Second Life banks banned, run on banks begins
By Jacqui Cheng
January 11, 2008 - 12:12PM CT

For those of you who don't play Second Life, it may come as a surprise that the virtual world is still turning. But it is, and there's still drama going down over—you guessed it—money handling within the "game."

Second Life operator Linden Lab is hoping to head off some of that drama by instituting a ban on virtual banks that aren't government-sanctioned in real life. The company said in a blog post this week that after reviewing resident complaints, in-world banking activities, and the law, the move is in the best interests of its users.

A number of virtual banks have popped up within Second Life, and they work the same way that real banks do—they promise appealing interest rates to Second Life residents willing to hand over their Linden dollars, among other things. Since Linden dollars can be translated into real-world dollars, the individuals running the "banks" presumably deposited the cash into their own (real) banks in order to grow that interest.

But residents started getting burned by banks not being able to live up to their promises. One bank, Ginko Financial, ended up folding in August, taking all of its customers' money with it. Since then, a number of other banks have defaulted on their promises, too.

Ars Technica
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TGS 2008 dated
By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK
January 10, 2008 6:50 am ET

The Tokyo Game Show shifts its dates from late September to October 9-13. It's been nothing but change for the annual game shows this year--the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco has come forward a month to February, and the E3 Media and Business Summit has moved back from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles.

This year's Tokyo Game Show will also be shifting. Last year's show ran from September 20-24, whereas this year the show will be fashionably later from October 9-13, as organisers CESA have revealed.

Like last year, TGS 2008 will be four days long, with the first two days being restricted-access "business" days, and October 11 and 12 being open to the public. Previously, the show had been three days long, with just the first being a business day. The event will once again take place at Makuhari Messe.

Last year's TGS saw a record 193,040 visitors attending, and companies including Sony, Microsoft, Konami, and Sega had a significant presence. There were also a record number of booths: 1,735. This year's event is expected to be just as big.

Gamespot

Resistance 2 revealed
By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
January 11, 2008 3:31 pm PT

Game Informer confirms top-rated PS3 launch game will become franchise for Sony's rising console. As is the case with most batches of platform-launch games, critics weren't especially kind to the titles that debuted alongside the PlayStation 3.

As is the case with most batches of platform-launch games, critics weren't especially kind to the titles that debuted alongside the PlayStation 3. According to Metacritic, the most consistently well-reviewed launch title for the platform was Resistance: Fall of Man. Developed by Ratchet & Clank creators Insomniac Games, the title blended science fiction and Harry Turtledove-esque alternate history, portraying an alien invasion of England in the 1950s--after World War II didn't happen.

According to industry-research group NPD Funworld, Resistance was a solid seller, moving nearly 791,000 copies domestically as of November 2007. Little wonder, then, that as rumored the acclaimed game is getting sequel treatment. The February edition of Game Informer reveals that yes, Insomniac is hard at work on a sequel, tentatively titled Resistance 2.

According to the magazine, Resistance 2 will support two campaigns, multiplayer battles of up to 60 people, and eight-person online co-op play. Unconfirmed reports say the game will support three character classes--including a heavy weapons, special operations, and the all-important medic. It will also incorporate vehicles, including the alien-built Stalker, which will have cloaking abilities.

Gamespot

Nintendo, Sony face new patent suit
By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
January 10, 2008 5:00 pm PT

Wii and PS3 manufacturers taken to court by Pennsylvania man over wireless controller technology. Ever since Immersion Corporation won its lawsuit against Sony over the rumble technology in PlayStation and PlayStation 2 DualShock controllers (and eventually forced nearly $100 million in damages and interest from the electronics giant), patent litigation has been a subject of keen interest in the gaming industry.

One of numerous figures from the patent.The latest dispute comes from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, where Copper Innovations Group late last month filed suit against Nintendo and Sony for a patent it holds on a "Hand Held Computer Input Apparatus and Method."

