Gary's Blog

Just a place to find out what's on my mind, or what's occupying my time whilst I avoid actual "work."

 

VGN for 6/24/05

Video game News:

The brain interprets violence in video games as real?

Wed Jun 22, 2:26 PM ET
 
LONDON (Reuters) - The brains of players of violent video games react as if the violence were real, a study has suggested.
 
Klaus Mathiak at the University of Aachen in Germany studied the brain patterns of 13 men aged 18 to 26 who, on average, played video games for two hours a day.

Wired up to a scanner, they were asked to play a game involving navigating through a complicated bunker, killing attackers and rescuing hostages.

Mathiak found that as violence became imminent, the cognitive parts of the brain became active and that during a fight, emotional parts of the brain were shut down.

The pattern was the same as that seen in subjects who have had brain scans during other simulated violent situations.

It suggests that video games are a "training for the brain to react with this pattern," Mathiak says.

Waaaaaaa.  My wallet hurts.

By Jesse Hiestand
Wed Jun 22, 9:05 AM ET
 

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The  Screen Actors Guild's bitter infighting claimed another victim Tuesday as members of the national executive committee voted to reject the recently negotiated video game contract against the wishes of members and the negotiating committee.

It is believed to be the first time in the union's 72-year history that board members have used the routine approval process to overrule the unanimous recommendations of a negotiating committee.

Further chaos was created because smaller union AFTRA (the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), which co-negotiated the deal, accepted the new 3-1/2-year contract last week; the old agreement expired May 13. Insiders say AFTRA will be able to grab full jurisdiction of this burgeoning field when its new contract goes into effect July 1.

The deal offered by leading gaming companies including Electronic Arts and Activision offered to boost wages for voice-over and other performers by 36%, beginning with an immediate 25% hike. The actors also got increases in benefits and greater work protection, though not the residuals that they had been demanding.

Nintendo make-over?

Posted: 10:06 on 22 Jun 2005
By: Chris Leyton

Nintendo President suggests his teams are currently experimenting with visual upgrades to Nintendo classics...

A recent interview with Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, has revealed that designers are currently experimenting with the playback of classic NES, SNES and Nintendo 64 on the Revolution. Although the games remain largely the same, Iwata-san suggested that various titles could undergo graphical enhancements.

The claim is slightly at odds with Nintendo’s direction, one that suggests you cannot rely on technological and visual improvements alone; we’ll have further information on the Revolution soon. 

Movies and games.  Games and movies.  When a game is made based on the movie, and comes out first...is it cheating to play it before you see it?  What games are better than the movies they're based on? 

What I've been playing:

Conker, Reloaded--thanks Cybertron!

Batman Begins

Anime news:

MetroCon  this weekend!  See you all out there!

posted by: Gary1059 at 07:24 | link | comments |

VGN for June 17th, 2005

Vin Diesel is a Killer
Game Industry News: Hitman heading to the Silver Screen

Hollywood Reporter and Reuters is reporting that Vin Diesel has signed on to star in the movie adaptation of Eidos Interactive Hitman series.

Diesel is set to play Agent 47, the contract killer hired by "the Agency" to assassinate agitators worldwide.

"Hitman is a project that by the virtue of its DNA can and will reach far beyond its already substancial core audience," said Adrian Askarieh, who will be producing the film. "The canvas on which this adventure takes place is something that movie audiences have embraced for the last 40 years."

Currently working on the latest installment of the series, Hitman: Blood Money, Eidos and IO Interactive are set to meet with Diesel and his company Tigron Studios, to develop the next title in the Hitman series. If the companies decide to do business, Diesel will lend his voice and likeness to the future titles in the series.

If things work out with Tigron, Eidos and IO, audiences can expect tie-in game when the movie is released.

Ubisoft prefers independence
PARIS - Ubisoft Entertainment SA, a French video game maker eyed by U.S. rival Electronic Arts Inc., reiterated that it wants to stay independent.

