony.

"We will be writing checks to campaigns by the end of this quarter," Gallagher said. "This is an important step in the political maturation process of the industry that we are ready to take now. This is about identifying and supporting champions for the game industry on Capitol Hill so that they support us."

Gallagher said the PAC would probably donate $50,000 to $100,000 this year to national candidates, an amount he described as commensurate with similar committees associated with the film and music industries. Such political action committees are generally financed personally by industry executives rather than by corporations and under federal law are limited to giving $5,000 to each candidate per election.

CNET News / The New York Times
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