The patent--which was filed in January of 1996--covers a method for connecting devices to a system and sorting their inputs by means of hardware identification numbers tied to each transmission. According to the suit, Nintendo and Sony are violating the Copper Innovations Group's patent by making and selling their systems and controllers. The Wii Remote, Wii Nunchuk, Sixaxis controller, and Blu-ray Remote Control are all named in the suit as infringing products.

Copper Innovations Group is seeking damages plus interest, legal fees, and an injunction permanently prohibiting Sony, Nintendo, or their agents from infringing upon the patent. An attorney for Copper declined to comment on the case (or the omission of Microsoft as a defendant) for GameSpot, while Sony and Nintendo representatives did not return requests for comment.

Gamespot

Microsoft's response to the Xbox's strange wireless signal
By John Cox
January 11 2008

After 37 days, Microsoft issued 43-word statement on the report of a strange, strong radio apparently generated by its Xbox 360 game console, and noticed by Morrisville State College, Morrisville, N.Y.

Essentially, the statement says the problem could be anything, and that Microsoft should not be blamed because the Xbox meets federal requirements, and that it has not received reports about it.

The entire statement, averaging about one word per day, is: “Any number of scenarios could account for wireless LAN disruptions in a college dorm environment where several electronic devices operate in close proximity. Xbox 360 complies with all applicable FCC regulations and we have not received reports that would indicate such a problem.”

But the original Network World story posted online Dec. 13 did not describe a WLAN disruption or even a problem, though there is some limited and anecdotal evidence that the unusual and still unknown signal in the 2.4-GHz band may make it difficult for nearby Bluetooth devices to connect with each other.

NetworkWorld
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NetworkWorld

Microsoft touts sale of 17 million Xbox 360s
January 3, 2008, 10:55 PM PST

Microsoft sold 4.3 million Xbox 360 video game consoles in the last three months of 2007, helped by hit titles such as Halo 3 and Mass Effect, according to company data released on Thursday. A total of 17.7 million Xbox 360s had been sold worldwide since it first went on sale in late 2005, Microsoft said.

Earlier sales data from the software giant showed 13.4 million consoles sold by end-September. "Holiday 2007 was a blockbuster season for the gaming industry," the company said, adding that the Xbox 360 kept its lead over rivals in terms of total dollars spent on hardware and software.

Microsoft has counted on its Xbox Live online service to set its console apart from rivals. The service lets users download hundreds of games, as well as television shows and movie rentals. The company also said Halo 3, the final installment of its popular sci-fi shooting game that went on sale in late September, had sold 8.1 million copies by the year-end.

Microsoft competes against Nintendo's wildly popular Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 consoles for dominance in a global video game industry thought to be worth around $40 billion in revenue in 2007. Nintendo and Sony have not released holiday sales figures for their machines, but by end-September, about 13.2 million Wiis and 5.6 million PS3s had been sold globally.

CNET News/REUTERS
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Gamers: POTUS Candidates Hate You For Your Freedoms
By Nate Anderson
January 01, 2008 - 08:11PM CT

Video gamers, the Democratic presidential candidates have a simple message for you: "We are not afraid to regulate the sex and violence right out of your consoles. Don't make us do it." With the new year still shiny and filled with that fresh-from-the-dealership scent, it's a perfect time to kick back, pop that Orange Box disc into the drive, and let off a little steam with Gordon Freeman's crowbar.

But it's also worth taking ten minutes to ponder what gaming might look like after 2008's US presidential election (hint: that crowbar could be under increased scrutiny). To do that, let's turn to Common Sense Media, which sent questionnaires last autumn to the leading candidates of both parties. Now that Hillary Clinton's campaign has responded, the Democratic slate is well-represented (Mitt Romney was the only Republican to respond).

The questions covered several media issues, but the most important one for our purposes was the question about violent video games. Would the POTUS contenders use legislation to "keep violent video games out of kids' hands"? The Democrats (except for Clinton) all paid lip service to the idea of parental responsibility and industry self-regulation as the first, best hope for solving the problem.