 
Chief Executive Yves Guillemot, speaking at a news conference in Paris to present full-year results, Wednesday said: "The option we prefer is to remain independent. If we can continue to deliver good results, we still have value and that would be possible."

Ubisoft has been the subject of takeover talk ever since Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts, maker of blockbuster games such as "Madden NFL" and "SimCity", snapped up a 20 percent stake in the family-run company late last year.

Guillemot said he would rather a tie-up with an entertainment or media company than a take-over by another video games maker, and he would oppose Electronic Arts — the company's biggest shareholder — getting a seat on the board.

HALO Movie?

By Bob Tourtellotte
Fri Jun 10, 4:09 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. was near a deal on Friday to sell the rights to make a movie based on hit video game series "Halo" after a recent round of Hollywood talks in which a high asking price and demands for creative input drew the ire of some parties, sources said.
 
The bidding for a movie based on "Halo" and "Halo 2," a science fiction series about a warrior named Master Chief who battles aliens, began on Monday when a script commissioned by Microsoft was delivered to Hollywood studios by messengers wearing Master Chief green armor and toting laser guns.

Represented by Creative Artists Agency, Microsoft sought an unusually high upfront payment of $10 million plus 15 percent of initial gross box office sales, which led several studios to drop out of talks, according to sources near the deal-making.

MGS on PS3?  Or Nintendo?  Or Microsoft?

Kojima talks about next-generation plans for his stealth action franchise

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has told Japanese magazine Famitsu that he chose PlayStation 3 for the next instalment in his stealth-action series because of loyalty to Sony, according to a partial translation by US website IGN.

Nope. 

MGS4 to be PS3-exclusive

Hideo Kojima says he has no plans to bring any Metal Gear Solid game to a non-Sony next-gen platform, but he has high praise for the Xbox 360.
Speaking to Famitsu, Hideo Kojima, the famed game designer, revealed he has no plans to bring the Metal Gear Solid series to any next-generation platform other than Sony's PlayStation 3.

"Metal Gear Solid 4 is only scheduled for release on the PlayStation 3 at the current time," he told the Japanese game magazine. "Of course we could port it to other consoles, but doing so would require additional staff and research and development costs. If I were to make games for the Xbox 360 or the [Nintendo] Revolution, I'd rather create original titles that match each console's audience, instead of the Metal Gear Solid series."

Xbox Schools Japan!

Students in Japan will be learning how to videoconference with console donated by Microsoft.
TOKYO--Classrooms in Japan wil be getting some Xboxes, but not for their typical purpose of playing games. Microsoft announced today that it will be donating Xbox consoles enabled with video chat capabilities to all elementary and junior high schools in Tokyo's Suginami ward for educational purposes, starting in late June.

A total of 80 Xbox units will be given out to 44 grade schools, 23 junior high schools, and eight other public facilities in Suginami. Microsoft hopes that its donations will help educate the children to become more IT literate. The consoles will allow Microsoft to teach the students how to use videoconferencing to take online classes and communicate with other Xbox Live-enabled schools.

What I've been playing:

Scrapland

NOTHING ELSE BECAUSE MY GAME ROOM IS DESTROYED!

Anime News:

MetroCon next weekend!  Listen to VGN for tiks!

posted by: Gary1059 at 07:15 | link | comments |

VGN for June 10th, 2005

Videogame news:

Hollywood banks on games.  Please, Hollywood, save us from all this money.
Thu Jun 9, 7:36 AM ET
 
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hollywood actors unions have reached a contract deal with video game publishers, accepting higher pay instead of the profit-sharing they had demanded, the unions said Wednesday, removing the threat of a strike.

 
The three-and-a-half-year agreements with game companies came as the     Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) were preparing to announce the results of a strike vote.

Unions had sought to win profit-sharing, known as residual payments, from game publishers.

Under the new agreements, union performers will get a 36 percent increase in minimum pay over the term, increases in benefit contributions and greater protection. The agreements are subject to final approval by the unions.

HDD for PS3 to be an add on.

Ken Kutaragi reveals the console's hard drive will use alternate OS, hints that it will ship separately and will come in more than one model.
Since E3, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi has been calling the PlayStation 3 an "entertainment supercomputer" rather than a gaming console. Now, he's revealed a new plan to make sure that it's acknowledged as one.

In an interview with Impress PC Watch, Kutaragi disclosed that he plans to install the Linux operating system on the PS3's hard disc drive (HDD) so it will be recognized as a computer, rather than a mere console.

But while Linux would require a hard drive to run on, Kutaragi told Impress PC Watch, "We're not going to equip [the PS3 with] a HDD by default, because no matter how much [capacity] we put in it, it won't be enough." It was unclear whether he was referring to the previously known fact that the PS3 would not have an internal hard drive or whether he was indicating that the device would not come with the external 2.5-inch detachable HDD outlined in the specs revealed at E3.

Holy Million Dollars!

$1 million up for grabs for Xbox Live users playing Majesco's sci-fi shooter.
As reported in April, Majesco will be holding a contest for its Xbox version of Advent Rising. The grand prize? $1 million. Gamers interested in grabbing some of the contest's several prizes who haven't picked up a specially marked copy of Advent Rising had better do so soon, because the contest begins tomorrow at 5:00pm PDT.

Majesco will be hiding several 'A's in the game--one per week for six weeks--in fact. Keen-eyed gamers who spot the 'A' will be rewarded with various prizes, including cash, Xbox Live subscription cards, and SoBe-tagged items. The first eligible gamer to discover the hidden 'A' will receive the cash prizes.

Iwata to Fans:  Please to be paying now?

Talking strategy, the Nintendo president confirms his company will charge for next-gen console access to its back catalog; announces the company will build 1,000 DS hot spots in Japan.
In a business strategy conference held today by Nintendo, president Satoru Iwata outlined a number of company plans for the current business year and beyond.

Iwata repeated the theme that Nintendo's next-generation console, "will provide different kinds of uses that will be of interests to each members of the family." But he didn't elaborate, only making a general remark that by "expanding the definition of games, games should become a subject of interest to everyone." For example, Iwata said the Revolution's capability to download and play back classic Nintendo titles will be of interest to parents, letting them enjoy the console as much as their kids.

Iwata also talked a bit more about the Revolution's capability to download and play games from Nintendo's previous consoles, called the Virtual Console system. First off, he shot down speculation that all first-party Nintendo games will be downloadable for free. "There's rumors floating on the Internet that the Virtual Console will be available for play for free, but we have no plans to distribute [the games] without charge."

Capcom understands my rage...

Capcom retaliates to GTA3's age restriction in a Japanese region, citing that the movement can cause issues in freedom of expression in future games.
TOKYO--Last week, the local government of Kanagawa prefecture, a region located immediately south of Tokyo, announced that it will ban the sales of Grand Theft Auto III to minors as of June 7. Saitama, another region neighboring Tokyo, also announced that it is considering the age restriction on the gratuitously violent game as well.

The possibility that the ban may spread into neighboring regions has caught the eye of the game's Japanese publisher, Capcom. (Rockstar, which publishes the game in other regions, has seen similar threats.) With other games noted for violence and gore, such as the Resident Evil series or the upcoming Xbox 360 game Dead Rising, Capcom fears that such restrictions could affect future releases. In a public statement saying that the age ban was inappropriately implemented, the company has announced that it is considering taking legal action.

"Japan's Videogame industry is a world-class business, which foundations are supported by the freedom of expression and intellectual property protection laws. Like our country itself has been practicing, it is essential that we continue to make efforts to sustain these two factors that are essential for growth of the game industry," said Capcom in a public statement.

 

What I've been playing:

Morrowind GoTY for Xbox--Thanks Cybertron!!

Anime news:

Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle" at Loews Cineplex in Universal Citywalk starting Thursday night!

MetroCon!!  It's almost here already! 

posted by: Gary1059 at 07:15 | link | comments |

VGN for June 3rd, 2005

Video Game news:

But we need more money!