"The ESRB is a good example of industry responsibility," said John Edwards. Barack Obama said that there's "a golden opportunity for the industry to do this on their own" and that he wants to "improve the voluntary ratings system we currently have." Bill Richardson stressed parental involvement and (somewhat oddly) pledged to give all federal employees eight hours of paid one-on-one time with their kids.

Ars Technica
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Nvidia to launch mid-range G94 in February
By Rodney Chan
December 25 2007

Nvidia will launch the mid-range part for its GeForce 9600 GPU series, codenamed D9P or G94, in February 2008, according to sources with graphics cards makers.

The G94, the first mid-range GPU to feature a 256bit memory interface, is expected to pose a strong challenge to AMD's Radeon HD 3850 (RV670PRO) of the same class, the sources commented.

The sources revealed that while Nvidia's latest entry-level G98 (D8M) GPU, made at the 65nm process, has started shipping since early December, the G94 will make its debut on February 14. The G94 will also be made on a 65nm process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the sources added.

The sources previously had said Nvidia would roll out the D9P in June 2008. The G94, with its official price temporarily set at US$169, features 64 stream processors and supports PureVideo Gen 2, the sources said.

DigiTimes

Retail chain scalping Wii allotment on eBay
By Ben Kuchera
December 20, 2007 - 09:00PM CT

There is no doubt that this holiday season, one of the hottest gifts is the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo of America's president, Reggie Fils-Aime, warned gamers months ago that supplies would be short and tried to alleviate the problem with a voucher program through GameStop.

It's clear this won't be enough to meet demand, causing Nintendo to strongly urge retailers not to force consumers to buy bundles of software and accessories in order to take advantage of the shortage. At Opposable Thumbs, we ran a post about how to deal with these bundles and asked readers to contact us with their horror stories.

One worker followed up quickly with his own twist on holiday price gouging: instead of selling the systems with bundles, a chain of Illinois/Missouri gaming stores called Slackers is simply dumping its stock onto eBay for the Buy It Now price of $399.99, an almost $150 markup.

"In the past year, none of the 12 [Slackers locations] have sold any Wiis except for a one-time promotional deal, where we did force customers to buy a game with it," the employee told Ars Technica. "The real crime is that we get Wii shipments regularly. In fact, right now we have about 20, but none of them make it to the store front. They all get put on the store's eBay site at a minimum $499.99 buying price."

Ars Technica
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Sony CEO: PS3 'infinitely more fun' than Wii60
by Blake Snow
December 13, 2007 | 11:54:29 AM PST

Howard Stringer is optimistic of the PS3's future and expectedly thinks his console is more "exciting" than either Wii or Xbox 360. "The PlayStation 3 will come into its own because its [high-end games] are infinitely more fun, demanding and exciting," said Stringer in speaking with the Guardian.

The boss man feels "much more confident" now given the increased demand of the PS3. Last month, the console surpassed single-month Wii sales for the first time in Japan, something Stringer himself says was helped by ongoing Wii shortages.

"I'm glad that the last few weeks have generated excitement about PlayStation 3," he added. "Everyone's stopped talking about it the way they were six months ago."

GamePro

Nintendo, GameStop address Wii shortage
By Will Greenwald, News.com
December 14, 2007 3:24 pm ET

Publisher and retailer team for rain-check program that guarantees prepurchasers access to scarce console in January. The Nintendo Wii launched more than a year ago, and the system is still incredibly hard to find.

This long after the system started shipping, people are still camping in front of stores as soon as they hear about new shipments. Friday morning, Nintendo of America's president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime held a telephone press conference to address the continuing shortage of the Wii.

Fils-Aime said Nintendo hadn't expected as much demand for the Wii as it is getting. Since the launch, he claimed, Nintendo has almost doubled its global production from 1 million to 1.8 million Wiis per month and tripled its workforce at Nintendo of America's North Bend, Washington, distribution center.

The Nintendo president wouldn't say whether Nintendo would further increase its Wii production, but he denied any claims that Nintendo is stockpiling Wiis. "There was no ability for us to stockpile systems in the summer for the holiday rush," Fils-Aime said.

Gamespot
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November game sales up 52% vs 2006, Nintendo rules the roost
By Ben Kuchera
December 14, 2007 - 09:31AM CT

The NPD Group has released its sales figures numbers for November, and it's notable yet again the sheer amount of games and systems consumers are buying this year. November saw a 52 percent gain in gaming sales over last year, to $2.63 billion.

"If the year had ended on December 1st, 2007 would be up 5 percent versus last year," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement. "With the biggest month of the year yet to go, total industry sales are on track to achieve between $18 billion and $19 billion in the US." Let's take a look at what people were buying in November.

Nintendo - The Nintendo DS had an amazing November, with 1.53 million units sold. That makes the Wii's sales of 981,000 units look almost quaint in comparison. To put this in perspective, the Nintendo DS outsold every single Sony system combined in November.

The Wii did move a good amount of software in November; Super Mario Galaxy took the number two slot with 1.12 million units sold, and the always popular Wii Play came in fifth place with 564,000 units sold. The Wii version of Guitar Hero 3 was a popular title, coming in at number eight with 426,000 units sold. The extra controllers are also a large profit center for Nintendo. "4 of the 5 best-selling accessories for the month were Wii controllers," Frazier noted. "

Ars Technica
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Halo 3 map pack released
by Tom Bramwell
Demember 11, 2007 11:32

The Halo 3 Heroic Map Pack has gone up on Xbox Live Marketplace, offering three brand new battlegrounds for 800 Microsoft Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.30). The pack, unveiled last month, will be made available for free in spring 2008 ahead of another map pack's release.

The three maps included are Standoff, Rat's Nest and Foundry - a symmetrical valley map, an "indoor vehicular paradise" and "the ultimate Forge map" respectively, in Microsoft's view. As reported yesterday, Halo 3 players will be able to download an update to introduce new playlists for the maps from today.

Bungie has also said that the new maps will not interfere with the game for people who do not download them - although the new maps can be included in playlists, they will be excluded if one player in the group does not have them.

Eurogamer

MS explains XBL friends limit
by Tom Bramwell
December 12, 2007 11:39

Ever wondered why you can only have 100 people on your Xbox Live Friends list? Probably not. You're not very popular, after all. But apparently there is a limit, and Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg says it will be lifted "in the future".

Speaking to 1UP, Greenberg said that "it's something we definitely want to do and something we're looking at doing in the future, but it's been more technically complicated than anyone anticipated". For why, Aaron?

Interdependencies, he says. Apparently some original Xbox games "have friends lists hard coded in", among other things. However, he says, the majority of users don't have 30 friends, let alone 100.

Of course, nowadays you can check, thanks to a feature in the most recent Xbox 360 dashboard update that allows you to spy on your friends' friends lists. At least until they opt out of that by pretending to be a child and putting "OPERATION ORE" in their biography information.

Eurogamer

Rockstar wins Manhunt 2 appeal
By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK
December 10, 2007 12:34 pm ET

The decision by the British Board of Film Classification to ban the controversial action adventure game is overturned. Just over two weeks ago, a day-long appeal against the British Board of Film Classification's (BBFC) decision to refuse a classification to the game Manhunt 2 was held in central London.

Seven members of the independent panel assigned by the BBFC listened to the evidence presented from both sides before retiring to deliberate a verdict. The argument from Jeffrey Robinson, the legal representative for Rockstar was that Manhunt 2 did not deserve to be singled out, and that it was no more or less violent than similar games currently released in the country, including The Suffering: The Ties That Bind and the original Manhunt.

 The BBFC's representative, Andrew Caldecott, however, argued that a line must be drawn somewhere and it had chosen to draw it under this game. Today the Video Appeals Committee panel announced that its decision was four-three in favour of Rockstar, and that the game should be given a classification and released in the UK. The appeal dealt with the edited version of the game, which is already on sale in North America, not the original version which was given an AO in the US and also refused a classification in the UK.

Gamespot
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