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two of the key unions representing actors have asked their members to authorize a strike against the video game industry after talks on a new master agreement between the two sides broke down.
 
Materials were sent on Tuesday to about 1,900 members of the     Screen Actors Guild and 1,000 members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Those unions both require "super-majority" approvals from their members -- 75 percent for SAG and 66.7 percent for AFTRA -- before their national bodies can formally authorize the strike.

The previous contract between game publishers and the unions expired last December, and after repeated extensions talks collapsed earlier this month.

The games industry said the biggest sticking point was residuals, or ongoing payments to actors and actresses for each copy of a game sold to which they contributed, including their voices and likenesses.

More education whilst killing aliens, please.

Let the Games Begin

By Kenneth C. Green

If we step back a bit, what emerges—or should emerge about the video gaming phenomenon—is a conversation about engagement, not entertainment.

 
Last fall, November 9th marked a much-anticipated technology event for many in the campus community. Are you wondering what you missed? An amazing new computer? Some breakthrough software application? Did you perhaps miss a critical, hack-pr
oof security patch for your Internet browser or operating system? Software that will forever protect your computer from pop-ups, viruses, and spyware?

Alas, if only it were so. On that November day, Microsoft released the much-anticipated Halo 2 video game, which literally flew off the shelves and out of the Amazon.com warehouse, selling 2.4 million units in 24 hours. Those sales should have sent up flares to educators and those who design technology for the purpose of improving educational delivery. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

Recent Halo 2 sales should have sent up flares to educators and those who design technology for the purpose of improving educational delivery.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA; www.theesa.com) notes that Halo 2 “took in more revenue on its first day of sales than any movie has ever taken in on opening day.” (The box office champ for 2004 was Spiderman 2, which booked some $40 million on opening day, compared to $125 million for Halo 2). According to the ESA and the CNN news organization (money.cnn.com), Halo 2 went on to sell some 4.2 million units in 2004, and ranked second for the year, only behind the 5.1 million units of the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Overall, US video game software sales totaled $7.3 billion in 2004. In contrast, US sales of professional/scholarly books and college textbooks totaled some $7.5 billion in 2004 (this information comes from the Association of American Publishers; www.publishers.org).

PSP procures porn in Japan

Japanese PSP owners will soon be able to purchase eight adult films in UMD format this summer.
Adult movies in the PSP-friendly Universal Media Disc format will be released in Japan this summer. Two publishers will offer a total of eight movies specifically for the PSP. Adult-content publisher Glay'z will release five titles starting on July 8, while fellow publisher H.M.P. will release three additional titles on July 16. The movies will be priced between 1,995 yen ($18) and 3,990 yen ($37).

While software releases for the PSP are subject to approval from Sony Computer Entertainment, the Sony gaming division does not hold sway over movies released for the device.

"Unlike games, we believe that UMD movies are an all-purpose media, like DVD movies. We do not control their content in the way that we do with games," commented an SCE representative in a previous interview with Impress PC Watch. "We are not in a position to know what kinds of UMD videos get released."

New Games?
By Jeb Haught
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
May 30, 2005

The first look at next-generation game consoles Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 created big buzz in the video-game world earlier this month. Microsoft, which expects to beat Sony to market by several months, sustained the anticipation with sneak peeks of several 360 games at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, in Los Angeles:

Game studios haven't forgotten today's systems
 
 
Action title Gears of War showcased the power of the new Xbox. This incredible-looking action game, a Microsoft in-house project, sports an over-the-shoulder view but is controlled just like a first-person shooter. The game is set in a future where the world has been ravaged by war and is then attacked by deadly underground enemies. Featuring a realistic combat system that forces enemies to use authentic duck-and-cover tactics in order to advance, Gears of War looks to be the 360's killer application.

Blog only:
Video game Manifesto

What I've been playing:

Morrowind GOTY--Thanks Cybertron!! 

Anime News:

MetroCon this month! 

Free tickets?  Listen next week...

posted by: Gary1059 at 07:11 | link | comments |